Old Cape Henry Lighthouse

Located about a 15 minute drive from the main boardwalk area of Virginia Beach is the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse. The lighthouse is located within an active military facility, Fort Story. Due to this, be aware that when entering, your car will be inspected by military personnel. In addition, you will need drivers licenses for all adult visitors, as well as the insurance information and registration for your car. If you're driving a rental car, you'll need to show your rental agreement in lieu of the insurance/registration. On a busy day, this can take a while, so please plan in advance.

Once you get to the lighthouse, you'll see both the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse, as well as the current one. Only the historic building is available to climb. Once through the gift shop (where you pay), you'll have some stairs outside to climb just to get to the base of the lighthouse. In this area, you get some good views, but of course, the best views are at the top of the light house. We found it was definitely worth the climb up and it's a good alternative to just sitting on the beach all day.

The Breakers Resort Inn

Along Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach, there are numerous lodging options and choosing the right hotel may be daunting. After many hours of research, we decided to give the Breakers Resort Inn a try. We were glad we did, as it was an enjoyable stay with a very good rate compared to other hotels in the area.

The location is perfect, right on the beach, but not at the most crowded area, allowing it to be just a little more quiet than some other areas of Virginia Beach. The room itself was very clean, and had a nice big balcony overlooking the ocean. In addition, our room had a nice Jacuzzi, as well as a very large refrigerator. The bed had a firm mattress, which is good for some. We also found the staff we interacted with to be pleasant at all times, and knowledgeable with any questions we had.

There were two negatives we did find with the hotel though. The free internet that was provided was very slow, and also difficult to get a connection on in the room. The hotel needs to work on better placement of their wireless routers to optimize the experience for guests. The other minor issue we had is we found the towels that were provided in the bathroom to be a bit small and thin. When going to a hotel, it's nice to have nice, big and thick towels. 

Address: 1503 Atlantic Avenue, Virginia Beach, VA 23451

Wifi: Free

Parking: Free

Restaurant: Yes (Breakfast and Lunch)

Bar/Lounge: No

Smoking: Non-smoking

Hidden Fees: None

Breakfast: A la carte in the restaurant

In-room safe: No

Douglas MacArthur Memorial

Right in the center of downtown Norfolk, the Douglas MacArthur Memorial stands out as an impressive tomb for the former General of the United States Army, as well as an excellent history lesson to all who visit.

There is a separate building that serves as a visitor's center, with knowledgeable docents, a gift shop and a 30 minute movie presentation. In the main memorial building, as soon as you walk in, you'll see the graves for both General MacArthur and his wife, Jean MacArthur.

The self guided tour takes you through the life of General MacArthur's parents, to his childhood and throughout his career up until his death. It then continues on past his death talking about his wife's contributions as well.

For anyone with an interest in WWII or US Military History, this is a great place to visit in Norfolk. It is also right across the street from the MacArthur Center, a mall in the center of the city, with plenty of parking.

Pocahontas Pancakes

Pocahontas Pancakes, located at 34th Street and Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach, has been named the best breakfast in Virginia Beach a number of times over by a number of different magazines and food gurus. With that kind of acclaim, we had to try this place.

However, we did not expect a 45 minute wait for breakfast at this small corner eatery. That said, once we were seated, we never felt rushed by our waitress to order fast, or eat quickly.

We ordered the International Breakfast Wrap, the Eggs Benedict and the restaurant’s famous pecan pancakes, which the kitchen will serve as a side dish if you ask.

The Eggs Benedict was served with thick slices of Canadian bacon, which was not my favorite option for this decadent dish. Additionally, the hollandaise, which should be creamy and rich, was on the thinner side, mixing with the yolk of the poached egg to a point that I could not distinguish one from the other.

The breakfast wrap, made with cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, pepperoni, sausage, and bacon, as well as scrambled eggs, was wrapped in a tortilla shell. The whole thing was huge, large enough that the two of us dining could have easily shared it and still not have finished it. It was also served with home fries.

Lastly, we had the real star of breakfast – the pecan pancakes. The pancakes, which have pecans in the batter and in the pecan syrup on top, are what Pocahontas Pancake House is famous for. The pancakes are on the denser side, and have little treasurers of pecans (one of my personal favorite nuts) in the batter. The pancakes are topped with pecan syrup (a nutty, maple-y goodness) and then more pecans and whipped cream. Even as I filled on eggs and potatoes, the pancakes kept calling to me and I continued to eat them past the point of feeling full because they were delicious.

I was also impressed by this small pancake house – they offer not just the traditional regular and decaf coffee, but also a hazelnut flavored coffee if you ask for it specifically.

We found at other breakfast restaurants in Virginia Beach, that the earlier we went out for breakfast, the shorter the wait was. We arrived at Pocahontas Pancake House after 10 a.m. and had a 45 minute wait (groups arriving after us had an hour plus wait!). However, we went to another breakfast location at 9 a.m. and were seated immediately. I would recommend getting out for breakfast earlier, although I can’t guarantee that it will help at Pocahontas Pancakes.