Area's Attractions
Busch Gardens "The Old Country
Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been voted the world's "Most Beautiful Theme Park" for fourteen consecutive years by the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA) and named the world's "Favorite Theme Park" for the fourth year in a row. Additionally, Busch Gardens has ranked highly in Amusement Today's international "Golden Ticket Awards" survey in the categories of "Best Food," "Best Shows" and "Cleanest Park." The European-themed park took the top honors for "Best Landscaping" again this year, as well as winning the new category of "Most Beautiful Park."
Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, is the world’s largest living history museum—the restored 18th-century capital city of Britain’s largest, wealthiest, and most populous outpost of empire in the New World. Here we interpret the origins of the idea of America, conceived decades before the American Revolution. The Colonial Williamsburg story, “Becoming Americans,” tells how diverse peoples, having different and sometimes conflicting ambitions, evolved into a society that valued liberty and equality. Americans cherish these values as a birthright, even when their promise remains unfulfilled.
Downtown Hampton
Downtown Hampton is a picturesque waterfront village home to unique restaurants, one-of-a-kind shops, boutiques, art galleries, museums and more. Throughout the summer months, Queens Way and Mill point Park literally pulse with weekend Block Parties. The Blackbeard Festival, a local favorite, celebrates one of history's most infamous pirates. In September, the town celebrates its waterfront heritage with art, entertainment and the regions best seafood with the annual Bay Days festival. There is also an outdoor gallery; The Art Market features 22 pieces of sculpture located on Queens Way and King Street.
Endview Plantation
The "small, old-fashioned house" that is Endview perches comfortably atop a little knoll with a spring flowing at the foot of the hill and prime farmland stretching out in all directions along gentle slopes. This inviting location that drew the Harwoods in the mid-eighteenth century to build a family home has attracted hunters, farmers, and soldiers for over 3,000 years. Archaic campsites provide evidence that Native Americans visited the lands around Endview, perhaps to hunt or obtain fresh water, before 1,200 BC. Later sites show that Woodland Indians likewise hunted in the area and possibly even seasonally occupied the land right up to the time of the early European settlements of the seventeenth century.
Miss Hampton Harbor Cruise ... 10 miles
This 2 1/2 Harbor Tour departs daily from the Historic Downtown Hampton waterfront and proceeds out of the Hampton River, passing the point where Blackbeard's severed head was displayed on a post after his capture. Entering the Hampton Roads Harbor, you will be sailing the waters of Captain John Smith and the First Settlers. Your tour continues past Fort Monroe with a close-up view of the oldest operating lighthouse in America, and an awe-inspiring look at the magnificent Chesapeake Bay. The cruise will transverse around Fort Wool, a Civil War Island Fortress. The highlight of your cruise is an in-depth view of the massive warships at the Norfolk Naval Base. The return trip to Hampton features a captivating narration of the famous Battle of the Ironclads: the Monitor & the Merrimac!
Newsome House ... 12 miles
13 At the turn of the 20th century, the J. Thomas Newsome family moved to Newport News. In this industrial city, he established a law practice and prospered as part of the postwar South's new urban, black middle class. Through self-determination and a solid education, Newsome (1869-1942) became a respected attorney, journalist, churchman, and civic leader. His elegant Queen Anne residence served as the hub of the local black community from which he led the fight for social justice within the commonwealth.