Chillin' in Virginia Beach

Bad rainy weather brought me to Virginia Beach a day earlier than planned. It was going to be another crazy windy day in the Outer Banks. So I decided to drive over to the next state on Friday night. I am so glad I decided to change course, even though the following day at First Landing State Park in VA was rainy and gloomy.

I feel like this was a pivotal week of hitting a peak point of exhaustion. It’s incredibly fun and exhilarating to be on this adventure. But I have to talk about the mental and physical exhaustion of it all as well. Having to check things to do each week. Dealing with moving things in the van 100 times over a day. Sitting in an uncomfortable chair for extended periods of time for work. Every task takes twice or three times as long to accomplish in a small space. Morning routines, cooking meals, taking care of Ziggy and his irregular feeding schedule. So I feel like when I landed in Virginia I just need a break! A break from constantly moving and exploring.

And this park was the perfect respite for that. I went to Citrus for breakfast on Saturday and also ran some errands at a local home improvement store. But took the rest of the rainy day to just relax. The following day I did about 8 miles of beautiful hiking in the state park. I was amazed at how the vegetation was changing from lush forest, to swamp, to a beautiful sandy beach. Pictures really don’t do it justice. Sunday night as the weather cleared up after taking a photo by the Neptune statue, I headed to a local bar called Froggies. The atmosphere was lively full of locals who were not shy to dance and have fun on the dance floor. The opener was a Nepalese guy who played blues music on his guitar. It was incredible to watch him sing and play all these old blues songs. Then the headliner came on and I got to buy a vinyl from his music. It was a perfect Sunday.

The following week was spent simply enjoying the campground, paddle boarding with the dolphins in the evening and watching so many sunsets. I met some amazing neighbors next to me and played on my ukulele by the firepit. I also started up yoga and even took out my yoga straps to do some inversions and release tension in my back from all the sitting and driving. I think Ziggy enjoyed the slower pace as well and he seems more energetic this week. The only other times I went out was to eat dinner at Chick’s Oyster bar and some breakfast at Bay Local.

I genuinely did not have any desire to try to see other things in the area. And I’m so glad I slowed down and took time to recharge and reset. Recharged and ready to explore the trails in Shenandoah National Park.