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By Bob & Tanya Waite
It’s a beautiful Indian Summer day and only a few days before Halloween that we leave our Langhorne home to take that six hour drive to Virginia Beach. By 10 a.m. we are all packed and on our way. We both eagerly anticipate the Chesapeake Tunnel Bridge. The last time Tanya traveled to Virginia Beach was decades ago. Same with me, although in my twenties I used to take that bridge regularly when I worked for a company that had a branch in Norfolk, Virginia. All I remember about Virginia Beach is the beautiful orangish beige fine sand that contrasts with the deep blue Atlantic.
As we approach the Tunnel bridge, Tanya is all eyes. She says, “Look at the boats.” I point out an oil barge. She is amused by seagulls sitting on posts, each equidistant from the other. We see sailboats, fishermen in small boats and soon land disappears, and all we can see is the horizon and the bridge ahead of us. We leave the 17.6 mile bridge tunnel and are again on dry land. The directions from our Maps app take us by large rental homes on the beach and then hotels, restaurants, beachwear stores, small taverns and oyster bars. We get to 25th Street and we are at the Marriot Courtyard Virginia Beach Ocean South. Our room is on the tenth (top) floor with a glorious ocean view.
Tanya and I immediately put down our suitcases and sit on the balcony that overlooks the beach and ocean. The concrete boardwalk is below us and the beach is still occupied with sunbathers, beach walkers, a man with a metal detector and even a few swimmers. Tanya says, “It’s too cold to swim.” I told her the water temperature is probably warm. But still the air is only 66 degrees. Sitting there we enjoy each other. Our conversation about this trip and many others we took continues for a couple of hours. So, we unpack and look for a restaurant. The desk clerk recommends CP Shuckers, only two blocks away.
Our hotel is right next to the Naval Aviation Monument Park. So we have to marvel at the incredible statuary before going out to eat. Best described by visitvirginiabeach.org: “The monument represents the culmination of an eight-year undertaking by NAF's Hampton Roads Squadron, supported by the City of Virginia Beach. View the six larger-than-life bronze sculptures with action-oriented presentations depicting three historic eras in naval aviation. The Monument graces a plaza encompassing 16,000 square feet at the intersection of 25th Street and Atlantic Avenue, adjacent to the Norwegian Lady monument, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.”
While admiring this incredible installation, two women stopped to talk to us. They were attending a Christian women’s conference and spoke to us for about five minutes. Tanya hugged them both. And so did I, after they asked my wife for permission. They say that they are old school and Tanya, an old schooler herself, smiles.
As we approach CP Shuckers Cafe & Raw Bar we see the outdoor dining, which is packed, but as we turn the corner, we find the door to the indoor dining. Neither of us want to sit outside and eat. It is getting cooler, around 60 degrees, so we go inside. At first I think Goth has come back in style, but after seeing someone looking just like Wednesday Addams walking past us, we realize that all the wait staff are dressed in costume as are some of the guests. Our waitress, Jessica, is dressed as the White Rabbit from “Alice in Wonderland.” Rock music from the 80s’ is pounding over the speakers and people are having a good time, especially those around the standing-room-only bar. We order drinks and order Dynamite Shrimp as an appetiser. It is delicious.
For her entrée Tanya orders the Crab Cake Dinner ( Two broiled lump/backfin crabcakes served with seasonal vegetables and wild rice) and I order the NY Strip Steak, served with broccoli and wild rice. The crabcakes make Tanya smile. They are full of crabmeat. My steak is big and tender and cooked medium rare. We enjoy the meal. After dinner we walk back towards the hotel.
Across from the Courtyard is Sunsations, that bills itself as a beach department store. All the prices are slashed. Summer is over and everything is on sale. We enter, looking for swimwear. The store is big. Tanya is going one way and I am going in another direction. I hear Tanya from across the store saying in a loud voice, “ Babe, babe!” So I begin looking for her. I am yelling, “Where are you?” She yells back, “Over here!” I ask in a louder voice, “Where?” Finally I find her and she wants me to tell her how she will look in a certain swimsuit. I shout, “Good!” She says, “You don’t have to yell.” So, it goes on like that for about a half an hour. We leave with swimsuits, a covering, two pairs of beach footwear, a Virginia Beach long sleave tee shirt and a bag of candy.
We wake up late on Sunday morning and I run down to the snack bar and get coffee and a couple of toasted bagels. We go on YouTube to watch our church service, since we cannot be there. We listen to our pastor preach and we both miss the people at Olney Baptist Church in Philadelphia. Afterwards we read from the Bible, pray and get dressed, as is our custom every day.
We take a ride around a residential area and see gorgeous homes, some in the Williamsburg style, others that look like manors with columns and electric gates, and a few are so hidden by shrubbery that driving by we can only catch a glimpse. We come to a very small movie theatre called Beach Cinema Alehouse that offers a movie with full dinners and microbrews. We looked at what is playing and decide not to go. Besides we have a reservation at Waterman’s Surfside Grill adjacent to the southern boardwalk.
Our waitress, Anna, comes immediately taking an order for drinks. We know what we want for an appetizer, so we order Flash Fried Calamari with banana peppers and orange chipotle sauce. It comes to us almost instantly and is fresh and tender. She takes our order for entrées. Tanya orders the blackened fish of the day, blackened and served with cilantro, lime rice and sauteed veggies (broccoli). Deviating from my usual order of steak, I order Waterman’s Original Pasta, a filling blend of shrimp, scallops, pork sausage, red bell peppers, onions, cavatappi and Cajun cream sauce.
We eat and are pleasantly surprised by the food and it’s presentation. My pasta dish did not look like too much, but it was. I am full. Tanya never asked what fish of the day is, but she loved it. We still do not know. We are done, except I remember when my son at the age of 8 could not finish his supper, so I told him that he must not have room for ice cream, and then he presented to me his two-stomach lesson in anatomy. He said, “My dinner stomach is full, but my dessert stomach is empty. A doting father, I gave him the ice cream. So, I am in that condition—I want something in my dessert stomach. Tanya is not sure about this, since she doesn’t believe that she has anymore than one stomach. We order The Perfect Crush Cake, which is a soft and fluffy cake, made perfectly with Waterman Spirits’ The Perfect Crush vodka. It is delicious. Tanya, after eating half of this dessert discovers to her surprise that she really does have two stomachs.
As the day drifts away and evening displays the city’s lights, we think about swimming in the indoor pool. After all we bought swim suits and I got two for the price of one. We are ready to go to the pool, but in the pool are a bunch of marines on leave and Tanya, being shy about wearing a bathing suit, gives me the look that says, “Not now.” I defer to her demur demeanor and we retire to our room. Fortunately for us, the movie Seabiscuit is playing on one of the premium channels. The movie leaves us both teary eyed and we decide to sit on the balcony for a few minutes and then retire for the night.
We wake up early and decide to go out for breakfast. We drive inland until we find our favorite breakfast spot, IHOP. Now, by my choices you can tell that I am not a breakfast gourmet and Tanya hardly likes to eat breakfast, but we both like to eat a late breakfast. So it unusual that we would be in an IHOP at 9 a.m., but here we are.
We are greeted at the door by Jessica, who is a hostess and Waitress. So she seats us and asks us what we would like to drink. We eat. I have steak and eggs and Tanya has a combination breakfast. It is not too busy and we sit and talk. On the way out Tanya hugs Jessica and we go back to the hotel, but we stay outside. It is time to walk north on the boardwalk, since we already walked south.
About a half mile up the boardwalk is the remarkable King Neptune statue. It is described by www.visitvirginiabeach.com: “Created by artist Paul DiPasquale, King Neptune stands 26 feet tall, sun reflecting off his frame, wave-inspired curls cast in bronze. He is the son of Saturn, Lord of the Sea. He is King Neptune, and with a majestic presence only he can muster, he presides over Virginia Beach’s newest oceanfront park. Located at 31st and Atlantic, Neptune’s Park is the third venue of its kind along the resort strip. Like its sisters at 17th and 24th Streets, it’s a setting for entertainment, as well as a place for people to congregate, to stroll, or to stop and enjoy the view. And what a view it is.”
We reach the statue after passing hotels, restaurants and bars. Beside us is the Atlantic Ocean sparkling in the sun. The sand is gorgeous, glistening in the sun. It is a little windy and about 60 degrees, so there is no one on the beach and only a few on the boardwalk. We feel small next to this huge figure holding a trident who is surrounded by sculpted fish, dolphins and other sea creatures. We ask someone to take our photo and are pleased by his readiness and thank him profusely.
We walk further up the boardwalk and back toward our hotel. Along the way we see another statue of a large conch. Again we are aided by a passerby who gladly takes a photo of us by this giant shellfish.
We do not see all the attractions and cultural sites, but will when we visit again. Some that are recommended by the nice woman at the Virginia Beach Visitors Center are the Princess Anne Wildlife Center located at Munden Road, which serves as one of the major waterfowl hunting areas in the state. “Four tracts, totaling 1,546 acres, make up the Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area. Located on the western shore of Back Bay, a slightly brackish body separated from the Atlantic Ocean by False Cape.” For more information, visit www.dwr.virginia.gov/wma/princess-anne.
Another place for outdoor recreation is Stumpy Lake Natural Area, which is a forest with 1.7 miles of trails and overlooks of a cypress-lined lake that provides the opportunity to observe songbirds, woodpeckers, wading birds, waterfowl, butterflies and dragonflies. Visit www.VBgov.com/cityparks.
There are whale watching boats that leave from boardwalk and there are fishing boats too. Virginia beach has several fishing piers and lots of beach to surf cast. There are art galleries, museums and a self-guided African American History tour. And this only scratches the surface.
There are several websites to visit before planning a trip to Virginia Beach. They are www.visitvirginiabeach.com, www.virginia.org and www.virginiabeach.guide.
It is our day to check out. A six hour drive lies ahead of us, so we leave early thinking that our three night stay is not long enough. Nonetheless, we leave and are looking forward to another crossing of the Chesapeake Tunnel Bridge. It is a sunny day. We talk about trip on the way home and begin to look forward to being back in our all-time favorite place—Bucks County.
Bob Waite is the editor of Bucks County Magazine and Tanya is his wife, travel companion and the co-writer of this department.