Day 3 - Tuesday 17th May

We decided to start the day with a visit to what promised to be quite an exciting venue, at least if you're a bit foody like us - Virginia Beach Farmers' Market, a permanent set up that is open every day.

Well, the word disappointing doesn't do it justice! A few stalls (most of which were closed although, interestingly, this mainly meant "cover the produce with a cloth and go home") selling decidedly alright stuff and no other customers - OK it was 10-15 am but still.

So, having wasted that opportunity, we decided to go see the Botanical Gardens in nearby Norfolk. Carol being in charge of directions, we got completely lost! However, we stopped, switched on TomTom (did I mention that the car has inbuilt SatNav but we prefer ours!) and found it within minutes. If the farmers' market was a disappointment, this more than made up for it. 150 acres of fantastic flora (and some small fauna).

We decided to get our bearings by boarding le petit train for an orientation trip - 25 minutes and narrative on the way (and included in the admission). Then, first stop the Rose Garden - 2 or 3 acres, I'm guessing with I don't know how many different roses in full bloom - amazing

Not the best photo in the world but it gives you the idea.

And look at the sunshine!



Then, we decided to have a look at the area set aside for native trees and plants - four different sorts of environment and associated plants - quite a bit of swampland. (No photo here except the bug that flew into me)

Then we wandered round looking at whatever caught our eye (and taking lots of photos of Japanese Dogwood!). At one point it looked like it may rain so we got the train back to the welcome center - just in time before the heavens opened. Rain? Never seen anything quite like it. But it was over within 30 minutes and, 10 minutes later, the paths were dry! If ever you're in this part of the world, a definite go-see.

On the way back, we decided to look at Hilltop Shopping - there seemed to be a lot of places to eat there so we thought it worth carrying out a recce. Strip mall writ large - uggh! However, we did find one place of note - Fresh Mart. Key find? PG Tips! Now Carol could escape the ubiquitous Lipton's Yellow Label - the only tea you can guarantee to find anywhere - shame it doesn't taste of tea!

What was amazing was the sheer selection - there must have been 15 different coffee beans, 20 different sweet nuts (we bought honey roasted peanuts!), etc, etc. Why can they do this here and not at home?

In the evening, we strolled down the boardwalk to 11th Street Taphouse where we discovered to joys of Woodchuck Cider and Williamsburg beer!