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.
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| 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.
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| 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:
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.
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| 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.
At 25th Street
is the Naval Aviation Memorial Park another solemn reminder of the sacrifice and
support the Navy gives to our country.
Another stop on the
promenade is the massive statue of Neptune, at 31st 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.
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| NEPTUNE 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.
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| CHIHULY |
We did go to the Military
Aviation Museum which has working WWII and WWI aircraft to view. The cost was
$15.00.
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
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