Road Trip from Raleigh: Richmond, Va.

Just under three hours from Raleigh, there's another capital city that offers plenty of fun for families interested in a road trip.

Richmond, Va., is home to museums, baseball, plenty of history and Maymont, a beautiful destination that includes a giant park, garden, mansion, nature center and small petting farm.

My sister recently moved to the Richmond area from Alaska. We met up with her and her three boys, ages 2 to 8, along with our own parents, for a whirlwind weekend of activity.

Here's what we did:

Other favorites included the Boost! exhibit, which is all about healthy living and features plenty of activities for kids who need to move their bodies. The kids in our group enjoyed an exhibit where a touchscreen allowed them to write their own music that was played by percussion instruments; have a computer determine their height; and have their bodies scanned to see if they're doing yoga positions correctly.

And there's the Dome, which shows live astronomy presentations and other movies on a giant screen. We caught "Planet Nine," which is all about the search for a new ninth planet. During the show, the two-year-old in our group hung out with his mom in a special space nearby for younger children and had a blast.

We started in the nature center where the focus is on animals who live on the land and in the waters of the James River and Chesapeake Bay. That includes alligators, crabs, fish, frogs, turtles, seahorses and North American river otters. Exhibits tell more about the different animals and their habitats. Regular programs are offered on the weekends. Admission to the nature center is $4 for ages 13 to 59 and $3 for kids ages 4 to 12. It's free for kids under 4.

From there, we wandered around the gardens, stopping for a shaved ice treat along the way. The Japanese Garden, with its stepping stones, are a must. You can actually walk across the stones. But our kids just enjoyed running around the vast expanse of green lawn.

From there, we toured the 12,000-square-foot, 33-room mansion. The boys in our group sat this one out, but the girls loved wandering through the rooms and learning a bit about the furniture and accessories, which are mostly original to the house. The highlight: Sallie Dooley's swan bed. Tours upstairs are guided. A $5 donation is suggested. But it's free to tour the "belowstairs" area, which offers a fascinating look at the many people who cared for the house, the estate and the Dooleys.

Finally, after a bit of walking, we made it to the farm. Here, for about 50 cents, you can buy feed to give to the goats, sheep and other animals on site.

It's free to see the National Park Services' exhibits. Admission to the American Civil War Museum starts at $10.

I feel like I just scratched the surface of Richmond on our visit there. Luckily, with my sister and nephews nearby and everything we haven't seen, there are lots of reasons to go back.