There are two Jamestowns, which is a little confusing: Historic Jamestowne, the site of the original fort, where archaeological excavation is happening, and the nearby Jamestown Settlement, a recreated version of the 17th century site of the first permanent English colony in America. While down the street is colonial Williamsburg, the revolutionary city, the action of Jamestown is set almost two centuries before,...
Play Me, I'm Yours! In the last few days, pianos with this written on them have started popping up all over downtown Norfolk. Each one decorated and painted in a different way. The piano in the food court of MacArthur Center is done in bold blocks of color. The one in front of the Moses Myers House is decorated to look like a...
We have seen Christine and Kellie Emery at so many of our out-and-abouts around town! You probably have, too, and would recognize them as the mother-daughter duo that bring the fabulous face paint and amazing balloon animals to local festivals. They're awesome, and when I heard they'd written a book I knew it would be awesome, too. The Straight and Narrows is the...
Point Comfort at Fort Monroe is the site where the first slaves were brought ashore from Africa in 1619. Coincidentally, Fort Monroe also happens to be the place where, over two hundred years later, the institution of slavery began to be broken. In 1861, three enslaved men -- Sheppard Mallory, James Townsend, and Frank Baker -- escaped from the Confederate Army, to which...
Get ready for a blast from the past! Anouk's Girl Scout troop recently went on an outing to Haygood Skating Center in Virginia Beach and I jumped into a time machine back to my own childhood. Not much at Haygood has changed since I was going there as a kid except maybe the music: the music that plays as the skaters take the...
This is another highlight of our Washington, DC road trip back in March! Anouk and Gus love the small bonsai collection at the Norfolk Botanical Garden, so when our friend A. suggested the Bonsai Museum at the National Arboretum, we knew we'd have to check it out! And I'm so glad we did. These small, carefully cultivated trees are inspiring and fascinating to...
The Atlantic Coast Kite Festival is one of the things that makes the Virginia Beach area so special! It's a two-day event in early May each year (for 13 years running), the first day at the Oceanfront being the one that appeals to most of the professionals and the biggest crowds. But the second day, at Portsmouth City Park, is the one we...
One of our favorite hangouts this winter and early spring has been Outlook Beach at Fort Monroe. It all started when our friend Sam visited one day in February and saw a pod of migrating humpback whales swimming through the shipping channel! Well, after that we all had to go and try to spot them. And spot them we did, many times, even...
