It’s time to unplug, stop the noise and vanish into the peace and seclusion of a scenic destination where we don’t have to fight for a slip or fend off the noise of eternal Spring Break. Let’s go to Northumberland County, Virginia. 

Sometimes we get on the boat to go somewhere action-packed and fill our days with an exhausting, break-neck schedule of activities. Now is not that time and this isn’t the place for high-octane schedules. This is where you dock the boat, drop the hook that has bait on it, grab a cocktail and soak in the total absence of social noise of the digital age.

Smith Point Light holds the story of this area’s resilience. In 1802 Thomas Jefferson appointed a lighthouse keeper to manage the lighthouse at Smith Point (the latest version is seen above). Erosion threatened the lighthouse, and in 1808 it was replaced with a lighthouse further inland. It was replaced in 1828 with a third lighthouse. During the Civil War, it was destroyed. A new lighthouse was finally built in 1896 and lasted until 1936. The Smith Point Light was automated in 1971. In 2005, the lighthouse was sold to a private owner.