Stafford Photo Tour Under Construction (Hampton, Fredericksburg: sale, townhome, neighborhoods)

[FLgirl367]

This is going to be a work in progress. I am grabbing shots when I can, but it may take me a month or two to complete this

I'm focusing on scenery, points of interest, and subdivisions for people that are looking to move here.

Here is a spring time photo to get you started:

[FLgirl367]

Points of Interest:


WINERIES- Potomac Point Winery is located in North Stafford. They have tours, and they are listed as a Super Stop/Best exit of I-95. (The winery is also located near the new Patawomeck Park.





Hartwood Winery is located (http://www.hartwoodwinery.com/directions.html - broken link) in South Stafford of off Highway 17/Warrenton Rd. It is not far from Curtis Park. You can order wine online.
Click here for a list of events (http://www.hartwoodwinery.com/events.html - broken link). They have a Spring Celebration coming up soon. I don't have any photos of this winery yet, but their are some great ones on their site.

[FLgirl367]

Points of Interest Continued:

PARKS- Stafford Park Locations (http://stafford.va.us/Parks/Park_Maps_and_Directions/Index.shtml - broken link)
Patawomeck Park is Stafford's newest park. It is located off of Widewater Rd in North Stafford. As a mom I give this park a 5 star rating. It has separate climbers for children under 5 and over 5, AND the younger climber is completely fenced in. There is a nice sheltered eating area with plenty of picnic tables AND clean bathrooms located right next to the playground/shelter. There are soccer fields close to the playground, and a nice pond. (I wasn't able to grab photos of the pond, but I will next time.) The playground is in full sun, so this is a great park for spring/fall.





PARKS NEAR STAFFORD:
National Marine Corp Museum Playground
I never would have known that the National Marine Corp Museum has a great playground if a friend hadn't tipped me off. We went recently and really enjoyed it. I give it 4 stars out of 5, because the tot climber is not completely fenced in and the bathrooms are a long walk (inside the museum). It has nice wooded scenery, lots of space to run around near the trees, separate climbers for under 5 and over 5, and a great surface to let a baby crawl on while the big kids are playing. It is surrounded by trees, so this is a great park for summer.

[FLgirl367]

Points of Interest Continued

LIBRARIES- The libraries in Stafford are part of the Central Rappohannock Regional Library System, which covers Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Westmoreland. The Porter branch is located on Parkway Blvd across from Parkway Elem. They have a book sale that starts every first Friday of the month. Stafford will soon have a second branch located on Plantation Drive in the England Run Subdivision. It is scheduled to open Fall of 2010.

Porter Library

[FLgirl367]

Points of Interest Continued:

Shopping:

When I asked what I should include in my photo tour, Normie suggested things that I was looking for when I moved to Stafford. One thing that popped out to me, was Stafford Market Place. I really like how visually pleasing the stores are; they are mostly made of red brick and are not eyesores! Even many gas stations are made with red brick. They have most everything I need here, so I do not need to go outside of Stafford often. I do hit the Children's Place Outlet in Potomac Mills twice a year when they have a major clearance sale. Not far from here, The Town Center at Aquia is undergoing construction next to Aquia Harbor. Here is the latest information (http://fredericksburg.com/blogs/view?blogger_id=22&p=1266355397 - broken link) I could find on it.

[normie]

Excellent! And, I'm especially glad it will be a work in progress. That way we can see how it looks throughout the seasons. And the thread will keep getting bumped to the top of the forum. Good job.

[FLgirl367]

SUBDIVISIONS/NEIGHBORHOODS:

If there is a Neighborhood you would like to see, please request it.

Austin Ridge is located in central Stafford off of exit 140/Courthouse Rd.
Here is the community's HOA page. They have a community center and pool. It is a newer community that is still building its final phase of homes. Anthony Burns Elementary School is located in the subdivision. One of the pluses of Austin Ridge is that there are no driveways directly on the main boulevard. This keeps 'cut through' traffic out of the neighborhood where children are playing.






Hampton Oaks: Just north of Austin Ridge is Hampton Oaks. They have a community center, tot lot, and swimming pool and a swim team. The neighborhood is also located next to Woodland pool (part of Stafford Parks and Rec (http://stafford.va.us/Parks/Park_Maps_and_Directions/Index.shtml - broken link)) and very close to Porter Library.













Meadowbrook Estates is located of off exit 140/Courthouse Rd. It is very close to the Brook VRE Station. All of the homes are very large and located on 3+ acre lots.







Port Aquia is located off of exit 143/US1 in North Stafford. This is a newer townhome community and is convenient to Quantico.





Stafford Lakes is located in South Stafford. It is off of exit 133/US 17 aka Warrenton Road. The turn onto Village Pkwy has UMW graduate school on the right and a very nice and brand new Super Walmart on the left. I want to emphasize that the walmart is nice and not an eyesore. It has a brownstone color and is not blue and yellow at all. Like Austin Ridge, there is a main boulevard that goes through the subdivision, but there are no driveways on it. I will get more photos of this neighborhood in the future.
They are still building in the back, and the newer area looks to have bigger houses with bigger lots.







Widewater Village is located off of US1 north of exit 143 and south of exit 148. It is also very convenient to Quantico. It is a gated community, but the gates are open during the daytime.

[FLgirl367]

Originally Posted by normie

Excellent! And, I'm especially glad it will be a work in progress. That way we can see how it looks throughout the seasons. And the thread will keep getting bumped to the top of the forum. Good job.

Thanks, there are some beautiful spring trees in front of a church cemetery and a farm across the street that I want to get before the blossoms start falling. I also want to get downtown Fredericksburg shots before the blossoms are gone. I can also throw on some shots of wildlife in our woods!

[normie]

A tour like this is just what people who are moving here need. It really gives the feeling for what the neighborhoods are like, and what it's like to live there. Very helpful for people who are out of state and trying to figure the area out.

[ajzjmsmom]

These are really great pictures of Stafford. If we move to NOVA that is where I want to live. I am amazed at how green the grass is already. Here in NM our brown grass is barely turning green.