As you all know by now, I have been making my way down the East Coast and will eventually be landing in San Francisco. This means that over the next few weeks I will be posting snippets about each place I stopped at and a few of my favorite things within each.
Second Stop: VIRGINIA
As I left Baltimore I drove about 3 hours South to Charlottesville Virginia, where I was heading for the main purpose of seeing Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Being an architecture nerd and by default a history buff I could not pass up this opportunity. I arrived in town in the early afternoon, and after being disappointed that Ace BBQ was closed on Mondays, I made up for it by grabbing quick chicken salad at Revolutionary Soup and a tea downtown before heading out to Monticello. The $25 admission fee is a bit steep, however I feel it was worth it (at least once). The ticket gets you access to everything on the property + 3 different informational tours. I partook in the 45 minute tour of the house, and afterwards wandered around on my own. If you are physically able, I recommend walking up to the house rather than taking the bus. The walk is about 10 minutes in the woods and its beautiful. On the tour you get a decent amount of relevant information on Jefferson as well as the way he lived and designed the house. Not to mention, the views both of and from the house are breathtaking.
After Charlottesville, I stopped in Roanoke to meander and grab dinner. I arrived at 6 on a Monday and was again disappointed that the restaurant I had planned was closed on Mondays (note to future travelers). However, this let me wander downtown a bit longer before choosing my eventual dining destination. Downtown Roanoke is quaint and adorable. However, it was also quite deserted this particular Monday evening. For some reason my photos ended up being of the signage, perhaps because it maintained its old town charm... They had little general store, and I picked up some old time candies for my dad, before settling on Lucky for dinner. The food was yummy and service was great. - The one thing I had to say about Roanoke is I felt more unsafe here than anywhere I've traveled, perhaps because it was simply deserted -
As for my resting spot this particular evening, I had to drive to Blacksburg, VA. When I was looking for a place to stay I found a modern home in the woods for a reasonable price, so I drove another hour south to find it. This place was a good 20 minutes off the highway, on winding roads, at night. The house itself had no address marker and was down 2 driveways off of the country road. Needless to say trying to find this at 9pm was not the most enjoyable experience but after countless U-Turns I made it, stayed the night, and in the morning I stopped by Indego coffee in Christiansberg Virginia. The girl behind the bar was a sweetheart and I sat and chatted with her for a good hour before making my way to North Carolina on my next adventure....
Second Stop: VIRGINIA
As I left Baltimore I drove about 3 hours South to Charlottesville Virginia, where I was heading for the main purpose of seeing Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Being an architecture nerd and by default a history buff I could not pass up this opportunity. I arrived in town in the early afternoon, and after being disappointed that Ace BBQ was closed on Mondays, I made up for it by grabbing quick chicken salad at Revolutionary Soup and a tea downtown before heading out to Monticello. The $25 admission fee is a bit steep, however I feel it was worth it (at least once). The ticket gets you access to everything on the property + 3 different informational tours. I partook in the 45 minute tour of the house, and afterwards wandered around on my own. If you are physically able, I recommend walking up to the house rather than taking the bus. The walk is about 10 minutes in the woods and its beautiful. On the tour you get a decent amount of relevant information on Jefferson as well as the way he lived and designed the house. Not to mention, the views both of and from the house are breathtaking.
After Charlottesville, I stopped in Roanoke to meander and grab dinner. I arrived at 6 on a Monday and was again disappointed that the restaurant I had planned was closed on Mondays (note to future travelers). However, this let me wander downtown a bit longer before choosing my eventual dining destination. Downtown Roanoke is quaint and adorable. However, it was also quite deserted this particular Monday evening. For some reason my photos ended up being of the signage, perhaps because it maintained its old town charm... They had little general store, and I picked up some old time candies for my dad, before settling on Lucky for dinner. The food was yummy and service was great. - The one thing I had to say about Roanoke is I felt more unsafe here than anywhere I've traveled, perhaps because it was simply deserted -
As for my resting spot this particular evening, I had to drive to Blacksburg, VA. When I was looking for a place to stay I found a modern home in the woods for a reasonable price, so I drove another hour south to find it. This place was a good 20 minutes off the highway, on winding roads, at night. The house itself had no address marker and was down 2 driveways off of the country road. Needless to say trying to find this at 9pm was not the most enjoyable experience but after countless U-Turns I made it, stayed the night, and in the morning I stopped by Indego coffee in Christiansberg Virginia. The girl behind the bar was a sweetheart and I sat and chatted with her for a good hour before making my way to North Carolina on my next adventure....
Past Posts:
Nelli Is Moving
Baltimore
