Rediscovering America_ Exploring the Small Towns of Virginia & Maryland - Bill Burnham [2]
While most towns we’ve included in the book have populations of fewer than 25,000 people (most far less), we made sure the amenities the urban or sophisticated traveler requires were available. Each town typically has at least one quaint bed & breakfast or historic inn. Since we like to travel with our dog, we tried to include at least one pet-friendly lodging for the area as well. Each chapter lists a good selection of locally owned and regionally influenced restaurants, and enough activities to satisfy the on-the-go traveler for a weekend or longer.
Also included are some of the best outdoor recreation opportunities available just minutes outside the town centers. We gladly accept the label of “outdoor nuts." We love hiking and camping in the mountains of the mid-Atlantic region, walking along unspoiled beaches, or paddling ocean, bay and rivers, and photographing everything from breathtaking panoramas to tiny wildflowers. Best of all, we appreciate the hundreds of small towns, where history and hospitality converge.
These getaways are designed for the time-stressed traveler, the individual, couple or family that has only a weekend to spare, without traveling too far from home. Whether discovering a town for the first time, or rediscovering a much-visited one, we hope these pages will help take you far away from your regular routine in just a few hours.
Virginia
In 2007, the Commonwealth of Virginia commemorated the 400th anniversary of America’s first permanent English settlement. Virginia arguably has more Colonial and Civil War history to share than any other state. There is natural beauty as well, along sparkling white sand beaches, the rich waters of the Chesapeake Bay, or the spectacular mountain scenery of the Blue Ridge and the Appalachians. Virginia’s small towns combine the best of both history and natural beauty, changing with the times, but retaining their own authentic and special quality.
For general travel information, contact the Virginia Tourism Corporation, tel. 800-VISIT-VA, www.virginia.org, which also has a toll-free bed & breakfast reservation line: tel. 800-934-9184. Staffed welcome centers are located where all major roads enter the state, and are open daily, 8:30 am-5 pm.
Maryland
George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, won Maryland in a game of cards with King Charles I in 1632. The Potomac River as its southern border gave the state its unique shape and a prosperous seafood industry. Its decidedly Catholic heritage, as opposed to Protestant Virginia, is only the tip of how these neighbor states differ. There is character packed into the old fishing and farming towns of the Eastern Shore, or the railroad and logging towns of the mountain regions. Fast-changing urban regions around Baltimore and bordering the nation’s capital seem to melt away as the countryside moves toward the lowlands of the Chesapeake Bay.
For more information, contact the Maryland Office of Tourism Development, tel. 877-333-4455, www.mdisfun.org.
Maryland’s commercial airport is Baltimore/Washington International (BWI), tel. 410-859-7111, www.bwiairport.com.
Accommodations
Throughout the book we have listed accommodations that we thought were comfortable, noteworthy, or a good value. To assist you in planning your trip, we have depicted price ranges according to the following key. Rates are for one night, based on double occupancy.
$ Under $75
$$ $76-$125
$$$ $126-$175
$$$$ Over $176
Southwest Virginia
Resembling its closest neighbors, West Virginia and Kentucky, more than the rest