Spending the Weekend in Virginia Beach
This post is in collaboration with Virginia Beach.
For those who like to follow along on the gram, you know that my fiancé and I hit up Virginia Beach for the weekend. We wanted to get a good sense of what Virginia Beach had to offer beyond the incredible beach. I am kind of odd in the sense that I love beach destinations, but I don't ever really go inside the water. I just like to hear the waves at night, and enjoy running along the beach and giving my toes in here and there. When it came to exploring the city, we had a lot on our itinerary that we wanted to check out. I was pleasantly surprised with all the incredible food, drinks and artwork. Not to mention I had a lot of delicious coffee. Here's the DL.
We arrived late on Thursday night, so we were able to check into the Hilton Oceanfront and do a quick walk along the beach late at night. Since we were on the west coast timezone, midnight in Virginia didn't mean anything to us.
The next morning our adventure started. We went to the Commune to enjoy some delicious breakfast. Off the menu, Aaron did a classic breakfast sandwich while I did the prosciutto breakfast sandwich. I can't begin to explain to you how delicious this sandwich was. The prosciutto was baked into the omelet which made every single bite so incredibly tasty. Not to mention I got a delicious latte which had local honey infused. Needless to say, The Commune did not disappoint us.
As we left breakfast, we noticed the streets around us were covered with beautiful murals. There was so much artwork to enjoy, but as we walked across the street to check it out, it started to rain. This was our cue to jog a bit to MOCA, the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. Once we reached safety, we bought our tickets and walked through the museum. Keep in mind we are both not big museum people, but we had a BLAST. Contemporary art is honestly my favorite because I understand and connect to it on a whole other level. The paintings were filled with color, creativity and personality. We loved them so much that we had to take one of the prints home with us.
Once we had a nice fill of art, we headed to Reaver Beach Brewing. I picked this brewery specifically because of the IPA selection. It was almost 20 minutes away from our hotel, but so ridiculously worth it. Of course, we took Lyfts throughout entire trip if something wasn't within walking distance. Long Lyft rides can be awkward, but I feel like Aaron and I are good at creating a vibe if we don't want to talk to the driver. Anyone else do this with their best friend or significant other?
I got a flight of all 3 IPAs and then the bartender recommended a sour because Reaver Beach is known for their sours. Even though I'm usually not a sour fan (like at all) I absolutely loved the recommendation and we enjoyed the sour. We ended up grabbing full beers of our favorite IPAs after splitting the flight, so it was the perfect little tasting before committing to the more long-term beer. The atmosphere inside the brewery was fantastic, and we were hesitant to leave. I got a half beer for us to split, and signed the check.
Once we had our beer fill, we decided we'd do dinner at Repeal Burgers and Bourbon. Since bourbon was the name of the game, we decided we'd get some old fashioned house style, and then of course 2 burgers. We split each burger in half so we got a bit of 2 different burgers. After devouring some old fashions and burgers, we headed back to the hotel with full bellies. I just love vacation.
After that very wild night (for us) I needed some breakfast sooner than later. Since I like to take my time, do my makeup and just relax in the morning, that wasn't until closer to 11. We got back into a Lyft and headed to Simple Eats. When I saw they had Bloody Mary flights, I knew I had to try 4 of them rather than just one large Bloody Mary. The interesting thing is I always get the biggest influx of DMs on Instagram when a flight of margaritas, Bloody Marys or another cocktail is involved. Mainly because it's uncommon. We think of flights of beer or flights of wine. Make it a Bloody Mary? It breaks the internet... no but seriously haha!
All of the Bloody Marys were good, but my favorite was the Sassy one. Aaron loves the one with tequila which gave me chills and goosebumps. Something about tequila instead of vodka just makes me slightly sick UNLESS it's a margarita. I think tomato juice to me needs to be mixed with vodka and not another liquor so that may be why I got the chills? What's your experience with Bloody Marys?
After brunch, we decided to walk about 5 minutes down the road to Pleasure House Brewing. We tried the main IPA, and I wanted to try the Pumpkin Ale. When fall comes around, I just need pumpkin everything. I know a lot of you are with me on this. It's why pumpkin everything comes available. After those 2, we decided to try the dark porter style IPA and it was the best dark IPA we have ever tried (trust me, we've tried a lot.) Pleasure House Brewery was a total success if I don't say so myself.
Again after we had some beer, we decided to go for a walk down the street. This time it was about 20 minutes down to get to American Brew (across the bridge) and it was such a fun adventurous walk. As soon as we walked into American Brew, we felt right at home. The coffee shop is inviting with the interior decor, the fresh smell of coffee and the warm barista who greeted us. I wanted to try the apple rum cake because it looked delicious, and of course I needed a latte.
After the first few sips of coffee, I knew we needed to figure out if we could take some coffee to go. It was just that delicious. Luckily they have some house blend beans so I snagged a bag to tag home. We've been drinking it all week (random side note there) but needless to say, we loved American Brew.
That night we went to dinner at The Atlantic on Pacific. Quite honestly, it was one of the best meals of our lives. I saved all the Instagram stories under my Travel highlight, but the food was incredible. Starting from our appetizer to the main courses (lobster mac n chese and hot chicken) we were salivating and enjoying the food from the moment we walked in the door. Aaron had some delicious cocktails, and I enjoyed some delicious white wine because I knew it'd go great with any seafood and chicken. We even ordered dessert, and it was just incredible. If there's one place you have to go in Virginia Beach, it is The Atlantic on Pacific because it is quite possibly the best restaurant you've ever experienced. We were so obsessed we did not want to leave. It was also a 5 minute walk from the Hilton Oceanfront which made it so easy to go multiple nights in a row. Luckily we left this restaurant for our final night, otherwise we may not have gone anywhere else. It was the perfect way to tie off the trip in a delicious fashion.
Have you been to Virginia Beach?
Did you know there was more to the city than the beach? Between the art, craft beer, foodie scene and all the outdoors activities, I almost forgot we were at the beach!
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Comments
Sounds like such an amazing trip! I love your embroidered skirt, it’s so pretty!
I also love travel, worth reading ❤️
It looks like you had a great trip!! I’ve never been to Virginia Beach but now I know where to go if I do!
xo, Laura
http://www.have-need-want.com
It looks like you had a wonderful trip! I’ve always wanted to visit Virginia Beach! xo
Fun, the beer tasting sounds amazing!!
I have not been to Viginia Beach but now it’s on my bucket list. Totally crushing on your skirt!
That skirt is gorgeous! And what a fun spot to visit, love your guide!
I’ver never been, but would love to go. It looks like such a fun trip!!
XOXO
Cathy
I’ve always wanted to go to Virginia Beach! Your trip looks so amazing!
I remember the last time I was in Virginia Beach I was probably 12 years old, so no where near old enough to try these amazing places! I want to do a trip back soon to see how different it would be!
Such a beautiful place, I have never been but it may have to be a future travel spot to try!! Thank. you for sharing!
Cheers,
Steph
@trendyinindy|trendyinindy@gmail.com