Since I’m familiar with the drive to Virginia’s east coast, I allow my thoughts to wander away from what’s around me for a moment. My mind takes a trip down memory lane, thinking about how time flies and the importance of appreciating the good things in life. That every milestone deserves to be honored – that anniversaries of LOVE should be celebrated and not taken for granted. And then I look over at my husband and I’m so thankful that he is here with me in this moment. So I close my eyes, take his hand and enjoy the rest of the ride.
VA Beach is a city located over 1.5 hours east of Richmond, and they have five official LOVE signs not directly located near the beach – (1) Stravitz Sculpture and Fine Art Gallery, (2) VA Beach Animal Care & Adoption Center, (3) VA Beach’s Vibe Creative District, (4) Adventureworks Wetland Zipline, and (5) Bucker Plaza. They also have four additional official LOVE signs closer to the beach (check-out my VA Beach part 1 blog for more on those).
This LOVE sign adventure is extra important to me. Not only are we going to the 50th annual Neptune Festival for the first time, Brett and I are celebrating 20 years of being married. So we took this trip as a way to look back and remember all of our years together.
Our first stop was at Stravitz Sculpture and Fine Art Gallery, (my first ‘rainy’ LOVE sign picture :). The gallery is a beautiful exhibit of various art mediums that will make you wish your home could make space for all of it. What was really interesting is that the sculptures are created using the “lost wax” technique, a method that has been used for thousands of years (according to our wonderful gallery host). It was amazing to see the level of detail and care put into the sculptures made here, as well as all of the amazing paintings and other forms of artwork on display.
After the gallery and before checking into our hotel, we made a quick stop to our second LOVE sign at the VA Beach Animal Care & Adoption Center. I grew up with dogs that we adopted from shelters so these establishments are always dear to my heart. Later that night, we had dinner at Chops Seafood and Steak restaurant. I highly recommend this place, especially if you’re looking to celebrate with delicious food and drinks.
On Saturday, we made plans to check-out the VA Beach Vibe Creative District LOVE sign before hitting the beach and Neptune Festival. What a fun and unique spot to have in this city. The painted murals on buildings and around the area are amazing and the events they have scheduled for the community are awesome.
While there, they had a farmers market with folks playing stringed instruments on a small stage. I don’t think we would have ever known about this unique spot in the city if it wasn’t for the beautiful LOVE sign there.
In addition to the LOVE signs and our anniversary, the Neptune Festival is what also brought us here. If you love the beach, music, art and shopping then look no further than this event. It has all of that and more. There are over 400 vendors selling everything from artwork, sculptures, clothing, crafts and more. In addition, they have music scheduled throughout the weekend and other featured events such as the Neptune’s Surfing Classic, Volleyball Tournament, and the International Sand Sculpting Championship. We had never seen sand sculpting like this before and to say it was impressive is an understatement. Looking back I can’t believe this was our first trip to this festival and we will definitely come back again.
Sunday plans included grabbing a quick LOVE sign selfie at Buckner’s place (see featured pic at the top) before we made our way to Adventureworks Wetland Zipline for our final LOVE sign picture. While I had ziplined before, this was Brett’s first time. They have eight different ziplines that take you through the forest and over the wetlands of the area. It was exhilarating and a little nerve wracking (I have a small fear of heights). It felt good to ‘let go’ and see the land from a birds-eye-view, and our guides were awesome and hilarious. We would absolutely do this again and talked about bringing our boys the next time we do.
After ziplining we enjoyed brunch at Waterman’s Surfside Grill (because you know that’s my favorite meal of the week). The cocktails were awesome, the food was delicious and the view and staff were fantastic. It was a wonderful end to a full and celebratory weekend.
VA Beach continues to be a place to love…
When you hear the name VA Beach, most may think “it’s just a beach town”…but this adventure taught us there is so much more than that. It is a city full of arts and adventure, in addition to the sand and surf. That the people care about their city and want to share it with you in a way that makes you want to come back for more. Even if you’ve been coming here for years, make sure you go beyond the boardwalk. You will likely be surprised by what you will find and enjoy every minute of it.
♥️♥️♥️♥️
This one is for you Brett…“In case you ever foolishly forget: I am never not thinking of you” – Virginia Woolf
| VA ♥️ Signs Now Visited | Official VA ♥️ Signs |
| 30 | 336 |
Resources to help you plan travel to VA Beach:
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 everything I include in my blogs are 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.
Leave a Reply