'Tis the season when parents pack up their kids and head out on a family vacation.
Vacations were not a big thing for my family when I was a kid, mainly because we couldn’t really afford them. But in July 1982, after months of saving, my parents loaded my brother Jeff and me into the car for a week-long vacation in Virginia.
Jeff and I used to make fun of Mom for her vacation planning, comparing her to Clark Griswold from “Vacation,” wanting to see every giant ball of yarn across the country. And that was definitely what this trip felt like as she squeezed 11 historical sites and a beach trip into a week.
Our journey began in Charlottesville, Virginia, at, Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home. Our tour guide led us through room after room, entertaining us with stories of Jefferson’s unique inventions. But all that came to a screeching halt when our guide asked for questions and my dad asked how Jefferson used the restroom, since there was no indoor plumbing. It was a question I would hear repeated several times during that week in historic homes and ships all across what was once Colonial Virginia. (I will spare you the answers, as they’re not pleasant.) Apparently, my dad considered that very important information.
Charlottesville was followed by a way-too-short-for-my-taste trip to Virginia Beach. Then it was on to Norfolk, Yorktown, Jamestown, a quick trip to Williamsburg, and finally to Hampton to see a real life moon rock. Jeff and I tried on Revolutionary War costumes, posed with more cannons than I’ve ever seen in my life, roamed battlefield after battlefield, and toured ship after ship – both Colonial and modern. For a seven-year-old girl, seeing where Pocahontas lived was pretty cool, but by week’s end, I was pretty happy to be back in my own bed with visions of Revolutionary War soldiers dancing in my head.
However, once I got back to school, something amazing happened. All those places I saw ended up in my history books. For the first time, I knew exactly what my history teacher was going to say before she said it. While others could only imagine these places, I had actually seen them! I was able to stand up in front of the class (my very favorite thing to do) and share my experiences.
And that’s exactly what Mom and Dad were trying to do with the vacation. What appeared through seven-year-old eyes to be Mom’s quest to see balls of yarn was actually a meticulously planned trip through history so Jeff and I could experience that history for ourselves. Now, as an adult, I can finally appreciate what a gift that crazy week was. That summer was the start of what would become my lifelong love of history. In one week, I learned about the very beginnings of the United States, how the Colonial settlers lived, and yes, how they used the restroom.
Back then, as we were following tour guides through battlefields and homes without air conditioning in the blazing July sun, I just wanted to get back home to my Barbie dolls. But today, 37 years later, I remember that trip for what it truly was – my favorite family vacation ever.

Angela Henderson-Bentley is a freelance writer living in South Shore, Ky. These days her family vacations are with her husband of eight years, Roger, and usually involve some sort of out-of-town sporting event.