| For New Year’s Beth and I got in with some others on a package deal for a weekend at Virginia Beach. The city is in the Guinness Book of Records for being the largest “resort area” in the world by some criteria I don’t quite understand. Along the coast the place resembles most east coast beach areas with high rise hotels, taffy shops, and greasy restaurant bars.
The major difference from the seasonal resort areas is that Virginia Beach and adjacent cities of Norfolk and Chesapeake make up a metro area of nearly a million people. Virginia Beach is a little warmer than the rest of Virginia, but the hotel must go through great lengths to keep their palm trees alive. The scene has a semi bohemian surfer vibe to it, but some angry redneck and hood rat nonsense as well. I came here a bunch in college to hang out and see Phish shows and the place has gone up a bit since then.
For a couple hundred bucks each we got a hotel room on the beach for two nights and a free party at the convention center. Two of our favorite couples came along for the fun. The party event was a bit like a prom with booze, but a nice easy getaway for a weekend.
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