Growing up near the Florida coast, being near the water is something that both calms and energizes me in the best possible way. And as I get older, busier, and more distracted, the craving for time by the water has increased exponentially. My stay at the Tides Inn in Irvington, VA, more than satisfied this craving! This trip was the perfect combination of taking time to breathe in fresh, salty air and being on-the-go.
Irvington was the loveliest small town destination trip. And although I wouldn’t have changed one thing about my itinerary, I’ve created a condensed version for the DC weekend visitor since this is a trip is a MUST for anyone living within driving distance!
Friday – Afternoon arrival
3pm – Check-in at the Tides Inn
4pm – Happy Hour on the Tides Inn patio
6pm – Dinner at Merroir
7:30pm – S’mores at the Tides Inn
The BBQ oysters at Merroir were out of this world good!
Saturday
8am – Room Service Breakfast at the Tides Inn
10am – Tides Inn seasonal activity {sailing lessons, oyster harvesting, crab catching}
Noon – Tides Inn picnic lunch and drive to Good Luck Cellars
4pm – Tides Inn seasonal activity {we were in town for Taste By The Bay}
7pm – Dinner at Hope & Glory
I loved that the Tides Inn breakfast menu incorporated fried oysters! Fried oysters make for a much lighter breakfast than fried chicken so you have room in your belly for biscuits and gravy.
We were able to go out on the Bay with a waterman and see how they catch wild oysters.
The best part of this adventure, other than being on the water, was eating oysters fresh out of the water!
The second best part was seeing this happy puppy stroll back and forth on the fishing boat.
The Tides Inn will pack up a picture-perfect picnic lunch. Ours included hummus, cheese, crackers, and brownies, but the Inn will also customize the basket to suit your adventure!
Hope & Glory is an adorable B&B that has a quaint, minimal seat restaurant that serves a multi-coursed pre-fixe menu. Our dinner included cheesy baked oysters, a pear salad, lump crab cakes, and ice cream dessert.
Sunday
8am – More Breakfast in Bed at Tides Inn
10am – Bike to the Steamboat Era Museum
11am – Bike to Dog & Oyster Vineyard
1pm – Order Angry Oysters at Tides Inn
2pm – Head back home!
The smoked salmon bagel caught my attention for breakfast, but there were a handful of options I would have ordered. The breakfast parfait and Chesapeake eggs benedict {with crab cakes} looked super delicious!
The Steamboat Era Museum was a fun and visual way to learn about the history of Irvington. There is a guided tour complete with light up maps, visual timelines, and replicas of scenes from the steamboat era.
It had been a while since I had ridden on a bike, but the roads in Irvington are super flat with nice bike lanes and sidewalks that made for a comfortable ride. Bonus – these adorable bikes are free while you’re staying at the Tides Inn!
The Dog & Oyster Vineyard is such an inviting spot. The owners are super friendly and wonderful storytellers. And the vineyard is filled with rescue dogs that protect the vineyard from critters and appreciate a good belly rub from visitors.
It’s been a few days since I returned to Austin and I’m still rambling about how much I loved vacationing on the Virginia Oyster Trail. As I mentioned earlier, if you’re within driving distance I couldn’t recommend this weekend adventure an ounce more. And as far as flying goes, it’s also worth the trip as the Tides Inn‘s all-inclusive activities balances out airfare quite nicely.
Disclosure: Although the Tides Inn kindly hosted me, the opinions in this post are completely my own and based on my experience.