Point your wheels due north along the Atlantic coast, which boasts one of the longest strands of beach in the world — miles and miles of sand beginning at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. With so much history to experience, get an early start and stop for a hearty breakfast along U.S. 60 at any of several restaurants with an ocean view. It’s not far on Atlantic Avenue to the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum, where you’ll learn what’s being done to protect area wildfowl. Then it’s on to the Virginia Beach Surf and Rescue Museum, providing an overview of the surfing life in Virginia Beach. Motor further north and you’ll find the historic trio of Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg and lots more history about our earliest settlers.

If you head south instead, toward the community of Pungo, don’t miss the Military Aviation Museum, housing the largest collection of World War I- and World War II-era planes. No rust-bucket skeletons here, as the planes have been restored, many to flying condition. On the return trip to Virginia Beach, grab a beer at the Commonwealth Brewing Co., housed in an old firehouse, or lunch at the historic Cavalier Hotel. Then walk off your lunch by climbing the 191 stairs of the first lighthouse in the U.S., Cape Henry Lighthouse, built in 1792. Finally, make one last stop at First Landing State Park, site of the First Landing Cross and some great views. End your day with a stroll on the boardwalk or shop the artsy Vibe Creative District.