The Virginia Presidential Tour

Trip Description

This is our second edition of The Virginia Presidential Tour ( . . . a bit overdue, I think).  The state of Virginia beckons Explore Up Close, like the Sirens.  It’s an absolute favorite place in the Southeast for its blend of histories, its geographic (and cultural) diversity, and the resources available for the state’s movers and shakers to care about preservation and to make things look nice.  On this adventure, we’ll wind our way through three distinct geographic regions of Virginia, seeing lots of beautiful countryside and villages, as we visit five presidential homes.

We’ll enter The Old Dominion via less-discovered “Southside Virginia” – home of the magnificent Berry Hill estate (our accommodation for the first night of the trip), lovely historic villages, and Patrick Henry’s Red Hill Plantation.  We’ll enjoy a pretty drive to the famous James River plantations and Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia’s Tidewater region.  While there, we’ll visit the homes of two presidential running mates – William Henry Harrison and John Tyler; and we’ll enjoy the stunning features of Williamsburg itself . . . Thomas Jefferson’s “college town!”  We’ll then ascend to the rich, rolling piedmont of Albemarle and Orange counties (Charlottesville area), where we’ll visit three presidential homes:  Jefferson’s Monticello; James Monroe’s Highland; and James Madison’s Montpelier.  Fabulous homes and gardens; regions of intact, preserved land holdings – lovely to behold; and fascinating stories, including new emergent ones, as the historical viewpoint and research have become more inclusive of all the people on the estates who weren’t called Mr. President.  Our inns will be exquisite:  the Berry Hill Resort; the Williamsburg Lodge, ideally situated for leisurely exploration of Colonial Williamsburg; and The Clifton Inn – originally a Jefferson family dwelling, with an appealing mountain estate ambiance.