Water Country Weekend

Last chance to join the Potomac Chapter’s fun and exciting Fall Tour to historic Tidewater Virginia and the beautiful Outer Banks of North Carolina

No, Hurricane Ophelia did not affect the areas where we will travel!!

Friday, October 28- We will meet at the Park-and-Ride lot on Highway 211 east of Warrenton, VA at 8:30 am, leaving at 9:00 am. We will follow US Highway 17 stopping for lunch at approximately 11:00 at Lowery’s Seafood Restaurant in Tappahanock, VA. From there we will continue south on US 17. At Yorktown we will join the Colonial Parkway to Jamestown where we will ferry the James River enroute to Smithfield, VA. We will have dinner and spend the night at Smithfield Station. Members may make their own reservations by calling 757-357-7700 before mid-October (the block reservation will be cancelled then) and asking for the Potomac Chapter block. Rooms range from $75 though $99 to $125 (these are very nice rooms, $99 and $125 rooms overlook the water and marina. For more information browse www.smithfieldstation.com.

Saturday, October 29- We will leave Smithfield at 8:30 returning to US 17 southbound along the Great Dismal Swamp Canal in to North Carolina. Leaving US 17 we will follow US 158 and NC 168 to the Outer Banks. Our first visit will be the Wright Memorial Historical Park at Kill Devil Hills, site of the first successful powered flight. We will have lunch at Manteo at your choice of The Weeping Radish, (German restaurant and micro-brewery), or Darrell’s, (local, inexpensive seafood restaurant) After briefly touring historic Manteo we will head south on NC highway 12 to Cape Hatteras through miles of unspoiled National Seashore. We will visit the Cape Hatteras lighthouse for a photo op then we will check in to the Comfort Inn at Buxton. Browse http://outerbankscomfortinn.com/. Our group rate is $80. Reservations must be made before mid-October (the block reservation will be cancelled then) by calling 1-800-432-1441 and asking for rooms blocked by Paul Johnson. Note- if the phone rings more than four times at the Buxton location, it automatically transfers to the Comfort Inn Central Reservations Office. They will know nothing about the rooms blocked. If this happens when you try to make a Buxton reservation, either hang up and try again or call their local number, 252-995-6100. We will have dinner at the Austin Creek Grille at Hatteras Landing in nearby Hatteras Village. Browse www.hatteraslanding.com/austincreekgrille/index.cfm to preview menus and the location.

Sunday, October 30- We will leave Buxton at 9:00 am driving to the Hatteras Ferry Landing where we will ferry to Ocracoke Island. After driving the length of the island we will park near the Ferry Landing where we will wait to board a ferry to Swan Quarter, NC. Travelers MUST make their own reservations for the 12:30pm Swan Quarter Ferry (call 800-345-1665). Lunch will be at the option of each traveler. From Swan Quarter we will tour to Edenton, NC, a beautiful historic waterfront town. Travelers may make their own arrangements to stay at either the Hampton Inn (252-482-3500) or Super 8 Motel (252-482-2017). Advertised rates $65.70 and $51.26 respectively. Group rates are the same as AAA or AARP so a block of rooms has not been booked. Browse: http://www.hamptoninn.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml?moreDesc=true&ctyhocn=EDNNCHX or http://www.super8.com/Super8/control/Booking/property_info?propertyId=14943&brandInfo=SE. These motels are across the street from each other.

Note- for those not wanting to extend through Monday, they may leave Buxton northbound on NC 12. The distance from Buxton to Springfield, VA is 324 miles by the most direct route.

Monday, October 31- We will leave Edenton traveling north on NC/VA 37 and 32 to Suffolk, VA. We will turn west on US 460 toward Petersburg. After lunch we will continue west on US 460 to I-295 south of Richmond. We will follow I-295 to I-95 then proceed homeward either on I-95 or US 1 at the option of the traveler.

Contact Paul Johnson for more information at

thejohnsons@frontiernet.net, 304-876-3347 or 1122 Duncan Rd, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425