A labor day getaway in Virginia Beach

What do all my gal pals want? SIMPLE…Beaches, Beaches, and more Beaches. (Virginia Beach has THREE beaches!)

Photo courtesy of: Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau

Tomorrow begins Labor Day Weekend 2016 (Sep 2 – 5, Friday through Monday) and it is a wonderful time to gather up your girlfriends and have a “what’s left of the summer” celebration to remember, with great cuisine, aged or young wine, old and new memories AND THE BEACH.  What better place for fun than Virginia Beach with three gorgeous and distinctive beaches to enjoy your holiday with your besties?

Now I personally love a beach that has everything, sand, sun, water and the smell of tanning lotion, AND since I am a foodie I have to have restaurants for every palette!  Beautiful sunsets and romantic tides call for sitting at water’s edge, enjoying cheese and crackers and a drink with my feet in the sand. During the day, I’m all about that fancy sun hat, a raucous ocean, and a poet’s notebook, yes you and your girlfriends can enjoy it all in Virginia Beach.

Photo courtesy of: Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau

Why Virginia Beach?

It’s the perfect place to meet, and it has three gorgeous beaches for any personality!  I live in South Florida and most of my girlfriend’s are in New England making it a great in-between meeting place so that no one has to drive too far.

Photo courtesy of: Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau

With a three-mile boardwalk, Resort Beach in Virginia Beach is a first destination.  Nostalgia takes a hit here, with a nightlife that rolls in and out like the tides.  Special Labor Day events, shops galore, with a ride in a surrey down the boardwalk, the Resort Beach offers not only fun but King Neptune! While the God of the Sea is ruling out oceans, you can be building sand castles, dancing to live bands, and have a BLAST at this weekend’s festival. Plus, with the American Music Festival and Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon going on in Resort Beach, it’s the PERFECT time for any music lover to take in some great live tunes. Take a surfing lesson and build a sandcastle at Grommet Island, which is ADA accessible and an all-around fun place to be for adults on the beach playground.  Ride a beach cruiser and get an ice cream cone to tangle those taste buds and cool the summer heat while you and your friends stroll along and explore the various art galleries in the artists’ cove of ViBe Creative District.  Sunsets and silk are on this agenda as you pass the boutiques while bathing in beautiful dusk skies!

Photo courtesy of: Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau

Next is Sandbridge Beach, just fifteen minutes from the Resort Beach area.  Live along the Atlantic Ocean you can meander through the Back Bay Wildlife Refuge, or kayak through the wildlife grabbing those shots that’ll make your friends back home jealous. Don’t miss taking in a sunset – or two – or three – at Little Island Park.  As the sunset strikes, feast on blue crabs just out of the Bay.  Take a little trot down to neighboring Pungo to enjoy organic fresh picked produce at one of sixteen You Pick Farms!  Trill with your girlfriends to sand dunes, along and feel the romance of warm September air succulent produce…And you can dine at Margie and Ray’s crabhouse for a great meal.

Photo courtesy of: Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau

And last but NEVER least, is Chesapeake Bay Beach

Again, close and just north of the Resort Beach, Chesapeake Bay Beach is for that sophisticated group of women on a girlfriend weekend!  Put on your diva duds for that quaint but spectacular dockside restaurant, and check out the locals – you might conjure up a romance, or two – or three.  After a morning of lounging around (you ARE on vacation) grab some of the fabulous  scallop sliders at The Back Deck, feel like doing a little “bar hopping” before (or after) dinner? The Commonwealth Brewing Company and Pleasure House Brewing are not to be missed for their in-house made craft beers.

A water woman’s paradise the amazing bars here invite the locals for chat and food and you can savor some of the best fresh seafood and local breweries in the three beach area.  As you step on the oyster farm boat tour with “Pleasure House Oysters” and gaze over the river, you can make new memories enjoying the delicious legendary bivalves while standing in waders in the Lynnhaven River. Me? I’d be hiding a bottle of hot sauce and a shucking knife in my handbag…for a “just a little taste.” Food and fish, sunsets and a hike on the labyrinthine trails of the historic First Landing State Park thrum as you hike up to enjoy views from the top of the Cape Henry Lighthouse.  You will be happy and tired and ready for another great meal at Bubba’s Seafood Restaurant…you’d always promised yourself to eat at an award winning seafood shack.

Wait, you’re STILL Hungry?

Luckily, there are a myriad of choices when it comes to dining, head to the ViBe Creative District for some great places to dine like Commune (shown in the photo below) that serves up farm-to-table cuisine including freshly picked goodies from its backyard garden.

Photo courtesy of: Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau

AND…. After horseback riding on the beach, a girlfriend spa trip, great nightlife, fine dining and strolling on all of the Virginia Beach beaches, you can head for home – satiated and sisterly – and fully FUNNED!

I’m calling the girls now, because there’s just so much to do in Virginia Beach and I can’t wait until NEXT summer for a great getaway.

• For more information visit Virginia Beach online
• Great ideas for your vacation at the Virginia Beach blog