[Heie]

So I'm in the area for the next 3 weeks for business and I brought my cameras with me and was hoping for those knowledgeable of the area to be able to point me to some lesser known gems


My focus is particularly landscape and architecture, especially considering the ultra-wide angle comparison review I'm in the middle of. Yep, I brought all four of them and plan to expand a lot of the comparisons to the scenery from area as well


Willing to travel up to an hour from VA Beach (I have a rental car), and I'll consider a bit further if something is truly spectacular and highly recommended.

Thanks!

-Heie

P.S., if anyone wants to meet up, I'd love to Currently got an apartment just outside Little Creek Naval Base.

[wstruth]

The first thing that comes to mind: the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel, My then teenage daughters even admitted it was a cool trip to do the drive and cross over it. I haven't been down that way for ages but ..

Check out the Eastern Shore on the other side of the bridge and tunnel especially any part of the old route 13 a classic blue highway. They made it into a proper highway now but some of the old exists as the "business" 13. I think 113 is a good choice too.

there is a small section of "historic" Norfolk too and you're not far from Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown.

If you have the time drive up to Annapolis, It's a beautiful old city in its own right.

And as long as i'm suggesting a northward trip think about Assateague island and Chincoteague they have wild horses on the island, at the national seashore, and every year they do a round up called the Pony Swim. They call them ponies but they really are stunted horses. The original stock probably came from run aground Spanish colonial ships. Until time caught up to them you could still find a few locals speaking kings english from centuries ago. It used to be that remote.

Worst case is you can always watch the porpoises from the beaches .

[Mr Bassie]

Williamsburg is pretty nice and my hometown of Richmond has a lot of nice architecture. The Ghent area of Norfolk is pretty nice from what I remember.

[OldPentaxFan]

Yorktown and the Hampton Rhodes on the shore line were good as well many years ago. Should still have some interesting sights along them now as well.

[THoog]

I don't know if this is "lesser known", given your professional affiliation , but Fort Monroe can be fun for wide angles - both seaside vistas and some neat 19thC buildings. Richmond is a little outside your range, but as wstruth says, Williamsburg and Yorktown are inside it. If you have time, check out the Military Aviation Museum just south of VBeach. They have a bunch of warbirds crowded into a couple hangers, which kind of demands wide-angles. That area (just south of VBeach) also has some cypress swamps that might be worth a shot or two for landscapes.

[Mr Bassie]

If you have never been to Richmond it is a pretty cool town. I like it much better than Virginia Beach. If you are driving back to Fayetteville then it is on the way home.

[THoog]

If you are driving back to Fayetteville then it is on the way home.

It's actually quicker to take US-58 west to I-95 at Emporia (even if you strictly obey the speed limits, which I recommend around Emporia). But I do like Richmond, too.

[Outis]

Well, I was going to recommend some stuff around Ocean City, MD but it looks like that's a longer drive than you wanted to do.

But looking at Google Maps, please tell me you're going to Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and Dismal Swamp State Park. If only for the name alone.