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Sage Kitchen at Anderson's.
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Sage Kitchen at Anderson's -- the greenhouse.
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Sage Kitchen at Anderson's: A mimosa flight, offered on the menu along with a Syrup Lab and more.
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Sage Kitchen at Anderson's -- the playground area.
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Anderson's includes a large store with landscaping and gardening tools, summer gear and home decor.
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Hyatt House in Virginia Beach.
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Hyatt House in Virginia Beach.
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Flipper McCoy's on Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach.
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Flipper McCoy's arcade in Virginia Beach.
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Flipper McCoy's on Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach.
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Pie-o-neer Pizza in Virginia Beach.
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Pie-o-neer Pizza in Virginia Beach.
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Pop's Diner Co. has three locations in Virginia Beach.
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Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach.
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A B-25 at the Virginia Aviation Museum.
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Our 2019 Chevrolet Equinox.
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#VBStrong
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Whiskey Kitchen in Virginia Beach.
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Goats at Hunt Club Farm in Virginia Beach.
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A bird eats a treat at Hunt Club Farm (and petting zoo) in Virginia Beach.
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Crab legs, shrimp, oysters and more at Margie & Ray's in Virginia Beach.
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Margie & Ray's Crab House in Virginia Beach.
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Margie & Rays in Virginia Beach.
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Free hermit crabs are frequently offered in Virginia Beach -- with the purchase of a cage.
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A gila monster at Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach.
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A sting ray touch pool at Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center.
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A sea turtle at Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach.
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A seahorse at Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach.
#VBStrong signs welcomed us to Virginia Beach last Friday, just a week after a tragic shooting in Virginia’s largest city.
It was a first-time trip to Virginia’s largest city for my family, and one that deserves a repeat performance. Virginia Beach really is strong in many ways.
Word from the wise: Budget extra time for this 205-mile trip. Waze said it would take 3.5 hours; it took almost 5 hours each way. Some of that was due to extra stops (my husband and I were traveling with our kids, a 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy), but a lot was traffic and weather.
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Our 2019 Chevrolet Equinox.
We encountered a huge downpour on I-95 southbound near Fredericksburg for several miles. Fortunately, we were driving in a (borrowed) 2019 Chevrolet Equinox, a mid-sized SUV that handled the wet roads and puddles better than any car I’ve driven in the past few years.
Not that the kids noticed the rain: the in-car 4G LTE wifi (and plenty of USB ports and outlets) kept the kids occupied on their tablets as the world passed them by at highway speeds. They did manage to look up later on, when the panoramic retractable roof gave the Equinox a convertible-like feel as we sat – at a complete stop – waiting for a traffic jam to clear on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.
As occupied as the kids were during the drive (that in-car wifi is so valuable!), I knew they would want to run around after sitting for 5 hours.
First Stop
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Sage Kitchen at Anderson's -- the playground area.
We stopped for lunch at Sage Kitchen at Anderson’s, one of Virginia Beach’s more unique attractions. Anderson’s brings together a garden store, nursery, greenhouse, farm-to-table restaurant with bar, and home-décor store at one expansive property. There’s also the opportunity to purchase beach supplies (in case you forgot sunglasses or sunscreen) and a playground for the kids.
The extensive kids’ menu had plenty of their favorites and the parents had gourmet chicken salad sandwiches, house-made tomato-basil soup and a salad. While the beer list isn’t extensive, the bar does create made-to-order, invent-your-own cocktails through its Syrup Lab.
A Room with a View
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Hyatt House in Virginia Beach.
We stayed both nights at the Hyatt House on Atlantic Avenue. The 20-story hotel has only beach-view rooms, guaranteeing that you’ll see and hear the ocean no matter what room you’re in. The rooms were quiet and clean – despite being very busy with teenagers staying there for a sand soccer tournament, we didn’t hear any noise from other rooms.
The pet-friendly hotel had an indoor pool, fitness center, valet parking, a 24-hour mini-mart, strong (and free) in-room wifi, and endless services. The concierge was friendly and helpful, providing a plethora of tips and suggestions.
Plus, you can walk straight through the restaurant to the beach and borrow beach toys from the hotel, making it an ideal place to stay for families.
Atlantic (and Pacific) Avenues
There’s no shortage of ice-cream shops, arcades, beach supply stores and opportunities to spend money along the coast in Virginia Beach. Before you stop anywhere, pick up a “Monster Free Coupon Book” at Flipper McCoy’s arcade or in almost any of the local shops on that strip. There are coupons for ice cream, pizza, entertainment and shops.
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Flipper McCoy's on Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach.
Flipper McCoy’s is one of the many arcades and “fun zones” along Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach, with Skee Ball, pinball machines, arcade games, air hockey and more.
You can load reusable cards with credits to use on the games, and those same cards keep track of the (virtual) tickets you win. No fumbling with quarters here and a great place to duck in from another rainstorm that hit the area.
With a sign saying “Free Hermit Crab” (when you purchase a cage), how can you go wrong? We ducked into one of the many beach stores selling souvenirs, t-shirts, beach supplies, toys, wine and beer and, yes, hermit crab cages. And hermit crabs. (In all seriousness, there is a movement to get these beach shops to stop selling hermit crabs. We didn’t encounter any protesters, but you very well could later this summer.)
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Free hermit crabs are frequently offered in Virginia Beach -- with the purchase of a cage.
The boardwalk area along Atlantic and Pacific avenues also has several mini golf courses, restaurants and bars, souvenir shops, ice cream parlors, candy shops and clothing stores. The beach itself is wide and sandy with a bike path and walking path alongside it. A sand soccer tournament took up much of the beach while we were there, but the kids still had plenty of sand to play in and surf to break.
Virginia Beach is a bit spread out, with some people calling it a “city of suburbs.” Expect to spend 20 minutes in the car to get to most of the local attractions and restaurants listed below from the beachfront. The best thing to do is plan your itinerary in such a way that clusters activities that are near each other. (We didn’t do that.)
As designated driver for the weekend, having Apple Carplay (and Android’s equivalent) made a huge, positive difference when we had to drive across town multiple times each day. The technology comes standard on the 2019 Chevrolet Equinox we were driving, and the secondary information center in the dashboard allowed me to keep the map on the main screen while flipping through Sirius XM stations from the steering wheel.
Entertainment
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A B-25 at the Virginia Aviation Museum.
The Military Aviation Museum is a privately-owned, extensive museum housing the most flight-worthy planes from the first 50 years of aviation history. Pristine examples of the Fokker D.VII, three Mosquitoes, a B-25, a plane the Red Baron flew and the first aircraft to land on an aircraft carrier are featured. Planes from the United States, Germany, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and other countries are stored in a series of hangars, and one of those hangars was brought over (in pieces) from Germany – still with bullet holes in it and the name of a German slave who worked in it scrawled on a beam. The museum was founded in 2008 and relies on hundreds of volunteers.
For kids (and kids at heart), there’s Hunt Club Farm, a huge petting zoo with large playscapes, pony rides and a lot of hungry goats. Buy bird seed and go into the aviary, where birds will readily land on you for a snack. Even the tamest of llamas will spit at you if you don’t give them food quickly enough, but the zebra who lives with them is surprisingly gentle.
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A sea turtle at Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach.
We also spent a few hours Sunday morning at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. Seals greet you on the way into this surprisingly large marine center that backs up to wetlands. The center offers Dolphin Discovery boat rides (as well as whale watching in season), as well as a variety of sharks, rays, lizards, snakes, crocodiles and tons of marine life – such as jellyfish, sea turtles, seahorses and all manner of fish. The Marsh Walk takes you over the wetlands where fish and birds make their home. Be sure to look straight down from the boardwalk: You may see hundreds of tiny crabs skittering about and snails lounging on the marsh grass.
For thrill-seekers, there’s no shortage of options in Virginia Beach: The Adventure Park at Virginia Aquarium has nothing to do with the sea creatures and everything to do with fun – zip lines, tree-top aerial trails and ropes courses are part of this year-round attraction.
Other options include Atlantic Fun Park at 15th Street and Atlantic Avenue. Go-Kart tracks, an adult speed track, Jr. Dune Buggy racing and a skycoaster are part of the fun.
Virginia Beach Watersports provides private cruises as well as trips for ocean tubing, wakeboarding and waterskiing. You can also go parasailing through Pirate Parasail or other companies.
In addition, look up some of the many amusement parks in the area: Ocean Breeze Waterpark and Adventureworks Wetland Zipline Park are all worthy choices.
For nature lovers, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge is about 30 minutes south of the Hyatt House. A gorgeous hike will give you the opportunity to see osprey and other birds, loggerhead sea turtles, deer, owls and more. Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge is more than 9,000 acres of federally-protected land and eight miles of scenic trails.
Food and Drinks Aplenty
In addition to Sage Kitchen at Anderson’s mentioned above, here are some recommendations:
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Pie-o-neer Pizza in Virginia Beach.
Friday night’s dinner was at Pie-o-neer Pizza, which is best described as the gourmet Subway of pizza. Recommended as a fun option for kids, you can order from a counter and watch your pizza being made. Choose your crust, sauce, cheese and toppings – and those toppings included classics like pepperoni and onion along with multiple types of mushrooms, banana peppers, jalapenos, macaroni and cheese and vegetarian “meat.” Salads, pastas and calzones are on the menu, too.
From there, it’s less than a mile to Gilly’s Creamery, rated the best ice cream in Virginia Beach. The small, old-fashioned shop is in the middle of the Virginia Farmers’ Market, which is open year-round and features a variety of fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy products, seafood and a bakery. Even with the Farmers’ Market closed on a Friday night, a hoe down drew a small crowd of all ages.
Breakfast Saturday was at Pop’s Diner Co., a classic diner with three locations in the area. Highly rated: We tried the donut dippers (cinnamon-sugared donuts with icing on the side), cinnamon roll pancakes, a Captain’s Omelet with Old Bay shrimp and a larger-than-expected fruit bowl.
Lunch Saturday was at Whiskey Kitchen, a locally-owned large bar and family restaurant (burgers, sandwiches, salads and more) with an extensive offering of whiskeys. On that list was Contradiction, a whiskey from Smooth Ambler, which we visited in the Greenbrier area earlier this year. (Here’s our Lewisburg, W. Va. story.) Small world.
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Crab legs, shrimp, oysters and more at Margie & Ray's in Virginia Beach.
That evening found us about 7 miles inland again, this time at Margie & Rays. Don’t let the outside appearance fool you: This is an authentic, paper-on-the-tables crab house with a half-hour wait on a Saturday night. Margie & Rays has a wide selection of shrimp, oysters, crabs and other fish served with steamed broccoli, brought family-style or individually, crab crackers included. Local beers are on the menu, along with non-fish options.
There’s no polite way to eat some of this food. The sooner you stop standing on ceremony, the happier you’ll be.
For lunch Sunday, we dropped by The Bunker, a restaurant and brewery owned and operated by the Young Veterans Brewing Co. The brewery, restaurant and cadence hall (live music venue that has ping pong tables and more at non-music times) offers craft beers and sour ales, a full menu (try the mahi mahi tacos) and a traditional kids’ menu.
The kids started asking to return to Virginia Beach before we had even left – a sure sign that the trip was a success. If you go, tell the beach that we’ll be back soon.
