JAMESTOWN, Va. — Four hundred years ago this May, Capt. John Smith and company landed at what is now Jamestown, and the English colonies got their start. These colonies continued until 1781, when British Gen. Charles Cornwallis surrendered to combined American and French forces at nearby Yorktown and effectively ended the Revolutionary War.

Jamestown represents the start of an English dream. Yorktown was the start of an American one. The establishments are 20 miles apart, and everything in the area is being polished up for Queen Elizabeth’s imminent arrival. This is the year to go.

The English called the place they landed “Jamestown” because it was on the James River, newly named after their king, James I. Of course, that wasn’t what the existing residents called the waters. They called it the Powhatan River, after the local tribe’s chief.

On the river, there are two quite different establishments: the Jamestown Settlement and Historic Jamestowne, a national park area.

If you’re with kids, or still a kid yourself, you’ll appreciate the Jamestown Settlement more. Here, you can take fun pictures in reconstructed Indian huts, talk to re-enactor soldiers at the fort and be entertained. But if you’re like me and just like to walk around and look at stuff and imagine what it was like back then, go for the national park.

The Jamestown Settlement is more the kind of place where you want to check things off your list as you see them. A reconstructed fort sits on the banks of the river, as well as a Virginia Indian village. Three ships — full-size, sea-worthy replicas of the originals the colonists came over — rock quietly by the docks.

The first thing you’ll see if you visit, however, is a good-size museum. I saw what the real Pocahontas looked like, and it’s not quite like the American Indian Barbie that Disney depicted. I also learned she had a secret name known only to her tribesmen. The name was “Matoax,” which means “White Feather.” I don’t know why she was called that, but come on, how cool is that to have a secret name?

Down at the dock, I couldn’t believe how small the ships were. They’re barely larger than most Floridians’ in-ground swimming pools, and colonists rode them for more than four months to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Beds (they call them “berths” around here) are built into the wooden walls of each ship. At the time, only the crew got beds. The passengers were just another form of cargo, and they slept wherever room was left over.

The Jamestown Settlement seems to me mostly noise and action. The Historic Jamestown National Park area out on Jamestown Island, however, is a quiet, spacious place. It reminds me of an empty cathedral. It’s the sort of place where you want to have a lot of time to stop, think, learn and imagine. That sort of thing can’t be rushed.

And the caretakers of this place, National Park Service employees, are a great aid to the person who wants to know more. They are consistently well-informed and courteous, and they really desire to educate the folks they meet — and that’s part of the draw to me.

I See Dead People

Our favorite thing was the Archaearium (a combination of the Greek words archeo (ancient) and arium (place of). This is a glass-walled building constructed over the excavation site of the original city of Jamestown, and it showcases many of the finds researchers have dug up.

The highlight is the “CSI”-style investigations of human remains. Bodies of some colonists are on display, as well as extensive case studies which determined how and why they died. One man was shot in the leg, probably accidentally by a sentinel, and died from his wound. This body was classified as “JR-102C,” so the sign that explains the research is fittingly titled, “Who Shot JR?” Referring, of course, to television’s “Dallas,” it must have been an inside joke for the scientists.

Nearby is the historic Jamestown church. This old brick building was built in 1907 and is attached to a tower built in 1690. That tower is the only surviving 17th century structure at Jamestown. Everything else has to be dug up by its foundations. The church sits on a quiet shoreline, and while standing outside it’s easy to imagine not much has changed on this island.

Visit the glass-blowing house before you leave. It sounds boring, I know, but there is this giant stone igloo in the middle of the room that is so cool. It’s actually a furnace, and through small doors on the side you can peer within.

Do so, and you’ll see that it looks like they’re trying to hide the sun’s little brother. It’s about 1,500 degrees inside, and you can feel the heat across the room. The master glass blowers, always sweating, use this furnace to melt their raw materials of sand and crushed oyster shells into clear, liquid glass.

They make flower vases, beer glasses and all types of bottles before your eyes, and they are all available at the gift shop.

Hint: Only green-colored glass is made on-site in the glasshouse. The other colors for sale are made off-site because they require different ingredients.

End Of An Era

Finishing off a trip with a visit to Yorktown is delightful, like the last page of a story you wanted to (and knew would) end happily. It was in Yorktown in 1781 that about 7,000 British soldiers surrendered to French and American forces. The Imperial Army was forced to march away minus its weapons, battle flags wrapped up in cases, in disgrace.

For modern-day visitors, Yorktown is the battlefield, the Yorktown Victory Centerand the town proper.

See the battlefield by driving your car on a self-guided tour. Start at the National Park Service visitor center and follow the well-marked signs. You’ll trace tiny paths through the woods — trails that American and French reinforcements walked to the battleground.

Then drive right up to the house where the surrender was negotiated. There, peer into the rooms where the British begged to march out with their battle flags unfurled as tribute to their own bravery. George Washington’s men, of course, said no. It’s a fascinating tour that will take you maybe 90 minutes. Just don’t waste money on the $5 audio CD tour at the gift shop. The sound quality is atrocious, and it was originally made for people carrying portable cassette players around the battlefield. Since you can’t easily remove your car’s CD player and speakers, it seems a waste.

The Yorktown Victory Center, just down the road, features a first-rate, supersized museum. There’s enough here to keep you occupied for a few hours, including Washington’s portable tent headquarters, diaries from the troops and artifacts recovered from a British ship scuttled in the river. You can even see the old bones of rats they found in the wreckage. Stowaways, apparently.

Down the road is the town, , which is more like a village. There is a small collection of shops by the beach, including a museum dedicated to the area’s commercial fishermen. Keep driving past the shops, and you’ll spot a little cave on the right. It’s called Cornwallis’ cave, and it’s supposed to be haunted: strange noises in the night, locals say. On the cliffs above sit the precious few houses and historical monuments in the area. There’s not much to the town, but what little that remains is very quaint, very seaside-picturesque. It is reminiscent of small towns in Maine.

Stop at the Carrot Tree restaurant while you’re there. It’s responsible for a little of that small-town flavor. It’s the oldest house in Yorktown (built in 1720) and is family-owned by good people today.

Glenn and Debi Helseth serve up scratch-made quiche, two-day smoked barbecue sandwiches and “Garden Tarts” made with zucchini, yellow squash, mozzarella, mascarpone and ricotta cheese. Good coffee, 14 kinds of cake (including their famous carrot cake) and fresh, seasonal ingredients are what the eatery is known for. It’s a satisfying feeling to leave there, look down at the York River and the city of Gloucester Point across the way and feel full and warm. It’s the kind of feeling that makes a vacation.

TIPS FOR THE TRIP

GETTING THERE: Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown form “Virginia’s Historic Triangle,” all linked by the scenic Colonial Parkway, and are reached via Interstate 64 (east of Richmond or northwest of Norfolk).

WHERE TO STAY: The Duke of York hotel sits on the York River at the base of the Yorktown cliffs. It’s a small, family-run place that’s good for families, with an outdoor pool and some rooms containing kitchenettes. Kids can explore on the beach right in front of the hotel, and a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream store is a short walk up the tiny street. Room rates start at $70.

WHERE TO EAT: The hotel has recently hired the chef from the old Nick’s Seafood Pavilion, a famous, hole-in-the-wall seafood restaurant demolished by Hurricane Isabel. If you go looking for old Nick’s, be advised that the new restaurant, Nick’s Riverwalk Restaurant, takes only the name of the old venue. It is now a sort of American bistro eatery.

INFORMATION:www.dukeofyorkmotel.com

ANDY SCHRADER is a free lance writer.  This story originally appeared in The Tampa Tribune.