what to do with visitors this month? (Charlottesville, Bedford: hotels, home)

[headnsouth]

We're hosting non-English-speaking visitors this month. What must we absolutely do bearing in mind that this will be the only time these guests will visit the U.S. in their lifetimes?

I'd love to include the following:

--apple-picking (or pick-your-own anything else in season right now, I guess that's pretty much apples)

--winery

--gallery/museum (the new one unfortunately won't be open until next month, any other ideas?)

--roadtrip oct. 17th weekend (maybe va beach? visitors live on the black sea but might enjoy seeing the atlantic -- oc md was my beach though, I've never been to va beach so lodging/must-see's there would be good too.)

[FC2CLT]

i know its a drive but i would take them to DC. they won't forget that

[Erin1264]

Yeah I'd second DC, even though I've never been there myself!!

[seanpecor]

Skip the beach. They're nothing special for someone living on the Black Sea. I would also recommend Washington D.C. There, you'll have an amazing selection of museums, events, art galleries, restaurants. For a not-too-expensive place to stay I'd recommend the State Plaza Hotel (Downtown Washington DC Hotels, Suites Located In Foggy Bottom & Reservations-State Plaza Hotel). They're comfortable suites that we enjoyed staying in during our last trip.

Sean

[Diamond Dave]

You can do both apple picking and a winery at Johnson's Orchard/Peaks of Otter Winery in Bedford.

Their ONLY time in America? Then they have to see Virginia's world class destinations. I would recommend Skyline Drive/the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I've never been to the Black Sea, but I can't imagine an inland sea being as spectacular as the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

DC would be okay...but they can see a bunch of museums back home, right?

[seanpecor]

The Black Sea area is absolutely gorgeous.



Museums you can get anywhere, but the D.C. museums are some of the top in the world.

I like the BRP/Skyline Drive suggestion!

Speaking of apples and wine, we just spent last weekend in Charlottesville. We stayed at the Omni which is at the foot of the walking mall and enjoyed the hotel. We toured Monticello and Montpelier, both of which were beautiful and serene. Nearby to Monticello was a pick-your-own apple orchard, and of course Charlottesville is vineyard central.

Monticello was a joy to tour. The home itself was a marvel. Montpelier was an example of world-class historical preservation. The Dupont family upsized Montpelier from 12,000 to 36,000 square feet. In 2003 the foundation (at the request of Maria Dupont, who gifted the estate) began the massive process of restoring the estate home to its James Monroe period state. So they tore off the 24,000 square feet of additions and brought the entire home back to circa 1820. I enjoyed both estates, but I particularly enjoyed Montpelier's estate grounds, which are a great example of classical hunt country beauty. Plus the 200 acre landmark forest behind Montpelier has some of the biggest old growth poplars and oaks I've ever seen. Many poplars were at least 300 years old. This last bit of information would not be of any importance to someone from Europe, but the forest was obviously host to some wild moonshine parties of yore I scored a great Charlottesville made Coca Cola bottle among all the Joy bottles and mason jars

Sean

[Diamond Dave]

That's nice, Sean, but does it top this?




You gotta watch those hurricanes in North Carolina!

[headnsouth]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I should have mentioned that they're all (~20 of them, one is staying with me) going to DC next weekend so they'll do the whirlwind tour then. Many of them are actually quite keen on seeing the Atlantic so VA beach is still a possibility for their last weekend here. But DC is definitely an option then too, since my niece's Buddy Walk is that weekend, which is always fun, and we could take our time at the National Gallery.

What I really need is ideas for weekday evenings. They want to pack as much into their trip as possible, so after a full workday they still want to do things. Every kind of food, and every activity from kitsch to opera are on the table. So we're going to ride go-karts at Thunder Valley and go to the haunted caverns at Dixie Caverns, and we went to the Art by Night open gallery walk the night they arrived. We also did the clean-our-waterways river cleanup yesterday w/picnic that followed, they were bowled over by the generosity of the city & friendliness of the people.

Keep the ideas coming, please!

[Diamond Dave]

Well, then, do Mill Mountain at dusk and stay till the star comes on.

Also, the Homeplace in Catawba for dinner.

If you're going to go all the way to Va. Beach, just go to the Outer Banks. It's a little farther, but Va. Beach is an overdeveloped tourist trap. The Outer Banks is the most beautiful publicly accessible beach on the East Coast. (The VA coast reserve on the Eastern Shore is THE most beautiful, because it's a series of 14 islands owned by the Nature Conservancy that are completely uninhabited and natural. But you need a boat.)

[Erin1264]

We have hosted some young businessmen from Japan and they really got a kick out of volunteerism as well. One of them helped build a bridge on the greenway at Fishburn Park and was SO excited about it!

I agree with the Homeplace as well, and the star!

I was going to suggest choosing a hiking trail to take in some of the beautiful fall days we are having, but that won't work so well in the evening.

Chateau Morrissette?