The Brandy Awards Part II

Wrapping up Awards Season 2020 with a list of our favorite places in Virginia and beyond….

Best State Park: False Cape State Park in Virginia Beach. As I get older, I prefer solitude and seclusion over crowds. I think False Cape State Park is one of the best kept secrets in Hampton Roads. You can’t drive there, so we bike the nine miles (round-trip) from Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge to the park, then spend the day on the beach with a picnic lunch enjoying the peace and quiet with hardly anyone else around. This is perfect for a field trip in the spring; you’ll want to go before it gets too hot and humid.

Best (Quiet) Beach: Grandview Beach in Hampton; Cape Hatteras in Outer Banks.

Relaxing on the beach isn’t fun for me when there are other people on top of me, so I like to go where no one else can typically be found. We usually go on off-peak days and times. Grandview Beach is a nice beach on the bay, though it is a bit of a walk and parking is limited. We like all the towns in the Outer Banks, but Cape Hatteras is just lovely on a Saturday morning when people are changing over their stays for the week because we practically have the whole beach to ourselves. We park on the side of the road near the sound and can hit either the sound or the ocean if we want. Bring a bucket for seashell collecting; there are some wonderful ones to be found here.

Best Museum: Virginia Living Museum. Sadly, our kids have seemed to outgrown wanting to spend time visiting museums. We’ve gone to quite a few over the years, thanks to a reciprocal agreement with our annual passes to the Virginia Living Museum that allows us to enter certain other museums across the country for free. When the kids were younger, we used to visit the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond quite a bit. Those with wee little ones may want to visit The Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia or the Carnegie Science Centerin Pittsburgh. Of course, you also can’t go wrong with the Smithsonian in DC; I enjoy the National Air & Space Museum (the one near Dulles Airport in Chantilly). But, as an ‘80s music fanatic, my favorite museum is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.

Best Town in Virginia for families: Roanoke. Besides Williamsburg, of course, I quite like Roanoke, Va. for a weekend family outing. There is plenty to see and do downtown and in the mountains. You can read more about our experiences here: https://richmondfamilymagazine.com/article/your-next-family-field-trip/.

Best Quaint Town: Smithfield in VA; Cooperstown in NY. If you are looking for something to do on a Sunday afternoon, hop on the ferry from Williamsburg to Surry and head over to Smithfield and stroll downtown Main Street, browse the shops, then grab a bite to eat and a beer at Wharf Hill Brewing and dessert at Smithfield Ice Cream Parlor. (You can read more about our trip to Smithfield here: https://richmondfamilymagazine.com/article/virginia-attractions-oddities/).You can also take a leisurely walk along Main Street in Cooperstown, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. You don’t have to be a baseball fan, though, to appreciate the charm of this town. There are lots of unique shops and restaurants along the main drag, but you’ll also want to visit Brewery Ommegang, spend some time at Glimmerglass State Park, and enjoy dinner and drinks at the fabulous Otesaga Resort Hotel overlooking Otsego Lake.