#650 Virginia's US Route 60

To complete our Virginia Beach trip, we decide US Route 60 will get us back across Virginia with the most fun possible.  (And soon we will be using US Route 60 to get us back across the country to our Aurora home, but that's another story.)

For now, we are eager to avoid I-64 as much as possible and see a little more of Virginia.  Within spitting distance of our Virginia Beach hotel, we find the "END" sign that marks the beginning of our trip and we start there.

A few minutes up the coast, we are winding our way through Virginia's most popular state park, First Landing State Park.  With more than a million visitors per year, this entire park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bridges and tunnels are always fun, so we enjoy the 3.5-mile combination of the two when crossing the harbor via the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.

We find some of our favorite things along Route 60 like libraries...

 And the magnificent crepe myrtle.

A paper map was needed to find Route 60 through Newport News but we made it through thanks to one Garmin GPS, one iPhone with Google Maps, one Virginia highway map, and one thoroughly impressive navigator!

More of our favorite things include historic sites... 

 And well-sited craftsman bungalows.

Richmond has much to offer along Route 60 with its Poe Museum...

 its 17th Street Farmers' Market...

 and, of course, this geographic marker on the grounds of the state capitol. 

US Route 60 is developed all the way from Virginia Beach through Richmond.  Once we cross the James River and get outside the Richmond loop as far as Powhatan, the drive becomes relaxing and lovely.    

We celebrate with lunch at the Cumberland Restaurant...

and we think about all the things along the way that we'd like to visit next time.

We turn north at Amherst on US Route 29 toward home.  Soon we will return to Amherst and continue west on US 60.

Yours in following US Route 60 wherever it may lead,
Mary

#649 Virginia road trip to the beach

Virginia is perfect for road trips.

You don't have to try very hard or drive very long and soon you will have relocated yourself from the mountains in the west all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

And along the way, you'll find Shirley Plantation, Virginia's oldest, in operation since 1613.  The house built in 1738 sits between the James River and the beautiful Virginia State Route 5.  This scenic byway also known as John Tyler Highway parallels the James River and also runs past nearby Sherwood Forest Plantation, owned by US president #9 William Henry Harrison and US president #10 John Tyler.  And if we had time, many more James River plantations are open for tours.

 

Since road trips can make you hungry, you can stop in Charles City for lunch at Cul's Courthouse Grille.  The restaurant is only 5 years old but the building was built as a general store way back in 1872. 

I recommend the crab cake sandwich and Kelly likes the pulled pork sandwich and ESPN on the television.

It's been a while since we've been on a boat, so we drive our car onto a ferry boat (the Williamsburg) that will take us from Jamestown to the south side of the James River.   The Jamestown-Scotland ferry is a free service operated by Virginia Department of Transportation since 1945.

Soon after disembarking, we find ourselves at the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the afternoon with time to stroll the beach and find an outdoor table at Ocean Eddie's Seafood Restaurant where we feast on more crab and key lime pie for dessert!

 

Yours in appreciation of the Virginia road trip,
Mary

#648 Kent Curtis papers to UVA

It's a mad dash to the Virginia finish line!

We've only had 7 years here in Virginia and there is so much to do.  During the past 2 weekends, we've made first-time visits to Devil's Backbone Brewing Company, Walton's Mountain Museum, Green Valley Book Fair, and the Frontier Culture Museum.  And we've made return visits to Shenandoah National Park, the Blackfriars Playhouse, and Colleen's Drive-In.  So many fun things.

One Virginia event really stands out.  We've recently donated my family's papers belonging to Kent Curtis to the UVA special collections library.  With the enthusiastic support and guidance provided by Molly Schwartzburg, the delivery has been made and a VIRGO catalog record has already been created.

Boxes filled with Kent's papers

American literature and World War I are real strengths of the library's collections.  And that fits perfectly with Uncle Kent who was an author of boys' adventure stories and a WWI pilot.  The donation includes Kent’s correspondence (about 1000 letters), newspaper clippings, journals, scrapbooks, his publications (journals, books), phonograph records, and photographs. Kent did not achieve personal fame but he knew famous people including F. Scott Fitzgerald.  And their correspondence is included in this donation. 

For me, much research lies ahead.  I'm eager to explore the wide swath Kent left behind and hope to uncover more of his correspondence in archives around the country.  And I look forward to writing more about him on this Uncle Kent Curtis blog. Meanwhile, my family is pleased to have found such a good home here at UVA for this collection that is so important to us.  And I am thrilled that a significant part of our family remains here in Virginia.

Yours in appreciating special collections,
Mary

#647 Sweet, Sweet Virginia

There are so many places to love in sweet, sweet Virginia and we've discovered a lot of them in the last 7 years.  Here are our favorites:

Alderman Library  

Blackfriars Playhouse

Blandy Farm Ginkgo Grove

Breaks Interstate Park

Charlottesville Downtown Mall

Creeper Trail

Fairfax home built by Mary's father

 

Fork Union Drive-In Theater

Hull's Drive-In Theater

Maymont Japanese Garden

Monticello on the 4th of July

Mountain Lake Biological Station

Nelson 151 Breweries, Cideries, Wineries

Norfolk Cruise Terminal

Polyface Farm

Pope-Leighey House

Poplar Forest

Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park

Swannanoa

US Hwy 60 from Buena Vista east toward Amherst

University of Virginia Lawn

No wonder we love Virginia so much.

As Eddie from Ohio will tell you,

When you're talking home, you mean the Old Dominion
Just southeast of Heaven to the surf and the hills
She's the best of 13 sisters and 37 more
Sweet sweet Virginia always keeps an open door

Yours in agreeing with Eddie,
Mary

#646 Friends Make It So

Life is beautiful.

Northern Ireland, connected to both the UK and the Republic of Ireland, is a confusing place to visit.  On yet another beautiful day, our 2 terrific guides from Black Taxi Tours help us to understand a bit about this country's history and the current efforts to live peacefully in a country divided.  Hopefully, these 2 friends will make it so.

After our last port on this voyage, we take the time to remember how lucky we are.  Lucky in where we live.  Lucky in our opportunity to travel.  And lucky in friends.  Life is beautiful.  Friends make it so.

 

With thanks from a full heart,
Mary