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So much to do:
Year-round fun awaits newcomers
BY MARY ESSELMAN WALKABOUT@READTHEHOOK.COM
When my husband accepted a job offer in Charlottesville, back in the
summer of 2003, I was 41, pregnant with our first child, and hormonally
woeful about leaving Washington, DC, the city I’d lived in and
loved for 20-odd years. We had two weekends to find a house we could
afford-- two rainy, dismal weekends-- and I remember sitting in the
back seat of our real estate agent’s cavernous SUV, crying behind
the rain-streaked windows as we drove past strip malls and through what
looked like one generic suburban neighborhood after another.
To be honest, the tears had started
on the way down from DC, when we passed the “Guns, shooting
range” signs, and pretty much intensified somewhere between the
Outback's “Bloomin’ Onion” billboard and the
Wal-Mart. Where were all the people? I wondered. Where was the damn
city, with its alleged Jeffersonian charm? What the heck did people do
here?
Maybe your newcomer experience
hasn’t been quite the snobby sobfest mine was, but still, in case
you’re wondering if there’s life beyond the corridor of
hell that is Rt. 29, here are a few words: Downtown Mall. First
Fridays. The Grounds and the Corner. Blue Ridge Mountains. Ivy Creek
Natural Area. Virginia Film Festival. Farmer’s Market.
There’s so much to do in this active, vibrant town-- from
shopping, strolling, and dining downtown to berry-picking,
winery-hopping, and sight-seeing in the country-- that you'll be barely
able to keep up with the options.
My favorite outings so far?
Saturday mornings at the City Market; the Dogwood Festival parade;
seasonal treks for berries, pumpkins, and Christmas trees; the Rivanna
Trail from Riverview Park to the Free Bridge; skating with Santa at the
downtown ice rink; lazy vineyard picnic afternoons; the Boar’s
Head Thanksgiving Turkey Trot; touch football at Darden Towe Park;
Halloween on the Lawn; meeting friends for tapas at Mas (and doughnuts
at Spudnuts, and sopes at Aqui es Mexico); local fairs and festivals,
and weekend walks around the neighborhood.
And there’s so much I
still haven’t done: eat dinner at Mel’s Cafe, have a drink
at the fancy-schmancy bar at Keswick, visit Clifton Inn and pretend
I’m a guest, hike Humpback Rock, run the Women’s Four
Miler, pull my oar with the Rivanna Rowing Club, tour Montpelier, spend
a day at Graves Mountain Lodge, check out a show at the Paramount, do
the Albemarle-Charlottesville Historical Society downtown walking tour,
picnic at Friday night polo, crash Free Union’s Fourth of July
parade, audit a UVA course through the Community Scholars program, get
involved with my neighborhood association, volunteer with the Legal Aid
Justice Center, take a hot air balloon ride, explore Waynesboro,
Scottsville, and all the other nearby places that seem to constantly
offer festivals, parades, markets, and outdoor fun.
Yes, this formerly blubbering Miss
City-Pants finds herself humbled by and beholden to Mr. Jefferson's
favorite town and its lovely, sophisticated, down-home delights. Get
out, knock around, live it up-- you’ll love it here, too.
Monticello- The mac daddy of
Charlottesville's history sites. Home of Thomas Jefferson, this house is depicted on the reverse side of the nickel. Draws about half
a million visitors a year.
Entrance fee: $15 adults; $7 children 6-11; children
under 6 free. Tours conducted every day of the year except Christmas Day. March-Oct, 8am-5pm; Nov-Feb, 9am- 4:30pm.
Tips: arrive when it's not crowded or get a "line-release" pass. Summer
is the busiest time; September and spring are sublime. 984-9822
HookTip
Lovers of all things
Thomas Jefferson should see Rob Coles
at least once. Complete with bright red hair and stirring words, his
famous Jefferson reenactments make you feel like you're in the presence
of Charlottesville's favorite son. What's Coles' secret? He's a blood
relative of the man himself.
UVA Grounds- Widely considered the most beautiful
college campus in the world. Free tours depart from the Rotunda
basement by UVA's famous Lawn. Designed by Thomas
Jefferson as the heart of his so-called "Academical Village," the Lawn's centerpiece is the Rotunda.The man himself lived to see it open in the
summer of 1825. Seventy years later, the Rotunda burned to its
brick shell, then was "restored" by architect Stanford White, and restored again
to Jefferson's essential design in time for the American Bicentennial
in 1976. Free guided tours of the Rotunda and Lawn include a peek at Edgar Allan Poe's room, #13 of course. Tours
meet daily (except during the winter when students are on vacation) at 10 and 11am, and 2, 3,
and 4pm at the Rotunda entrance facing the Lawn. 982-3200 / 924-0311
Parking
around UVA- Enjoying UVA is easy once you've found a map and a place to park. Parking decks are at
14th Street, on Emmet Street, under the UVA Bookstore by Memorial Gym, and
at the UVA hospital. If nothing's available in any of the lots, your
best bet is to check the open lots in and around the Corner, or look
for street parking.
The Corner-
At this enclave of shops, bars, and restaurants surrounding the
university, parking is tighter than anywhere else in town, but the
streetscapes are lively, and the shops are eclectic.
-->>See
our special section on UVA.
Downtown Mall- One of the few pedestrian malls in America
that actually works, it's the commercial and artistic hub of the city.
An eight- or nine-block stretch of bricks with about 50 restaurants and lots of shopping, it's the place to see
and be seen. The new Charlottesville Pavilion (245-4910) at the Mall's East End plays host
to all sorts of musical entertainment, from James Brown to Wilco
to Fridays After 5. The business group that seems to run the Mall is
the Downtown Business Association of
Charlottesville. 295-9073
Walking tours of downtown are offered at 10am Saturdays from April to October by the Albemarle-Charlottesville Historical Society at 200
Second St. NE. $5 suggested donation. 296-1492
Albemarle Charlottesville Historical
Society
has a small museum in its foyer at 200 Second St. NE
(the marble-columned building facing Lee Park). Mon-Fri 9am-5pm;
Sat 10am-1pm. 296-1492
-->>See
our special section on Shopping.
Main visitors center- It's operated by the Charlottesville/ Albemarle
Convention and Visitors Bureau, and it's located at the foot of Piedmont
Virginia Community College at Route 20S and I-64. A rich source of
information about area sites, food, and lodging, this same building is
home to a small museum called the Monticello Visitors Center,
which serves as excellent preparation for a
visit to TJ's "little mountain," located just a few miles away.
March-Oct, 9-5:30 daily, and Nov-Feb, 9-5 daily. Admission is free.
977-1783
Other
visitors centers- At the east end of the Downtown Mall,
there's a branch of the visitors center (977-6100), largely a brochure-distribution spot. Mon-Sat 10-5, Sun 11-3. Ditto for
UVA's visitors center on Ivy Road. 924-7166
>>See
Kid Stuff section for more.
>>See
Art Galleries section for more.
Ash Lawn-Highland- Located anywhere else
in the country, the home of President James Monroe would be the town's
biggest claim to fame. Standing here in the shadow of Monticello (and
Montpelier), it's often omitted from the big tours. But, as fans of
foreign relations doctrines can attest, this "Era of Good Feelings"
president was an important one. Tours 9am-6pm Apr-Oct, 11am-5pm
Nov-Mar. $9 adults, $5 kids ages 6-11. Locals get in for $5, or free with
full-paying nonresident visitors. 293-9539
Michie Tavern-
An actual old tavern that dates from the
1700s, this building was moved 17 miles from Earlysville at about the
time Monticello re-opened in the 1920s and serves a traditional
Southern fried chicken lunch by servers in Colonial garb. Open 9-5 daily
with free tours for locals (lunch served 11:30am-3pm). Located
just this side of Monticello.
977-1234
Environment- It may not be in the heart of the Rockies,
but Charlottesville has more than its fair share of outdoor and
environmental opportunities. The Rivanna
Trails Foundation, as part of its campaign to build a footpath
around the entire city, sponsors all sorts of hikes and work days
(923-9022), as do the folks at the Ivy
Creek Foundation
(973-7772). If you're looking for a little more action and adventure,
the Outdoor Adventure Social Club of
Greater Charlottesville sponsors outdoorsy trips all over the Blue
Ridge and beyond. 760-HIKE
-->>See
our Sports and
Recreation section for more.
The Miller Center- Studies and informs the national and
international policies of the United States with a special focus on the
American Presidency. Offers frequent 11am free weekday forums with
leading scholars and policymakers such as former Presidents Jimmy
Carter and Gerald Ford. 2201 Old Ivy Road. 924-7236
Revolutionary
War- British
General Banastre Tarleton camped here for a while after almost
capturing Jefferson, but a speedy 27-year-old horseman named Jack
Jouett heard about the plan at Cuckoo Tavern in Louisa and hustled to
Charlottesville to warn the Governor. Jefferson, after waiting for his
horse to be shod, sped to safety at Blenheim (estate of Champe Carter
adjoining Monroe's home, Highland). There was no southern Longfellow to
give Jouett the Paul Revere treatment, so except for Monticello and a few houses here and there, there's not
much to see locally except a plaque honoring Jouett in Court Square and
a middle school named after him.
Civil War- Charlottesville had just one little skirmish
in the war, at Rio Hill (now a shopping
center) when George Custer burned down a bridge over the Rivanna River.
Apparently, there is a display describing the battle on the wall of the
local Subway Sandwiches. Charlottesville does have a few monuments,
including equestrian statues
of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee in the middle of their namesake
parks downtown-- not to mention the obligatory pair of cannons at the
County
Courthouse. The Charlottesville Civil War Round Table is the de facto local source for wartime
info. They meet monthly for history discussions and travel to Civil War
sites all over the Commonwealth. 295-9463
-->>See
our Kid Stuff section for more.
Wineries
galore- See
our Wine Section.
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