As we drive down I-264, the road quickly turns from busy interstate, to local streets surrounded by seaside cottages and multi-story hotels in the distance. There is a buzz in the air with families walking down sidewalks with wagon’s full of beach gear and couples bicycling to a nearby destination.
When I look straight ahead, it’s like the land disappears showing nothing but blue skies and the sound of waves crashing nearby on the surf. The air is warm and salty, and my toes begin to itch for the feel of sand and ocean spray underneath them. I’ve turned into a little girl again, and I can’t wait to jump the waves where the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic ocean meet.
VA Beach is a city located over 1.5 hours east of Richmond, and they have four official LOVE signs with other unofficial LOVE signs located along Atlantic Ave (the road that runs parallel a block away from the boardwalk). Two official LOVE signs can be found at Dough Boy’s Pizza (at 33rd street and 17th street), and the other two on 24th street, and 8th street in The Shack.
Even though I grew up on the Eastern Shore, we didn’t venture often to VA Beach (the beach was practically in our back-yard already). And though I’d been here as an adult, its been over 20 years since I’ve visited the place. I was lucky enough to have my family of four join me on this adventure, which added to the fun of exploring the city.
Dough Boy’s Pizza is more than just a simple pizza joint with an official LOVE sign. It is a locally owned restaurant that “wants you to have a good time and a unique experience in our town.” Their menu offers a nice selection of appetizers, specialty pizzas, various entrees, and their DB Wave Calzone Pizza. My husband and I were impressed with their beer/ wine selection and the walk up bar option from the outside of the restaurant.
The staff was super friendly, attentive and happy you were there. Our sons liked the pizzas and it provided a nice first meal of the trip – with some leftovers we enjoyed later. While the 17th street location appears closed, you can still access their official LOVE sign on the outside of the building.
What can be a popular attraction for many people here is the Virginia Beach Boardwalk, a three mile long, wide path from 2nd street to 40th street. It provides visitors and locals alike a place to walk or bike to explore the various stores, restaurants and entertainment available while here. And of course, a beautiful view of the beach. For those of you who love boardwalks, this is a great one to experience.
While you’re here, make sure you check-out the 34-foot tall King Neptune statue on 31st street, a beautiful sculpture that has been there since 2005. It is now an important part of the annual Virginia Beach Neptune Festival, which will be celebrating its 50th year this September 2024. And as always, make sure you cross over to Atlantic Street when you hit 24th street for the beautiful official LOVE sign (the feature photo at the top of this blog).
While not an ‘official’ LOVE sign, there was no way we were going to miss this awesome place… VLOVE Coffee House is a coffee/ sandwich spot where everything is made for you with love ♥️. They provide their customers with a nice menu of options to include coffee, smoothies, pastries, breakfast and all day sandwiches. My husband and I got the Avocado Chicken sandwich and Mango Peach smoothie, both of which were amazing. We will definitely visit this place again the next time we’re in town.
Given I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay, there were certain surf shops that if you owned one of their t-shirts, you were the coolest kid on the street. 17th Street Surf Shop was one of those stores and it is impossible for me to describe the nostalgia that hit me when I entered the store. It was like I was 11 again, looking for the coveted surf gang shirts that I would save up for months to buy. Now as an adult, I had a different appreciation for the store as I browsed the high quality swimwear, sandals, beach accessories, and of course surfing and skating gear and equipment. Watching my sons navigate the store put a special smile on my face, and of course the entire family each got a t-shirt before we left.
For those that have read my previous blogs, you’ll know a goal of mine is to learn more about the area either through the arts or historical places available to visitors. What would likely be missed between two hotels on Atlantic Avenue is the Atlantic Wildfowl Historic Museum, a waterfowl museum and gift shop in the historic deWitt Cottage. While you can explore the museum in about 30-minutes, you will love to see the beautiful decoys carved over the decades and learn more about their history and purpose.
In addition, the deWitt Cottage itself provides a rich history of the area, “built in 1895, it is the oldest remaining private structure on the Virginia Beach oceanfront.” This museum provided a nice quick stop and an appreciation for the timeless art of carving decoys – something closely connected to the history of the Chesapeake Bay.
In between visits to the beach, we were excited to grab lunch at Ocean Eddie’s Seafood Restaurant, the only restaurant that sits over the beach on the Virginia Beach Pier. Here, you have the option for indoor seating, or outdoors with a beautiful view of the beach and ocean. The menu had a variety of items to choose from, seafood being the ones we were most excited about – My husband and I split the seafood platter, and our youngest got the steamed shrimp, both were deliciously prepared. Our oldest had their smash burger, which he said was very good (he is a burger enthusiast :). It was a fun place to eat, and it was just walking distance from our beach chairs and towels in the sand.
While “off the beach path”, I’d be remiss not to mention the VA Beach Amphitheater (now known as the Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach). Our family LOVES live music and we’ve been taking the boys to see concerts since they were in diapers. The amphitheater is an outdoor music venue about 20 minutes from the beach – With a seating capacity of 20,000 and concerts ranging across most music spectrums, there is something for almost everyone to enjoy here at least once per season.
We were lucky enough to catch Tyler Childers, an American country singer and songwriter, while we were here and he was amazing! If you love live music and being surrounded by thousands of others that do too, this is a great place to be.
On our last day, we searched for the final official LOVE sign on 8th street, which was the furthest away from where we were staying. I have to admit, I was getting nervous when we couldn’t find it. We walked up and down, back and again on Atlantic street between 7th and 9th, with google maps telling us we walked past it each time.
Luckily my husband is way taller than I am – He saw the very top of the billboard sized sign, which is now only accessible in The Shack, an outdoor restaurant/ bar that is “an oasis smack dab in the middle of the Virginia Beach oceanfront.” Although it was closed at the time, a staff member was there to let us in to grab a quick photo. We wished we had known about the place sooner…with the hanging plants, palm trees, outside seating, and food/ drink options, it looked like a place you could spend hours relaxing with friends and having a great time.
VA Beach is a place to love…
VA Beach is a place that will give you a feeling of both ‘old beach town vibes’ and ‘new seaside destination feels’ in one visit. Where families of every kind come to enjoy the sand and waves, and create lasting memories that will have them coming back for more. Whether it’s food, shopping or entertainment, you’ll find what you’re looking for around almost every corner you walk. And the locals and staff seem to have that endless summertime happiness that will leave you smiling for the rest of the day. Whether it’s been years since you’ve visited, or you’ve never been before, VA Beach is a place worth going to for sure – our family is so glad that we did.
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To discover more things to do, see, eat and shop, Visit Virginia Beach is a great site that helped me plan our trip.
Is this your first Leah LOVES Virginia blog post read? Thank you for taking the time to visit. If you’re wondering how this adventure got started, check-out my first blog post and my about page. Want to stay connected? It’s super easy and you’ll only hear from me when a new blog gets posted. You can also follow along by friending me on my Leah LOVES Virginia Facebook page.
Important note: I always do my best to ensure anything I include in my blogs is factual and that I also give credit and use quotations when pulling information from sources. If you believe there is something included here that needs to be addressed, please email me directly as I want to be sure it is fixed. Thank you and happy LOVE sign hunting.
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