How much do you know about Jamestown? My first brush with the topic was when I was four or five and got a book about Pocahontas. Learned all about the English settlement and then about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower, and then a bit about England and the 1600s.

I learned more as I got older, but my main take-away was that I was super glad to have skipped all that and showed up in an era of plumbing and antibiotics and soft living.

When my kid was in grade school, we lived in Virginia. His school held an annual field trip to Jamestown for fourth-graders. For some reason or other, my kid missed it. So we went as a family.

It was great. We would go on these trips a lot, but this one stood out as a day when nobody was bored for any of it. But it absolutely reinforced my preference for modern living.

I highly recommend going if you are in the area and even remotely interested in history. The visitor center is gorgeous, and it’s a nice walk from there across a bridge to Jamestown Settlement, where all the action is. Thomas wandered around most of the day with a toy musket in hand, learning about furs and inronworks and about Pocahontas and the first General Assembly. The actors are friendly and engaging and happy to tell you more than you thought you wanted to know.

There is also a separate area to go look at ruins (Historic Jamestowne), and a third site where you can watch glassblowers, which was probably my favorite part. You can also just hang out and enjoy being next to the James River, which is quite pleasant!

While you’re at it, make a long weekend of it and also go to Yorktown and Williamsburg!