Day 4 -Check Out
Saturday, September 08, 2007

As we woke to another beautiful sunrise we realized that our time here was about complete. We enjoyed our time and both Chele and I felt recharged. We took our time to pack our suitcases and went through all the goodies we had purchased for freinds and family to make sure we weren't leaving anything behind.


As we left the lobby of the Virginia Beach Hilton, we snapped this final shot. The piece is of a Nautilus cross-section and is backlit with changing colors that reveal a water fall. Its ironic that I end with this image, because within the natural design of the Nautilus is one of the most basic principles of design. The golden section or golden mean. It reminds me that design is far beyond mere man's creations.

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posted by Steph at 10:27 AM | 1 comments
Day 3 - Atlantic Ave Night
Friday, September 07, 2007
As we walked back to the hotel I started snaping shots of the sights along the boardwalk. Here are the images that I liked best:









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posted by Steph at 10:34 PM | 0 comments
Day 3 - Boardwalk


What beach town would be complete without an amusement park? None that I can think of. It's as American as apple pie.


Chele and I walked into the the small midway and discovered the typical run-down rides that you see at every carnival or fair. The place was a photographer's playground. Half the lights didn't light up, but the park gave off a flavor that said, "beach town." I tried to capture this feeling as best I could without a tripod through the following series of images:





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posted by Steph at 9:17 PM | 0 comments
Day 3 - King Neptune

Before we went to dinner, we wanted to get some shots of King Neptune. This awesome scupture was done by the same artist that did the Iwo Jima memorial in Washington DC. The piece stands 34 feet tall and it is an awesome feeling standing below it. The statue is so big (above), that Chele looks tiny in comparison.


I shot some different angles of the King to try to visually convey the power of this piece. No image can really do it any justice. You have to see it for yourself.

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posted by Steph at 5:05 PM | 0 comments
Day 3 - Atlantic Ave

We again spent the morning on our balcony enjoying the cool ocean breeze. I shot another picture of Atlantic Avenue so I could have a daytime version. I sat the camera on the balcony rail as close as I could remember so the last nights' shot would closely match this mornings' shot.


We decided that we would use this last day to do some shopping and walk Atlantic Avenue. Most of the shops have pretty much the same stuff in them, but every now and then you can find something truely unique. This one particular shop had an iron mask of Doom. I couldn't resist shooting it.


Another feature I noticed on Atlantic Avenue was the no-profanity signs. They are everywhere. I didn't quite know how to react to these signs. On one hand it's great that Virginia Beach is family friendly, but on the other hand, I thought of the freedom of speech issue. I realize that with freedom of speech comes great responsibility, but these signs made me laugh. I joked around with my wife stating that they didn't allow spirals, lightning, or the pound sign, while visiting the beach. She failed to see the humor in my remark. "Must be a guy thing," she said.

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posted by Steph at 10:45 AM | 0 comments
Day Deuce - Nighttime
Thursday, September 06, 2007

After hanging out on the rooftop all afternoon, we decided we would take a nap and then get dinner at the hotel restaurant, Catch 31. Our dinner was very nice and relaxed. Our waiter Doug treated us as if we were longtime freinds and had both Chele and I at ease.


Doug later told us that Edwin McCain was playing in Neptune Park, which is just below our balcony. We decided we would hangout on the balcony tonight an take in the tunes from the park. A perfect end to a very nice day.


While sitting on the balcony, I was trying to take various night shots with my SLR without the use of a tripod. I couldn't resist taking a night shot of Atlantic Avenue, looking north from the Hilton Hotel.


I also decided to play around with the open aperature and got some interesting results.

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posted by Steph at 9:14 PM | 0 comments
Day Deuce - Beach

We just finished taking in the beach and decided we would head on up to the rooftop pool and bar to have a drink and sit around the pool. The beach wasn't at all crowded and we felt as if we had our own little private section. I mainly sat in the shade of a big umbrella while Chele soaked in the sun. She loves the beach and the rays. I was her personal timer. Kind of like a human egg timer to remind her to flip over.


On the hotel rooftop we were again treated to an aerial display from the Blue Angels. This time they flew a Delta formation over the top of our heads. What an awsome sight! We later discovered from the bartender that the aerial team was staying in our hotel.

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posted by Steph at 2:49 PM | 1 comments
Sunrise - Day Deuce

This morning we woke up to a nice sunrise over the Atlantic. As I sit in my PJs and sip my coffee, I can feel a nice cool breeze coming of the ocean. I really needed this.

Today Chele and I are going to do some beach time. The hotel offers really nice lounge chairs and umbrellas. We are going to take advantage of that. I don't want to get too much sun. A sunburn can put a real damper on a good time.

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posted by Steph at 7:41 AM | 0 comments
Finally - A Vacation
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
It has been 3 years since I had a REAL vacation. What I mean by real vacation is, going somewhere that isn't attached to work or a rigid itinerary. My wife and I decided that Virginia Beach, Virgina, would be an ideal spot for us to go and unwind. We also chose the week after school began so our visit would be a little less stressful. We were right in making that decision. Atlantic Avenue looks practically deserted and there is no traffic other than a car or two here and there. Perfect!


We are staying at the Hilton, Virginia Beach, and I have to say that the service so far is awesome. They have treated us like royalty from the time we arrived. One of the many highlights we are looking forward to is the balcony from our room. It faces north and has a nice ocean view to the east as well. I plan on spending a lot fo time on that balcony just taking the sights in.


Another highlight is the rooftop bar and pool. While we were up there exploring and aquainting ourselves to the bartender this afternoon, we got a surprise visit from the US Navy Blue Angels. They were flying practice runs for an upcoming air show at Oceana NAS. They flew over the hotel roof so close you could see the rivets on the belly of each jet. An awesome surprise indeed! I'm an aviation nut and this is icing on the cake for me.


Neptune Park is also right below us and we have an awesome view of the 34-foot tall statue of King Neptune. We noticed that a band is setting up just below us and we look farward to listening to some music while we chill out on the balcony tonight.


According to the hotel directory, the band is called "Monkey Booty."

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posted by Steph at 6:13 PM | 0 comments