Virginia Beach, a Few Snaps

The entrance to the Cavalier Hotel

 The Cavalier has been around forever. Always considered a really ritzy place. It fell on hard times and needed tons of maintenance. As a best remember, a family owned it and they had a falling out I guess could be said. 

When the dust settled a developer bought it. Yep, with the blessing of the City and a big pile of the tax payers' money. Guess you could nickname Virginia Beach, the City that just keeps on giving. Recently, the folks who sign the checks became enamored with a basketball team. Yep, they, the city fathers pissed away over a half-million dollars on a survey. My City is big on surveys.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the developer is supposed to be renovating the hotel and building a bunch of houses. We shall see.

It its day, the Cavalier was a grand place. I've attended several wedding receptions at the Cavalier. Sadly, the Cavalier didn't guarantee success in the weddings, only guaranteed a huge bill for their services. The way the marriages went, maybe they should have had the wedding receptions at McDonald's.

I like this one....

 

I wonder how long it would take to wash all of the curtains in this place?

You want crazy? This place, A.R.E. (Edgar Cayce's A.R.E., Association for Research and Enlightenment), draws the believers just like a magnet. Believers? Yes, believers in every whack-job idea that you can think of. Want a degree in all things nutty, well, I'm sure you'll find it here.

Want your energy checked, a tube stuck up you butt to rid you of toxins that don't exist, back rub, chiropractor snap your back, crystals cleaned, acupucture, reflexology, horoscope reading, psychic lessons, you name it and these folks will do it. Hmmm, between this place and Pat Robertson, we here in Tidewater, Virginia have it all covered.

Seriously folks, talking about crazy, take a look here (http://www.edgarcayce.org/are/spa/spa_services.aspx?id=2105).

What the heck, is this? I couldn't resist. If you look really hard, you might be able to make out the first letter of the plate. Yes, it's I. I H8PEPL. I of course, was in traffic, trying to pay attention to my driving. And, I surely didn't want to be stopped for distracted driving or whatever the term is. My photo processing software is bare bones and the plate was washed-out because of the sun. This is about the best I could do.

I think it's kinda cool to carry your message on your license plate. Presently, I have two vanity plates: SKEPTIK and WN PGSFLY.

I enjoy looking at creative plates. Some are a challenge to figure out as folks have to cull the message down to seven letters. There are two I'll never forget and I saw these plates many, many years ago.

WEINER. Yep, this was on a van and I was on I 64, had just passed Richmond and headed home to Virginia Beach. As I passed the van, I waved and pointed to the rear of the van. The fellow smiled and also waved. Of course, this was well before Anthony came on the scene.

DOIOWU2. Yes, this also goes back many years. A clapped-out looking, dinged and dented, ancient Chevrolet, belching smoke, passed me on highway 58, just outside of Suffolk, Virginia.  I bet she had a story to tell.

For years, Virginia has used, Virginia is For Lovers, in their tourist advertising. I guess this plate offers a little contrast to that.

Ahh, I guess we could ponder, Does this person really hate people? Or, is this message meant sarcastically? Or an attempt to be funny?

Actually, I'm a little surprised that the state issued this. There are many that they have refused to issue.

It looked like a young lady driving. I'm not sure if she'd be hired by the goverment to be an ambassador for our state. What do you think?

So folks, if you're so-inclined, ponder for a minute what message you'd like bring to us and get to work on the design.