A few weeks ago, we were thrilled to have my parents come to Virginia to visit. They stayed for almost two weeks. One week they were staying at a resort only 10 minutes away, and the Nomad kiddos were super excited to get to spend the week there. It was kind of like getting to go away for spring break to them. When you live a life of travel, and move to a new house every few months, getting something that feels like a getaway is rare when your life is already similar to a vacation.
During the week the boys stayed with my parents, Daddy Nomad still had to work to prepare for an upcoming overnight trip we were planning. I was able to get away, and take them on a couple of adventures to see some museums and a battlefield. We visited two places in the Shenandoah Valley; Frontier Culture Museum, and Virginia Museum of the Civil War – New Market Battlefield. Both adventures were outdoors, and we were fortunate to have beautiful weather on each day.
Our first day out was to the Frontier Culture Museum. This museum is a living history museum located in Staunton, VA. It is an amazing place to experience. Everything is hands on, and interactive. The self-guided tour takes you through buildings from West Africa, England, Ireland, Germany, and America; each telling stories of early immigrants, and their American descendants. The experience is worth every penny of the already reasonable admission price. The staff were all extremely friendly, and knowledgeable. The youngest nomad is still talking about how nice Jim the shuttle driver was. We all enjoyed our day back in time; our only regret was that Daddy Nomad wasn’t with us. If I was a resident of the area, I would definitely have an annual pass, and visit often. You can learn more about the Frontier Culture Museum here.
Our second day out, we took a trip to the Virginia Museum of the Civil War and New Market Battlefield State Historical Park located in New Market, VA. If you’re interested in Civil War history, and battlefields, this is one you’ll want to add to your list. I enjoy history, A LOT, and immersing myself in it is even better. I would love to visit again when they were putting on a reenactment.
The museum is home to exhibits covering the entire Civil War. There is special emphasis put on the role of the Virginia Military Institute Cadets, the war in Virginia, and the 1864 Battle of New Market. Outside of the museum is New Market Battlefield, as well as the Jacob Bushong Farm. The whole area is worth exploring. You can walk miles of the battlefield, and visit the farm. The farm was used as a hospital after the battle, and has some other interesting history to it that was fun to learn about. Again, the only regret was that Daddy Nomad had to work this day, too. More information about the museum, and planning a visit can be found here.
We had two wonderful, outdoor, and educational experiences (my favorite kind). The Shenandoah Valley is such a beautiful place, and these two places are good stops to plan when you visit the area.
These sound like such great places to visit – we would love them as we are big history buffs too. We are going to Colonial Williamsburg later this year and can’t wait
Sarah – They are great places to visit. I commonly go along with the family to see these things. But, Mama Nomad wrote the recap well enough that it was “almost” as if I were there 😉 As it pertains to Colonial Williamsburg, we recently did the Historic Triangle: Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. We are going to be writing a post on it soon, complete with some tips on saving money and some things to expect. Be sure to subscribe to our site so you will be notified when it comes out. And, if you have any questions, we are happy to reply. Safe Travels!
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