James River Plantations (page 2 of 3)

Points 4-6

4. Westover
One of the finest Georgian-style houses in America, Westover, unfortunately, opens its famous pineapple-topped door to visitors only during Garden Week in April. The rest of the year, you'll have to be content with admiring its magnificent exterior as you stroll around the landscaped grounds. They boast 150-year-old tulip trees, a formal garden, and a sweep of lawn that unfurls like a carpet down to the ever-present river.

5. Sherwood Forest Plantation
Three miles beyond Charles City's 1730s courthouse, which still serves as the civic heart of the community, is America's longest frame house- at 301 feet- and forms the centerpiece of this plantation. Once owned by U.S. President John Tyler and still occupied by Tyler family members today, the white clapboard house at Sherwood Forest can be seen on guided tours by appointment only. (To see the house, call 804-829-5377.) The grounds -- 29 acres of lawns, terraced gardens, and woods containing more than 80 kinds of trees -- also are open to the public. Included among the outbuildings are the servant's quarters, a 17th-century tobacco barn, and President Tyler's law office.

6. Colonial Parkway
After crossing a swing-span bridge over the Chickahominy River, Rte. 5 meets Rte. 614, which takes you to Jamestown Island. A five-mile auto tour loops through the island's marshes and the pine forests where the English began their first permanent settlement in America.

Colonial Parkway, a leisurely 23-mile drive threading amid dogwood and redbud trees, links Jamestown to Williamsburg and Yorktown. The parkway is punctuated with scenic turnouts and historical markers. At Colonial Williamsburg visitors can stroll the streets of the superbly re-created 18th-century capital of Virginia. At Yorktown they will be walking in the footsteps of George Washington, whose army triumphed here in the last major battle of the Revolution, thus assuring American independence.

• • Road Trips
• Family Travel

• East Tennessee Border Tour
• Along the rugged eastern border of Tennessee lies one of America's original frontiers, a realm of towering trees, shadowy hollows, and sparkling waterfalls. Traversed long ago by hardy pioneers, much of this land remains wild today.
• 
• Outer Banks Highway
• Breezy and beautiful, North Carolina's barrier islands are imbued with the spirits of the Wright brothers, sailors lost at sea, and the mysterious Virginia Dare.
• 
• Skyline Drive
• Weaving through Shenandoah National Park, the Skyline Drive is one of the loveliest roads in America.
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• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Soaring to the crests of the ancient Appalachians, America's longest scenic drive entices travelers with views of misty mountains and verdant valleys that have scarcely changed since the days of Daniel Boone.
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• Bluegrass to Pennyroyal
• This richly endowed landscape in the heart of rural Kentucky is famed worldwide for its champion racehorses, velvet-smooth bourbon, and colossal caverns.
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• More Great Road Trips!
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“ Prep your car for winter weather with these must-haves: a first-aid kit, blankets, shovel, rock salt, ice scraper, water, and nonperishable snacks. ”

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