We exited the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesborough and headed east on Interstate 64 to a city called Charlottesville. We were both impressed by this city of about 40,000 people whose main anchor is the University of Virginia. It was founded by Thomas Jefferson, whose nearby mountain-top villa Monticello is a big tourist draw for the area. The campus impresses with its colonial architecture, and the downtown area features a pedestrian zone called the "Downtown Mall". In this area several blocks of a main street have been blocked off to traffic and now feature restaurants, galleries, retail stores and other attractions. Charlottesville was apparently chosen as one of America's most livable cities, and we could certainly see its appeal. We capped off a great outing with a tasty dinner in a Mexican restaurant in the student quarter and headed back to our home base over the mountains.

I am actually a travel writer who loves to explore international destinations. Feel free to check out some of my 700+ articles and interviews on http://www.travelandtransitions.com .

This video was taken during our fall vacation in Virginia on October 3, 2007. Our first excursion was to the town of Lexington, a historic settlement of about 7000 souls in the southern Shenandoah Valley. Lexington has a well preserved downtown and features two major academic institutions with impressive campuses: the Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute. The downtown streets are flanked by ecclectic retail stores in historic homes and the adjoining neighbourhoods are full of impressive mansions and mature trees.

Our drive then took us east to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic drive along the Appalachian Ridge that stretches 755 km (470 miles) from North Carolina to Virginia. Great mountain vistas opened up towards the west over the expansive Shenandoah Valley and the mountain ridges towards the east.

We exited the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesborough and headed east on Interstate 64 to a city called Charlottesville. We were both impressed by this city of about 40,000 people whose main anchor is the University of Virginia. It was founded by Thomas Jefferson, whose nearby mountain-top villa Monticello is a big tourist draw for the area. The campus impresses with its colonial architecture, and the downtown area features a pedestrian zone called the "Downtown Mall". In this area several blocks of a main street have been blocked off to traffic and now feature restaurants, galleries, retail stores and other attractions. Charlottesville was apparently chosen as one of America's most livable cities, and we could certainly see its appeal. We capped off a great outing with a tasty dinner in a Mexican restaurant in the student quarter and headed back to our home base over the mountains.

I am actually a travel writer who loves to explore international destinations as well as my chosen home town of Toronto. On Youtube you will find hundreds of video clips from a wide variety of destinations. Feel free to check out some of my 700+ articles and interviews on http://www.travelandtransitions.com. Also, my travel e-books containing stories from my trips to destinations such as Sicily, Havana, Mexico City, New York City, Chicago, Florida, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Halifax and many others are available right now at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/e-books.htm.

This video was taken during our fall vacation in Virginia on October 3, 2007. Our first excursion was to the town of Lexington, a historic settlement of about 7000 souls in the southern Shenandoah Valley. Lexington has a well preserved downtown and features two major academic institutions with impressive campuses: the Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute. The downtown streets are flanked by ecclectic retail stores in historic homes and the adjoining neighbourhoods are full of impressive mansions and mature trees.

Our drive then took us east to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic drive along the Appalachian Ridge that stretches 755 km (470 miles) from North Carolina to Virginia. Great mountain vistas opened up towards the west over the expansive Shenandoah Valley and the mountain ridges towards the east.

We exited the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesborough and headed east on Interstate 64 to a city called Charlottesville. We were both impressed by this city of about 40,000 people whose main anchor is the University of Virginia. It was founded by Thomas Jefferson, whose nearby mountain-top villa Monticello is a big tourist draw for the area. The campus impresses with its colonial architecture, and the downtown area features a pedestrian zone called the "Downtown Mall". In this area several blocks of a main street have been blocked off to traffic and now feature restaurants, galleries, retail stores and other attractions. Charlottesville was apparently chosen as one of America's most livable cities, and we could certainly see its appeal. We capped off a great outing with a tasty dinner in a Mexican restaurant in the student quarter and headed back to our home base over the mountains.

I am actually a travel writer who loves to explore international destinations as well as my chosen home town of Toronto. On Youtube you will find hundreds of video clips from a wide variety of destinations. Feel free to check out some of my 700+ articles and interviews on http://www.travelandtransitions.com. Also, my travel e-books containing stories from my trips to destinations such as Sicily, Havana, Mexico City, New York City, Chicago, Florida, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Halifax and many others are available right now at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/e-books.htm.

This video was taken during our fall vacation in Virginia on October 3, 2007. Our first excursion was to the town of Lexington, a historic settlement of about 7000 souls in the southern Shenandoah Valley. Lexington has a well preserved downtown and features two major academic institutions with impressive campuses: the Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute. The downtown streets are flanked by ecclectic retail stores in historic homes and the adjoining neighbourhoods are full of impressive mansions and mature trees.

Our drive then took us east to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic drive along the Appalachian Ridge that stretches 755 km (470 miles) from North Carolina to Virginia. Great mountain vistas opened up towards the west over the expansive Shenandoah Valley and the mountain ridges towards the east.

We exited the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesborough and headed east on Interstate 64 to a city called Charlottesville. We were both impressed by this city of about 40,000 people whose main anchor is the University of Virginia. It was founded by Thomas Jefferson, whose nearby mountain-top villa Monticello is a big tourist draw for the area. The campus impresses with its colonial architecture, and the downtown area features a pedestrian zone called the "Downtown Mall". In this area several blocks of a main street have been blocked off to traffic and now feature restaurants, galleries, retail stores and other attractions. Charlottesville was apparently chosen as one of America's most livable cities, and we could certainly see its appeal. We capped off a great outing with a tasty dinner in a Mexican restaurant in the student quarter and headed back to our home base over the mountains.

I am actually a travel writer who loves to explore international destinations as well as my chosen home town of Toronto. On Youtube you will find hundreds of video clips from a wide variety of destinations. Feel free to check out some of my 700+ articles and interviews on http://www.travelandtransitions.com. Also, my travel e-books containing stories from my trips to destinations such as Sicily, Havana, Mexico City, New York City, Chicago, Florida, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Halifax and many others are available right now at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/e-books.htm.

This video was taken during our fall vacation in Virginia on October 3, 2007. Our first excursion was to the town of Lexington, a historic settlement of about 7000 souls in the southern Shenandoah Valley. Lexington has a well preserved downtown and features two major academic institutions with impressive campuses: the Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute. The downtown streets are flanked by ecclectic retail stores in historic homes and the adjoining neighbourhoods are full of impressive mansions and mature trees.

Our drive then took us east to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic drive along the Appalachian Ridge that stretches 755 km (470 miles) from North Carolina to Virginia. Great mountain vistas opened up towards the west over the expansive Shenandoah Valley and the mountain ridges towards the east.

We exited the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesborough and headed east on Interstate 64 to a city called Charlottesville. We were both impressed by this city of about 40,000 people whose main anchor is the University of Virginia. It was founded by Thomas Jefferson, whose nearby mountain-top villa Monticello is a big tourist draw for the area. The campus impresses with its colonial architecture, and the downtown area features a pedestrian zone called the "Downtown Mall". In this area several blocks of a main street have been blocked off to traffic and now feature restaurants, galleries, retail stores and other attractions. Charlottesville was apparently chosen as one of America's most livable cities, and we could certainly see its appeal. We capped off a great outing with a tasty dinner in a Mexican restaurant in the student quarter and headed back to our home base over the mountains.

I am actually a travel writer who loves to explore international destinations as well as my chosen home town of Toronto. On Youtube you will find hundreds of video clips from a wide variety of destinations. Feel free to check out some of my 700+ articles and interviews on http://www.travelandtransitions.com. Also, my travel e-books containing stories from my trips to destinations such as Sicily, Havana, Mexico City, New York City, Chicago, Florida, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Halifax and many others are available right now at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/e-books.htm.

This video was taken during our fall vacation in Virginia on October 3, 2007. Our first excursion was to the town of Lexington, a historic settlement of about 7000 souls in the southern Shenandoah Valley. Lexington has a well preserved downtown and features two major academic institutions with impressive campuses: the Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute. The downtown streets are flanked by ecclectic retail stores in historic homes and the adjoining neighbourhoods are full of impressive mansions and mature trees.

Our drive then took us east to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic drive along the Appalachian Ridge that stretches 755 km (470 miles) from North Carolina to Virginia. Great mountain vistas opened up towards the west over the expansive Shenandoah Valley and the mountain ridges towards the east.

We exited the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesborough and headed east on Interstate 64 to a city called Charlottesville. We were both impressed by this city of about 40,000 people whose main anchor is the University of Virginia. It was founded by Thomas Jefferson, whose nearby mountain-top villa Monticello is a big tourist draw for the area. The campus impresses with its colonial architecture, and the downtown area features a pedestrian zone called the "Downtown Mall". In this area several blocks of a main street have been blocked off to traffic and now feature restaurants, galleries, retail stores and other attractions. Charlottesville was apparently chosen as one of America's most livable cities, and we could certainly see its appeal. We capped off a great outing with a tasty dinner in a Mexican restaurant in the student quarter and headed back to our home base over the mountains.

I am actually a travel writer who loves to explore international destinations as well as my chosen home town of Toronto. On Youtube you will find hundreds of video clips from a wide variety of destinations. Feel free to check out some of my 700+ articles and interviews on http://www.travelandtransitions.com. Also, my travel e-books containing stories from my trips to destinations such as Sicily, Havana, Mexico City, New York City, Chicago, Florida, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Halifax and many others are available right now at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/e-books.htm.

bikin south

This video clip was taken during our Virginia fall vacation on October 5, 2007. After three full days of out-of-town excursions we decided to relax and take it easy for a change. In the afternoon I rented a mountain bike at the Massanutten Resort and cycled up into the hills surrounding the resort. After a solid 50 minutes of sweat-inducing exertion I finally arrived at the top of the mountain ridge. There is a great lookout area on top of the mountains on the west side of the resort and I had a great view into the eastern portion of the Shenandoah Valley. Massanutten is a four-season destination that offers 14 ski runs with a vertical drop of 1,110 feet. The resort also features two golf courses and a driving range as well as a water park.

I am actually a travel writer who loves to explore international destinations as well as my chosen home town of Toronto. On Youtube you will find hundreds of video clips from a wide variety of destinations. Feel free to check out some of my 700+ articles and interviews on http://www.travelandtransitions.com. Also, my travel e-books containing stories from my trips to destinations such as Sicily, Havana, Mexico City, New York City, Chicago, Florida, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Halifax and many others are available right now at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/e-books.htm.

This video was taken during our fall vacation in Virginia on October 4, 2007. We decided to visit the capital of Virgina, a city with a metro area population of about 1.2 million people. Our drive from Massanutten was about 2 hours, and our first stop in the city was the Convention and Visitors Centre. We got decked out with all sorts of maps and brochures and I quickly video-interviewed one of the representatives of the tourism department to get an idea of the city.

I figured the best place to start the exploration would be right downtown near City Hall. Most of Richmond's downtown is made up of modern skyscrapers that are interspersed with a few historical buildings. The main sight in the area is of course the Capitol Building which we visited through its newly constructed underground entrance and exhibit area. I also checked out the Main Street Station, a historical railway station that has recently undergone a stunning renovation. We walked through Shockoe Slip, a neighbourhood of former tobacco warehouses from the Victorian era that have now been turned into lofts, retail stores and restaurants. We also walked down to the canal area, close to the James River, an area that has recently been undergoing a rejuvenation.

We also briefly drove across the James River to catch a great view of the downtown Richmond skyline and then headed west into a picturesque residential neighbourhood called "The Fan", so-called because the streets are laid out in a fan-shaped pattern. Our last stop was Carytown, a commercial strip in the city's west end with a variety of unique stores.

I am actually a travel writer who loves to explore international destinations as well as my chosen home town of Toronto. On Youtube you will find hundreds of video clips from a wide variety of destinations. Feel free to check out some of my 700+ articles and interviews on http://www.travelandtransitions.com. Also, my travel e-books containing stories from my trips to destinations such as Sicily, Havana, Mexico City, New York City, Chicago, Florida, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Halifax and many others are available right now at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/e-books.htm.

This video was taken during our fall vacation in Virginia on October 4, 2007. We decided to visit the capital of Virigina, a city with a metro area population of about 1.2 million people. Our drive from Massanutten was about 2 hours, and our first stop in the city was the Convention and Visitors Centre. We got decked out with all sorts of maps and brochures and I quickly video-interviewed one of the representatives of the tourism department to get an idea of the city.

I figured the best place to start the exploration would be right downtown near City Hall. Most of Richmond's downtown is made up of modern skyscrapers that are interspersed with a few historical buildings. The main sight in the area is of course the Capitol Building which we visited through its newly constructed underground entrance and exhibit area. I also checked out the Main Street Station, a historical railway station that has recently undergone a stunning renovation. We walked through Shockoe Slip, a neighbourhood of former tobacco warehouses from the Victorian era that have now been turned into lofts, retail stores and restaurants. We also walked down to the canal area, close to the James River, an area that has recently been undergoing a rejuvenation.

We also briefly drove across the James River to catch a great view of the downtown Richmond skyline and then headed west into a picturesque residential neighbourhood called "The Fan", so-called because the streets are laid out in a fan-shaped pattern. Our last stop was Carytown, a commercial strip in the city's west end with a variety of unique stores.

I am actually a travel writer who loves to explore international destinations as well as my chosen home town of Toronto. On Youtube you will find hundreds of video clips from a wide variety of destinations. Feel free to check out some of my 700+ articles and interviews on http://www.travelandtransitions.com. Also, my travel e-books containing stories from my trips to destinations such as Sicily, Havana, Mexico City, New York City, Chicago, Florida, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Halifax and many others are available right now at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/e-books.htm.