VIRGINIA BEACH SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

HAPPY 

One of our neighbors at the bar at Coastal Grill in Virginia Beach, a classy local restaurant a few miles inland from Oceanfront, the touristy beach area of Virginia Beach, didn’t bat an eye when I had mentioned that we had heard that “bad things happen in VB.” She off handedly assured us that “they” were actively trying to make Virginia Beach nicer and to calm the revelry there.

VIRGINIA BEACH

From our short time at this stretch of the southwestern coast of the Commonwealth I would have to say “they” have been successful.

LESS IS MORE

I can hazard to guess part of the solution has been the global COVID pandemic, when many events that would lure masses of people to VB have been canceled the past two years. Pharrell Williams’ “Something In The Water” festival, which was a huge success in 2019, has been canceled the past two because of the pandemic. Or that other events, like College Beach Weekend, a variation of Greek Week from the 80’s that had caused a lot of trouble when unruly collegiate students swelled the population of VB to over 40K when it was held, has since moved on to other locales. It was scheduled to be held in the Miami Beach area earlier in June. 

BLUE OYSTER CULT

DON'T FEAR THE BEACH  

While there are less events in Virginia Beach there are still plenty of activities promoted by the city throughout the summer. Live music acts are held at several small stages dotted along the promenade, and the Oceanfront Concert Series feature major acts like Blue Oyster Cult. We missed BOC by a week, but we heard a couple of small acts playing on a small stage at 34th Street where our time share apartment was located. You had the pleasure of either sitting at the Lager Heads Bar, or the Tortugas Tiki Bar on the Oceanaire grounds, or lounge at one of the promenade benches to listen to the music.

Here's Virginia Beach’s events website:

VIRGINIA BEACH EVENTS

BEACH SOCCER

The weekend we were in Virginia Beach we witnessed the North American Sand Soccer Championship. Over the course of the weekend some 2,000 matches were held, with age ranges from youth to professional. We watched both the men and woman’s championship on Sunday under brilliant sunny skies. The game was played in an arena with a covered area on one side, and a sand berm on the far side for spectators to cheer on their team.

The men’s winning team was called the Marzillians. Comprised of Brazilians living in Maryland and as many native Brazilians they could get into the country because of COVID restrictions.

As we walked the promenade both days, we would pause to watch snippets of youth games, standing elbow-to-elbow with the cheering parents. Despite the crowds, it was all a lot of fun and there was a convivial feeling to the days.

NORTH AMERICAN SAND SOCCER 

IN THE NAVY

The Navy is omnipresent in Virginia Beach. Norfolk, the world’s largest naval base, is a few miles away and even if you decide to ignore the massive military presence in the area, you are constantly reminded of it by the military aircraft flying overhead as Virginia Beach is directly in the flight path of Oceana Naval Air Base. There is a jet viewing area for the NAS on Oceana Boulevard for those interested in getting a bit closer than their beach chairs. 

NAVY SEAL MEMORIAL
VIRGINIA BEACH

Further reminders of the Naval presence in Virginia Beach are in the memorials and statues that dot the three miles of the promenade. Near the northern end there is the Naval Seal Memorial that honors those lost in the line of the duty. It gives a brief history of this special forces squad and in the trough of the memorial as is befitting of the global reach of the Seals is sand collected from all campaigns.

NAVY SEALS MUSEUM

At 25^th Street is the Naval Aviation Memorial Park another solemn reminder of the sacrifice and support the Navy gives to our country.

NAVAL AVIATION MONUMENT PARK

Another stop on the promenade is the massive statue of Neptune, at 31^st Street. The king of the sea presides overall and people are constantly posing for pictures. There is also a venue opposite the statue where the Free Summer Concert Series is held.

NEPTUNE VB

NEPTUNE PARK VB

RAINY DAYS AREN’T DREARY IN VB

There are plenty of activities off the beach and when we had a rainy day, we checked out the website listed below. Unfortunately, the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art was closed due to COVID concerns. There is a permanent Chlhuly installation of a 14-foot chandelier which we were unable to view at the time. The museum is free admission....when open. 

CHIHULY

We did go to the Military Aviation Museum which has working WWII and WWI aircraft to view. The cost was $15.00.

RAINY DAYS IN VIRGINIA BEACH

Virginia Beach was never on our radar before, but it proved to be a quick and pleasant destination.

Thanks for reading.

Love Janet and greg, and THANK YOU Carol

© 2021 by greg dunaj

VIRGINIA BEACH FOOD

BY THE SEA

Our time share apartment at the Oceanaire in Virginia Beach was on the 5^th floor with a very uninspiring view of Atlantic Avenue and the Pocahontas Pancake House just across the street. Catering to the families who come to Virginia Beach, there were many such places to drag the clan for a cheaper meal. Armed with coupons cut from the ubiquitous tourist booklets found everywhere we watched lines of families with kids impatiently kicking the walls while waiting to get seated.

We had laid in supplies from the local high-end market, Harris Teeter, in order to avoid such crowds and took our breakfasts in our kitchenette. From our balcony we would see the ocean, if we craned our necks out over the abyss, and so our meals were just for fueling our days in preparation for long walks along the promenade and for lounging at the beach or the pool.

VIRGINIA BEACH EATERY?

Late lunches or early dinners are when we like to take our main meal of the day, preferably at the bar, often lured by happy hour or day of specials. 

Here is the chronological order of our meals while in Virginia Beach.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING…

Pelon’s Baja Grill 3619 Pacific Avenue, just two short blocks from the Oceanaire, Pelon’s is in a strip mall.

The day got away from us, including Pelon’s generous 3 pm to 6pm, Happy Hour specials which includes 3 Tacos for $6.00 and $6.00 Jumbo margaritas and a dollar off all draft beer. 

We were pleasantly surprised though to learn Wednesday was $2.00 taco and brew night. The concierge at Oceanaire RAVED about Pelon’s fish tacos. After a couple of tequila shots Happy Hour was a distant memory, Janet had the fish tacos and I had carnitas! I drank a Modelo Especial with my tacos. Of course, we sat at the bar. Great food, inexpensive. Surfing videos on the wide screen above the bar.

PELON'S VIRGINIA BEACH

Rockafella’s 308 Mediterranean Avenue (Rudee’s Inlet) 

Our concierge also told us about this bright airy seafood restaurant overlooking the picturesque Rudee’s Inlet. There is outdoor seating on the top deck, but we chose to sit at the bar. Again, Timing Is Everything, and for their equally lengthy (3-6 pm) Happy Hour, they offer Oysters Rockefeller for $.99 each, half dozen minimum. On Thursday that deal is good all day and not just during their happy hour. They also have early bird  3 course specials from 3-5:30 pm, but after a dozen Oyster Rockefellers we ordered off the regular menu. Janet had a blackened Mahi “Catch of the Day” while I had the charred-Mahi.

Their beer list was abysmal and nonexistent. They had a I had a few local beers, but nothing exciting, and then usual suspects (Bud, etc.)

ROCKAFELLA'S VIRGINIA BEACH

Waterman’s 415 Atlantic Avenue 

A rainy day had us fleeing the beach and heading over to the Military Aviation Museum to see some WWII and WWI vintage aircraft. Especially fascinating was the B-25 on display. Janet’s Grandfather was a tail gunner stationed in Italy during WWII!

The volunteer guides cautioned all guests that no one was to climb on the planes as they were all active flyers and many were scheduled to fly in an air show at the museum the next weekend. 

TAIL GUN POSITION

We were going to take an evening meal at Waterman’s. They didn’t take reservations but had some cockamamie rules about having to pay $25 to “reserve” an ocean view table. For lunch there was no such “fee”, although there was a valet parking. 

We walked past the large, empty bar and asked for and received a ground floor table overlooking the bike path and promenade, the ocean in the distance. With the windows open wide and colorful Mandevilla edging the frames it was a pleasant seating.

Waterman’s claims to have invited the Orange Crush alcoholic drink. Janet had two. I had a beer and we both had seared tuna sandwiches. Fresh and worth the valet parking. 

WATERMAN'S VIRGINIA BEACH 

The Bunker Brew Pub / Young Veterans Brewing Co. 211 21^St Street

There are a number of craft breweries in the Virginia Beach area, but mostly they are a short drive from Oceanside. There are two within walking distance from our Oceanaire apartment though. 

Smartmouth Brewing Company has some pretty good beers, but they only had a food truck on site. Not what we were looking for on this rainy day. Young Veterans Brewing Company’s taproom is a drive from Oceanside, but their Bunker Brew Pub was an easy walk, a block inland from the promenade. 

SMARTMOUTH BREWING

I’m guessing because it was a rainy day the Bunker Brew Pub’s bar was filled and there was a wait for tables. Janet though has an uncanny radar for bar stools opening up and within a few minutes we were going over the lengthy beer and food menu on our own personal real estate at the bar. 

They have 20 rotating taps featuring their beers that range from IPAs to Lagers, from Dark beers to Sours. Liberal with the tasting and befitting the Shock and Awe military connection, we were hard-pressed to pick out a couple of beers for our lunch. 

A word of caution though, DON’T ORDER APPETIZERS, on top of your lunch. The potions are as massive as the flavors. Janet had She Crab soup and fish tacos. I had their fried oyster appetizer and a “VB Hot Chicken Sammich” that I could barely finish because it was so large.

There were enough interesting items on the menu to warrant a return, but we were running out of days in VB and we wanted to try Coastal Grill.

BUNKER BREW PUB / YOUNG VETERANS BREWING, VB

If interested here's a "beer trail" you can follow.

CRAFT BEERS IN VIRGINIA BEACH

Coastal Grill 1440 North Great Neck Road

This was to be our meal highlight for our stay in Virginia Beach. Reservations are recommended at this expensive, elegant place favored by the local residents of the area.

The rain finally abated after two days of dreariness and we spent the morning and early afternoon on the beach before getting ready for our 6 pm reservations. Janet had asked for a seating on their patio, which was basically a strip of cement set aside in their parking lot. It was not a good start, but we worked the problem and found seats at their bar and settled in with all of Virginia Beach society, whom we learned frequented the Coastal Grill several times a week. The bar was casual and friendly and we talked with several of our neighbors. From our perch at the bar, we could see the valets pulling up Maseratis and Land Rovers for departing patrons.

It was our most expensive meal and we started out properly with a couple of martinis, followed by a Languedoc Rose to go with our meals. Janet had mussels and Halibut. I had black bean soup and catch of the day Swordfish. (They had run out of the shrimp and grits and were very apologetic.)

COASTAL GRILL, VIRGINIA BEACH 

RAY RAY AND ME

Ray Ray’s at the Mayflower Hotel 209 34^th Street

Again, the concierge at Oceanaire helped us with this great breakfast and brunch place across the street from our parking garage. Even though it was his father’s place, he raved about the Bacon Bloody Marys and they did not disappoint!

The day was awash with a brilliant sun, but as it was a Monday all those poor working people were gone after the weekend and we walked the entire length of the promenade pretty much to ourselves.

Sweating and hungry we fell into the air conditioned cool of Ray Ray’s, thankful there wasn’t a wait. Earlier in the weekend we had seen a long line of hungry impatient tourists, but we just walked right up to the counter of this funky establishment. 

JANET AND HER 
BACON BLOODY MARY

With a nearly life-sized Ray Ray cut out presiding over us from the corner we had a very satisfying brunch that started with the Bloody Marys, then beignets and strong coffee. Janet had a “Benzo”, a fancy eggs benedict and I had a Filipino sausage with eggs and rice. It was a filling meal that kept us going for the rest of the day, although later we had some margaritas and loaded fries at the dreary Lager Heads Bar just across 34^th Street from the Oceanaire.

Ray Ray's is open only for breakfast and brunch. They close at 2 pm.

RAY RAY'S, VIRGINIA BEACH

LAGER HEADS, VIRGINIA BEACH

This is just a sampling of the available eateries in Virginia Beach. Once, we did take advantage of the coupons available to tourists in one of those magazines to get a free ice cream cone at the Ben and Jerry’s stand on Atlantic Avenue. It still cost us $12.00!

Thanks for reading.

Love,

Janet and greg

© 2021 by Greg Dunaj 

CORRECTION: In a previous article I had mentioned that I had it on good authority that buying a sailor a beer garners good luck. Turns out he was scamming me, the lush. You know who you are Dave.......

PA BBQ FEST

PIT MASTERS UNITE

Today the PA BBQ Fest closes at the Jim Dietrich Park in Muhlenberg, Pennsylvania. The address is listed as 4899 Stoudt’s Ferry Road, Reading.

PA BBQ FEST

We went Saturday, not really expecting much, but it proved to be a fun day.

It’s free, with a $5.00 donation for parking. You can buy a sample booklet for $10.00 which gives you four choices of the 12 different pit masters that serve up their version of brisket, pulled pork and chicken. We pre purchased two and that was enough food for us. They were selling sample booklets at the event. 

There weren't a lot of picnic tables to eat your BBQ, so the foraging was fine for us, although we did see someone looking medieval walking around with a massive smoked turkey leg.

Sadly, there’s only one beer tent, but there are several area distilleries represented and a stand for margaritas. There are plenty of artists selling things too and a lot of purveyors of hot sauces.

The path for the vendors has shady for the most part and the weather was not a factor and the meandering Schuylkill River with occasional tubers provided a nice background for the music stage where various singer songwriters and blue grass bands entertained people in lawn chairs.

There’s a kid zone play area and plenty of people were walking their dogs.

Nazareth, PA

The sample cards were enough for us, but we bought a platter to take home with us.  Many of the pit master rigs were mobile, some were catering trucks with a smoker in tow, but there were a number of brick and mortar shops at the festival. One is Backwood Brothers who have a place in Hamburg, PA. They are one of the first pits. Get there early, their smoked sausage sample went quick.

The festival opens today at 11 and runs until 7 tonight

We found this event on Facebook events.

Thanks for reading.

© 2021 by Greg Dunaj.

VIRGINIA BEACH

 “BAD THINGS HAPPEN THERE?”

We were fortunate to have been gifted a number of time share points by one of Janet’s family members. Perhaps they took pity on us because currently foreign travel is severely limited and because it had been over a month since our fortuitous trip to Jamaica, the wanderlust was gripping us like delirium tremens.

Sounds dramatic, but actually, the points were going to expire and they could not use them, so with a hearty thanks we decided on a quick and easy trip to a place we had never been to before, Virginia Beach. The city is on the south coast of the Commonwealth and just north of the border with North Carolina. Though traveling to VB was never on our radar over the years we have both, independently and together, passed through the area on our way to vacations on the Outer Banks.

OCEANSIDE
VIRGINIA BEACH

It’s a fairly direct drive from where we live, down through the entire length of the Delmarva peninsula, south on Route 13 through Delaware, Maryland and a 70 mile stretch of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. It’s a long fingerling stretch with Chincoteague (of wild horses on the shore fame) in the north and ending in the south with the 17.5-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel that connects the peninsula with the mainland.

CHINCOTEAGUE

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

The area is very historical. Jamestown is nearby. It is the first permanent English settlement in colonial America and a recreation of that time period goes on in Williamsburg. Our benefactor’s “home” time share is in Williamsburg.

On the southern side of the Bridge-Tunnel there is Norfolk and the largest Naval Station in the world. Better not walk the streets there and shout “Go Army!”, although I have it on good authority buying a sailor a beer brings good luck. There are museums to explore like the Naval Seals Heritage Center and the Military Aviation Museum, but we wanted to travel to Virginia Beach for the, er, beach.

NAVY SEALS HERITAGE CENTER 

MILITARY AVIATION MUSEUM 

There are miles of beach, wide sandy, gently sloping with fine waves and, unlike the Jersey shore, it is all free. We were early in the season, area kids were just graduating the week we were there, but it didn’t seem to get that crowded. Supposedly “Graduation Week” in times past has been a cause for concern with overcrowding and trouble, but VB has taken steps to quell the noise and commotion. It seems to have worked, at least for our relatively brief time there.

The tourist area is called Oceanside. Starting at 40^th Street there is a wide 3-mile-long promenade with an adjacent bike path. Most of the high-rise hotels begin here, (quieter beaches are north) but though the hotels loom the entire length of Oceanside, they are set far back from the beach, so there’s a bright, breezy feel to it all. There is beautiful landscaping the entire length of Oceanside, adding to the serenity of the charming walkway. The promenade is popular with strollers and runners, especially in the morning when we witnessed some boot-camp style regime going on with hale and hearty types doing sprints and burpees and climbing ropes and cavorting on different apparatus set up on the beach. This is where the Navy Seals began after all. (I broke a sweat watching them…)

TEST YOUR MEDDLE

Unlike New Jersey where arcades and tacky t-shirt emporiums edge the boardwalk and assault passersby with loud throbbing obnoxious music blasting out like banshees, Oceanside is quiet and the promenade is a comparatively serene stroll, despite the heat!  Don’t worry, the seedy bars and shops, integral to any shore destination, are a block inland along Atlantic Avenue, but a world away from the ocean!

Truthfully, I had my misgivings about going to Virginia Beach, especially during “Graduation Week”. A childhood friend and Annapolis Graduate, who lived in Virginia Beach in the 80’s, said, “Bad things happen there,” but we both were pleasantly surprised at the level of serenity we enjoyed. As previously stated in this article, Virginia Beach has taken an active approach to “calming” the experience, and it showed. Evidently the graduates have moved elsewhere to more indulgent destinations.

OCEANAIRE

As we had our pick of time shares, we chose the Oceanaire, at 34^th Street, which caters to a more adult crowd. They had a pool, hot tub and fire pit reserved for 21 years and older and we even watched them usher younger people from it when they invaded our sanctum. 

It was a good relaxing week.

OUR POOL

Thanks for reading.

Go Army….oops...sorry Tom

Love Janet and Greg

© 2021

By Greg Dunaj

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND?

 VACCINATED AND HOGTIED

It has been quite the year of COVID and the itch to travel for your moldering adventurers has only gotten partially relieved by our recent trip to Sandals South Coast in Jamaica. To make that “relaxing” trip happen we had to comply with a litany of Jamaican COVID protocol rules. We did so only with the aid of the Sandals staff who contacted us a few times before our trip to make sure the paperwork was filled out and tests were taken. Sandals also provided a COVID test at the resort, free of charge, to ensure our return.

Sandals took all the headache out of traveling, but what we are learning now as we explore other foreign destinations it is a head spinning array of rules that differ from country to country and that changes weekly. With variants of this virus sprouting up and how particular countries view the COVID threat level of United States it can mean we have to quarantine in a hotel for up to two weeks while getting tested several times, all by the way at our cost. As we have been fully vaccinated the chance of us getting sick is low, but though the rules have relaxed quite a bit here in the U.S., places like the UK are strict and impose severe penalties if their rules aren’t followed. Some countries, like Australia and New Zealand, still have their borders closed to outsiders. Some countries, like Italy and Greece are fairly open, with their particular requirements for entry shifting as things change. My head will explode if I try to figure out how to go to two different European nations on the same trip.

Yeah, it’s a nightmare, try to keep up.

We have family in the UK and we haven’t seen them since 2019. We were hoping they could come here for a NJ shore holiday, but the cost of their country’s required testing is too much for this young family. The NHS does not cover testing for extraneous travel. We could go there, but run the risk of having to quarantine in their small home and it’s not on an honor system, they come to check up on you.  We are keeping our fingers crossed though and hope things will change for the better in the short time.

ENJOY YOURSELF

For the time being infinity is closer than one would imagine. At least we have unfettered travel throughout the United States, so we planned a trip for a week’s stay at Virginia Beach. We might as well enjoy ourselves while everything gets sorted out.

If you’re so inclined to travel abroad here’s an up-to-date article about foreign destinations and the restrictions involved.

WHERE IN THE WORLD CAN A YANK GO NOW

Thanks for reading

Remember to LIVE LOVE and TRAVEL

Janet and greg

© 2021 by Greg Dunaj