In Virginia Beach: big fish, not-your-average drinks, and history 101

Chris has a theory. The reason we only go to Asian restaurants in Virginia Beach is because the best food in Virginia Beach are probably made by people, not from Virginia Beach.

We’ve got a new ritual. When we want spicy food, we go to “the Thai place.” When we want sushi, it’s “Volcano.” Friday night Chinese? “Forbidden City.” We’re not creatures of habit when it comes to eating out, so you can imagine how confusing this is to me. But there’s something to be said about consistency: it doesn’t disappoint.

There’s also something to be said about laying low. When you’re bootstrapping, going out can take on a different meaning for your savings… err.. budget. So you buckle down and find other ways to unwind. You know… like cooking your own classy meals.

And making your own killer cocktails.

Below: a gimlet with a twist.

Oh.. and we brewed beer. A lot of it. Besides, it’s not like you can just walk into any bar and find a pumpkin ale that had real pumpkin boiled with the wort and had a cup of pumpkin spice and vanilla infused vodka thrown in before bottling. That’s a strictly Chris and Jacklyn craziness that only happens after 6 long work days, lots of bugs, and several hard runs later.

We’re also lucky that Virginia is steeped in history. And most places of interest are within a short drive. The oldest stone fort in the United States – Fort Monroe – is less than an hour away from us.

Remember the Battle of the Ironclads? The three-hour long standoff between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia took place just across Fort Monroe. And, of course, there’s Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown.

Sadly, we didn’t really get much of a chance to explore Williamsburg… our gps navigator told us to turn right somewhere we shouldn’t have and ended up at Waller Mill Park. There’s a trail that takes you around the reservoir at just under 2-miles (3.2km) return. It winds around with a few steep ascents, some renegade tree roots and aggressive rose bushes here and there, and what you might call a dense carpet of acorns in every direction. We even found ourselves on a “drive-through” history lesson on Jamestown Island and and saw the fall colors emerging by Sandy Bay.