First off, a heartfelt "Thank you" to the helpful folks at the Graffiti House (the visitors center…read morewhich is a few minutes away) who gave us directions to the different parts of this battlefield. Technically there are three parts to this battlefield you can see, but they are scattered around so you have to find them separately. Brandy Station was the largest battle predominately fought by mounted soldiers in North America, and the de-facto kick off for the Gettysburg Campaign. The history markers give a quick feel for this, although more can be learned at the Graffiti House. For more detail on the battle, look here: http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/brandy-station.html This location at has a tiny parking area at an empty field; not much to see here except a few plaques. Fortunately, there are two other Brandy Station locations, each a short drive away. 1) At 13198 St James Church Rd (intersection of St James Church rd and Beverly Ford Rd) is another larger parking area, which has a 1 mile mowed walking trail thru a grassy area. Several more detailed historical markers can be found there, detailing not just the battle but the period when the Union Army encamped for the winter here. Most of my pictures are from the St James location. 2) At 12279 Beverly Ford Rd is a third set of markers; it has a separate Yelp entry here http://www.yelp.com/biz/brandy-station-battlefield-elkwood

Just an update to say that the Civil War Trust has recently added new historical information signs…read moreand is keeping the lawn in shape to allow for a short walking tour of about 1/2 mile.

I have to agree 100% with Kal B's review - "Q Town is what it is." Uniform tailors, barbers,…read moremilitary gear shops, some decent lunch type restaurants, a few apartments and some small homes nestled within Marine Corps Base Quantico on the Potomac River. Not much has changed there from when I first visited 29 years ago. . .I've always been amazed that there hasn't been a more concerted attempt by the Base to help clean the town up or somehow encourage businesses with staying power to invest in the town. The potential is there, with a large on-base population of military families, DoD civilians, civilian contractors, etc. Why not make the town more appealing for investors and draw in business? On the other hand, maybe that's part of the "charm" of good old Q Town - it's like going back in time to Smedley Butler's Quantico days. . .the Tokyo Japanese restaurant next to the train tracks is by far the best eatery in Q town. I've been going there for years whenever I visit Quantico for conferences, workshops, and other duties, and have never been disappointed. Yung's barber shop is the best of the MANY barbers in town - they take their time and don't rush you out of the place. The Marine Shop is legendary among Officer Candidate School and Basic School graduates for uniforms and other Marine Corps accoutrements. I wouldn't go out of my way to visit the place if I didn't have business on the base, but if for some reason you ever find yourself in the area, it's worth a stroll just to say you've visited the "Crossroads of the Marine Corps." Q Town, you will always occupy a small piece of my heart - maybe one day I can define what it is you have given me.

I think that in all fairness in saying A-OK, Quantico is what it is. A tiny town, literally in the…read moremiddle of the Gateway to the United States Marine Corps Quantico VA and those that live in "downtown" Quantico which is comprised of a bank, an ATM, the Marine Shop owned by a military company, multiple tailors and such and a hand full of restaurants and a few unappealing apartments that house the tailors for the most part and a hand full of Marines and that is IT. There is also a train station there. Quantico is and always has been a rundown tiny hole in the wall. Years ago a dental facility went in and dumped a bunch of money in with the hope of revitalizing Quantico but now that I write this and with our daughter currently at Officer Candidate School at Quantico and having been there the past several weekends, I'm not sure that it is even still there and if it is, their dream didn't come true. To come aboard Quantico, you generally have to have a DoD sticker on your car or a civilian or military identification card as well which makes it something of an annoyance at best to come aboard to go anywhere in Q'Town as it is affectionately called. I will say that one restaurant that has always been there and still is (no, not Dominos) is still a bright spot in an otherwise hole in the wall town - Tokyo Japanese is almost an institution. Don't drive from DC for it but if you're in town and need to "dine", this is the place! I've been associated with Q'town for over 26 years now. I repeat. It is what it is.

This place is amazing! And it's only getting better with the boardwalk addition that just opened…read morethis in the month of May!

Pretty neat area to explore. Successfully walked around with two 3 year olds. They enjoyed the mini…read moreboardwalks over the muddy areas a lot.

The Barrett House is a two and a half story wood-frame house built in 1901 by William Wimsatt, a…read morelumber merchant from the DC. The house was later expanded and renovated for use as officer and employee housing for the DC's low-security Workhouse Prison Farm in Lorton. I am a big fan of historical places. This house has a lot of history behind it, but there is not much to it. You can only see it from the outside. It is fenced off and you cannot go in. There is a little area in front of the house that has a few benches and placards with historical information about the house. There is also an old brick fireplace looking structure on the grounds. There is a few places to park on the grounds that are unpaved, but there are no official parking spots. You could probably hang out on one of the benches on the grounds, but outside of that, I do not see much utility or spending a lot of time here. I was here for all of 10 minutes and then I was out.

Went to see the PEEP show in Occoquan. It was awesome! Enjoyed ourselves. A++++++ Voted for the…read morehockey team and peeps-fil-a to win. Great Easter experience

Super cute little town w convenient street and parking lot parking…read more The shops along this street are majorly attractive. Plenty of trendy stores, boutiques, restaurants, ice cream shops, and art studios. I am looking forward to returning to catch more of these cutesy views and patronage a few more small businesses as everyone has been so kind to me locally.

Vint Hill is located between Gainesville and Warrenton. It is an emerging destination for locals…read moreand visitors. Vint Hill is a historic place. The U.S. Army operated a cryptology school and an intelligence gathering station at the former sheep and cattle farm during World War II. After the war, the Army used Vint Hill for research and development. The Army discontinued use of the property in 1997. Vint Hill now is open to the public. It is a scenic spot that offers many things to do. For food and beverages, there currently is a brewery, a winery, speciality food shop, cafe serving lunch, and more... These places are all located close to the Cold War Museum. There is a public swimming pool open seasonally. The tiny base movie theater still shows movies. There is a popular dog park. There are a number of park areas that are great for jogging, walking, or just relaxing. At the edge of Vint Hill, is Lake Brittle where you can go fishing, or rent a boat (seasonally). There is also a snack bar here open seasonally. Unfortunately, the park areas and the lake both lack bathroom facilities beyond port-a-potties. There are a number of businesses located at Vint Hill and one church that I am aware of. A lot of land is available for development. I heard that an independent coffee shop is slated to open. That would be great. I only hope that development does not get out of hand and ruin the nature areas that exist here. There is already extensive housing on the backside of Vint Hill. Traffic is not a problem here at present. Fingers crossed that new development is not overwhelming and that no more trees are cut down. Check Yelp reviews for the places located at Vint Hill and plan a visit!

The Fleetwood Hill spot is a unique area of the Brandy Station Battlefield. It is down the road…read moreform the main part visitor area of the battlefield, which is further north by the Culpeper Airport. Fleetwood Hill, is in my opinion, the prettiest area of the battlefield. Limited parking right of the road. Their are interpretative signs.

Barracks are ok, most of them are garbage like always, it never changes. This base is mostly heavy…read moreon Officers, Q town is nice, not too many options but enough. It's mostly a pretty clean base. For marines: Main Side units specifically IPAC/Admin building are the most toxic leaderships ever. If you are a marine and this is your first duty station I'm really sorry for you. I had the worst experience in these unit, It really made me want to get out asap. If you are a civilian God bless your freedom. Jenny's tailoring store its great.

March 2020: One of our filming locations & I can't say…read moreenough about the courtesy & hospitality extended to our team of 30. Interacting with the different ranks of military personnel was actually pretty neat as they were not stone face screamers. Within some of the certain spaces/buildings we occupied they were a little run down, yet some renovations were taking place. We didn't get to break for lunch inside the Bruce Mess Hall, yet our Hosts staged one of training classrooms into a mini dining area for us. There are two different points of entrance off of I-95, one is exit 148 - South Entrance & exit 150-A - North Entrance aka the Main Gate with full on checkpoints. In addition to the personnel, the base/area consists of family members, military students/FBI/DEA, civilians & contractors. Both Amtrak & Virginia Railway Express train services the Quantico area.