by Marjorie Mckinstry-Miller

Created on: January 15, 2007   Last Updated: April 18, 2011

The next day you have a few hours to yourself, take a leisurely drive up Rt. 301 from Richmond, and spend a little time exploring the lovely and historic town of Hanover. The tree lined highway leading into the center of this community provides a lovely backdrop for several turn of the century buildings, as well as Historic Hanover Tavern, its most widely known attraction.

The tavern's earliest surviving section was built in 1791, but the site itself has been home to a tavern of one sort or another for weary travelers since 1733. It also provided shelter for one of Virginia's most famous founding fathers, Patrick Henry, who lived there for several years with his wife, Sara Shelton, the daughter of the tavern's owners.

However, Hanover Tavern is far from the town's oldest structure, though it is included on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Hanover Courthouse Historic District. The District is revered as a "rare surviving example of the county governmental complex once common in Virginia." It is well worth your time to amble from building to building, luxuriating in the wonders of our early colonial government.

If all this walking leads to hunger pangs, simply walk a few more steps down to The Hanover Cafe, a quiet but friendly restaurant that specializes in "comfort" food. A quick glance at the menu proves that Wayne and Maria Pierce, the caf's proprietors for the last seven years, know their way around Grandma's kitchen. Their regular items include Pork Chops, Virginia Cured Country Ham, and Beef Tips over Rice, but what the Cafe's customers really come for are the dinner specials. When the pulled pork barbecue plate is offered, the place really starts jumping. Best of all, nothing on the menu is over $12.95.

Now that your belly's full, but your pockets are still heavy, meander on over to one of the state's most unique antique shops, Two Frogs on a Bike. The whimsical sign out front, reminiscent of an illustration from The Wind in the Willows, lightens your spirits before you even enter the store, which has been in the Ancarrow family since its construction in 1906. Once inside, you'll most likely run into Bob Hollins, an incredibly genial southern gentleman, and co-owner of the antique business with Carolyn Pierce. Bob lives to talk with new people, and will share all kinds of stories with you. He's proud that his shop has attracted visitors from all over world and grins when he thinks of the elderly ladies who delight in returning to

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