The Rest of Virginia

Not a boardwalk!

Newport News

I arrived at the "downtown" and realized why nobody had ever recommended going to Newport News. I might need to be more discerning with which cities I visit. I scrounged up my initial list of destinations by choosing from the cities with 100,000+ population in each state, or, as in the cases of states without such a city like DE and WV, the state's most populous city. Then I narrowed down my destinations by which ones I could fit into a semi-reasonable circuit. And finally I fine-tuned destinations based on suggestions, which is an ongoing process.

Well, nobody had ever nixed Newport News (other than the quick look of confusion implicitly asking me "Why are you going there?" when I mentioned it to Butch). It's no time lost though, as you literally drive through it from Richmond to Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

Not only is this city's downtown literally one circle of modest buildings surrounding a modest man-made pond, I couldn't find the 100,000 population anywhere on the perimeter either. Somebody flubbed the 2010 census of Newport News.

My dinner here was so-so. Returning to my car, I had an encounter with police because a store alarm was going off near where I had parked. It wasn't me, I promise.

The confederate flags are really ramping up. I couldn't get a picture because I was driving, but a store called Dixie RV flew two huge flags nearly over the highway. I've seen a few hanging from drivers' rear-view mirrors too, like fuzzy dice but not nearly as congenial.

Hampton

Lame. 

Norfolk

From the family-oriented fishing village that miraculously attained 100k population of Hampton to the Navy boat yard with lots of mermaid statues of Norfolk. This city is alright - two long streets with lots to do. But the dominant Navy presence forces the city out of consideration at this point in my life.

Humongous Navy shipyard

Bronze letters strewn across the terrace at the touching Armed Forces Memorial.
Note the date of writing and date of death.

Chesapeake

Chesapeake felt a lot like a large Medford. No real downtown (What would you even call Medford's downtown? The historic neighborhood? Intersection of Jackson and Stokes?). I ran, tossed a disc with myself, and lounged in their version of Freedom Park.

Virginia Beach

The drive through four unremarkable cities was worth it just to arrive at Virginia Beach. It felt a lot like Atlantic City, but with a much larger good part. Walking from their convention center, I saw gaggles of little girls dressed in sparkly clothes gathered for some huge cheerleading competition. It made me afraid that the city might only be a seasonal tourist destination, but it wouldn't be long til that idea was dispelled. Virginia Beach is a full-fledged city, though apparently most consider it a suburb of Norfolk. Later on my camping trip I would meet kids my age who actually live in VA Beach.

How Virginians take long walks on the beach

The beach itself stretches for miles - fluffy sand, decent waves, minimal shells, and hermit crabs. The water might have been warm enough to jump in already this early in the year, if I were feeling brave. Now here's the problem. What they call the boardwalk is not a boardwalk: it's a concretewalk. And there aren't any shops right on the boardwalk, just hotels. For shops you must walk along the street, inland 50 feet. And the pizza is horrific. I went to the top-rated spot for a couple slices, was very disappointed, and then grabbed another slice from the second highest spot hoping it could redeem VA Beach's pizza. It could not. I was gonna take a picture of the pizza, but it was embarrassing. I'd rather hide that I ever ate there. Whoever is giving these places 4 and 5 stars needs to be shot for deceiving me, and then force-fed a slice of Mack's.

At night I kept it footloose with an 80's safety dance-off, played into morning hours by, I can say with confidence, the greatest 80's cover band I've ever seen live, The Deloreans. Seriously though, they were incredible and capped off an awesome first day at VA Beach. At the end of their performance, I egregiously missed a high five with the band member I would be if I had any musical talent. Cool dude.

VA Beach calls him Neptune, I say Poseidon #GreekLife

I got to the beach again in the morning and monkeyed around on a beach jungle gym. I was present for the onset of parents' panic, having realized their four year old had wandered off. I helped look, calling the boy's name. Eventually the cops, coast guard, and half the beach got in on the action. No idea how this child had gotten so far away and remained elusive, but I heard other beach goers shout the boy was found after about 15 minutes of the whole community intensely searching. Content with how platinum my hair was turning, I left for my first solo camping trip.

Into the Wild

Finding sites for primitive camping if you're away from mountains is apparently kinda difficult, but all my internet searching eventually turned fruitful when I found the False Cape State Park, straddling Virginia and North Carolina along the coast. I've camped many times, but never alone; this park would turn out to be a great spot to get my feet wet. Mostly a marshland, I doubt I had more than ten feet of elevation change for my entire hike.

Amazing how much you suddenly look like an expert camper with just a bandana and a good backpack

The only real downside to being alone on a camp is in your ability to handle any Leatherfaces you might encounter and to manipulate cloth under windy conditions. I seriously doubt my ability to erect the tent in the presence of gales. The forested areas of FCSP fortunately had zero winds.

Sunset out over Sand Bay; these waters were plenty warm for a quick dip.

I camped in the forest, and hiked the mile to the beach in the morning where I met the aforementioned VA Beach denizens Daniella and Alec. I continued the hike south to the NC state line and returned. All told, it was about eighteen flat miles, the majority walked on the second day.

Had a whole beach to myself here, in contrast with VA Beach

Realizing I should buy a handheld mirror so I can put in my contacts, I went to a park visitor center to use their mirror. I did that, and then accidentally left my (backup) glasses behind, not noticing until I got to my car. Send help!

In Closing

Most of this part of Virginia is geared toward families and military. Living close to Virginia Beach far in the future is enticing though.

No root beers found here!

Music on repeat:

Still playing some Rocky Horror, but as for new stuff...

Album: Grouplove - Big Mess, released just September last year, the album is filled with good tunes, start to end

Song: ABBA - SOS, released in 1975, my dad and I loved to prance and shout the lyrics to fill the household back in the day

Next up: "And I'm a-hopin' for Raleigh, I can see my baby tonight"

Foreseeable: Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Charlotte

I've gotten some criticism as to why Charlottesville, VA, and Asheville, NC, aren't planned destinations. That's partly due to it not being easy to fit them into my route without driving hours out of the way and then doubling back, but mostly it's because I've been to both of those cities before. Honestly I didn't think them crazy impressive back when I visited, especially as everybody seems to with Asheville. There is a small chance I visit one or both again when I loop back toward NJ, closer to the Appalachians.

Looks like Japan wins the popular vote for my Far East destination, over China (expected) and Korea (less expected). If I can spin it, that'll be the last country I visit.

Big congratulations to my Jumbos at the Collegiate Fencing Club Championships! Epee took 2nd overall and sabre placed 7th. Looks like the epee squad has improved since my departure, and foil is a shadow of my time there.

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