Last year on a trip to the grocery store I stumbled into the middle of a group of Zombies.  Very strange when you didn't know there would be a couple thousands wandering around your neighborhood - but good strange and fun to watch.  My kids and I spend the next few hours sitting on the porch watching and laughing.   This year, I'm joining in.  You can read all about it on their facebook page and blog.

Ghent to survive in the most epic race for your life. It’s part tag, part footrace, part zombie Get ready to run, duck, hide, outwit, and outmaneuver your opponents as you take to the streets of apocalypse. Do you have what it takes to Survive Norfolk? Again?

Living in Norfolk gives you  access to some amazing vacation locations. This week, for my parents 50th Anniversary celebration we rented a beach house in the neighborhood of Croaton, Va Beach, VA - just 25 minutes from home. Croaton is a neighborhood just past the Va Beach Boardwalk. Far enough away from the crowds, but close enough to ride your bike to all the cool restaurants, rides and oceanfront fun. What a great vacation - and my favorite part? It's so close to home.

From Destination360.com

 Croatan Beach is only a five-minute drive from the Virginia Beach Boardwalk and oceanfront, and though it is only a short distance, it can feel like it’s many miles away. The Croatan area is upscale, with numerous high-end, multi-million dollar homes lining the beachfront. The area is largely not touristy, but there are many vacation rentalsavailable. Croatan Beach Virginia Beach is almost a mile long and spans from the Rudee Inlet to camp Pendleton. The soft, sandy beach is very well kept and is serviced by lifeguards dispersed along the shoreline, watching both swimmers and surfers alike.

I love taking my kids to the Zoo here in Norfolk.  No matter how many times we visit we see something new and exciting.  The latest new exhibit is called the "Trail of the Tiger" and it is SOOOOOO cool.  If you live near or visit the Hampton Roads area you MUST visit.  Here are a few facts from the The Virginia Zoos website:

"The dynamic exhibit features wildlife from throughout the Asian continent, nearly doubling the number of large animals we have for visitors to see. Among the new residents are carnivores, including Malayan tigers and Asian small-clawed otters; primates, including orangutans, siamangs and white-cheeked gibbons — exceptionally vocal primates; forest dwelling creatures, including Malayan tapirs (they’re related to horses, but don’t look like them) and binturongs (bear cats); and a colorful collection of birds, including extravagantly beaked rhino hornbills, brilliant fairy bluebirds, azure-winged magpies, chestnut-breasted malkohas and many more species that live in niches reaching from the ground to the forest’s upper canopy.

A series of 12 thatch-roofed pagodas — the highest is nine stories tall — set the stage for your journey through Asia along the Trail of the Tiger. Along the way, you'll get “up close and personal” with wildlife from an array of unique viewing environments. The raised boardwalk over the “Asian forest” allows you to observe the scene below. A one-of-a-kind viewing cave offers a dramatic look into the tiger and orangutan exhibits. There’s even a special area where you can watch tigers and otters swimming from an underwater perspective."

Spring in the south is always beautiful.  So many beautiful colors.  Here are some images from my neighborhood in Ghent, Norfolk, Virginia:

Although it's more than a year away I was so excited to learn that Norfolk, VA will be a host port for Operation Sail 2012 - A commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812..  If you have never seen the majesty and spectacle of a parade of sails (including many tall ships) of this type you should mark your calender now.  Are you close to one of the ports these tall ships will be sailing by?

(From Festevents/Opsail 2012)

 Operation Sail, Inc. (OpSail) and the U.S. Navy announce the participation of five historic U. S. ports in the forthcoming 2012 events that will commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the birth of The Star-Spangled Banner. The ports include New Orleans, Norfolk/Hampton Roads, Baltimore, and Boston. Events in 2012 will also include New York City's Fleet Week.

OpSail and the U. S. Navy will bring tall ships, naval vessels, and the Blue Angels flight demonstration team to each port city, beginning in New Orleans in May 2012 and ending in Boston Harbor on July 4, 2012.

Norfolk and the Port of Hampton Roads will host the OpSail flotilla from June 6-11, 2012, in conjunction with Norfolk's annual Harborfest celebration.

"As home to the largest Naval Base in the world and site where many of the battles of the War of 1812 were fought, Norfolk and the Port of Hampton Roads are particularly honored to host this event that recognizes the history of our U. S. Navy", said Paul D. Fraim, Mayor of Norfolk. "We understand and appreciate the significance of maritime history and events like OpSail that are tremendous opportunities to educate and enlighten our citizens, especially our youth, about our history and the importance of our military forces."   (Read More)

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel - For over 46 years, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel has captured worldwide attention as a modern engineering wonder and an important East Coast travel convenience. Crossing over and under open waters where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean, the Bridge-Tunnel provides a direct link between Southeastern Virginia and the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware plus the Eastern Shore counties in Maryland and Virginia), and cuts 95 miles from the journey between Virginia Beach and points north of Wilmington, Delaware.  Following its opening on April 15, 1964, the Bridge-Tunnel was selected "One of the  Seven  Engineering  Wonders   of the  Modern   World"  in  a  worldwide
competition that included more than one hundred major projects. In addition, in 1965, it was distinguished as "The Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement" by the American Society of Civil Engineers.  (Read More at CBBT.com)

The Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel (HRBT) is the 3.5-mile-long Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 64. It is comprised of bridge trestles, man made islands, and tunnels under the main shipping channels for Hampton Roads harbor. The HRBT and I-64 connect the South Hampton Roads cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach with the Peninsula cities of Hampton and Newport News. The facility is toll-free and is operated and maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). The HRBT holds a place as an engineering milestone: the world's first underwater tunnel connected to man-made islands. Hampton Roads is the historic name for the five-mile wide, last ten miles or so of the James River before it empties into Chesapeake Bay. Chesapeake Bay is an ocean estuary, the lower end of which is about 15 miles wide, and Hampton Roads is about 15 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. A line from Old Point Comfort to the west end of Willoughby Spit, comes close to demarking the point where Hampton Roads becomes Chesapeake Bay; and the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel also crosses close to that line.  (Read More at dailypress.com)

At Christmas time in Norfolk, VA you can see the city from miles - heading in from Va Beach, Chesapeake and Portsmouth - it's beautiful.

God I love Christmas, the lights, the smells, the crowds and traffic - But seriously, there are always certain traditions in every city that will excite the youngest through the oldest -  and my favorite traditions?  Christmas.  If you live in or around Norfolk, Va here is a list of some of my favorite ways to get the holiday spirit flowing. For a full list you can visit the city website here.

1.   MacCarthur on Ice - Every year the big mall in Downtown Norfolk pours out a skating rink.  Loads of fun for family, friends and guests and what better way to get the holiday spirit flowing?  Find more info on that here.



2. Norfolk Botanical Gardens (Garden of Lights) - Norfolk Botanical Gardens are beautiful all year long and my kids always love to visit, but, at Christmastime they are magical. Find all the Info you need at their site here.



Now, not everything worth seeing is actually IN Norfolk, of course -

3. Va Beach Oceanfront Boardwalk light spectacular. You actually get to drive on the boardwalk and see millions of lights - We always choose a really cold night and swing by starbucks so we can bring hot chocolate with us. Find Info here.



4. Colonial Williamsburg is a 30 minute drive from Norfolk and has many wonderful Christmas traditions. I think this is the first year I will take the kids with me for some of the celebrations. Find out about "A Colonial Christmas" here.