Virginia Beach - 5 June

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Friday, 5 June

We got up a bit late since it was raining, then took showers and headed to the beach. Parking was a bit of a problem, since this early in the season some of the lots were closed and those that weren't wanted $5.00 for any amount of time. We finally located some metered spots around 23rd Street where you pay 25 cents for 15 minutes. We strolled along the beach for about an hour and a half. Virginia Beach is much more commercialized than Pensacola Beach, with high-rise hotels, souvenir shops, and restaurants everywhere. They do however have it very nicely set up, with a cement boardwalk for pedestrians and a paved path for bicycles, with benches and landscaping along the way. We found out that apparently they were holding some sort of major sand soccer tournament along with a beach tennis tournament that day and probably the rest of the week, but they were still setting things up when we were there so we didn't get to watch any. When we returned to the car, we decided to check out an indoor miniature golf course on the 2nd floor of the building near our car. Pretty neat! Afterwards, we decided to try to find the two places we'd live there 18 plus years ago to see if they were still there. Both Malibur Palms and Thalia Gardens Apartments were still around and even looked the same. We ate lunch at Hardees, then decided to return to the KOA to rest before going jogging. Unfortunately, it continued to rain off and on until it was time for Maria Regla's birthday party, so no jogging. I dropped Manoli off at Maria Regla's house for their all-spanish-girls 50s party and went to Roger's to hang out. Roger had already eaten dinner, so I found a nearby mexican restaurant named Plaza Azteca. The Burrito San Jose was great and fairly priced at $8.99. After dinner, I went back to Roger's and we talked about stuff for hours until Roger said he was toasted and I noticed it was almost midnight! I called Manoli to let her know I was on my way to pick her up. We returned to the KOA and crashed, ready for our shorter trip to the Washington D.C. Capitol KOA in Millersville, Maryland.

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