Everyone wants to create perfect memories for their children, memories of sunny days on sandy beaches that they can carry with them forever. Rated as one of the best places to grow up by US News and World Report, Virginia Beach, Virginia, offers just the sort of atmosphere any family might need to build such happy hours. It's also a place, with noted schools and 18 landmarks that are on the National Register of Historic Places, that can help develop any child's character. This is because, though the modern economy of this oceanside city of 438,000 is primarily devoted to tourism, it has beginnings that are at the very root of the American experience. In 1607 the settlers who would go on to found Jamestown, and thereby begin a sequence of events that would eventually lead to the creation of the United States, first set foot in the New World at Virginia Beach's Cape Henry, a scenic coastal patch that is now known for multiple picturesque lighthouses and cheerful sunbathers. As it lies where Chesapeake Bay opens into the Atlantic, this would not be Virginia Beach's sole rendezvous with history, however, as this strategic crossroads would go on to witness a number of naval and land battles from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Today, its position as a gateway to the ocean has made its continuing relationship with the U.S. Navy of paramount importance. For Virginia Beach's average resident or visitor, however, the beach itself is what makes this warm and friendly city a beacon of relaxation and fun. Named by the Guinness Book of World Records as possessing "the world's longest pleasure beach", Virginia Beach is also known as the host of the East Coast Surfing Championship as well as several amateur and professional volleyball associations. With sights like the 8,000 acre Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park, it even as places dedicated to quiet reflection and the appreciation of nature. Entertaining, upbeat, and child-friendly, this fine coastal city has all any family might need.