Football. Deep-fried turkeys. Pinterest-y centerpieces. Modern Thanksgiving traditions are all about fun, food, and family — not so much history. This year, why not change it up? Consider taking a Thanksgiving road trip to explore the origins of this American holiday.

Where was the first Thanksgiving? Either in Massachusetts or Virginia, depending on who you ask. Visit both historic Thanksgiving destinations and get a taste of Turkey Day, 1600s-style.

Historic Thanksgiving Destination: Plymouth, Mass.

When you were a first-grader making hand turkeys, you probably learned that the first Thanksgiving happened in November 1621 at Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims celebrated their first fall harvest by sharing a meal with the local Wampanoag Indians. We know this event took place because of a letter from Edward Winslow, who wrote that the colonists spent three days feasting with about 90 Wampanoag and their leader Massasoit, who contributed five deer.¹

For a memorable Thanksgiving getaway, you can visit Plimoth Plantation, a living-history site that commemorates the holiday with lavish meals. The Thanksgiving Day buffet at Plimoth is an all-you-can-eat feast with classic dishes, including roast native turkey, carved roast beef, cornbread stuffing and wood-pressed apple cider. Plimoth also hosts America’s Thanksgiving Dinner, with Pilgrim and Native interpreters telling the story. Dinner prices include admission to Plimoth Plantation, where you can visit a recreated Wampanoag home site, 17^th-century English village and the Mayflower II reproduction ship (returning in 2019 after a restoration effort).²

The menus, while delicious, aren’t exactly accurate. Kathleen Wall, a foodways culinarian, points out that the Pilgrims would not have been able to make modern Thanksgiving treats like mashed potatoes (no potatoes), cranberry sauce (no cranberries or sugar), or pumpkin pie (no butter or wheat flour).³ If you truly want to dine as the Pilgrims did, try Plimoth’s New England Harvest Feast, where you can chat with historians and join in the singing of Puritan psalms while dining on “mussels seeth'd with parsley and beer” and “pottage of cabbage, leeks & onions.” 

But Thanksgiving history isn’t all about feasting and celebrating. Also in Plymouth, Native Americans observe a National Day of Mourning on Thanksgiving Day. A group gathers on Coles Rock, above Plymouth Rock (where the Pilgrims first landed), then marches through town. “It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of the racism and oppression which Native Americans continue to experience,” organizers explain. Non-native supporters are welcome to join the event.

Historic Thanksgiving Destination: Berkeley Plantation, Virginia

Your first-grade teacher wasn’t telling the whole story when she explained the origins of Thanksgiving at Plymouth. Virginia lays claim to an even earlier Thanksgiving, on December 4, 1619.

That fall, a band of men sailed from England across the Atlantic, hoping to establish a colony that would be more successful than the beleaguered Jamestown. Almost three months after their departure, they dropped anchor in the James River and came ashore at a place called Berkeley, between modern-day Williamsburg and Richmond. Exhausted and relieved, the 38 men knelt down to pray. Their captain proclaimed, “We ordaine that this day of our ships arrival, at the place assigned for plantacon, (meaning plantation) in the land of Virginia, shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God.”⁴ It was America’s first official English-speaking Thanksgiving, although it was a strictly religious observance, not a feast.

This history, overlooked for years, is now celebrated with a festival held at Berkeley Plantation in early November. The Virginia Thanksgiving festival includes colonial music, tours of the mansion, a re-enactment and best of all, a “Friendship Dance” across the lawn that includes Chickahominy Tribal dancers, costumed colonists and the audience. The menu has a decidedly Virginia flavor, with Brunswick stew, country ham biscuits and a “BBQ sundae”: minced pork barbecue and baked beans topped with coleslaw and served in a glass.⁵ More authentic fare is served at the Foods and Feasts of Colonial Virginia festival, which takes place over three days, starting on Thanksgiving, at nearby Jamestown.

More Great Thanksgiving Getaway Traditions

Less historic but still beloved Thanksgiving destinations include:

• Watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Here’s our viewing guide to this spectacular parade.

• Visiting Chicago for the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade and the Christkindlmarket, the largest Christmas market outside of Europe.⁶

• Treating family to a Thanksgiving weekend at Walt Disney World in Orlando. While long lines are guaranteed, many Disney fans love watching the park transform into a winter wonderland as it gears up for the holidays. Several resort restaurants offer traditional Thanksgiving menus, too.⁷

Wherever your Thanksgiving travels take you this year, protect your trip with travel insurance. If you’re flying, make sure your insurance plan includes trip delay, trip cancellation/interruption and lost/damaged baggage benefits. And if you’re heading overseas, opt for a plan with emergency medical and emergency medical transportation benefits. Compare plans and choose the right one for you!

Richmond-based travel writer Muriel Barrett has a terrible sense of direction and has spent many happy hours getting lost in Barcelona, Venice, and Jerusalem. Her favorite travel memories all involve wildlife: watching sea turtles nest in Costa Rica, kayaking with seals in Vancouver and meeting a pink tarantula in Martinique.

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