Colonial Beach

In search of the closest beach to Charlottesville, and not lake beach either, the Atlantic is just too far. As the crow flies, a bend in the Potomac just east of Fredricksburg is nearest. Colonial Beach offers the first true beach town on this brackish body of water. Around 50 years ago, this was a bustling vacation hot spot buoyed by gambling at that time legal on piers over the waters of the Potomac. On the weekends, crowds from D.C. would board boats and disembark in this paradise near the bay. Well, in time, the laws changed, barring gambling off the shores of Virginia and within years the piers burned. That seems a little suspicious to me. Predictably, Colonial Bearch fell on hard times and today is trying to revive its image. Now golf carts are allowed in the streets and the real estate market is hot, at least warming up.

From Charlottesville, taking 20 to three through Fredricksburg seems to be the best way to travel. Colonial Beach can be reached in around two hours if the traffic cooperates.

The Dockside Restaurant sits in the marina at the end of the peninsula. According to staff, the crabs used in the crabcake sandwich are caught out of that marina. This claim is dubious owing to the depletion of the Chesepeake's crabs and the lack of any vessel in the marina resembling anything but a wintered pleasure yacht. Regardless, the sandwich was quite tasty and the coleslaw a worthy side dish. Old Dominion Brewery provides a pelican mounted tap beer that complemented the greasy fare.