Want to get back to America’s square one? Try Virginia’s ‘Historic Triangle’!
If you want to get in touch – literally – with America’s amazing founding, there’s really no better place than Virginia’s “Historic Triangle”: Jamestown, Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg.
The three tantalizingly close and convenient tourist spots together tell the epic tale of our tenuous and tragic first English settlement (Jamestown); immerse you in a nostalgic colonial town (Williamsburg); and bring the American Revolution and our quest for independence to life (Yorktown).
They’ve become something of a pilgrimage for us and our friends – a place to recharge your patriotism while deepening your understanding and appreciation for what our Founders created and left to us.
Every schoolkid in America should see it all. Every young parent should see to it. And every American bereft of an abiding love for this country – or simply wanting to nourish that love in an age of disbelief in America’s exceptionalism – should make the trek.
My absolute favorite experience in this holy trinity of American allegiance is the re-enactors in Colonial Williamsburg – which is billed as “The World’s Largest Living History Museum.” You might meet Thomas Jefferson on the street, or hear James Madison’s great oratory on the Founders’ fight and its peril. We ran into French General Lafayette, who helped us win our independence but who now seems to only be winning over the ladies.
The actors playing these pivotal figures in American history know their stuff inside and out. You may feel like a time traveler – or a kid in a candy store – when given the opportunity not just to pick the builders’ brains but to apply their thoughts to today’s cultural landscape.
Jamestown features a settlement reenactment and museum, and a separate active archeological dig and breathtaking view of the banks where Captain John Smith still stands watch over the water.
Another favorite part of the triangle is the new-feeling American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. An immersive journey through the colonial and revolutionary periods, it’s better than any school course at helping you both comprehend and caress the risks and reasons of American independence. And you’ll definitely want to take mementos back to the 21st century from the museum’s fabulous gift shop. It’s got a delectable assortment of patriotic clothing, books, busts, knickknacks and more.
Meanwhile, the Yorktown waterfront not far away is a great place to sit and watch the ships.
I highly recommend buying a single pass for each attraction, then visiting each perhaps more than once during your stay. On our visits, which have spanned four to seven days, we’ve bedded down in Williamsburg – home of the stately and inspiring College of William & Mary, and all the accoutrements of a thriving college town. We stayed at the Marriott’s Manor Club at Ford’s Colony, which features a beautiful golf course and which I cannot recommend highly enough.
Some fun and educational day trips from the area include Virginia Beach, Thomas Jefferson’s grand and pastoral Monticello home, and The Mariner’s Museum and Park in Newport News.
In many ways, America today has lost its feel for itself.
Trust me, there’s no better way to bring back that lovin’ feelin’ than Virginia’s Historic Triangle.
