LoveForLife Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Boy, I sure would like some suggestions/feedback on the plans that I have in place for our vacation to Virginia in September. We are a family of six, ages of the sweeties are 11, 9, 6, and a 3. I've reservations for us to stay at the Ocean Beach Resort Club on Virginia Beach. We plan to drive to Williamsburg, check-out Jamestown colony, and the Air and space museum (?-my husband mentioned something about this). I would love any suggestions...places that are a MUST to visit, is the Ocean Beach Resort a nice place to stay (my research tells me it's a 4 star-it sounds nice), and should we stop off and do a short excursion in D.C. ....... any suggestions would be much appreciated!!!! By the way, the two older boys are studying the American Revolution. Also, please let me know about the weather, what we can expect for mid-September. My husband and oldest son have a VERY hard time in hot/humid weather. :tongue_smilie: THanks in advanced for any helpful tips. From Michigan... :auto: Lorraine :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Heather Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Well, you may want to prepare your dh and son for the worst... September in VA is usually still pretty hot and humid, although staying at the coast should make things more enjoyable. You should plan for hot and humid and then bring a jacket and pants just in case. Autumn doesn't really happen around here until October. Temperatures will likely be in the 90's or upper 80's if you are visiting in the first half of the month and may be still that hot during the latter part of the month. When are you coming? Col. Williamsburg has home educator days for a week or two in Sept. and the tickets are MUCH reduced. You should go to the Jamestown excavations and Yorktown, too if you have time. I would certainly try to go to Washington if you don't plan on coming back for a while, but it is probably at least a 3-4 hour drive from the beach. If you like oddities, you might want to go on the excursion to Tangier Island. They were so isolated that their dialect more closely resembles Elizabethan English than modern. Nauticus (the science museum) in Norfolk is pretty cool and is next to the battleship Wisconsin (I think it is the Wisconsin.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 September should be okayish for heat and humidity. Some Septembers are cool, others are in the dog days... wish I could be more help on that front. I would DEFINITELY do a stop in DC. You could spend your entire vacation there and still not see everything. The Air and Space Museum is really cool, my dcs LOVE it, there's tons of museums. How much history were you going for? George Washington's house (Mount Vernon) is really nice, you get to see the bed he died in and his tomb, both of which are more moving than one might expect. Further south, Fredericksburg, you can visit his (GW's) boyhood home (Ferry Farm). Then, out here (Westmoreland) you can see his birth place, and the tombs of some of his family, but we're pretty out of the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveForLife Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 THanks for the responses!! Good suggestions! Also, would you recommend we stay somewhere else or are we fine on Virginia Beach???? Lorraine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 VA Beach is really nice. It depends on what you're going for; a historical vacation, a vacation vacation, iykwIm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveForLife Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 incorporate both a relaxing beach vaca. and throw in some of the historical aspects. Do you think that is doable? THanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 You need two days in Williamsburg. You must see the movie at the information center--kinda corny, but still a must--and the Governor's Mansion (which is an additional cost to the pass you'll buy). Two days lets you see everything in a leisurely fashion. While in Williamsburg you should eat one meal at the Old Chickahominy House (only breakfast and lunch are served). Of course you must visit Washington, D.C. In a day you can see all the major monuments, and if time is short you'll want your dc to at least see and remember those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Virginia Beach is fun. We go every year in May with my parents. I think if you are looking for mostly a relaxing fun vacation with some side-trips to historical sites it sounds like a great place to stay. Personally, I'd skip DC. It's a 4 hour drive from Va Beach so would be hard to do as a day trip and really see any part of DC. I live in Northern Virginia and love all the things to do in DC but I think it would likely be a better vacation if you focus more where you are. In VA Beach...we like the aquarium a lot. http://www.virginiaaquarium.com/. I don't know where you are from, so if you are from somewhere with a big aquarium it might not be worth it. The one in Va Beach is small but very doable in a few hours. My boys both love going every year. They are doing a big renovation/addition this year which we missed but should be open by Sept. The aquarium also offers dolphin watching boat cruises. We did that this year and it was a great experience. The boat ride is about 60-90 minutes and you see a lot of dolphins very up close. Another interesting thing to see is the lighthouse at Fort Story. http://www.virginiawind.com/virginia_travel/fort_story.asp. It's on a military base but you can visit it. And then of course, there is the beach itself. :) As others mentioned, Willimasburg, Jamestown and Yorktown are all interesting. Norfolk has Natuicus and the battleship tour is pretty cool. A fun park is Mt. Trashmore. http://www.virginia.org/site/description.asp?attrID=24654. It will be on the highway driving to and from the other day trips so might be a fun place to stop and have your kids run off some steam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in SJ Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Just as a silly side note, I haven't seen vacation shortened to vaca. Vacay yes, vaca no. My high-school spanish kicked in & I thought; "Why would you be taking a cow to Virginia?" Blond moment for the day...check. Amber in SJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I recommend you buy Kids Love Virginia and use that for your planning. We always purchase the "Kids Love" books before we go on vacation in the East! Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 The Living Museum is great. It is on the other side of the tunnel, so it's about a 40 minute drive if you go at a time without a lot of traffic. It's my favorite museum in Tidewater. http://www.thevlm.org/ The Air and Space and Mariner's Museums are both on that side of the water as well. http://www.vasc.org/ http://www.mariner.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Any way you could stop over in Fredericksburg on your way to DC?? For Revolutionary War living history, F'berg is awesome!! I actually prefer it to Williamsburg because the buildings are the originals not reproductions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 (edited) The Living Museum is great. It is on the other side of the tunnel, so it's about a 40 minute drive if you go at a time without a lot of traffic. It's my favorite museum in Tidewater. http://www.thevlm.org/ The Air and Space and Mariner's Museums are both on that side of the water as well. http://www.vasc.org/ http://www.mariner.org/ I second all of these for kids as well as adults. I attached a picture from our last trip of my favorite resident at the VA Living Museum Edited June 23, 2009 by Blessedfamily Added photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Lorraine, If you need anything while in Va Beach, just let me know. I live about 10 minutes from the beach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 My high-school spanish kicked in & I thought; "Why would you be taking a cow to Virginia?" Blond moment for the day...check. :iagree: Me too. (And I'm a brunette.) Hope you have a moooooovelous time on your vaca! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveForLife Posted June 24, 2009 Author Share Posted June 24, 2009 alll of you who responded to my questions. All the suggestions were great and I added them to my travel journal. We are very excited and the kids keep asking when are we leaving.... :auto: Also Dawn and Staci, thanks for your offer to answer questions while we are in Virginia. THat was so kind and thoughtful of you both. I may have to take you up on it :) Once again, thank you so much!! Lorraine :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leanna Tomlinson Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I just got back from Williamsburg last week. There are two sets of reenactments going on each day. One is done on MWF, and the other is TThS. The "main events" are each day at 3:15. We didn't know this until we arrived; it would have been helpful in our planning. If you can catch the guy that play Patrick Henry on the MWF schedule, he was GREAT. He talks solo at 10:00 am on those days. He gives his talk behind the palace where there are plenty of benches in the shade. The stuff that happens at 3:15 is all in the sun, so get there a little early and try to grab one of the few benches under a tree. There was an incredible fife and drum corp on Friday afternoon near the courthouse around 4:45. It was the best one we saw all week. Also, our GPS and Williamsburg are not totally in sync....if you FEEL like you need to go left and it says right.....go with your gut.:) Have fun! Leanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I live about 2 miles away from Chickahominy House and I second the recommendation! A few additional thoughts -- Both Yorktown and Jamestwon have two sites -- a state-run reenactment place and the National Park Service-run "real" historic site. If possible, I recommend seeing both. The historic sites are amazing because THAT is where the action really happpened! The NPS has some great ranger-leg tours that help visitors get the most of the sites. The reenactment sites are fun because there is a fort, an Indian village, and ships at Jamestown and a encampment at Yorktown, all populated with costumed interpreters that love to talk and answer questions. There are pretty decent museums at both sites too. Do stop by the Yorktown waterfront when you drive from the NPS Yorktown site to the reenactment site. There is a Ben and Jerry's there and it is a wonderful place to poke around and enjoy the York River. If you see my son on the ships at Jamestown, say hello! (He volunteers there.) :) And if you see the girl with the blond ponytail in the fife and drum corps, that's my daughter! :) Enjoy your visit! And just be prepared to sweat through a lot of clothes. I am a New Englander, and I've found being hot isn't so bad if you just resign yourself to being sweaty -- and you drink a LOT of water! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I live about 2 miles away from Chickahominy House and I second the recommendation! You do?! Girl, next time I visit my family in Virginia Beach, I'll do a shout-out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Did anyone mention Busch Gardens? The most beautiful theme park ever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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