Our last Virginia update left us here…. three days and a few hundred miles into a freestyle road trip.

At that time we had stopped at Luray Caverns… $28.00 per person, please exit through the gift shop. The true definition of a tourist trap.

The tour was both entertaining and informative. We were led through cathedral-sized rooms with  10 story high stone ceilings. There were natural wonders at every turn.

The self-guided Car & Carriage Caravan Museum tour is interesting, more so if you’re a true “Car Guy”. Since this stop was included in the price of admission I’d have to say it was enjoyable. Once again, please exit through the gift shop.

Leaving the caverns we turned right and made our way towards Cooters Place.

As a child of the late 70’s – early 80’s the Dukes of Hazzard influenced my fashion, my vehicle, and my musical choices…. Just a Good Ol’ Boy. Cooters is filled with enough memorabilia to host their own convention. Admission is free but your T-shirt, beer Koozie or bumper sticker purchase will more than cover the price of admission.

From here we decided to make our way East, towards Ashland, VA. The destination choice was for no other reason that I am familiar with the area.

In Ashland, there were two points of interest.

Chateau’ Relaxo has several ever-growing collections and antique stores fuel their growth. Ashland’s Hickory Creek Antiques provided the latest dose of fertilizer. As soon as we entered Roscoe offered us hot coffee and freshly baked cookies. As someone that finds himself at antique stores on a regular basis, Hickory Creek offered some of the best prices around.

The next stop was the Trackside Grill. A perfect local restaurant, full bar, local beer and a menu full of choices. Order the steak sandwich with a side of wing sauce for your fries, you can thank me later.

The next morning we headed towards the Historic Triangle, Williamsburg, Yorktown & Jamestown VA. By the time we hit Williamsburg, the sun turned to rain, so we threw on rain gear and started exploring.

Williamsburg is as one would imagine. Lots of brick-paved streets lined with colonial themed buildings. The downtown area is commercially inspired with no shortage of colonial this and colonial that, all available for purchase. For $40.00 they offer what can best be described as an all-access ticket.  Plan on spending the better part of the day touring the city

Our next stop was the Jamestown Glasshouse. This brought back memories from my last visit 47 years ago. We spent over an hour watching these artisans display their talents.

After leaving the Glasshouse we headed towards the visitor center. That’s where we got stamped and paid $14.00 for the guided Jamestown tour. Jamestown happens to host an ongoing archaeological dig and depending on the time of year you might see the dig in action.

Our last stop was the Yorktown Battlefield. While the visitor center was packed with exhibits and information,  we enjoyed their battlefield driving tour. First, make sure your rental has a CD player. Next head into the gift shop and purchase the $5.00 driving tour CD then head back to your car. The 60-minute driving tour offers insights and commentary as your explore the battlefield in the comfort of your own car.

Six days later we found ourselves back in Richmond boarding a flight back home.

Here are a few tips that you might enjoy for your next road trip.

• We ended up purchasing items that we couldn’t carry onto an airplane. The answer was USPS. If it fits, it ships, a large box gave us change back on a twenty.
• Buy decent raingear. Umbrellas suck and are a pain to carry. Do yourself a solid and spend $50 – $100 on quality raingear. You live in Florida after all, you’ll use it.
•  Look for package deals. Had I known, and consulted the interwebs I would’ve found a package deal for the historic triangle and saved $50.00.
• Consider purchasing a National Parks Passport. Almost all 400 of the national parks will stamp your passport when you visit. A great way to track your travels.

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