Memorial Day Weekend

May 24, 2005 3:55 PM

My girlfriend and I have had alternating business trips over the last month or so and we're looking to spend some quality time together this weekend. I live in the Washington DC area and would like to keep it within three hours drive time.

Any suggestions on places or events which would not already be booked up (this being a holiday weekend)? She's an artist and loves good food, good drink and the outdoors. I have a Labrador Retriever and I'd like to bring him along, but that's not critical.

posted by aspenbaloo to Travel & Transportation around Washington, DC (8 answers total)

It might be fun to take a short hike on the Appalachian trail. I recommend starting near the original Washington Monument (it looks like a milk bottle) and taking a day hike. There have got to be a few of dog friendly B&B inns in the area.
posted by Alison at 4:06 PM on May 24, 2005

what about Rehoboth and all those beach towns? the weather's supposed to be not that fabulous, so there should be rooms.
posted by amberglow at 5:06 PM on May 24, 2005

How about Cape May? You can take the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, which is a nice ride and relieves you of some driving. If you are bringing your Lab, I'd suggest staying at the Billmae Cottage, the only B&B in town that welcomes pets. In terms of things to do and places to eat, there's tons to choose from. I know there is a free Celtic festival this Saturday at the Physick Estate, which is a block down from the Billmae. A few blocks in the other direction there's a large outdoor mall where the streets are closed to traffic, and just beyond that is the beach. The people at the Physick Estate run tons of trolley tours and walking tours and so on, so I'd suggest poking around their website.

As for food, there are tons of top notch places. The breakfast buffet here is excellent. This restaurant/bar has the most exquisite view in town. This place has the best reasonably priced seafood. And this is my favorite restaurant for a special dinner. Of course, there are some great dives too if you're just looking for beers and burgers.
posted by katie at 6:54 PM on May 24, 2005

It's about 4 hours, but Chincoteague would probably fit the bill otherwise. I have no idea how full it is this weekend, but it's a pretty low-key, relaxing place regardless. There's several other places along the Eastern Shore that may be closer and less traveled as well.
posted by Hankins at 8:15 PM on May 24, 2005

Have you been to Luray Caverns? They're pretty touristy, but are still very neat, and Skyline Drive is only a few miles away from there. There are some very nice B&Bs in the Luray area, and some excellent restaurants.
posted by cerebus19 at 9:11 PM on May 24, 2005

Drive to Charlottesville, stop at the Bavarian Chef on the way (is it on 29?), and use Charlottesville and/or nearby towns as as a jumping-off point for the nearby Blue Ridge. Pop a little bit south to Humpback Rocks, and then up Skyline Drive to Luray, then back east. If you stay in C-ville and even vaguely tolerate beer, you'll want to go to the Court Square Tavern which has 23948209348092384 kinds of beer.

If Charlottesville is full-up, you could try Staunton or Waynesboro.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:37 PM on May 24, 2005

If you want to avoid the tourist crush at places like Williamsburg or Rehobeth, head west to the Canaan Valley/Blackwater Falls area of West Virginia.
posted by arco at 9:12 AM on May 25, 2005

I second the Charlottesville idea if you are looking for something nice and relaxing.

Get up early on Saturday and catch the Farmer's market near downtown, if you didn't get enough to eat grab something downtown (Marco and Luca's chinese dumplings, Garden of Sheba caribbean food), go out for a hike at Humpback rock (as ROU_Xenophobe mentioned), get a nice dinner at OXO (good desserts, usually) or C&O or (my favorite) L'etoile, walk around downtown or campus, have a drink or two, check the local paper if you want to catch a play or movie or a show or something going on at the school. Sunday morning get up and have a nice brunch at one of the restaurants whose names start with Blue, maybe visit a winery, have an early dinner and head back home.

There are some nice B&Bs and some pricier inns in the area, or plenty of hotels. Try to get something between downtown and campus if you like walking, but driving around isn't too bad. And be glad you aren't going during a football game weekend, which is when rooms are difficult to find.
posted by babar at 1:32 PM on May 25, 2005