Virginia Beach Attractions

Virginia Beach is surrounded by many active military bases. Fort Monroe is an Army base 40 minutes from Virginia Beach.

The original Fort was established in 1609 and known as Fort Algernourne, the Fort burnt down a few years after it was built in 1612.

The two Forts that followed Fort Algernourne were the Old Point Comfort which was built 1632 and Fort George in 1749, both of these Forts were hit hard by hurricanes, and were partly destroyed

A few years after the war in 1812 Fort Monroe was built, it’s objective was to protect to America from attacks via the Sea.

Fort Monroe is the largest stone built fort in the country and has played a vital part in protecting the Hampton Roads / Virginia Beach area.

The Casemate Museum on Fort Monroe was opened in 1951 to show the cell that Jefferson Davis was kept in during the civil war. As time has gone by, the museum has expanded to display a lot of interesting artifacts from the 19^th century. There are newspaper clippings, artist’s drawings, clothing and uniforms worn by the military, medical instruments, weapons, displays showing how the rooms were once used, and much more.

When you first enter the museum it takes a few moments for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, there are only a few windows to let in light and low archways for doors, so be sure to watch your head while walking through.

Walking through the museum you witness many historical moments that Fort Monroe took part in. for example holding Major General Jefferson Davis in a jail cell and Benjamin Butlers decision to allow escaped slaves to say at the fort are just two of the displays on show.

Once you have walked through the museum take time to walk up onto the Fort wall, we stood in awe and tried to imagine the canons firing simultaneously trying to protect the bay. We counted 30 spaces for canons on one part of the wall, it is impossible to imagine how loud it would have been when they were all firing.

If you want to visit the Casemate museum you will need current Photo Identification as Fort Monroe is an active military base, if you are driving on to the base expect to show your vehicle registration or rental agreement and for your car to be inspected.

For more information about the Casemate museum call 757-788-3391

For me the Spirit of Norfolk Cruise Ship is a very special place, my Husband proposed to me on board, and the wonderful staff helped him set up a very romantic night.

The Spirit of Norfolk is a small cruise ship that can accommodate up to 450 guests. The three hour dinner cruise runs along the Elizabeth River in Norfolk Virginia.

When we arrived in Norfolk, I didn’t know where we were going, my Husband had kept the whole evening as a surprise for me, he had told me to put on a nice dress because he was taking me out.

We parked in the Waterside parking garage, and crossed the road to The Spirit of Norfolk, it was then my Husband told me he was taking me on a dinner cruise.

Boarding starts thirty minutes before departure, there was a short wait to board. Boarding is a fairly slow process because there is a Photographer that stops you as you board, they take your picture as you stand on the gangway.

Once on The Spirit of Norfolk the host takes you to your table, there are lots of different seating options, My Husband opted for a table for two with the sweetheart package which came with balloons, Spirit of Norfolk souvenir glasses and champagne.

We set sail, and relaxed watching the view through the big windows, we passed through the Hampton Roads Harbour and along the Elizabeth River. A short while into the cruise the waiter came to our table and took us to the buffet. Each table is taken to the buffet individually so there was no mad rush to get to the food.

The buffet was tasty, there was a huge selection of food to choose from, roast beef, ham, stuffed chicken, fish, potatoes and lovely fresh vegetables. Desert was a chocolate cake, it was delicious.

While desert and after dinner drinks were being served, the live entertainment started, a team of four dancer/singers took to the stage and gave us a lively and energetic performance. The show was very impressive.

When the show ended the disco started, the music had everyone dancing, My husband and I went up to dance, he had arranged with the DJ to take the microphone after dancing to ‘our song’, he got down on one knee and proposed.

After the excitement of the proposal we went up to the outdoor deck, we sat and watched the shoreline go by, until it was time to go home.

The Spirit of Norfolk is a great way to spend your evening, whether you want romantic evening or somewhere to relax and enjoy the company of your friends, you will be fed, entertained and kept happy all through the night.

The Spirit of Norfolk offers four cruises through out the day, visit http://www.spiritofnorfolk.com/or/index.jsp for more information. Norfolk is 25 minutes from Virginia Beach.

I was looking for somewhere to take a friend’s 7 year old son as a treat, and while searching the internet for something to do I came across Arena Racing USA. Arena Racing USA is high speed car race around a short track inside an arena.

In the Virginia Beach area the Hampton Coliseum has Arena Racing USA holding racing tournaments October through March. The doors open between 6.00pm and 6.30pm depending on the day that you decide to go and watch the races. We arrived just after the doors opened and were surprised to see that you could walk down into the main arena, get close up to the cars and talk to the drivers. Most of the car teams were giving away candy and posters, the drivers were signing the posters, so children were rushing from driver to driver to have them sign their posters and to collect more candy.

Before we arrived I was wondering how cars could race around a track in a small indoor arena, I thought that the cars would be so big they would have a hard time navigating the track and once the engines started the whole arena would smell of car exhaust fumes.

As soon as we walked into the arena it all became clear, the cars were to one half scale of stock cars. Each car is only nine feet long and thirty six inches tall, surprisingly these tiny light cars are capable of reaching speeds up to 100mph. There are no side doors on the cars, each driver climbs in and out of their car through a sun-roof size opening in the roof. Each driver wears protective clothing and a helmet.

The races are about 40 fast laps long with 12 cars taking part, the first lap is bumper to bumper with the cars waiting for the signal that starts the race. As soon the green flag is waved the engines surge and everyone moves to the edge of their seats.

You may think it sounds boring to watch small cars go around and around a little race track, surprisingly though the race draws you in and you find your self willing the lead car to stay up front and not get into any problems.

Many times the cars almost hit each other, round the sharp corners the cars lift up onto two wheels and nearly crash, or spin out. The majority of the time the drivers gained control back but there are a few who don’t quite manage it and you see the cars smash into one another.

The cars may be small but they are strong, no one was hurt while we were watching, not even in the seven car pile up that happened before one of the first laps was completed.

Half way through the night the race cars took a time out and left the arena, during this time, a remote control club came in and gave a demonstration using their remote control vehicles, they had mini monster trucks, helicopters and race cars, they were sending their vehicle up little ramps which launched them high into the air.

After the short break with the remote control vehicles the races began again and we saw more nail-biting manurers performed by the drivers. The end of the night soon came and it was time to leave. Arena Cross USA was a great way to spend the evening and it’s only 40 minute drive from Virginia Beach.

For more information visit Arena Racing USA

I have to admit I am a complete wimp when it comes to rollercoaster’s and extreme rides, I have to be bribed then dragged kicking and screaming towards anything that is faster than a carousel. That being said, I absolutely loved our day out at Busch Gardens.

Busch Gardens Europe is in Williamsburg just minutes away from Interstate 64, and very well sign posted. If you’re driving from Virginia Beach, expect it to take about an hour to get there. The park is made up of six sections which all have Country themes, these are Germany, France, Italy, England, Ireland, and Scotland.

When we arrived it was turning out to be one of those perfect Virginia days, with the weather nice and warm and not a cloud in the sky, the park had just opened so we headed straight for the French village so that my friends could ride the newest and best attraction of the park, the Griffon.

The Griffon looks absolutely terrifying, it carries you up 205 feet then after a few seconds at the top have a 90 degree 70 mile an hour drop. During the ride you feel up to 4 g force, three minutes later after a couple of inversions and a splash through some water, which soaks bystanders the ride is over. I asked my husband how he felt when he came off the ride and all he could say was he wanted to do it again! He told me that the adrenalin rush was so huge as you take that first descent, he had rarely experienced anything quite as exhilarating.

We walked around the park with my friends going on all the rides, there was not one ride that they did not go on. I braved two rollercoaster’s but not before triple checking that there were no loops, I am terrified of any rollercoaster’s, especially if they go upside down.

Apollo’s chariot, WOW what a ride, it is a steel rollercoaster that is 170 feet high, once we got to the top of the track and I was able to open my eyes the view was spectacular, you really could see for miles. The first decent plummets you down 210 feet at 73mph I will admit I had my eyes closed for at least half of the ride especially when we took some of the sharp corners. I have never felt an adrenalin rush quite as big as the one while riding Apollo’s Chariot.

Escape from Pompeii is the best water ride that Busch Gardens has to offer, it starts with a leisurely ride along the river, suddenly your cast inside a dark building where bricks fall around you and searing hot flames shoot across your head, just when you think its safe you reach a set of doors, which open to reveal an 80ft drop. If you take this ride, be warned you may get a little bit wet, from the splash landing.

The park has a few animal attractions, they have an avery full of birds that you can walk through, the birds are tame and will come and sit on you. There are wolves, horses, eagles, and more. Some of the animals take part in shows, I loved the wolf show, it showed the wolves as very intelligent creatures. The Pet Shenanigans show is great for the whole family to enjoy, its a great display using cats, dogs, birds and other animals,

Busch Gardens has lots of child friendly rides and attractions, from spinning teacups to the sky ride that goes across the park, these combined with the shows will keep your family amused all day.

There is plenty of choice for food at Busch gardens, we sampled the Ice cream in Italy which was very nice, and Das Festhaus has a great slow cook BBQ which is delicious it has a wide selection of food that will get your taste buds crying out for more, I always feel hungry just smelling the food as I walk into Germany so a stop at the BBQ pit is a must.

My friends and I had an awesome time at Busch Gardens, we went home very happy and very tired.

The Town Center of Virginia Beach is a mixture of stores and fine dining. The town center even lays claim to the second tallest building in Virginia with the Amanda Hoffler Tower, this sky scraper acts as a great landmark to guide you to the Town Center.

We started our evening out by visiting Ruth’s Chris Steak House, there is an escalator that leads you up to the restaurant which is on the second floor next to the Funny Bone Comedy Club. We were greeted at the doors and led to the reservations desk. The staff were well dressed and very polite, we were shown to our table and our waiter and the waiters assistant introduced them selves and took our drinks order.

I thought the menu was very impressive, with the offerings of Kobe steak and lobster, plus a great selection, of fish, beef, pork and lamb. There are a variety of side dishes, they are big portions so I recommend one dish between two people.

For my dinner I opted to have the New York strip, with a baked potato, the beef was delicious, the steaks are only seasoned with salt and pepper, I decided not to have any seasoning, and the steak was perfect, it arrived sizzling on the plate, the texture and flavour was beautiful.

The desserts looked scrumptious, I was so full from my main course there was no way I was going to be able squeeze any more food in me, no matter how good it looked.

Everything about the meal went smoothly, even though it seemed Ruth’s Chris was fully booked we didn’t have to wait a long time for our food, we were not rushed to leave the table once we finished eating, which was nice. The service was outstanding and the food was marvellous. If you decide to go to Ruth’s Chris Steak House, make sure you call ahead and make a reservation, that way you won’t be disappointed. Visit http://www.ruthschris.com/

When we were ready we headed to the Funny Bone Comedy Club. It is next door to Ruth’s Chris Steak House. We went to see J Medicine Hat, he is a Hypnotist and a comedian, and I was unsure about what to expect.

The Funny Bones seating plan is on a first come first served basis, to get the best seats make sure you arrive nice and early to pick up your tickets then join the line that forms waiting for the doors to open, if it is a colder night, be sure to wrap up warm, because there is a chance you will be waiting outside for a while.

The Funny Bone has an intimate setting, the stage is surrounded by small dining tables, and the stage is low to the ground, the Funny Bone is a small club which adds to the performance.

J Medicine Hat hypnotises the volunteers as part of the stage show, all the lights are turned off and the only lights in the room are the flickering candles on the tables and a spinning disco light ball that he asks the volunteers to stare into, the whole process takes just under 10 minutes. While he hypnotises the volunteers he talks about his life and how he was arrested and did jail time as a teen, there were a few moments when he turned off his microphone and spoke just to the volunteers as part of the hypnotism process.

The show was probably one of the funniest things I have seen, there is something about watching others make fools of themselves that never ceases to amuse me. His performance wasn’t just about hypnotising the volunteers and making them do funny things, his whole performance was hilarious, almost every word out of his mouth was funny.

In the summer J Medicine Hat is expected to return to the Funny Bone, he is one of the most popular performers that entertain there.

For information on upcoming shows visit: The Virginia Beach Funny Bone

One quiet afternoon my husband and I decided it would be nice to drive down and see the Cape Henry Lighthouses, we drove to Virginia Beach and followed the signs for Fort Story

Fort Story is a small Army base on the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean. Fort Story has two lighthouses. The oldest of the two was built in 1772, for over 100 years it acted as a guide for the boats making their way into the Chesapeake bay and onwards to the busy ports of Norfolk, Baltimore, and Washington.

In 1878 the original Cape Henry Lighthouse was found to be unsafe by an Inspector, cracks had formed in the walls and the wooden staircase became soaked in oil from the lantern. It was decided a new lighthouse should be built.

The new Cape Henry Lighthouse was completed in 1881, the new lighthouse is built of cast iron instead of the brick that was originally used. The lighthouse is currently operated by the Coast Guard and is not open to the public.

The old Cape Henry Lighthouse is open to the public, to get on the Army base you must have current US government issued identification, or if you’re visiting from another country your passport is sufficient, make sure you have your car registration details or rental agreement to hand as the Security Officers will ask to see these too. I always find entering any military base a little intimidating, the guards were friendly enough and were quite used to seeing tourists like us.

Once on Fort Story you can follow the signs or just follow the tall lighthouses protruding from the ground. You will soon come across the parking lot and small building at the base of the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse, in the building is a tiny gift shop which is crammed full of lighthouse and beach nick-nacks, perfect for souvenirs and gifts for family back home. The man behind the counter took our admission fee and gave us a small pamphlet with information about the lighthouses.

Before you get to the lighthouse you have to climb a small amount of steps up the mound that the lighthouse is built upon, from there you can enter the lighthouse and walk up the steps to the area that used to hold the lamp. There is no longer a lamp that burns in the old Cape Henry Lighthouse, so you can walk around the small space where it once would have been.

Through the glass windows you have a perfect view of the new Cape Henry Lighthouse and the surrounding buildings, you get a great view of the army base and the forestry land it’s built upon. Looking out towards the ocean you can see for miles, there were several container ships on their way towards the Chesapeake Bay. Although the trek up the spiral staircase was tiring, it was worth it just to be able to look out the windows and admire the view.

For more information about Fort Story and the lighthouses visit: http://www.eustis.army.mil/Fort_story/Portal.asp

On Sunday we visited the Virginia Air and Space Center in Downtown Hampton. The Center is situated on the banks of the scenic Hampton River next to the marinas and piers.

The Virginia Air and Space Center is easy to spot with its unusual wave like shape and its huge glass windows. There are a couple of parking garages across the road and plenty of crosswalks that allow you to walk to the center safely. After paying the admission fee we were free to walk around the museum and the visiting exhibits.

Candy Unwrapped presented by Jelly Belly is a ‘travelling exhibition’ and will be at the Virginia Air and Space Center until September 2008. This exhibit has so many great features. It’s colourful and flavourful, and in-keeping with all the Virginia Air and Space Center exhibitions, it is very interactive. There are sniff tests and tastes tests, the best taste test was the Super Sour Challenge, where you took a sour candy and had to keep in your mouth as long as possible, it was great fun watching people’s expressions change as the candy began to release its flavours.

The permanent exhibits were very good, the interactive displays will keep both adults and children amused. My favourite three exhibits were the trip in a space craft to Mars, the B24 Liberator bombing expedition and taking the controls of a fighter jet.

The Virginia Air and Space Center had a variety of air and space craft, several of these hung above you whilst you walk around the ground floor. There are viewing platforms that allow you to get a better look of the aircrafts. There are also plenty of information stations that tell you all about each display piece.

One of the most interesting exhibits for me was the Apollo 12 command module. Apollo 12 took off during a rainstorm in 1969 and was even hit by lightning shortly after take off. Apollo 12 was the second mission to land on the Moon and the sixth manned mission to fly into Space. I can’t begin to imagine how it must have felt to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere and plummet down to the landing site in the small module.

I really enjoyed my afternoon at the Virginia Air and Space Center, I thought there were plenty of exhibitions and it was good value for money. For information about fees and opening times visit: http://www.vasc.org/index.html

Wow what an experience, I had never even sat in a go-kart until today. I have to admit I was quite nervous about the whole thing. We arrived 30 minutes after American Indoor Karting opened and it was nice and quiet. There was only one other person whizzing around the track.

I was surprised to see all the other things that are available to do at American Indoor Karting, they had a video arcade, an inflatable obstacle course, pool tables and air hockey tables. There is even a party room, if you wish to hold a special event there. If it had been busy when we went, there would have been plenty of extra things to keep us occupied while we waited to race.

As you walk in to the building the cold air hits you, I thought I was going to freeze whilst I was there, but I soon realised that the adrenalin pumping through your blood warms you up nicely.

On the right side there is an enclosed section, in here is where you pay and fill in the paperwork that allows you to race. There is even a raised viewing section, so you can watch the races. I love the décor, they have car rims stacked on top of one another to make the stools, they surround the round tables which are made the same way, and they are on a black and white chequered racing flag styled floor.

Once we paid and signed the racing waivers we were led to a quiet room for our safety briefing, the majority of the information was straight forward, the lady explained the race marshal’s communicate with the drivers by waving flags, they told us several times what each flag means and they made sure we understood before we were allowed to get fitted with our safety gear. We were supplied with a neck brace and a safety helmet and then taken to our karts.

Sitting in the kart I began to wonder what I was letting my self in for. The helmet felt big and awkward on my head, I couldn’t hear properly and couldn’t imagine being able to navigate the go kart around the bendy track, but before I had time to think, my engine was started and I was headed to the starting line.

Well that adrenalin rush soon hits you as you speed around the track, with possible speeds of 40 miles an hour, most people were able to wiz around the track, I was not very brave and took it nice and slow, my lovely husband lapped me four or five times, we both had so much fun and cant wait to return.

Admission fees and opening times

Each time we drove to Virginia Beach I noticed small blue signs along the road side. The signs had a picture of a sea bird and the words Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on them. I always wondered what exactly this bridge tunnel was. After a day out in Virginia Beach I decided to use the internet to find out exactly what these blue signs were pointing too.

I was surprised and amazed to find out that The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was a series of bridges and tunnels stretching 17.2 miles across the busy entrance to the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was opened in 1964, it replaced the ferry service which ran from Virginia Beach to the Eastern shore. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel quickly became a vital piece of road and a tourist attraction. To ease the flow of traffic a second set of bridges was built along side the original in 1999.
When you start driving on to the bridge it feels like you are driving out in to the ocean, after 3.5 miles the bridge disappears under the sea and into the first of the tunnels. It is on the first bridge that you will find the restaurant, gift shop, view points and fishing pier.

From the view points you can see for miles, while we were there we watched huge Navy Ships sail down towards the Chesapeake Bay, there were also smaller Army boats that were practising their manoeuvres.

When ever we go to a new place we always have to look in the gift shop, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel has small a gift shop that is stuffed full great souvenirs, we spent over 40 minutes looking around trying to decide what to buy.

In the same building as the gift shop is the restaurant, the restaurant offers a variety of dishes, including fresh sea food, you can choose to have your food in the sit down restaurant or use the fast food style walk through area.

Once you have filled up on the food that the restaurant has to offer, it may be a good time to take a leisurely stroll down the 625 ft wheelchair accessible fishing pier.

There was a happy atmosphere on the pier all the fishermen were lazily sunning them selves while they waited for a bite. While we walked down a couple of people started reeling in their lines, as soon as this happened the whole pier stopped and looked and waited to see the size of the fish that had been caught.

After spending time at the view point we got back in the car and drove across the rest of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, there were two tunnels and lots of low level bridges before we reached the other side.

Once on dry land we stopped at the last scenic rest stop, looking back over the bridges I was surprised to see just how far we had travelled, I could no longer see Virginia Beach. We sat and watched all the different sea birds for a while and then decided as the sun was getting low it was time to head back home.

It is easy to see how The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was named one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World shortly after it was constructed. This was quite a different and interesting way to spend our afternoon.

For information on tolls and opening hours visit: http://www.cbbt.com/index.html