Virginia Beach, VA
February 2008

The Nickel Tour

Hosted by Jennie Z

Next: Mr. Gnome Goes To Washington, Part 1

Well rested, we set out on Sunday to check out the town and do a little sight-seeing.

Our first stop was to check out a place called Chesapeake Beach, nicknamed Chick’s beach by the locals because of a popular restaurant that used to be there. The owner was called… guess what? Chick. This is right at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay where it meets the Atlantic Ocean.

In the background you can see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel which is 20 miles long. You can stop and go fishing on a small man-made island just this side of the southern tunnel (there are two). I really wanted to go out there but our hosts were afraid that we might fall into the water. Apparently the winds can be really high out there in the middle of the water even on a calm day.

This photo was all dressed up to give it a vintage look. Nice touch!

The bridge across the Chesapeake is important to this area because it’s the only crossing for a couple hundred miles. The only other way to cross it is up in Annapolis, Maryland (as I’m told). Before this was built they had a ferry boat but I’m sure it kept the Eastern Shore of Virginia somewhat isolated.

I looked at the bridge for a while and it reminded me of Hawaii. It’s really too bad there’s no way to connect the islands as the channels in-between are too deep. I tried to ask Tiki what he thought but all he had to say was, “What does seagull taste like?” I swear sometimes that’s all he thinks about! Eating!

Our next stop was to a place called East Beach in Norfolk where we got a really good view of one of the Navy bases, called Little Creek.

We were watching a large ship about to go out to sea when we noticed the small patrol boat going back and forth in the harbor. The captain seemed to be looking at us with a wary eye so I decided to move to a different location. I did some research later on and it appears that this ship is the USS Grapple, T-ARS-53 and is actually operated by civilians.

Here’s one of the great big ships that’s also at Little Creek base. Tiki was a little nervous because that patrol boat kept coming back towards us. I told him not to worry because we are on public property (well, sort of, the neighborhood we were in seemed a little exclusive.) And, as ambassadors, we should have diplomatic immunity.

When I explained the concept of immunity, a huge mischievous grin spread across his face. Uh-oh, why do I feel like I just opened "Pandora’s Box?"

Before coming here I did a little research about the area and I was intrigued by this place called “Mt. Trashmore.” Why would a city name a mountain “Trashmore?” That sounds so…trashy! Well come to find out that there’s a good reason for the name. This giant hill is actually a landfill that has been buried under dirt and grass.

You know what they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! The stair climb up was a little scary. In fact Tiki said he couldn’t do it and asked to be carried! What a baby. LOL! I guess he didn’t like that because he was chasing me around the hill shouting “I’m not a baby! I’m Tiki Jr!” but it was all in good fun.

We were rewarded with a spectacular view of the city at the top of the hill. If we had binoculars we probably could have seen neighboring cities Norfolk and Chesapeake several miles away. During warm weather this is a great place to fly kites because it’s windy here.

Tiki wanted to roll down the hill but we were told that there’s a very strict no rolling and sliding rule. I asked to feed the birds but there’s also a strict no feeding the birds rule at this park. Apparently they’ve also put some weird laws at the resort oceanfront part of Virginia Beach: they outlawed “bad words” and will also ticket you for driving up and down the street more than 3 times in one hour. What don’t they have laws about in Virginia Beach?

The sun had set so we went into the new “Town Center” area which reminded me a little of Disneyworld for a reason I can’t quite put my finger on. There was a nice fountain in the plaza surrounded by restaurants and shops. The building behind me is the Westin, a fancy new condominium building, which I’m told is the tallest building in Virginia.

The highlight of our evening was the terrific ice cream! We got two huge servings and split them with our hosts. Usually I don’t like to eat ice cream when the weather’s cold but this time I had to make an exception. Mmmmm!

(Photos: Jennie Z./ Dialogue: Jennie Z.& Tony V.)