re: Has anyone every been to a game at Virginia?

I went to a game there in September of 2009. I drove down from New Jersey to visit a family friend whose husband is a coach there(not football). I wouldn't recommend driving down from the north DC/Baltimore etc because there is no interstate or major road without numerous stop lights from that direction. It is basically a nice road and the country is beautiful, but you have to go through many many towns which equals lights, stop signs, and the like. You can't get. Rhythm going at all because your coming through a town every 10-15 minutes.

I think DC is about a 2+ HR drive plus Beltway traffic is notoriously bad. I would recommend trying to find something close if at all possible. ( unless you just really want to see some beautiful Virginia Farm country or want to visit Civil War cites).

I'm not familiar with Richmond so you'll probably have to look at maps, routes, etc. Also don't know about local airports but I figure it would be easier and cheaper to fly into a bigger city.

Charlottesville iself is a very cool town. Yes, it's basically a typical Southern College town. It has a strip close by campus with lots of bars and such like a Dickson Street or Sixth Street. It also has a local feel with down home looking joints and restaurants....but there's one significant thing that separates it from basically any other college....it was freakin designed by Thomas Jefferson!

The campus itself is beautiful. Jefferson's architecture is on full display...oh and Monticello is like 10-20 minutes up the mountain. And along the mountain road are old colonial taverns and gift shops where people wear 1700s clothing. There is also a museum just below Monticello (the house itself is way up on the mountain and not visible from the road or museum, you have to have a ticket for a tour to get there).

The museum is great and it will be packed. If you enjoy history, Charlottesville and the campus is amazing.

As for the football....well it ain't the SEC...you know that real quick. I tailgated on some concrete parking lot across the stadium and it sucked. Not many people and not much energy. The stadium itself is actually pretty cool and unique. It has giant columns and is sunken into the ground. You basically walk down into the bowl because I think it's built into a hill. It was full but not real packed...looked like you could easily get a walk up ticket. I imagine they wouldn't be that expensive either.

I sat in the coaches box so the seats were good, but the team sucked, I think they got beat by a 1AA team or some cupcake when I went. Anyway hope this helped, it's an enjoyable town and place, you should like it. The football is kind of secondary there.