East Coast Road Trip – Day 1

Today my daughter (5) and I set off in our VW convertible for a road trip from Annapolis, Maryland to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  We have until October 5th to meander down the coast.  We have made no plans in advance and are taking the trip almost one day at a time.

 

This morning I decided to spend the weekend in Virginia Beach.  It’s a great time to be there.  It’s only 4 hours from Annapolis and if you take Route 13 – it’s a beautiful ride most of the way.  We stopped on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel to snap some photos and check in with the fishermen.  Ellie loves stopping there.  They have a cute little restaurant with great views of the Bay if you have time – we didn’t stay very long.

I know not everyone can do this – but we are retired military – so we were able to book a room at the Navy Lodge Little Creek/Fort Story, VA.  It’s 2 minutes off the bridge and has everything.  We checked in to a very nice room for $55 a night (all the hotels on beach were almost $200/night).  We drove down the street to the base beach.  It’s a nice beach with picnic tables and porta-pots and plenty of FREE parking.  We met several families and Ellie played for a couple of hours.

For dinner, I decided to just drive and find shopping centers with restaurants.  I found a packed parking lot – sign of a good place.  We had stumbled upon New River Taphouse on Pleasure House Road and the menu looked VERY appetizing.  They have pizza, burgers and some really great entrees like “Dueling Filet Mignons for $20”. I decided upon a classic – shrimp and grits.  I worked in New Orleans for a while and this was the best I have ever had! WOW!   The restaurant also has a nice patio and my daughter was very content to play on the kids menu and order from the kid’s menu.

Quite a day! If you are looking for a nice weekend getaway, look no further than the Virginia Beach area.

Stay tuned for more adventures with Laurie & Ellie…