As summer winds down, many families think longingly of repeating their oceanside vacation for a week or two next year. Families with a vacation home by the shore know they can visit the beach in any season. And those who own a home at the Peninsula on the Indian River Bay in Millsboro, Del., have access to an array of resort amenities for year-round relaxation and entertainment.
In the past decade, the decrepit piers and industrial zones along five miles of the Hudson River on Manhattan's West Side have been transformed. Hudson River Park is now a destination that gets 17 million visits annually, with a bike path, green spaces, playgrounds and recreation ranging from minigolf and skateboarding to kayaking and even stand-up paddleboarding.
As the Fourth-of-July rush to the beach approaches, Washington-area families may wish they had a vacation home to enjoy any time ocean breezes beckon. A vacation home can become a gathering place for friends and family throughout the year and perhaps eventually morph into a retirement home.
Washingtonians who long for a touch of Cape Cod don't have to drive eight hours north to enjoy the taste of seafood, the peace of deep woods, the serenity found next to a creek or a pond or the joy of watching sunlight dance on gentle waves. These delights and more can be found in Virginia's Northern Neck, 75 miles south of the District.
Toll Bros. is building 71 town homes in the Tournaments at Dominion Valley Country Club in Haymarket, a golf-course community with an 18-hole golf course. Also featured in the community are a clubhouse with a pro shop; a sports pavilion with swimming pools, tennis courts and fitness classes; shops and restaurants at Market Square; kayaking, canoeing and fishing on Silver Lake; and another planned clubhouse with indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
Sam's Club is a popular place to stock up on soda by the case, tires for the car or a year's supply of razor blades.
