East Coast Historical Road Trip Ideas Needed!

[Maria/ME]

My dd, a friend and I are planning a small road trip that will take in some of the East Coast. From CT to VA or so. Our goal is to go to historical areas. Two that come to mind are Sturbridge Village and Gettysburg. I want to avoid the cities. This leaves out Boston, Philadelphia, New York, DC, Baltimore etc...

 

Does anyone have any ideas for off the beaten path (ie NOT the city) historical spots that you know of, have found interesting, or wish to go to? Anything that I might want to add to my loose itinerary?

 

TIA,

[laylamcb]

Places I love that aren't "downtown":

 

Longwood Gardens (DE)

Valley Forge (PA)

Mount Vernon (Alexandria, VA)

Bull Run battlefields (Manassas, VA)

UVa/Monticello/Ashlawn-Highland (Charlottesville, VA)

Shenandoah National Park (VA)

American Shakespeare Center to see a production (Staunton, VA)

College of William & Mary/Colonial Williamsburg (W'burg, VA)

[mamato4]

Jockey Hollow is where Washington and his army spent the winter before the winter at Valley Forge. There is a museum on site. The Ford mansion is where Washington stayed, but you have to drive to another part of Morristown to visit this. Still close by, though.

 

Washington's Crossing Historical Park (not quite sure if that's the right name for the place), also in NJ, near Princeton. Once there, you can drive into Princeton and walk around Princeton University to check out Nassau Hall and the other buildings.

 

Fort Lee Historical Park in Fort Lee, NJ. Very small park but has a really neat museum about the time of the Revolutionary War when Washington was chased by Howe into NJ.

 

Falls at Paterson, NJ. Paterson used to be a silk making giant and the falls were used to power the mills.

 

Twin Lights Lighthouse in the Atlantic Highlands. They're located right before you have to cross over a bridge into Sandy Hook. You can only climb to the top of one of the lighthouses but it has a small interesting nautical museum. One of the highlights for me was an actual navigation book written by Nathanael Bowditch. We had just finished reading Carry On, Mr. Bowditch just before our visit there.

 

As you can tell by now, I'm from Jersey. These are places we've visited that I've liked. No crowds. There might be school trips present that might make your visit not quite as relaxing.

 

HTH!

Anna

[Brindee]

I don't know if this is encroaching too much on cities, but this is what I liked on a trip I took a few years back:

Lexington/Concord, MA: The Wright Tavern (where the minutemen met), The Minuteman Statue, The Old Manse, a cemetary called "Author's Hill" because Thoreau, Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emmerson and others are buried there, Louisa May Alcott's home.

 

Gloucester: The Old Man of the Sea statue, the restaurant "The Gloucester House", which is right on the harbor

 

Rockport: Love that Harbor!

Edited May 14, 2009 by Brindee

[Lori D.]

It was awesome! Below is the list of things we did -- some are big cities, but lots of stuff outside of big cities, too! Also below are the threads I started for ideas of what to see/where to go. Great ideas from lots of people in those threads.

 

And be sure to take proof of homeschooling status. I had ID cards to the 2 homeschool organizations we are members of, and those cards got me (as a teacher) into the Franklin Institute for FREE, and gave us discounts to other sites as educator and students, such as Colonial Williamsburg. So always remember to ask, wherever you go, if there is a teacher/educator discount! : )

 

I printed out everyone's suggestions, and also printed out all the information from various websites, and keep a big notebook in the front seat, so we could dive off the beaten path anytime we wanted. Along with that, I printed off all the locations of Trader Joe's, and we would use the GPS -- WELL worth the investment to have one in your car for a longer trip like this!! -- and every few days we would stop at whatever Trader Joe's was close to where we were driving and stock the cooler with lunch items and dinner entrees. Then at night we would just use the microwave in the motel room for instant, yummy dinner -- far cheaper and faster than looking for restaurants!

 

Enjoy your trip -- it was awesome! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

PAST THREADS

 

East Coast trip

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60151&highlight=virginia'>http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60151&highlight=virginia

 

Leaving for East Coast trip

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60152&highlight=virginia

 

What to see on the East Coast

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73321&highlight=virginia

 

Tips to do East Coast cheaply?

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60151&highlight=virginia

 

 

 

TRIP IDEAS

 

Philadelphia

- free = Liberty Bell = http://www.nps.gov/inde/liberty-bell-center.htm

- free = Independence Hall = http://www.nps.gov/inde/independence-hall-1.htm

- free guided tour = US Mint = http://www.usmint.gov/mint_tours/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=philadelphia

- Franklin Institute Science Museum (*great* science museum! worth the price!) = http://www2.fi.edu/

 

Ben Franklin (a man in costume who acts the part), is frequently wandering around in the Colonial section of town and you can chat with him. There is also a FREE self-guided historic walking tour = http://www.theconstitutional.com/tour.php

 

 

Pennsylvania

- free self guided tour = Valley Forge = http://www.nps.gov/vafo/

- free self guided tour = Gettysburg = http://www.gettysburg.com/

 

We stayed at a Hampton Inn very near Valley Forge so we could get up early in the morning, eat the nice breakfast provided by the Inn, and do both Valley Forge AND Gettysburg in one day -- that is a LONG day, though, with about 3 hours of driving in between, and you really can't get the full experience of both in one day. Instead, you might want to do Valley Forge in the morning, and then drive less than an hour away and enjoy Amish history and sites in Lancaster County (http://www.800padutch.com/reasons.shtml), or tour the Hersey chocolate factory (http://www.hersheys.com/discover/chocolate.asp).

 

 

Boston

- free guided tour = USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides"), oldest still in service US warship, Charlestown Navy Yard at Boston Harbor = http://www.ussconstitution.navy.mil/

(gun is fired each day at the lowering of the flag at sunset)

- free guided tour = USS Cassin Young WW2 battleship, Charlestown Navy Yard at Boston Harbor = http://www.nps.gov/bost/historyculture/usscassinyoung.htm

- free = Charlestown Navy Yard Visitor's Center, at Boston Harbor = http://www.nps.gov/bost/historyculture/cny.htm

- free guided tour = Freedom Trail (Boston historic sites) = http://www.nps.gov/bost/planyourvisit/guidedtours.htm

 

 

Massachussettes

- free = Halibut Point State Park (beautiful park on the grounds of an old quarry, with trails and beach) = http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/halb.htm

 

We stayed at this inn (Eagle House Motel = http://www.eaglehousemotel.com/) in Rockport MA, an hour NE of Boston, and just took the commuter train in to Boston to see the sights. This was perfect! Quiet, like staying in a B&B, and we enjoyed walking around the little town and out onto the wharf. BEST clam chowder I ever ate is in an A-Frame shack right on the wharf! And don't miss the little church that is down on the corner from the Eagle House Motel -- there is a British cannonball stuck in the steeple from when the British tried to land and take over the town in 1812!

 

This inn is only about an hour's drive from Lexington and Concord, so you could easily pack a lunch and go visit the sites of the start of the Revolutionary War!

 

 

New Jersey

- Liberty State Park (view of Statue of Liberty; ferries to Ellis Island, 1890s-1950s arrival point for many immigrants) = http://www.libertystatepark.org/

- free = Barnegat Lighthouse State Park (climb to top of lighthouse, in operation 1830s-1940s) = http://www.longbeachisland.com/history.html

- Cape May-Lewes Ferry (we saw porpoises and jellyfish swimming in the water during our crossing on the ferry!) = http://www.capemaylewesferry.com/

 

 

Washington DC

- free = National Archives (Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, letters to various 1900s US presidents, modern documents, etc.) = http://www.archives.gov/nae/

- free = US Holocaust Memorial Museum (somber, very worthwhile; covers 1930s-1940s) = http://www.ushmm.org/

- free guided tour = US Capitol Building (incredible artwork/architecture inside!), White House, Supreme Court (call your state's senator/representative 2 months in advance for timed tickets)

- free = Smithsonian Museum of Natural History = http://www.mnh.si.edu/

- free = Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum = http://www.nasm.si.edu/

- free = Smithsonian National Museum of American History = http://americanhistory.si.edu/

- free = National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden = http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/sculptureinfo.shtm'>http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/sculptureinfo.shtm

- free = National Gallery of Art = http://www.nga.gov/

- free = various memorials on the Washington DC National Mall

(Lincoln, Washington, Marines (Iwo Jima statue), Vietnam Wall, Korean War)

- free = Library of Congress (incredible artwork/architecture inside!) = http://myloc.gov/pages/default.aspx

 

Arlington National Cemetery

- changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (honoring fallen dead from WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam) = http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/ceremonies/sentinelsotu.html

- gravesite of JFK = http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/visitor_information/JFK.html

- guided tour of Robert E. Lee's mansion in the center of the cemetery = http://www.nps.gov/arho/

 

 

Virginia

- Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home) (innovatively designed home by Jefferson; beautiful grounds; several types of guided tours) = http://www.monticello.org/

- Colonial Williamsburg = http://www.history.org/

- Jamestown Settlement = http://www.historyisfun.org/Jamestown-Settlement.htm

- First Landing State Park, Virginia Beach, VA = http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/fir.shtml

Edited May 14, 2009 by Lori D.
added info

[Alessandra]

I didn't read all the posts, but IMO, Plimouth Plantation is not to be missed. It is a superb recreation of the 1628 settlement. It was one of the first places to be historically accurate -- breeding back farm animals to 17th c forms, etc. Plymouth is a small town, very easy to navigate, & of course the Mayflower II is there also.

 

Did anyone mention Mystic Seaport in CT?

 

If you have a specific route in Nj, I might be able to make some suggestions of things that would be worth a small detour, although not a major trip. A pp poster mentioned Fort Lee -- then you might want to see a WW II sub nearby; or, if you were at Jockey Hollow, you might want to look at Chester Mill, Fosterfields Historical Farm, Frelinghuysen Arboretum, etc, etc.

Edited May 15, 2009 by Alessandra

[Chris in VA]

The Edison museum in New Jersey is GREAT. You can see his very cool lab, and the black theatre he used to make early movies.

 

Also, Mt. Vernon (which has been mentioned) is easy to find, completely cool, and has an awesome educational center/museum with several interactive movies, neat displays and even a dress-up area! Fun gift shop, too. Just a stone's throw from DC without going to DC.

[Garga]

A lot of HSers in my group go to visit sites of the Underground Railroad. My kids are still too young to go (4 and 6), so I don't have many details about it. I just know that the older kids in the hs group love to go.

 

I'm sure if you google it, you'll find places on the Underground Railroad that are open for visitors.

 

P.S. I'm near Gettysburg, so the URR site that the hsers in my group go to must be somewhere within an hour's drive of Gettysburg.

[skaterbabs]

In Richmond there are TONS of things.

 

Maymont Park has the historic Dooley House and is a great place to let the kdis run off some energy. We like to picnic there and walk through the children's farm. It's a real favorite with our family.

 

Just a couple of miles away is Agecroft Hall, which is a historic Tudor estate that was brough over from England in the '20s and rebuilt brick-by-brick.

 

You also have the Holocaust museum, but I do NOT recommend it for children, it's very, very scary.

 

Other choices are the Museum of the Confederacy, the Edgar Allen Poe Museum, and the VA Historical Society. Old Town Petersburg and the Battlefields are about 40 minutes South down I-95. Of course there are TONS of old plantations in Central VA, including Berkeley Plantation where the first English Thanksgiving was held (two years before the one at Plymouth) and where TAPS was written.

 

Obviously there are also all the capitol things as well. http://www.virginiacapitol.gov/

[Maria/ME]

I can NOT thank you ladies enough! This has been a big help! I especially loved the suggestion of GPS (I'll be asking about that next ;) ) and Trader Joe's. Makes a lot of sense and will help us cut costs!

 

I hadn't thought of Valley Forge, either. D'uh. That makes sense. Bull Run would be wonderful, too. And we are VERY excited to learn that the American Shakespeare Center is right on the path we are interested in taking! Hey, it's not American History, but we are big Shakespeare fans! The prices look fine, too.

 

While we aren't doing Boston or Mass. area (we live fairly close) this time around I appreciate the suggestions as that is in the plans for fall or next spring! We have some friends moving to Plymouth area so we will be able to go visit and get some site seeing in, too.

 

Again, many, many thanks...Googleing away on some of these suggestions...

[skaterbabs]

If you want to hit Trader Joes and/or Whole Foods in Richmond, they're actually really conviently located in relation to Maymont/Agecroft. :lol:

[HollyDay]

VA:

anything in or around Fredericksburg:

Kenmore

Hugh Mercy Apothecary

Rising Sun Tavern

Chatham

Belmont in Falmouth

 

Spotsylvania battlefields

 

Jackson Shrine

 

Wakefield

 

Other areas:

Antietam

[Maria/ME]

Antietam is very much on the route with some of the other places mentioned that intrigue me, thanks for the mention of that!

[Sahamamama]

I completely sympathize with you in wanting to stay out of the urban areas, because for me, that would be the opposite of a relaxing, scenic vacation. On the other hand, part of the true character of the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic states is their urban complexity. (Of course, I tell my husband, when he wants to know where to take us, "Anywhere except towards the city. Get me out where the air smells like the back end of a cow, instead of the back end of a bus. Ah, the fresh country air!")

 

Here are our top picks for a more "country-fied" Mid-Atlantic road trip:

 

1. Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area -- Pennsylvania/New Jersey (This is a national park, with a lot to do in the surrounding towns. Canoeing, fishing, hiking, camping, shopping in historic little towns, railroads, trolley rides, historic sites -- and it's all in the scenic mountains/countryside of PA/NJ. If you go to this site and poke around a bit, you'll get the idea of what's "up thar in them hills." Be sure to check out the teachers' and kids' page for ideas on planning your trip.)

 

www.nps.gov/dewa

 

2. Longwood Gardens -- Kennett Square, Pennsylvania (SW of Philadelphia)

 

www.longwoodgardens.org

3. Cape May -- Cape May, New Jersey (beautiful Victorian homes and shops, nice and quaint, I think, plus the ocean is so pretty)

 

www.capemay.com

4. Valley Forge National Historical Park -- (General George Washington and the encampment of the Continental Army in the winter/spring of 1777-1778. Again, this is a national park, with a lot of information on the website.)

 

www.nps.gov/vafo

 

5. Shenandoah National Park & the Skyline Drive -- A national park in Virginia.

 

www.nps.gov/shen

 

6. Luray Caverns -- Virginia (If you are going through Shenandoah, you might as well check out Luray Caverns. Wait until they turn the lights out! Dark! :eek:

 

www.luraycaverns.com

 

7. Monticello -- Charlottesville, Virginia (Thomas Jefferson's beautiful estate)

 

www.monticello.org

 

8. Farmers' Markets/U-Pick Farms/Historic Farms -- This is an often overlooked venue for road trips, but we have enjoyed finding and "sampling" ;) these. All throughout South Jersey and out in Lancaster County, PA, there are roadside stands, farmers' markets, u-pick farms, and some living history farms -- many of these are free to enter, unless you purchase something. They could also provide a place to have a picnic, hear a band play, or stretch your legs a bit. Here are a few sites:

 

www.collingswoodmarket.com -- a large FM in Collingswood, New Jersey

 

www.howellfarm.org -- Howell Living History Farm in Hopewell, New Jersey

 

9. Lancaster County (aka "Amish Country) -- Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

 

www.padutchcountry.com

 

www.birdinhandfarmersmarket.com

In another year, if you have any interest in Washington, D.C., there is the national cherry blossom festival (I think it's earlier in the spring, late-March to mid-April). My parents went and said it was magical. I'm still hoping to pack the girls in the van and go down there some spring day. ;)

 

www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org

 

Have a great trip! :001_smile:

[Ibbygirl]

Ay it's a pity your not going as far down as Florida... we have the oldest national monument in the US here. A nice fortress that was built in the early 1500's! El Castillo de San Marcos or as we like to call it "El Morro" :) http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cardcow.com/images/castillo-de-san-marcos-national-monument-st-augustine-us-state-town-views-florida-st-augustine-32510.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cardcow.com/32510/castillo-de-san-marcos-national-monument-st-augustine-us-state-town-views-florida-st-augustine/&usg=__kQxvBAgd06jiduL3qni1WnFdW-4=&h=375&w=600&sz=71&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=ZoObvclYqjWfUM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Del%2Bcastillo%2Bde%2Bsan%2Bmarco%2BFlorida%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

[amiechoke]

Well, there's Colonial Williamsburg, of course. Don't let the "tickets" section of their website fool you - you can walk around the town for free. The tickets are for stuff like touring the Governor's mansion, and special evening events.

 

Frederick, MD:

Monocacy Battlefield

Civil War Museum of Medicine.

 

http://www.civilwartraveler.com/EAST/MD/frederick.html

 

Good luck!

Amie

[Maria/ME]

All right. This is getting out of hand. My 10 day trip is becoming a 15 day trip! I'll just have to do another road trip another time, I guess. :001_smile:

[Colleen in SEVA]

:lurk5:

[Sherri in MI]

Mystic Seaport (Mystic, CT)

Brandywine Battlefield (PA)

Franklin Mint (PA - outside of Philadelphia in the suburbs)

 

That's all I can think of for now.

 

Sherri in MI

[Guest Linda Evans Taylor]

If you are going to Gettysburg be sure to take the walking tour from the Best western downtown. It is so interesting. Also go east to Landcaster & Amish country. The Menonite culture center offers a private back roads tour for an extra fee but worth every penny.

[Farrar]

Get a National Parks Passport and stamp as you go. :)

[Ellie]

Well, there's Colonial Williamsburg, of course. Don't let the "tickets" section of their website fool you - you can walk around the town for free. The tickets are for stuff like touring the Governor's mansion, and special evening events.

 

Frederick, MD:

Monocacy Battlefield

Civil War Museum of Medicine.

 

http://www.civilwartraveler.com/EAST/MD/frederick.html

 

Good luck!

Amie

The Governor's Palace is separate from the other passes, and it's worth it.

 

Also, although there are many things that are free, the tickets allow you inside to see the artisans and more. I always recommend getting passes. :-)

[wapiti]

I don't know if this is encroaching too much on cities, but this is what I liked on a trip I took a few years back:

Lexington/Concord, MA: The Wright Tavern (where the minutemen met), The Minuteman Statue

:iagree: We recently went to Minute Man National Park, and we were very impressed with the multimedia presentation in particular (we did not see all they had to offer, but hope to go back!)

[morosophe]

I hadn't thought of Valley Forge, either. D'uh. That makes sense. Bull Run would be wonderful, too. And we are VERY excited to learn that the American Shakespeare Center is right on the path we are interested in taking! Hey, it's not American History, but we are big Shakespeare fans! The prices look fine, too.

 

Hey, if you're going to stop in Staunton for a play (and I heartily second that recommendation), may I recommend a nearby attraction that *is* historical? It's called the Museum of Frontier Culture, and it is, hands down, one of my favorite places to recommend (and visit, when I can). It's a little pricey, but well worth it, in my opinion.

[woolybear]

Mystic, Ct. has the old seaport and a great (I've heard) aquarium.