The Highpointers – Virginia (Part 1 of 3)

Our most recent adventure was a non-stop 3 -day extravaganza covering the vastness of Virginia- from beaches, history, and southern cooking, to a beautiful hike to the top of Mt. Rogers with a Navy Seal.  If you are interested in following in our footsteps here is exactly where we went, where we stayed, what lessons we learned, and where we went to the bathroom…maybe we will leave out the last step.

In case you missed our introduction, click here.

Day 1

Virginia Beach – We start every trip with a visit to the largest city. This is the best way to get a feel for a state before venturing off into lesser-known locales. It is often where much of the state’s history, commerce, and cultural flair derives from. There are a ton of things to do and see in VB but we focused most of our time on the beach and one of the “trashiest” spots in town!

First Stop-

3-mile boardwalk. This is the go-to place for cheap
food, even cheaper t-shirts and where you want to hang out on the beach.

Virginia Beach is where the Navy Seals got their start. We
were extremely privileged to spend time walking along the boardwalk with former
Navy Seal, Seal Team 6 member, and instructor Don
Mann. While on the boardwalk he showed us several militarily significant
stopping points:

Neptune Statue – The massively large bronze statue
depicts the mythological god, Neptune.

Neptune holds a huge trident in his hand, which is what all
Navy Seals earn when finishing their training and is their most significant
symbol.

Location – across from Neptune’s Park on Laskin Rd.

Navy Seal Monument– Half a mile from the Neptune
Statue near 37^th St. is the Navy Seal Monument. The monument depicts
what Navy Seals looked like in the early days.  It also lists Seal team members who lost their
lives protecting our country. Also, if you want to get in a fun military style
workout there is a really cool “obstacle course” next to the Seal Monument.
Finish off with a jump in the ocean to wash away the pesky sand in all your
crevices!

Location – head north from Neptune Statue between 37^th
and 39^th St. 

Second Stop –

Mt. Trashmore – 
Mt.
Trashmore is a unique one of a kind park – a former landfill turned city
recreation area.  It is one of the only
places in town that has any kind of topography which is why every local makes
this their go to place for running and exercise.

Location – Mt. Trashmore Park 310 Edwin Dr. About 10
miles west of the boardwalk

Check back tomorrow for Day 2. This week’s blog is brought to you by Pilot Pen. We couldn’t do what we do without our partners. We want to thank Acroball Pilot Pen for giving us a way to write down our thoughts in any and every condition known to man and to FRBO for providing us a place to stay along the way.

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