Activities:Walk to the rock in which pretty Indian Princess Pocahontas bathed; visit museums, churches, Central Park, downtown antiques shops, restaurants and cafés. See the 18th century Blandford church with its unique Tiffany windows, and the Blandford cemetery where 30,000 Confederate soldiers are buried and where the first Memorial Day was observed. Visit Pocahontas Island in the Appomattox River where native Americans had lived for millennia and where free African Americans established their first own settlement in the U.S. which still exists.
From Ragland it takes only minutes to the Petersburg National Battlefield, the spectacular Pamplin Park Civil War Site, the New Millennium Movie Studios, the Fort Lee military base, or Southpark shopping mall. In between 15 and 30 minutes distance there are several of America's oldest and still working tobacco and cotton plantations with their stately homes open to the public. (For instance, how about having Thanksgiving dinner at the Berkeley Plantation where the first Thanksgiving was celebrated?) See a large 18th century style plantation home being built, now! Visit America's oldest peanut plantations. Go hiking in the Pocahontas State Park or in the Virginia Retreat region on its trails along the Appomattox river.
Colonial history:Where America began: The Jamestown settlement with its palisaded fort, ships and native American village is the place where Princess Pocahontas married the first British farmer, John Rolfe, who introduced tobacco cultivation, the source of Virginia´s wealth. (1 hour by car)http://www.history.org/ Colonial Williamsburg, the restored 18th century British capital, is a unique living museum with hundreds of acres of village green dotted with historic buildings, trade sites, taverns, and more. (1 hour) The Yorktown Victory Center recaptures the decisive battle of the American revolution. (1 hour 20 minutes) Beautiful Richmond, the capital of Virginia and the Confederate States, offers many impressive sites, including the White House of the Confederacy where Southern President Jefferson Davis resided, and the Fan, said to be America's largest Victorian residential district, with Monument Avenue, the "Champs Elysées of the South." (20 minutes)
Attractions and sports:Leisure parks: Busch Gardens (Williamsburg); Water Country USA (Williamsburg); Paramount's Kings Dominion,(north of Richmond). Golf: Numerous excellent golf courses open to the public. Sailing: On the majestic James River and in the Chesapeake Bay. Fishing: In the Appomattox and James Rivers, as well as in the Chesapeake Bay. Deep sea fishing in Virginia Beach (Atlantic). Swimming: In nearby Lake Chesdin; Norfolk (Chesapeake Bay beach, 1 hour 30 minutes); Virginia Beach (Atlantic, 1 hour 45 minutes); Sandbridge (unspoilt Atlantic beach, no hotels, 2 hours); on the Outer Banks of North Carolina or among the wild mustangs on Chincoteague/Assateague islands (3-4 hours). In winter: ask for our special four-day (or longer) inclusive trips to the Bahamas. Hiking: The Virginia Retreat starts in Petersburg and offers hiking trails in unspoilt nature, following General Lee´s historic retreat from Petersburg to his surrender at Appomattox. America's longest hiking path, the Appalachian Trail, follows Virginia's Blue Ridge and Shenandoah mountains (2 hours.
Excursions:The Ragland Mansion is only two hours away from Washington D.C., from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello home in the Shenandoah mountains, and not far from many other beautiful and interesting sites and cities, such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta, Charleston, Savannah...
Directions:From the U.S. or abroad by plane: Arrival at Richmond airport. Transfer by taxi (30 minutes). From abroad: Arrival at three Washington D.C. airports (Dulles, Reagan/National or Baltimore/Washington). Transfer by rental car or AMTRAK train. By car: Take Interstate 95 (the Boston-Miami highway) or Interstate 85 (Atlanta-Petersburg). If traveling southbound, take I-95 Exit 52 Petersburg Downtown/Washington Street; if traveling northbound take I-95 Exit 50D Washington Street. At the third traffic light on Washington Street (one way) turn left on S. Sycamore Street. The house is at the left hand corner of the second intersection (Marshall Street). Enter Marshall Street and park behind the house on private lot. By train: Petersburg AMTRAK station on the Boston-Miami route. Take taxi or phone for pickup. By Greyhound bus: Petersburg station is within short walking distance.
205 South Sycamore Street Petersburg, Virginia 23803
Copyright © by Carl von Loesch. All rights reserved.
| |||||||||||||||
