One of our first states on “Round 2” of our trip was Virginia!
Virginia has a special place in our hearts because we went to college in Lynchburg, Virginia (at Liberty University). Between our college years and then living not far from the Virginia line (in Columbia, Maryland) after we got married, we have spent a decent amount of time in Virginia. So we were extra excited to discover some new places, and go back to places we’d been before but not together.
Here’s our recap of our favorite things to do in Virginia!
Nature
Shenandoah National Park
One thing we took for granted when living in Virginia is how beautiful it is! Even though most things were still dead from winter, we were really impressed with Virginia after looking at it with fresh eyes. We especially loved seeing God’s beautiful creation in Shenandoah National Park!
Luray Caverns
Hud had visited Luray Caverns as a kid and remembered really enjoying it, so we decided to visit together. We have been to a number of caves during our trip, and we were impressed with the expansiveness of Luray. I kept imagining what it must have been like to discover it for the first time! We had a great tour guide who shared that history with us as we admired the various stalagmites and stalactites.
History
Richmond
We’re trying to see as many state capitals as possible, so we really enjoyed our time in Richmond and getting to see the Virginia capitol building!
Monticello
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello was only an hour away from our university, but we’d never been there together. We’re not huge history buffs, but during our trip we’ve made a point to see as much history as we can. It was very interesting to see inside the actual home of our nation’s third president and learn more about what life was like in his day. Also, the view from the plantation is gorgeous!
Williamsburg
We had both been to Williamsburg as kids, so we were extra excited to visit together. We began our visit at Jamestown Settlement, and were amazed at how much we learned!
At both Jamestown Settlement and its sister site, the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, there are “living history” areas which depict what life was like in that day.
It was very impressive to see a Powhatan Indian Village, James Fort, and even recreations of the Jamestown Settlement ships! Between these reenactments and the museum displays, we learned SO much and walked away which a much greater knowledge of American history. We wished we would have had more time to spend there!
Although we only had two days in Williamsburg, our America’s Historic Triangle tickets allowed unlimited access for seven consecutive days to Jamestown Settlement, Historic Jamestowne, Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown Battlefield and American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. They are definitely worth their value if you plan to visit multiple attractions!
Jamestown Settlement was our favorite attraction (and they also have an amazing cafe with decently-priced food), but you have to visit the actual locations of Historic Jamestown and Yorktown, and we also really enjoyed walking around Colonial Williamsburg and seeing the various reenactments there. It sure put things into perspective of the “difficulty” of life today! Spending time in Williamsburg made me appreciate American history so much more.
Friends
Liberty University
We LOVED visiting Liberty University and getting to see how much the campus has changed in the past six years, plus spend time with some friends we hadn’t seen in a while! Community is something we’re SO grateful for, especially where we went to school. Not just anyone would give you a hot dinner and a shower or meet up with you literally spur of the moment, but being back at Liberty was the best, full of spending time with people we haven’t seen in years and were able to pick right back up with.
Community is something we’re SO grateful for on the road – getting to see family and friends across the country (and meet new friends, too!) yet at the same time it’s hard to not have consistent community. Any full-time RVer will tell you that there are days of missing family, a weekly small group, and a home church. So we’re excited to hopefully get to meet up with more people in the states we’re visiting this year (draw a straight line down the US from Minnesota and every state east of there, minus Florida and plus North & South Dakota, is where we’re heading :) If you’re in one of those states and would enjoy meeting up, let us know where you live and we’d SO love to grab dinner if we’re coming through your area!
Thanks, Virginia, for being a great way to begin “Round 2” of our trip! From the nature, to the history, to the people – there are so many awesome things to do in Virginia!
