Offbeat Virginia Beach: Because We Would Go for the Beatles-Themed Restaurant and the Pirate Ride

On a recent anniversary gift-of-a-trip weekend (thanks, J!!), J and K drove from our base in Williamsburg, Virginia, to Virginia Beach, Virginia--about an hour + traffic of a drive.  Now, many people might have gone for the shoreline, and K enjoyed peeking over to the Atlantic, the boardwalk, and the beach crowds.  However, a less-urban beach like Holden is more our style, and we were really here for the touristy whatnot.

We'd always wanted to visit Captain Cline's Pirate Ghost Ride, a dark ride through black-lit displays of pirates (and a few relics of previous dark rides on the site, like some Egyptian figures and a dinosaur).  The Cline in the name is Rockbridge County's Mark Cline of Foamhenge fame, and the attraction is fun like you'd expect.  There are no drops on the track nor are there big thrills in the daytime, but there are live actors present after 7 PM.  The ride is around $8 a person, which is pricey for 5 minutes of general fun but not bad for Roadside America supporters and pirate fans.  In researching this blog entry, K learned that there is a coupon available via the website--and that it is the ride's last season.  If you are thinking about it, you should go!

K, having heard of the Abbey Road Pub from a friend, wanted to take Beatles-fan J to this small near-the-ocean restaurant.  It's a nice place for breakfast or a casual lunch, and yes, they do have Fab Four memorabilia on display along with fabulous outdoor murals along the parking lot.  It is also a live music venue and a late-night place if you are interested.  We received a nice welcome and enjoyed lunch at the window, watching people walk by.

Being so close to ocean kitsch, we also had to play putt-putt.  Pirates Paradise Mini Golf was right on the corner and was a well-maintained, reasonably challenging course.  It had fewer "bells and whistles" than Myrtle Beach or Pigeon Forge putt-putt, but we had a great time.  Before evening, buying any game automatically gives you play-all-day privileges, a good deal--especially with a coupon on their website, too.

If you go, you are very likely to have to pay for parking (about $10) unless you luck into a restaurant with private parking who is willing to let you stay on their lot after your meal.  All of these places were extremely close as we entered the beach from I-295.  Again, Virginia Beach feels like an urban beach to us--lots of beachwear stores, people selling timeshares, ice cream stands, etc.  It put K in mind of the area near the Gay Dolphin and the former Pavilion at Myrtle Beach, SC, in the 1980s with its bustle.