Birth of a Nation Tour
By Chesapeake CVB
05/27/2008
We’ll begin a journey back in time, tracking the course of our founding fathers in their quest for a New World, during our visit to Chesapeake, Virginia. We’ll enjoy outings to historic locations including Roanoke Island and the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse plus several historic homes and churches and a Hampton Roads harbor cruise. We’ll cap our visit with a trip to America’s historic triangle of Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Battlefield.
Contact Information:
t: view phone 757/502-4898
e: view email kmurden@cityofchesapeake.net
w: view URL http://www.visitchesapeake.com
- Visit Roanoke Island
- Explore Old Cape Henry Lighthouse
- Visit historic homes and churches
- Take a Hampton Roads Harbor cruise
- Visit Jamestown settlement & Yorktown Battlefied of Colonial Williamsburg
Tour Dates:
Number of Days: 4
Day 1—Chesapeake, VA
Arrive in Chesapeake just in time to settle in and depart for dinner at TownePlace at Greenbrier, Chesapeake’s new lifestyle destination center featuring restaurants, upscale retail shops and a large outdoor plaza.
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Day 2 – Chesapeake, VA to Manteo, NC
We’ll head south to the “Land of Beginnings” (aka Roanoke Island) where the first English explorers stepped ashore in 1584 on their quest for the New World. The Fort Raleigh National Historic Site features an informative film and complementary museum exhibits, nature trails and the Waterside Theater where the Lost Colony, a symphonic outdoor drama, is played out. We’ll stop to smell the flowers of Elizabethan Gardens before heading to lunch at the Waterfront Trellis in view of the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse. Our voyage continues with a trip to Roanoke Island Festival Park, a 26-acre island featuring a 16th-century ship outfitted with costumed re-enactors, an interactive museum, performing and visual arts displays and outdoor boardwalks.
Return to Chesapeake for dinner at Muroni’s, featuring delectable Mediterranean cuisine. While dining, a local historian will share details of the “Battle of Great Bridge,” an important Revolutionary War victory over the British.
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Day 3 – Chesapeake to Virginia Beach and Norfolk, VA
The first permanent English settlers erected the First Landing Cross on the shore of what is today Virginia Beach. We’ll hear more about it from an historic interpreter before exploring the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse and Museum. We’ll also tour the 17th-century Adam Thoroughgood House and Gardens before stepping aboard a Hampton Roads harbor cruise with views of Fort Norfolk (circa 1794), Norfolk International Terminals and Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval installation in the world. We’ll lunch on board.
The afternoon includes tours of 18th-century Moses Myers House and neighboring St. Paul’s Church on foot and a drive along the cobblestone paved streets of the Historic Freemason district. We’ll return to the hotel before enjoying a casual dinner and the movie The New World at Chesapeake’s Cinema Café.
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Day 4 – Chesapeake to Virginia’s Historic Triangle
A 40-minute drive from Chesapeake, Virginia’s Historic Triangle is home to Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Battlefield. An on-board historic interpreter will provide background on the historic area en route and also during a 90-minute leisurely walking tour through the living history of restored 18th-century Colonial Williamsburg. We’ll shop the upscale offerings of Merchants Square and enjoy lunch on our own at one of the Colonial taverns. Next, we’ll immerse ourselves in 17th-century life at the Jamestown Settlement which utilizes indoor galleries and outdoor exhibits to tell the story of the original colonists. Highlights include life-size replicas of the ships the colonists sailed, their fort and a Powhatan Indian village. The Yorktown Battlefield -- site of the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War—offers an introductory film and views of the preserved battlefields. We’ll sit down to dinner at a local favorite, Nicks Riverwalk Restaurant before returning to the hotel.
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