Weekend Speedrun to Virginia Beach 🏖️

After finals and a week full of meetings, I hit the road right after work on Friday 🚗💨—drove 3.5 hours to Virginia Beach. So glad I found a beach not raining nearby! Just 40+ minutes from Durham, we entered Virginia. The architecture suddenly changed—little houses scattered along the road looked just like Monopoly pieces 🏘️. Western Virginia has pretty hilly terrain, but it flattens out near VB. More high-rises appear, and the oceanfront area is bustling with hotels lining the coast. ▶️ Saturday One-Day Itinerary: Stayed in an oceanview room facing the sea—perfect for sunrise, but I was too tired to wake up for it 🥱. Brunch: Had lobster roll and crab roll 🦞—super fresh and delicious! It was windy, so our dolphin tour got rescheduled to the afternoon. Spent the morning taking photos and enjoying the beach breeze (though my hair was not cooperating 😂). 🐬 Dolphin Tour - $28 per person There are many tour companies—we chose Rudee Tours. The 1.5-hour ride was entirely outdoors. The boat stopped after about 30 minutes, and the staff pointed out dolphin directions. Dolphins appear only briefly—capturing them on camera is pure luck! Still, a magical experience 🐬💫. North Beach also offers kayak dolphin tours—can’t wait to try when it gets warmer! Sometimes you can even spot them from the shore. 🦈 Virginia Aquarium - $30 per person Can’t visit the coast without an aquarium stop! Took about an hour to see all exhibits. Sharks and sea turtles swimming together were weirdly cute 🦈🐢—worth a visit for animal lovers! 🦪 Dinner at The Atlantic on Pacific Went for the 4–6 PM happy hour—oysters just $1 each! Tried different preparations (including raw)—so worth it 😋. Their daily specials tasted even better than the regular menu! 🌄 First Landing Beach A great spot in the north for sunset views! Even on a cloudy Saturday, the twilight was stunning 🌅. First Landing Park nearby has hiking trails—didn’t have time this trip, but next time! Sunday noon, had delicious Cantonese food at Guangdong Taste before heading back 🥢. Such a rare work-free weekend! Can’t wait to explore more of the U.S. this summer ☀️… but first, back to the village for another rainy week 🌧️. #StudyAbroadLife #StudyInUSA #VirginiaBeach #BeachVibes #TravelingStudent #Dolphins