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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Virgin-i-a...Welcome BATW!

Welcome all you Bloggers from BATW! This is Mama Roho from the great state of Virgin-i-a or VA or Virginia or whatever you want to call it. I am not originally from here as I was dumped here by the US Navy back in 2002 because, well, they had to put me somewhere and the USS McFaul needed another "Sailor" and I was "it". (I am originally from Ohio. GO BUCKEYES!!!) So I packed up my girls and my stuff and traveled cross-country from San Diego, California with my then-boyfriend and this is where we landed. And we have been here since. Oh what joy this great state has brought us. A marriage, another child, a dog, a home, another dog, lots of fish and equity, even in this awful "recession" we are having.

While Virginia is not a place I would PERSONALLY spend the rest of my dying days, it does have it's perks. You can go to the beach and the mountains in the same day...oh wait, that was in California. My bad. Wait, you CAN go to the mountains here in Virginia as well, you just have to travel about 7.5hrs to Virginia's highest "mountain" peak, Mount Rogers, which stands at an elevation of about 5,729ft. That just means that it is 5,729ft above sea level. Mount Rogers is actually considered a "summit" which, by definition is "In topography, a summit is a point on a surface which is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically speaking, a summit is a local maximum in elevation." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit (topography) Now that's no Mount Everest, but that is pretty high! (Which stands at a peak of 8,848ft at the highest!!)

There is a TON to do where I live in Virginia, especially going to the beach, like festivals! Oh my the festivals they have are DA BOMB! I enjoy the Greek festival in Norfolk that they have twice a year now! They also have a wine festival, rock-n-roll festival, beer festival, Harborfest, Neptune Festival, Kite Festival, Bayou Boogaloo, Sailfest, Latino Music Fest, Big Band Fest, Jazz Fest, More Ship Festivals, More alcohol festivals and a TON more music festivals and they go on all year long!!! Both beaches, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, host a variety of things. Norfolk Festevents is a great place to look for things if you are ever in the Norfolk area. Beach Street USA is the place to look for things to do in Virginia Beach.

There are museums everywhere, Naval Bases galore, stores on the beach, souvenirs, places to eat, people to meet, things to do...this place is the BEST place to vacation. Gee, now that I did all the research to pump up my towns, I think I might like it just that much more. :)

I hope you enjoyed your stay here and I hope you find Virginia a cozy little place to visit. If you are ever in the area and I am still here, email me and I will give you a little tour.

TTFN,

Photobucket

58 comments:

illahee said...

hi! thanks for the tour! i have been to virginia a few times, but usually as a passenger on a car on the way to michigan. or back to south carolina. it's a beautiful place!

Anonymous said...

We love Virginia! We were there last September and just stumbled upon the Neptune Festival the day we went to the beach. So fun. And your museums! Holy Toledo, they are spectacular! We went to the Maritime Museum thinking, "How fun could this possibly be?" Lo, and behold, we spent hours there. It was fascinating.
Enjoy your BATW day!

I Love Purple More Than You said...

From San Diego to Virginia, huh? Wow. But you do get 4 seasons now! I've never lived where there is four seasons.
(visiting from Los Angeles)

Just Lisa said...

Lovely tour! Enjoy your BATW day!

Your layout is so pretty. I love the picture of you and your family on the beach. I have a similar pic on my blog. Well, except your lighting is better. And it's only my daughter, not the whole fam. And it's probably a different ocean.

But otherwise, it's exactly the same. :)

Heathahlee said...

Hey from Mississippi! Wow, y'all DO have lots of festivals! I agree, that sounds like a fun place to live!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tour! Beach and mountains - sounds like a pretty cool place. (I live in Sweden but am British)

Julie said...

Hi, I guess I would say I am from VA...I graduated high school in VA Beach and worked every summer down on the water... then went to college in NOVA...and now I am in Hungary. My dad was in the Navy, thus us being in VA Beach... lots of fun things to do there and with the kids. We lived on the beach and had a cabin in the mountains it was fun...and was only a 4 hour drive for us.... maybe we drove fast :)

Domestic Executive said...

Thanks for the intro to Virginia - That's a ton of festivals, do you ever get festivaled out?

Hope you enjoy your BATW day.

Keeper of the Skies Wife said...

Hi from Arkansas. Thanks for the tour. I love festivals, too.
Enjoy your day.

Melissa B. said...

Greetings from NoVA! I'm not a Native Virginian either, but I've lived here, as they say, Since the World Was Very Young. In my neck of Virginia, you actually CAN go from the beach to the mountains in the same day...spectacular. Thanks for telling us about the Tidewater-one of my fave places in the state! Isn't Debbie great?

Desi said...

Eee! I love festivals. I could definately live there.

Amy Kay said...

Thanks for the great tour, and you have a beautiful family. I love your beach photo of your family. I'm visiting from Georgia and BATW.
Hugs, Amy ;)

Betty said...

Happy BATW day!
Sounds like a nice place to live!

Stacey Cannon said...

I knew we had a lot of festivals here, but holy schmoly!! I had no idea we had THAT many!!! It makes me wish we'd be here more than the 2 years or so we have here! :) Thanks so much for the tour!

Alicia @ Oh2122 said...

Thanks for the tour!

I have only briefly been to Virginia, but what I saw was lovely. Temperate climates in winter are really a nice break for a New Englander.

Happy BATW day!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tour! I would love to visit some day with my children - I've been there before, but it's been YEARS ago!

Lula! said...

Your corner of VA is so different from mine. But that's what I love about Virginia (and Georgia, for that matter--gotta show love for my roots!). You can be in the mountains or at the beach in one day, with a bit of driving. COOL!

And...ahem...it's officially less than one month 'til the movie. Just sayin'. Just so you know.

Amy said...

VIsiting via BATW! Love your blog, thanks for the tour. I would love to check out that rock and roll festival, it's gotta be great :D

Lynda said...

Greetings from Texas and BATW! My mom lived in VA for a while and we always loved visiting - thank you for the tour :-)

heidi said...

Nice tour!! Thanks for sharing :-)

taratoons said...

Thanks for the great tour. I loved Virginia while I was visiting. It sounds like a great place to live.

The Hultman's said...

Thanks for the tour! I have been to that area a few times and have really enjoyed it!

Cant Hardly Wait said...

I told the other Virginian how much I love Virginia. I do, it is so pretty there. Hi from Louisiana, by the way. I'm originally from NY, but me and my family would stay in VA for 4 weeks every summer in a beach house. Looooved it! I love your blog, too!

Becky W said...

Great tour! I love Virginia! Hope you have a wonderful BATW day!

Darcy @ m3b said...

I want to know that, too... since you're in NoVa, you get all four seasons, right?

Here in Iowa we only have 3:
fair, cold and bloody cold.

Darcy

Casey (@ Chaos and Cardboard) said...

Howdy from one military wife to another. Gotta love how they move us to unexpected places huh? Cute blog! Thanks for sharing!

Susie said...

Greetings from Wisconsin:-) Congratulations on your BATW feature. I hope that you are enjoying your day in the sun:-)

Thanks for the tour of Virginia:-)

Unknown said...

Thanks for the tour o' Virginia. I haven't been there in years... like... 28 of them... maybe one of these days we'll head up there since we're in NC now...

Unknown said...

Thanks for the tour and congrats on your feature!!

Bramblemoon Farm said...

It sounds pretty dang cool to me, and a lot of great things happened to you here:) I've never been there but it sounds nifty-- I love beaches, and history, and festivals! Thanks for the tour and I saw that you are a Twilight fan-- giving you a high five on that!

Kelley with Amy's Angels said...

What a fun blog to come by and visit!

Louise | Italy said...

Hi, I'm Louise in Italy. I always liked Virginia and Virginians - I used to spend summers there when I had a American in-laws. What grabbed me most was your joie-de-vivre. Love the blog. Nice standfirst picture. Louise

Shell said...

Happy BATW day to you, Mama Roho. I love Virginia. Have been there a couple of times. Thanks for the great tour.

~Trish~ said...

Hi from Kansas!! Thanks for the tour and I love your cute blog!!

Debbie said...

NOw that wasn't so bad was it! Thanks for giving us the grand tour of your neck of the woods!

Joy said...

Cool music to tour by. Liked that! Sounds like you are blooming wonderfully where you are planted. I like your NOBAMA sign. I early voted today! Go Mc/Palin!
Enjoy all your attention.
Joy from Texas.

Vicki said...

I lived in Hampton for three years and absolutely loved it. We were minutes from the beach (not VA Beach, but still, it was a beach) and the seafood was fresh. I'd love to get back and hopefully with my hubby's job (AF) we'll be back either in the Hampton Roads area or up in DC. Thanks for the tour!

caron said...

I currently live in the Tidewater area also. I moved here from MN so it is a BIG change. Southern accents, gravy and gritts have all been somewhat of a new experience for me...but I'm beginning to love the area. I am REALLY sick of hearing MN accent jokes...Other than that....VA is fabulous!

Wendy said...

Greetings from the Mountain West! Thanks for the tour. Have a fun BATW day!

BTW, loved your header. What a beautiful picture of your family.

Jennifer P. said...

I love that you have found all the great things about it even though you don't necessarily want to stay there forever---way to enjoy the moment!

Hope you've had a great BATW day so far!

Gombojav Tribe said...

Sounds like there's a festival for everyone! If you don't find one you like you probably don't have a personality! LOL!

Thanks for the fun tour!

Dawn said...

Hi from Louisiana! I enjoyed the tour!

Aubrey said...

I would be festival'd out! LOL Sounds like a lot of fun though. Thanks for the tour!

Frizzy said...

I've been here once before (your blog that is). I loved your header then and love it now too. Also enjoyed your tour. I have been plopped many places thanks to my hubby's career with the USAF. Many I never dreamed of and all I loved and miss so much. Thanks for both of your service to our country.

EmmaP said...

love the B&W pics! I also love the look of your blog! thanks for being such a lovely host!!! Virginny looks like a lovely place to live... makes me wish i lived in a coastal town...

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tour through your state. I always enjoy meeting new friends and learning about new places. Someday, I'll make it to VA and see all the wonderful things.

CC said...

I've enjoyed reading about Virginia.....have a great BATW day, from a visiting Texan..:)
Come visit..

Shannon said...

Thanks for the tour! All the festivals sound like fun!

Lady Dorothy said...

You're right. That's a lot of festivals! I would love to visit Virginia one day!

Have a great BATW day!

jori-o said...

I love Virginia!! It's so pretty and green! Thanks for the fun intro (and my kids were totally gettin' jiggy with the music on your blog!)

Trish said...

Holy smokes that it a lot of festivals!

Virginia is on our list of destinations we would love to visit.
Thanks for the tour.
enjoy your BATW day!

"The Queen in Residence" said...

Wow thanks for a great tour. I am so wanting to come and visit all these fun places that BATW takes us... Enjoy all the bloggy love.

Michelle said...

It's always interesting where we end up and how we get there. I've been to Norfolk for a wedding, which was ... interesting. The time we spent in the town was way fun -- although I didn't realize there were so many festivals. I'm sure we missed one, which is too bad!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tour. I could get used to being busy by going to different festivals, what fun.

Tracy P. said...

Better late than never! I lost my e-ticket temporarily. Thanks for the trip. Sounds like the beach is the place to be!

Laural Out Loud said...

The mountain/beach thins is one of the reasons I don't think I'll ever leave San Diego. But that whole equity thing sure sounds good, lol. Thanks for the tour!

Sarah said...

a little late. Just wanted to say I loved the post. The part about the mt is really interesting. :)

CrystalChick said...

I've been to Virginia a few times and it is very nice. I still have some family there and can't see them ever leaving.
I'd like to visit again sometime. :)
Have a nice weekend.