Virginia Beach

I had been working hard. At the time I only had one full time job and two part time jobs. I sometimes had a heavier work load but I was tired. Two of my children were grown and two were almost grown. I needed some time to relax.

Two of my dearest friends are sisters. At that time one was trying very hard to find a reason not to marry a man who was a few years younger than she was. She was worried about the age difference. The other was contemplating divorce. He was a very nice person but they spent practically no time together because he always had something more important to tend to.

We were discussing our woes and one of us said we needed to go on vacation from our problems. We shortened that to vacation and began to plan.

We decided to go where there was an ocean. The Atlantic Ocean was closest. One of the guys in the band loved Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and recommended that. Another friend of ours said to go to Norfolk, Virginia. He had lived there for a time and could tell us a lot of places to visit.

We compromised and went to Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was right on the ocean and a drive through the tunnel would take us to Norfolk. We made reservations. We had a hotel for the first few nights. Then we were in a motel right on the beach for the rest of the time.

One sister had just bought a new car and wanted to take that so that is how we drove there. We would take turns driving with one person to navigate and keep the driver alert while the other would nap in the back seat. That way we would not have to stop overnight on our way.

We were doing very well until we hit Washington, DC. We found ourselves going around and around not knowing where or how to get to the highway that would take us south. We tried asking at a few service stations but none (and I mean not one) of the people working there spoke English well enough to help us.

Finally we saw a way to get close to Arlington National Cemetery. I was astounded at the sight of all those headstones in the distance.

We turned into what must be a service entrance drive. There was a guard shack there and we hoped for the best. Immediately a guard came out and ordered us to turn around. We explained that we were lost and trying to get to a certain highway. Could he give us directions?

He certainly did have directions. Turn the car around and drive out of the lane we were on!

With much maneuvering we finally found our way out of Washington, DC. And all by ourselves thank you.

Our hotel was very nice but it was quite a ways from the ocean. We arrived later than we had hoped so we decided to just get something to eat and get some rest.

The first thing next morning we were on our way to the beach bright and early. I covered myself with a strong sunscreen because I burn easily. I never tan but the burn can be uncomfortable. The other two used baby oil and I was aghast.

As we sat on our blankets I could actually see the one sister turning brown. She just got darker and darker, Amazing. The other sister burned but not too bad. In the morning she was brown too.

We did go swimming. I had to be able to say that I had been swimming in the ocean at least once.

The salt water is an experience. As I waded out to get deep enough to swim all I could taste was salt. Osmosis really works.

We spent every day at the beach but were told that sharks were active at night. We intended to try different activities at night anyway. Besides looking at the sights we ate at different places each night.

One night we went to a restaurant in Norfolk. It was managed by a friend of our friend. He was so nice to us. The food was great. We had been told to order the mud pie which we did. The manager gave that to us free. It was scrumptious besides so it was a good deal.

We had been looking at a lighthouse when we were on the beach. After several days we decided it would be fun to explore. We asked about it and it turned out to be a restaurant. We made a reservation because it was quite busy and we did not want to stand in line.

The Lighthouse (as it was called) had wonderful food. The view was what really made it a wonderful place to eat. As you looked out the window all you could see was the ocean. It was simply beautiful.

For desert at the Lighthouse we shared a slice of cheesecake. It was a huge piece of New York style cheesecake with fresh strawberries stuck to the sides of it. Delicious.

There was an all you can eat buffet place near the motel. What a disappointment. There was little in a choice of meats. The salad ingredients were wilted. It seemed like everything was greasy. Not a recommended place to eat.

We went to a place that had dinner theater one night. The theater consisted of a man playing piano and telling jokes. The food was good but he was mediocre. Some of his jokes were funny but most fell flat.

We walked a lot on the beach. One day we came across some sailors who were trying to take pictures to send home to their families. They asked us if we would take them. I am not good with a camera but the other girls were more than happy to help.

The sailors posed in front of the ocean. They posed on the sand. They posed together and separately. They did those silly muscleman type poses. It was great fun. They still ahd film left so they wanted to take pictures of us.

We obliged and did a few muscleman poses ourselves as well as a shot of us in front of the ocean. We gave them an address to mail copies of some of the pictures and continued on our way. We never received any pictures but it was still a good time.

I am a big fan of cheap souvenirs. I buy them for everybody when I go on vacation. Virginia Beach had a lot of cheap souvenirs many made of sea shells. I was in heaven.

So we had a great time on vacation and all three of us were happy to go home. I was well relaxed and ready to go back to work.

My friend decided to marry the younger man. He is a wonderful husband and now father. It was a good decision as I knew it would be.

Her sister decided to divorce her husband. They are much happier apart. In fact both have remarried and are very content.