US 1: Columbia, SC to Washington, DC

We're continuing with our US 1 series this week featuring the drive from Columbia, SC to Washington, DC, with a few stops along the way.

When driving US 1 south to north, South Carolina is the first state where the highway passes through or near the capital cities of most of the 13 original colonies, so it's a perfect route for travelers who want to visit the all the state capitol buildings.  In most cases, the Capitol building is directly on US 1.  Check ahead for tour information if this sounds like something you're interested in doing along the way.

US Highway 1

Columbia, SC to Washington, DC

11 hours / 475 miles

South Carolina
Picking up at the South Carolina state Capitol in Columbia, where we started our first ever back roads road trip to Key West a few years ago, we drove North through small towns and farmland on US 1.

North Carolina
US 1 enters North Carolina near the path Sherman's army took as it marched North from Georgia in 1865, and not long after it passes by a Revolutionary War POW exchange site.  The second of many state Capitol buildings situated along the route is in Raleigh.

Virginia
We stopped in Richmond for a few hours to stretch our legs and visit a couple of museums after driving past the third state Capitol building on US 1.

The Edgar Allan Poe Museum is located within a house that was once visited by the Marquis de Lafayette, but Poe never lived in it.  The museum covers Poe's life: the death of his mother, his adoption by the Allan family, his time in the Army and at West Point, and his career as a writer.  The museum's collection contains items that belonged to Poe, letters and manuscripts that he wrote, and even a lock of his hair!  Outside, two black cats prowl around the peaceful courtyard inspired by Poe's poem To One in Paradise.

One cat is named Edgar; I assume the other is either Allan or Poe.

The American Civil War Museum is located next door to the White House of the Confederacy.  It introduces visitors to several Southern generals and covers the major Civil War battles from beginning to end.  The exhibit displays Civil War artifacts, including weapons, uniforms, letters, and more.  Visitors have the choice of visiting both the Museum and the White House of the Confederacy or just choosing one or the other for roughly half the price.  We skipped the White House of the Confederacy so we could pass through the Monument Avenue historic area and get our of town before 5:00 traffic.

Monument Avenue is a wide tree-lined street with historic town houses facing a grassy median containing large monuments at various intervals.  After a drive to one end, we turned around to get back to US 1 and head North to Fredericksburg, our final stop of the day.

Carl's frozen custard shop was hopping as we drove in to Fredericksburg,
so of course we had to stop to see what all the fuss was about!

Fredericksburg is possibly my favorite town in Virginia.  Its quaint historic district beside the Rappahannock River is full of attractive old houses, commercial buildings, and churches and has a colonial feel that's distinctively different from towns further south.  

Caroline Street

The Rappahannock River as seen from the William St. bridge

Its streets, with names like Charles, Prince Edward, Caroline, and Princess Anne, were named for family members of King George II of England.  

Murals referencing the town's history and geography can be found on the side of several buildings.

Travelers who enjoy antiquing will not be disappointed in historic Fredericksburg: the two antique shops we stopped in were full of interesting finds, but since we had two more months of travel before us, we left with very little.

There were so many vintage postcards with South Carolina scenes on them

I really liked this owl necklace, but I left without it.

But I couldn't leave this oversized pair of scissors behind; they belong in my sewing room!

Lunch at Goolrick's Pharmacy, which turned out to be one of our favorite restaurants because of its uniqueness as a restaurant and soda fountain in a functioning pharmacy, was our final stop in town before continuing North toward DC.

For an informative history of the US Marines, stop at the Marine Corps Museum, which is situated between US 1 and I-95 near Quantico.  The museum informs visitors of the Marines' part in America's wars, starting with their creation by the Continental Congress in 1775 and continuing with exhibits on each conflict through to the present day.  The tour concludes at a wall of photos of every Medal of Honor recipient.

About an hour outside of DC, US 1 passes within 10 minutes of George Washington's home at Mount Vernon.  It's a stop we skipped this time since we had visited recently, but one we'd recommend if you've never visited.  The line to enter the house can get long as the day wears on, so arrive early to minimize wait time.  The estate is huge, so allow several hours to see the gardens, tombs, and the nearby gristmill and distillery.

Visiting Mount Vernon in October 2013

Washington, DC
US 1 passes straight through Washington, DC, but you might have trouble staying on it through town.  As it approaches the city, US 1 merges with I-395 to cross the Potomac River and enter our nation's Capital City, where it becomes 14th Street.  At some point, it cuts over to 6th Street and eventually leaves town as Rhode Island Ave.  Once you get into large cities like this one, don't worry about whether or not you're on the 'right' road.  Enjoy your time in them, then find your way back to US 1 as you leave.

US 1 merges with I-395 to cross the Potomac, but as you can see,
the left lane indicates that we are still technically on a back road :-)

Stop in DC for an hour or a weekend before continuing on toward Maryland and the rest of US 1.  There are so many potential stops to make in DC that we won't even go into them here.  We had visited DC twice in the past few years so kept our time in town short to stay ahead of evening traffic.

Join us next week as we leave DC and head to the original Capital City of America, Philadelphia, PA.

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