This time last year, COVID made summer vacays pretty much out of the question. We still managed to do a couple of Airbnb getaways, but it was nothing like a normal summer. Basically, we were long overdue for a good family beach trip.
Full disclosure, Plan A was a trip to Miami, FL. Airfare tickets were cheap, but nice hotels near the beach were not. And has anyone else noticed how expensive nice Airbnbs have been lately??
So we regrouped and chose Norfolk, VA. A few hour road trip, city vibes and close to the beach. Four adults and one toddler. And only one of the adults was *actually* off of work. It really gave us alllll the staycation vibes.
TLDR; If you’re more of a visual person, here’s an Instagram Reel of our trip!
We woke up with the view of the Elizabeth River, grabbed either a gourmet deli sandwich from The Gourmet Gang or avocado toast and green juice from Fruitive. We took our lunch breaks at Town Point Park near one of the (literally at least a million) mermaid statues that we saw in Norfolk. In the afternoon once the working adults were off, we hit the streets. My favorite adventure was one that we took to the Chrysler Museum of Art. Admission was FREE and we reserved tickets (you have to reserve ahead of time) on the same day. The glass and modern art exhibits were beautiful and they encourage you to take photos in the museum which I love. The staff was also amazing and shared information about the artists and the different pieces which made the experience that more enjoyable.
We ate dinner on Granby St. which is a strip of bars and restaurants. My absolute FAVORITE place on Granby St. was Urban Ice. If you haven’t had rolled ice cream… no judgement, but where have you been? If you have, you still have to try this place. I got my ice cream rolled of course – strawberry ice cream, with strawberry drizzle, cookie dough and cheesecake bites and I enjoyed every bite. The Taro Bubble Tea is also amazing.
We took an obligatory drive out to Chic’s Beach which is a great spot at VA Beach – free street parking and the beach wasn’t crowded. While we were out that way, we hit Jollibee for literally everything on the menu (I promise we ordered everything) and weren’t disappointed. The chicken was top tier; the peach mango pie and ube pie were equally amazing. We also spent an embarrassing amount of time in Duck Donuts but the donuts were delicious so I stand by our choices! We ended our trip at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, which was the baby’s first aquarium trip. Yes, there were plenty of tears. No, there were none from the actual baby.
If I have one regret, we didn’t take enough street-wall art pictures because there were plenty of opportunities! But if you love architecture, the buildings are beautiful and it’s a great city to go on night strolls by the water. The food places that I’ve linked to were delicious! But we ate at other spots that were a total miss, so if we have to rate the food in Norfolk, VA as a city…. it’s *ok*.
