15 places to visit on a tank of gas
Main St., caposmusicstore.com), cited among the world’s top 100 music retailers, is a wonderland of handcrafted acoustical instruments and hosts evening jam sessions. Bike Abingdon’s 34-mile Virginia Creeper Trail to Damascus (vacreepertrail.com), and dine on imaginative local cuisine at Rain (283 E. Main St., rainabingdon.com). The historic Martha Washington Inn (150 W. Main St., themartha.com) offers antique-filled guest rooms and resort amenities. oldest continuously operating hotel. “Newport.” Popular nowadays for its Jazz Festival (Aug. 4-6, newportjazz.org) and tony yachting community, this spectacular stretch of coastline was the Gilded Age’s summer playground of the Vanderbilts, the Astors and other wealthy industrialists. Many of their estates are now museums open for touring (newportmansions.org). One of the original mansions, Castle Hill Inn & Resort (590 Ocean Ave., castlehillinn.com), is now a romantic hotel overlooking the Narragansett Bay. Hike along the breathtaking 3.5-mile coastal National Recreation Trail (cliffwalk.com), stroll through the boutiques and cafes around Newport’s wonderfully walkable downtown, shop local handicrafts and foodstuffs at Only In Rhode Island (43 Long Wharf Mall, madefromri.com), or throw one back at the White Horse Tavern (26 Marlborough St., whitehorsenewport.com), which claims to be the country’s oldest pub.