My Review of Jamestown Virginia

If you’ve never been to Jamestown, you’re missing out on one of the greatest places Virginia has to offer. It is hands down one of my favorite places to go for fishing and swimming. Read on to find out just how cool Jamestown is.

There are two options to get to Jamestown. You can drive the whole way, or you can take the ferry. I strongly recommend taking the ferry, as that is an adventure in and of itself. When all the vehicles are situated on the ferry, you can get out of your car and enjoy the view of the James River and the birds, plus take an obligatory ferry selfie. One of the ferries has a top level you can walk out on as well, for an even better view. There’s even a bathroom on board in case you need to go.  The ferry runs all day and night too, so you can ride the ferry home after spending all day across the river.

While there are many things to do in Jamestown, such as go to the museum, rent a boat, or ride your bicycle on the bike path, I  only go there for two reasons: to go swimming and to fish. By the way, you can buy bait at the James City County Marina if you forgot to on your way to the river.

There’s multiple areas to park to view the river, but only a couple parking areas for those wishing to go swimming. These parking spots fill up fast, so you’ll want to leave early to guarantee you’ll have a parking spot. Make sure you bring all your fishing gear/towels/food with you before walking to the beach, because you may have to walk along the shore for awhile before you find an area that looks good.

I recommend wearing shoes in the water, only because there are rocks and sticks that could cut your feet. I’ve seen tiny jellyfish in the water as well at certain times of the year, but none of them have ever stung me. Be sure to check out all the seashells on the shore. While you won’t find giant seashells at Jamestown, it definitely has its share of shells.

Don’t expect the water to be cold in the summer, remember this is not the ocean. The water can be quite warm, actually, and that’s probably the only thing I don’t like about Jamestown. However, once you go there for yourself and see the picturesque scenery Jamestown and the James River has to offer, you’ll find that it outweighs any negatives.

Jamestown is such a peaceful place, I can’t quite describe it in words. It’s just a happy place that I always want to be at when I can. I could spend hours just walking along the shoreline, fishing, swimming, and soaking up the sun.

My Review of Virginia Beach

I’ve been to Virginia Beach on numerous occasions, being as it is less than a two hour trip from home. While I haven’t been to the beach in a year, I think I know enough about it to write a review. This post details my experience at Virginia Beach.

I’ll start with the parking. Expect to pay at least $10-$20 to park at Virginia Beach. There are several parking lots to choose from, and some are cheaper than others, so make sure to drive around before deciding where you’ll park. You will also probably have to put a parking pass in a visible area of your vehicle while you are at the beach, to prove that you paid for your parking spot.

The beach itself is your standard oceanfront beach. There are lifeguards on duty, at least in the summertime, to help keep you safe. Don’t be surprised if a lifeguard yells at you for swimming too close to the fishing pier. Then again, why would you?

Have you always wanted to take your picture in front of a palm tree? Palm trees are everywhere in Virginia Beach. Several sculptures line the beach as well, including the famous King Neptune statue. There’s no shortage of photo opportunities at Virginia Beach, from the novice to the professional.

During the summer, the beach does get pretty crowded. However, the beachfront is large enough that you should be able to find space to put your beach towel/umbrella/cooler/etc. There is a rinse station to help get the sand off before venturing back to your car or to the boardwalk. Making a vacation out of it? There are plenty of hotels right on the ocean, and some less expensive options further from the beach.

There are plenty of places to shop at on the boardwalk. Even with a minimal shopping budget, you should be able to walk away with a couple things. There’s even a store where everything they sell is $5 or less. I got a really nice “Virginia Beach” shirt at one of the shops for $10 I believe, a couple years ago, and it’s still in great condition. I got a free mug from Sunsations one year, but I’m not sure if they’re still offering that promo or not. If you’re hungry while you’re on the boardwalk, make sure to try the chocolate peanut butter custard!

There’s no shortage of places to eat at, either. Of course, there are plenty of seafood restaurants. Don’t worry if you hate seafood, because there’s pizza places as well. Expect to pay more for food than you normally would. My husband and I spent around $20 on a single Subway sub when we took a spontaneous day trip to the beach awhile back.

Virginia Beach even posts a seasonal carnival known as Atlantic Fun Park, complete with multiple rides (including a ferris wheel), carnival games, and more. I had the most delicious salt and vinegar french fries I’ve ever eaten there.

What To Do When It’s Too Hot Outside

Well, it’s another HOT day in the south, and that’s putting it lightly. When I got around to letting my dog Bella out to use the bathroom and take out the trash, the harsh heat hit me immediately. It’s that kind of heat that makes it hard to breathe, let alone be outside comfortably for any amount of time.

When it’s hot like this, I usually find something to do indoors. Sometimes it’s watching YouTube, or listening to music. I might even catch up on some house cleaning. Baking a dessert sounds tempting, but then I remember turning on the oven only makes the air conditioner work twice as hard to keep up with keeping it cool in here.

Of course, there’s always the beach, which is thankfully only about an hour or two away from me, but you know the traffic’s going to be terrible on such a hot day. Then there’s the crowds, and finding a spot to swim.

What are some activities you like to do when it’s just too hot to enjoy the outdoors? Let me know in the comments below, or tell me on Twitter!

My Favorite Spaghetti Recipe

If there was any food that never gets old for me, it would be spaghetti. It makes sense, considering the fact that my great grandmother on my mom’s side was from Sicily. There’s probably no greater comfort food in my opinion. The carbs, coupled with a flavorful tomato sauce, always hit the spot. Here’s a simple spaghetti recipe that will feed a small family (or, in my case, my husband and I) for at least a couple days.

Ingredients
One box vermicelli or angel hair pasta
A jar of your favorite tomato sauce
One pound of ground beef
Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Brown your ground beef in a skillet. Tip: My ground beef is usually frozen when I decide to make spaghetti, so I simply put a small amount of water in the bottom of the skillet to help prevent the meat from burning/sticking to the bottom of the pan. Just make sure you break up the ground beef every so often.

2. While the ground beef is browning, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Break the pasta in half, and cook it according the directions on the box.

3. Drain the fat from the ground beef.

4. Add the tomato sauce to the ground beef, bring to a simmer, and reduce the heat. Cook it until it looks “done.” It doesn’t usually take more than ten minutes for me. In order to reduce the acidity in the tomato sauce, you may want to add a small amount of sugar- half a teaspoon should do.

5. Drain your pasta, and serve your spaghetti with Parmesan cheese on top.

Keep the leftovers in the fridge. I usually try to eat mine within two to three days at most.

Note: Some people like to mix all of the pasta with the sauce, however, I like to control how much sauce I put on top of my pasta.

Spring Mist Poem

I wrote a poem called “Spring Mist” when I was a teenager. I still really like this poem, so I wanted to post it on my blog. The poem is property of valiablogs.wordpress.com.

Spring Mist

The birds chirping begins the spring day, nature’s alarm clock that never fades.

The fish bask in the morning mist, waiting for a tangible ray of the sun.

The mist casts a shield around the morning, blurring the chaos and making life simple.

Rich Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe

I’ve been looking for the best microwave mug cake recipe forever. I finally found a non-eggy, not spongy mug cake recipe that actually has the texture of cake!

I recommend that you make your mug cake in a bowl, not a mug, to avoid any messes due to the cake overflowing out of the mug while it cooks. Also, I think the cake just looks more appealing in a bowl, and it reminds me of those Betty Crocker Warm Delights, which are what introduced me to mug cakes in the first place!

Please note, I originally found this recipe on allrecipes.com. I put the measurements in tablespoons and teaspoons to make measuring your ingredients easier. If you make this mug cake recipe, let me know what you think!

Rich Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe

Ingredients
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. Measure out the dry ingredients in a cereal-sized bowl suitable for microwaving in, and stir them all together.

2. Measure out the wet ingredients into the same bowl, and mix well.

3. Microwave the cake for around a minute and 45 seconds. The cake is done when it is not gooey in the middle. Be careful, no one likes an over-baked mug cake!

4. Mix in some canned frosting, chocolate chips, peanut butter, etc. (optional)

My Bird Photos

I love taking pictures of birds! I wanted to share some of my favorite bird pictures I’ve taken. These pictures were taken in trees in my own backyard with a professional camera. Please note, these photos are property of valiablogs.wordpress.com. You must ask for permission to use them on your own website. Thank you.

Our Honeymoon at Bonnet Creek

The view from our room at Bonnet Creek

My husband and I went on an amazing honeymoon trip of a lifetime to Orlando, Florida, in January of 2017. We stayed at Bonnet Creek, a resort featuring a large pond, a lazy river, multiple pools, hot tubs, and even its own Starbucks. To finish our trip off, we visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

The start of our trip was humorous to say the least. The area of Virginia we live in had just experienced an unusually heavy snowstorm. In fact, when we woke up to leave for Florida, we had to push snow out of the way in order to open our front door! The first several hours of our trip were marked by snow-covered roads.

I knew we were getting close to Florida when we went through Georgia, and palm tree lined highways were becoming more and more of a common sight. The weather quickly turned tropical and sunny. Once we were in Florida, I spotted my first wild pigs on the side of an interstate!

The Walt Disney World sign in Orlando, Florida

Prior to arriving at Bonnet Creek, we drove through the famed “Walt Disney World” sign. The process of getting to our room was somewhat lengthy, but once we were in the room I was in awe. Our room, on one of the top levels, boasted a view of the pools, the large pond, and the nightly Disney World fireworks.

To go from a snowy Virginia to a warm and sunny Florida was great, especially considering we don’t normally get that much snow. It was like two vacations in one- our honeymoon, and a vacation from an abnormally cold and snowy Virginia.

The room itself was more like a mini apartment. We had a fridge, a stove, a dining room, living room, and even a washer and dryer. It really felt like home, even though we were hundreds of miles away from Virginia. I loved it, and I think I could seriously live there, in that small room, and be totally happy and content.

Koi fish and ducks in the pond at Bonnet Creek

Fun things to do around the resort included floating in the lazy river, taking a swim in one of the pools, relaxing in the hot tub, and getting a frappuccino at the resort’s own Starbucks. There were a couple restaurants at the resort as well, including a poolside bar that had the best french fries I ever tasted. We also fed the koi fish and ducks some fish food that was available for purchase at the resort.

Every evening, we got a front row view of the Disney fireworks from the comfort of our balcony. Live music playing at the resort was the background noise at night. It truly felt like we were in paradise. I didn’t want to leave.

Giraffe at the Animal Kingdom safari

On one of the last days of our stay, we ventured to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I have to admit, I am not a huge Disney fan, but I do love animals, so I figured it would be fun to go to Animal Kingdom. It did not disappoint.

A worker at Animal Kingdom gave both my husband and I Disney pins that said “Happily Ever After,” signifying we were visiting on our honeymoon. There were many wild animal exhibits, including crocodiles, kangaroos, monkeys, and almost any other wild animal you can think of.

My favorite part of the Animal Kingdom trip was the safari ride. Though we were not literally right next to the animals, it sure felt like it. There were invisible barriers separating the visitors from the animals, but in a way that made you feel like you were really on a wild safari. We drove up to giraffes, hippos, lions, and more. It was truly an amazing experience.

I would recommend Bonnet Creek and Disney’s Animal Kingdom to anyone who loves relaxation, Starbucks, and safaris. Trust me, you will LOVE it!

My Outdoor Photography

I love taking nature pictures. I thought I would share some of my favorites that I’ve taken with you all. I used a professional camera with a good zoom to take them. Please note, all of the pictures are property of valiablogs.wordpress.com. If you would like to use them on a different website, please ask me first. Thank you.

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An Update

My mom and I in PA for a fun Birthday visit!

I know it’s been awhile since I posted on my blog, but a lot has gone on since my last post. To start, I lost my long-term contract job with a local newspaper in the Spring of 2017. That was really difficult for me, as I love writing and it actually gave me a unique opportunity to stay in the loop of what was going on in my old hometown.

Then, in May of 2018, my husband and I got to go visit my mom in PA for my 30th Birthday! I hadn’t been to my hometown in almost a decade, so that was really fun. I enjoyed viewing the mountains I grew up around and the peaceful rivers and streams. We even brought our dog, Bella, and she had fun too, and even got in the water.

Shortly after visiting my mom, I fell seriously ill for the rest of the year. Doctors are not sure exactly what was wrong with me, but my hair started falling out, I had rashes all over my body, and I had elevated blood cell counts that were concerning. I even had to get a chest x-ray, which was luckily normal.

Fast forward to the present, where my husband unfortunately lost his job after two years. It was not his fault, as he literally worked 24/7 for the most part, with hardly any sleep. The nature of his job did not allow him set scheduled time off to sleep or for personal time. He started having health issues too, and I believe it is due to the stressful nature of that job.

So, I have decided to start writing again! Please forgive me for being inconsistent on here, and I will try my best to post more often.