Eastern Shore

Surf Artist

Abbi Custis draws beachy inspiration from the Eastern Shore. (Photo by Chris M. Rogers) When a client asked artist Abbi Custis to paint an old surfboard, it sparked a new passion. “I started thinking of the surfboard as a blank canvas,” she says. “People put them in beach houses, kids rooms, anywhere—just […]

by Constance Costas

Blooming Beautifully

April is the perfect time for viewing Virginia’s spring flowers, especially at five prime locations along the Eastern Shore during Historic Garden Week.

by Staff

Sunken Ships

70-year-old ships made out of concrete (no, really) now form a breakwater off the Eastern Shore’s Kiptopeke Beach.

by swenson ben

In-State Inspiration

10 spring break destinations right here in Virginia

by Daryl Grove

Call of the Wild

The Virginia Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, now 50 years old, is a front-line group that works to protect natural resources and wildlife habitat by buying land and managing its 60 preserves.

by Richard Ernsberger Jr.

Groove Man

When not hanging with friends, William “Pooh” Johnston can be found playing viola or blues guitar, composing soundtracks, cooking and raising oysters near his historic Eastern Shore home.

by Ned Oldham

Seaside Safari

Want an eco-adventure that’s a little different? Spend a night in a historic oyster watch house in the marshland off one of Virginia’s barrier islands. Watermen once used these one-room shacks to protect their harvests.

by kessler burnett

Pages: 123

Events

May 9, 2025

Mahler Symphony No.9; Virginia Symphony Orchestra

Ferguson Center for the Arts

May 9, 2025

Chicago

Altria Theater

May 10, 2025

Art of the James River Park System All-Media Show – Call For Entries

Crossroads Art Center

Most Popular

A New Experience at the Virginia Scenic Railway

Virginia Scenic Railway Adds Dome Car for Spectacular Valley Views The popular Virginia Scenic Railway just upped its game with a vintage dome car offering breathtaking 360° views of the Shenandoah Valley. The “Shenandoah”—built in 1948 as the “Silver Palace” for the California Zephyr—now gives passengers an unmatched vantage point on three-hour excursions from Staunton. […]

by Gabriela de Camargo Gonçalves

Mom Hiked the Appalachian Trail with 13 Kids in Tow

Nikki Bettis stood on the jagged summit outcrop of Shenandoah National Park’s 4,011-foot Stony Man, awed by westward panoramic views. Her heart swelled with emotion as she turned to watch her 13 kids shoulder their loaded backpacks and fall into a clamorous single-file line heading back to the Appalachian Trail (AT). “We were in an […]

by Eric J. Wallace

Williamsburg Archaeologists Uncover Secret Garden

In Colonial America, a grand garden was the ultimate status symbol—the 18th century equivalent of a Lamborghini. So when archaeologists at Colonial Williamsburg uncovered John Custis IV’s property, they struck horticultural gold: the remains of a football field-sized garden alongside his Jacobean manor house. Custis, a tobacco magnate and Martha Washington’s first father-in-law, went all […]

by Madeline Mayhood