We visited Richmond and Atlantic Beach in May 2025 as part of our May Carolinas loop; read about our first (Airstream) visit to Richmond way back in 2016 here.

Writing up the night we spent in Richmond and the weekend we spent in Atlantic Beach has been a struggle for us, as Richmond turned out to be sweet Bugsy’s last night on earth and she passed shortly after putting her feet in the sand of Atlantic Beach. So, we will just hit the highlights here in a combined post.

Richmond, VA

We had a nice lunch at our picnic table at the Charlottesville KOA, where we had been storing the Airstream for a few nights, and then headed to the Americamps RV Resort, just north of Richmond in Ashland, Virginia. The Americamps is a massive and pretty pleasant campground that is the closest option to Richmond; we stayed there in 2016 when we were new Airstreamers practice-camping before Big Trip #1.

From the campground, we made the ~20 minutes drive to the Scott’s Addition neighborhood of Richmond. The two of us and Bugsy then did a walking brewery tour, first hitting Ardent Craft Ales, then Väsen Brewing Company and then finishing at The Veil Brewing Company. All three breweries are solid enough, but The Veil has the strongest reputation for a reason – really good IPAs and sours.

During our walk, we stopped and got snacks for the following day at the cool little market Stella’s. We grabbed yummy bowls for dinner at Nokoribi, which was located inside of Veil; we’ve subsequently learned that Nokoribi shuttered in early August, which is unfortunate as we really enjoyed it.

On the drive home, we decided to skip Center of the Universe Brewing Company, which is conveniently located next to the campground, as we were tired and weren’t that intrigued by the scene or beer list.

Atlantic Beach, NC

We had been to Atlantic Beach, where L’s sister owns a beach house, several times before, but this was the first time we’d brought the Airstream. We were thrilled to see how nicely it fit in their long driveway and were even able to run a power cable from the house to make sure we stayed cool.

The general course of action when we visit is to sit and play on the beach, to drive their golf cart around town, and to hit up their favorite spots, which included on this trip:

• The Wheelhouse – a fun, sort of divey bar just up the street from them
• Idle Hour Biergarten – yummy food and cocktails and local beer on a sandy patio in the heart of Atlantic Beach
• Molly’s Beachside Bar and Grill – fish tacos, beer and beach cocktails right on the beach, just across the street from The Wheelhouse
• Beaufort Grocery Co. – delicious brunch in a former grocery store in neighboring Beaufort’s (not to be confused with Beaufort, SC) historic district

This was a tough visit for us, but we were glad to be with family when we lost Bugsy. Special shoutout to Banfield Pet Hospital in Morehead City; you did what you could.