Virginia Beach

Day 25
Destination: Virginia Beach, VA
Route: Highway 17
Miles Ridden: 177   Total Miles: 5,834
Points Of Interest:

• Bridge across the Neuse Inlet
• Two lane roads through farm land
• Great Dismal Swamp
• Hall and Oates Concert
• Virginia Beach

The ride out of New Bern was very nice. As you leave town, you drive over a very large, recently built bridge over the Neuse inlet. It is a wide, sweeping bridge that, like so many bridges we have encountered in the south, makes the trip over waterways a pleasure. Once over the bridge, we traveled over 60 miles on a very nice two lane road through farms. It seems the primary crop in the area is corn and blueberries, both of which are in abundance. The farm houses are almost always two or more stories, set off by themselves on the back of very large lots. The grounds in front are green, and obviously mowed often using these cool riding mowers which can turn on a dime. The other things in abundance are water, forests, and beautiful blue skies.
 

 
Our luck continues to hold, and we have experienced only light rain and some cross winds. When we crossed into Virginia, we went through a portion of the Great Dismal Swamp. We made our way to Virginia Beach, and upon arrival learned that Hall and Oates was to perform a live concert on the beach. We found a hotel close enough to enable us to hear the concert, but we could not resist walking down to the free concert. Virginia Beach itself is an amazing beach. It was crowded with tourists, but not unbearably so. The water is about 500 feet from a boardwalk, separated by sand volleyball courts. The water was great, about 75 degrees, and the sand hot and pure white in color. A tourist's dream come true. No wonder it is a favorite spot for northerners looking for a place to enjoy the water and sand. On this particular weekend, Virginia Beach was celebrating its Patriotic Festival, something you're not likely to see in California. It was a USO event, well attended by the military. The South loves its God and Country.

When we left Virginia beach, we went across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge which is 21 miles in length and considered to be one of the engineering wonders of the United States.  A must see!