You might get the urge to stand ramrod straight and say "ooh rah" as you enter the National Museum of the Marine Corps and Heritage Center, but your hair doesn't have to be cut high and tight to appreciate the history there.

The facility is the newest museum in Prince William County, Va., a history-rich place that straddles Interstates 95 and 66, close enough for a day trip but interesting enough to stay longer.

Named for Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and son of King George II, the county was formed in 1731. It was long a rural enclave. What population centers it had formed along the Occoquan River (with its easy access to the Potomac) on the east and in Manassas (with its major train junction) on the west. By the 1960s, it was becoming a D.C. bedroom community, the way south to Florida via auto or Amtrak's Auto Train, and west to the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge. Then, instead of being dependent on Washington attractions, it created its own.

Among the subjects covered by area museums are the history of the town of Haymarket at the Haymarket Museum; the quaint Mill House Museum, portraying the 18th century beginnings of Occoquan, and the Weems-Botts Museum, where you can learn about the creation of the legend of George Washington chopping down a cherry tree.

The Marine Corps museum is the one you see as you're driving along I-95 in the Quantico area. Its signature roof line, a 210-foot stainless steel spire soaring over the trees, is said to represent the raising of the flag over Iwo Jima, swords at salute, or aircraft reaching skyward. You decide.

Inside you can see one of the flags raised on Iwo Jima and even a Lego construction of the flag-raising in the gift shop. Multimedia exhibits take you through a winter's night, a hot landing zone and other tributes to the Marines.

The museum has been collecting oral histories for more than 40 years. If you'd like to share your tale, download, complete and submit the form at http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD (click on the link for the oral history program). The museum will then contact you so that you can meet with a historian. Such meetings usually take place on the first Saturday of every month.

Bullish on Manassas

At the Manassas Museum in Old Town Manassas, you can learn how the once-sleepy railroad community (trains still stop there for the morning and evening commute into and out of Washington, and two Amtrak lines stop in Manassas) was changed forever by the Civil War. Explore the reasons for the Battles of Bull Run (of Manassas, as they are referred to in the South).

Walking through Old Town Manassas (www.visitmanassas.org) is almost walking through a living museum because of all the turn-of-the-century buildings that are being used in new and interesting ways.

The Candy Factory building is now an arts center with classes, lectures, music recitals and rotating exhibits by regional and international artists. You can find antiques, crafts and local produce at the Art Beat Gallery. Inside the renovated Opera House is the Creative Brush Studio, featuring the oil paintings of Mary Reilly, known for her portraits of children, adults and pets. Linda Mullen's watercolors are also on display. Check out the pottery and classes at the Manassas Clay Gallery working studio (www.manassasclay.com).

Set in the old Hibbs and Giddings clothing store, Prospero's Books (www.prosperosbooksva.com) is a boon to bibliophiles with its personalized service and about 65,000 books in stock. The store specializes in military history, Americana, antique maps and prints. It also has a large helping of other nonfiction and fiction, all very well organized. Buy a book, then stroll across the street to the Loy E. Harris Pavilion and enjoy your find.

One other stop (at the least) should be at the Opera House Gourmet (www.operahousegourmet.com). Pack your shopping bags with wines from around the world (from under $10 a bottle), imported and micro-brew beers, cigars and cigar accessories, coffees and teas, candy (including fancy chocolates), gourmet foods and a variety of gift items.

Wining, dining, shopping

Almost all of our travel memories are connected to food, and you are sure to create a fantastic memory at Charles Gilliam's Foundation restaurant (www.foundationmanassas.com) in Old Town Manassas. C.J. Minter is the chef at Foundation and at the much more casual Okra's Louisiana Bistro next door. His background includes time at the Culinary Institute of America for continuing education and living in more than a dozen states, where he experienced many cuisines.

Minter loves working with lamb, so there's a clue for you when you're trying to make a selection from the menu. The menu is changed seasonally, yet some things remain, including the Chocolate Desire, with a raspberry cream center.

You have a choice of table seating or seating at the chef's bar (limited to eight people), where you get a toque's-eye view, figuratively speaking, of what's happening in the open kitchen.

Minter is no stranger to the area. His wedding reception 25 years ago was held in a former restaurant just across the street.

You can create another "food" memory at the Winery at La Grange (www.WineryatLaGrange.com) in Haymarket, where Chris Pearmund converted an "old place" into a picturesque stop for a wine tasting or a wedding. The three-and-a-half story manor house was built in the 1790s, and the surrounding acreage now has 5,500 newly planted cabernet sauvignon vines.

You can tour the house and the new winery building, and sample some of La Grange's current inventory of viognier, chardonnay, meritage, merlot, cabernet Franc, Norton, claret, pinot gris, tannat and a port-styled Snort. The tour and tasting are $5 per person, including a glass.

After the grapes come off the vines and everything has been processed and aged, a self-contained truck comes by to bottle the wines. They're still corked, but there is some talk about screw tops down the road.

Returning to the eastern part of the county, you can find antiques, art galleries, craft stores and specialty shops tucked away in Historic Occoquan. (www.occoquan.com and www.occoquan.org)

Down the road is the Potomac Mills mall (www.potomacmills.com), one of the busiest destinations in Virginia. It has more than 200 retail and outlet stores, 25 eateries and 18 movie theaters.

Strike fore

Outdoor activities abound including hiking, fishing, boating at the Leesylvania State Park (www.dcr.state.va.us/parks/leesylva.htm). For those who like to chase little white balls across acres of grass, there are 13 golf courses in the county. Among them are the Bull Run Country Club (www.bullruncc.com) public course (designed by Rick Jacobson), the Forest Greens Golf Club (www.forestgreens.com) with its pine- and oak-lined fairways near the Potomac River (designed by Hilton Head architect Clyde Johnson), the Stonewall Golf Club at Lake Manassas (www.stonewallgolfclub.com), designed by Tom Jackson, with views of the Bull Run Mountains and Lake Manassas, and the Old Hickory Golf Club (www.golfoldhickory.com), which features bentgrass fairways and super fast greens (designed by Tim Freeland).

From spring through fall, sports fans have a ball in Woodbridge with the Potomac Nationals (www.potomacnationals.com), the Carolina League champions, playing at the G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium. Named in honor of the former chairman of the County Board of Supervisors, the 6,000-seat complex is due for an update. Among the future stars who played for the team: Barry Bonds, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettitte, Art Silber, Bobby Bonilla and Albert Pujols. They are ensconced on the team's Wall of Fame.

If you're in Woodbridge but the ballpark isn't your thing, check out the Lazy Susan Dinner Theatre (www.lazysusan.com). One of the oldest venues in the area, it's known for such family-friendly productions as "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "Once Upon a Mattress."

It's also known for its Pennsylvania Dutch menu, and because you're on a getaway, you can start with the desserts.

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