Virginia Beach.

Before we moved to Richmond, we promised the girls we'd take them to the beach anytime they wanted to go. They never asked, but were very excited once the trip was scheduled. They spent every minute they could in the water or playing in the sand. Of course, there were a few historical sites in the area that I knew we had to see before we left. One of them, the lighthouse at Cape Henry first used in 1792. Madison was a little apprehensive about climbing the 86 spiral steps straight up to the top and couldn't wait to get back down to the ground.

Our next stop was a mere 300 yards from the lighthouse. April 26, 1607, three small ships of the Virginia Company Expedition (they had set sail from England December 1606), lead by Captain Christopher Newport, made landfall at Cape Henry. They named this place for Henry, Prince of Wales, oldest son of King James I. After erecting a cross (fashioned from English oak) at this site on April 29th, these first settlers were ready to push deeper into Virginia to seek a site suitable for settlement. After two weeks of searching both sides of the James River, they established a permanent settlement at Jamestown on May 13, 1607.

Even thought the three days we were here at the beach were mostly rainy, we still had loads of fun.