Want to get to know Virginia, gateway to the American South, a state steeped in history? There's so much to experience and enjoy here, and the best way to do it is to exit the highway and take a look around. Journalist and Virginia native Bill Lohmann has thoroughly explored his home state and reported on life and events in small towns and big cities; he's the perfect tour guide to Virginia's off-the-beaten-path treasures. These 19 itineraries offer sites historic and modern; restaurants that make the best crab cakes; orchards and farms where you'll pick fresh peaches and berries, places you'll want to linger awhile-a friendly diner, a cabin in the mist-covered hills. Visit Mt. Vernon, where George Washington really slept, or witness the genius of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. Backroads & Byways of Virginia is the shortest route a visitor can take to explore like a native and the best guide for natives who want to delve more deeply into the history and magic of their home state.