11/5 – 11/7

From Washington D.C., we drove straight down the coast to Virginia Beach. We made a plan to drive by 2 or 3 locations where we might be able to park the bus. We ended up staying overnight in a shopping center parking lot. There was a Planet Fitness in this shopping center and they typically stay open 24 hrs. There are always cars in the lot when something is open 24 hours, making us being there look normal. We also have a membership to this gym, so it’s convenient to park in their lot and have their facilities nearby.

We arrived later in the day, so we used the remaining time in the ay to stock up on supplies from the other stores in the shopping center.

The next day we drove the bus to the beach and parked in a free lot about a half mile from the shore. We walked down the Virginia Beach boardwalk and explored the beach a little bit. On the boardwalk lives an enormous statue of King Neptune. The statue represents King Neptune’s protection over the citizens and visitors of Virginia Beach. There is also a King Neptune Festival which takes place annually.

The artist, Paul Di’Pasquale, was selected to create the statue which weighs 12.5 tons and was cast in bronze by the traditional lost wax process of Ningbo, China. The beach was covered in washed up horseshoe crabs, one of Jake’s favorite creatures. Being careful not to step on the seriously spiky shells and tails, we walked along the beach and played frisbee with Lucy.

The next thing we came across was a Peace Pole. Originating in Japan in the 1950’s, the peace pole is a monument which typically displays the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth,” in several languages.

Each blade on the pole in Virginia Beach represents one of it’s sister cities and displays the distance in miles from this point to that international city. There are tens of thousands of Peace Poles in 180 countries all of the world.

We also saw the Naval Aviation Monument on the oceanfront. The monument features three scenes that depict the history of naval aviation throughout history. We were able to read some information about the aircrafts, ships, and people involved in this branch of the military.

We walked down the street on the way back to the bus and stopped into a gift shop to pick up a post card and a magnet. We returned to the shopping center parking lot and parked in a less conspicuous spot. Then we went out to dinner at a sushi buffet located in the same shopping center.

The next day we went on a hike through First Landing State Park. The trails were beautiful and scenic, providing a great backdrop to the conversations we were having with our friends. As we talked about life and what our plans for the winter were, we came up with a plan to work with Maria’s mother on her new businesses in Ohio.

The next day, we packed up and continued down the coast to New Bern, NC.