The town in which I grew up, Chestertown Md., is similar to Ashland. An old college, colonial histor

My late husband hotel amsterdam and I usually got away on Thanksgiving. Until we got a little hotel amsterdam older and less adventurous, we didn t even make reservations! Although I did pack turkey sandwiches just in case. I now make reservations and have adjusted where I stay as a single woman.
The destination this year is Ashland, VA. I spied the college from the Amtrak train once and thought it looked charming. Now that I m here, I ponder the efficacy of a railroad track running hotel amsterdam down the middle of the main street!
On the Tuesday before Turkey day, I left my Annapolis-area home at 11 to drive to this town about 15 miles north of Richmond. It takes about 2.5 hours via the main Route 95, about 3 hours via the old main Route 301. I took the older route and was only slowed down by local traffic in Waldorf and La Plata. Otherwise, traffic was very light. At about 20 miles before Richmond, GPS ( Keith ) guided me onto route 54 and Ashland. A right onto Railroad and voila, hotel amsterdam the Henry Clay Inn. It is on the west side of tracks which run down the main street and is located directly behind the Amtrak station (also the Ashland welcome center).
Parking is in back and there is a ramp to the entrance making hotel amsterdam this a good place for handicapped. There are also first floor handicapped-accessible rooms. This is unusual in an old inn but this inn isn t really old. The original 1868 building hotel amsterdam has burned to the ground twice and was re-built as an in in the 1990 s.
Check-in was smooth (I d reserved ahead by phone). The entry area is nicely-decorated in antique-y looking furniture and a nice Oriental rug. From a rather hotel amsterdam puny-looking desk area, one spies a meeting room, gift shop and breakfast room. Holiday decorations in the process of going up. Innkeeper, Susan, carried my suitcase up the stairs hotel amsterdam to my room on the second hotel amsterdam floor rear. I requested this location to avoid hearing the trains.
My room (213-a classic not premier room) has a queen bed, wing back chair, desk and armoire with ample room for storage, TV and iron/ironing board. Furniture appears to be reproductions. Private bath has typical hair dryer, ample floor space but no extra space on the sink. All of the rooms along the back of the inn have French doors to a porch spanning the back of the inn. I d give mine a B/B+.
It took 1 minute or less to get to the Amtrak station/welcome center. I picked up a brochure hotel amsterdam and map of the town and headed for Ashland Coffee and Tea. This looked like a funky coffee/beer shop with cast-off furniture. It is also a music venue and there s a large room with tables for that. Sandwiches, snacks also served. Good coffee break and I read the brochure and plotted my activities.
The town in which I grew up, Chestertown Md., is similar to Ashland. An old college, hotel amsterdam colonial history are the same. The major highway (Route 95) near Ashland make it more a bedroom community than my town seems though.
I walked along the west wide of the tracks and found a consignment shop for horse things called Changing hotel amsterdam Reigns (front door sign reads Trot on in! very cute.) New antique shop not open but Iron Horse Inn is so I stopped hotel amsterdam and made a reservation for 6 p.m.
It was very good except the beignets were shaped more like hushpuppies and were crusty on the outside and a little gooey inside. The trout was perfect and butchered so it looked like a boat of a fish with the stuffing where the bones had been removed. Panna cotta was fine dark cookie crumbs and 3 dots of raspberry sauce were cute.
Continental breakfast is self-serve. Four tables and artwork around hotel amsterdam as this room opens to the gift shop. I had a cup of sliced honeydew, English muffin (jam on one side, cinnamon/sugar on the other), coffee, banana and water. There was also hot and cold cereal and cut-up coffee cake. No one in the room but there is a used paper in the trash so I guess someone beat me to breakfast.
Decided to drive around the town and through the Randolph-Macon campus. R-MC is the oldest Methodist college hotel amsterdam in the U.S. Lots of building going on. Nice campus but I didn t walk around. I also backtracked to the intersection of Routes 301 and 54 to a funky-looking place I d spied yesterday. It s an antique store called Two Frogs on a Bike. It wasn t open but it was funny quirky.
Went ahead and topped off the gas ($3.19 for regular) and took Route 1 to Richmond with the idea of seeing the fine arts museum. Keith had trouble finding it without an address so 2 students and one policeman later I found this wonderful place.
Good parking garage ($5 for nonmembers) and there is a Chihuly exhibit going on (through hotel amsterdam Feburary 10, fyi)! At this point I m wheezing hotel amsterdam a bit so stop and get lunch (food helps for some reason). hotel amsterdam A glass of Museum Red ($7) and a hotdog and chips ($3.89) are the perfect combination perfectly paired LOL!
After lunch, I buy special ticket hotel amsterdam ($16 for senior) and I get right into the Chihuly exhibit. It is stunning, albeit only a few rooms. I am also impressed with VMFA s Art Deco/Nouveau/French wing and walk until I get tired. A stop by the gift shop (do you hear DH turning over?!) and I pick up a couple of books about the artist.
Keith is able to find my address in Ashland via Route 95. Unfortunately, traffic is snarly. Good map person that I am, I get off first exit and slip over to Route 1 and am able to get home easily. Well, except for the part where I miss the Route 54 turn. When I quit recognizing things, I plugged Keith back in and indeed I had overshot hotel amsterdam Ashland by 6 miles! Because of the earlier campus hotel amsterdam tour, I am able to get back to the inn more quickly hotel amsterdam via College Ave.
There was no phone number on the web site so I walked the 3 blocks and crossed the railroad tracks to Trackside Grill. I was warmly welcomed and given a big booth rather than one of the tiny tables for 2. Many photos hotel amsterdam of horse racing adorn this restaurant. I could see 5 TVs and a second room filled with video games. Had an excellent rib steak and an adequate hotel amsterdam Caesar salad the dressing hotel amsterdam had a little bite and home made croutons were tiny.
The grocery store and the 2 restaurants were the only things open on the street so I strolled back to the inn. The doors were locked so I used my key. Lights were low and the entire place had the feel of emptiness. Very strange. I started listening for Jack Nicholson!
Same breakfast as yesterday. Spoke to mother of the Innkeeper and it turns out she is the owner. We appear to be in the same age bracket so we chatted a good bit. They had lived in Reston hotel amsterdam VA in their other life. She with 2 babies and he an engineer. The babies are now the Innkeepers with their own babies and the owner is still scratching her head about how they managed to build and run an inn with no experience!
I packed up, checked emails, watched a bit of the Macy s parade hotel amsterdam then headed on to Fredericksburg via Route 1 for lunch at Brock s. Keith loves main roads and had to continually recalculate as I ignored signs for Route 95. Once I got there, I saw signs for Route 301 and decided to skip lunch and go home. I called Brock s to cancel and headed back.
Took back roads all the way back and enjoyed it. Would I live in Ashland? I don t think so. It s so similar to the town of my Maryland youth that I m wondering if I shouldn t just go back there! On the other hand, it is nice to have Richmond Va so convenient.