RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Goochland County >> Vinita >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Vinita, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vinita and the surrounding area.

  • Astronomy & Satellites ...
    • Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
    • To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Vinita:
    • 37.582091, -77.682492
    • Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Vinita
  • Bird Watching ...
    • We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
    • The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Goochland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Goochland County
    • Since Vinita is near Powhatan County and also Henrico County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Powhatan County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Henrico County
  • Waymarking ...
    • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Vinita

Communities Also Named Vinita ...

We found two communities that are also named Vinita.

Within Virginia, the name Vinita is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Missouri
      • Schuyler County
      • This Vinita is located in Schuyler County and lies 814 miles [1,310 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Vinita that is located in Goochland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Schuyler County community of Vinita.
    • Oklahoma
      • Craig County
      • This Vinita is located in Craig County and lies 962 miles [1,548.2 km]<1> to the west of the Vinita that is located in Goochland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Craig County community of Vinita.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Vinita ...

As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.

  • Dover Run
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Dover Run is located in Goochland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover Run
  • Goosepoint
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Goosepoint is located in Goochland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goosepoint
  • Hermitage Hamlet
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Hermitage Hamlet is located in Goochland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage Hamlet
  • Hickory Haven
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Hickory Haven is located in Goochland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Haven
  • Lorraine
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Lorraine is located in Henrico County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorraine
  • Lower Tuckahoe
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Lower Tuckahoe is located in Goochland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Tuckahoe
  • Mooreland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Mooreland is located in Henrico County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooreland
  • Old Gun
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Old Gun is located in Chesterfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Gun
  • Pagebrook
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Pagebrook is located in Goochland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pagebrook
  • Partridge Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Partridge Hills is located in Goochland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Partridge Hills
  • Subletts
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Subletts is located in Powhatan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Subletts

How Far From Vinita to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Vinita to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Vinita and extending to:

  • Goochland, which is the Seat of Goochland County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Vinita to Goochland, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 13 miles [20.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). The buggy would take four to five hours and walking would take 6 hours.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 97 miles [156.1 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,981 miles [9,625.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,682 miles [10,753.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,560 miles [7,338.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Vinita) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day.
<3>The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Vinita to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vinita. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5821, Longitude: -77.6825       In this case, the coordinates for Vinita have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.339 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.75 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.472 degrees.