A Walk About Town is a weekly feature hosted here at Coffee and a Book Chick. You do not need to have a book blog to join; any blogger can participate. Write about a spot in your town, or in a city you've visited, include the button for A Walk About Town, and add your link in the Linky below so that we can all visit your post. You don't need to include a picture to participate. I will post on Thursdays, but you can post any day of that week. Just make sure to add your link to the most recent week's post here at Coffee and a Book Chick, and if you're on Twitter,use the hashtag #AWalkAboutTown.

One of the things I love about Virginia Beach, and the Hampton Roads area, is the strong connection to the military. Norfolk has the largest naval base in the world, and many of the personnel, service members, and staff supporting the base and other bases around it, live directly in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, etc.

Right on the oceanfront, in the same area as last week's visit to The Norwegian Lady, is the Naval Aviation Monument. Dedicated on May 6, 2006, this monument  of incredible bronze sculptures by artist Michael Maiden, recognizes not only the Navy, but the Coast Guard and Marine Corps aviation history from the 1900s through today. It was an exceptionally clear and bright day, so since a lot of the beautiful bronze sculptures were difficult to see, I thought a nice sepia filter made it look a little more vintage in the first shot. I love how this is situated right on the boardwalk and the Atlantic Ocean is visible in the background.

This is what it all means, at the end of the day, right?

Is there a spot in town you'd like to highlight? Link your post below and visit your co-participants.

A Walk About Town is a weekly feature hosted here at Coffee and a Book Chick. You do not need to have a book blog to join; any blogger can participate! Write about a spot in your town, or in a city you've visited, include the button for A Walk About Town, and add your link in the Linky below so that we can all visit your post. You don't need to include a picture to participate. I will post on Thursdays, but you can post any day of that week. Just make sure to add your link to the most recent week's post here at Coffee and a Book Chick, and if you're on Twitter, use the hashtag #AWalkAboutTown

In this coastal town in Virginia, shipwrecks are a frequent part of local history.

In 1891, a Norwegian ship named the Dictator wrecked off the coast of Virginia Beach. With a small crew of fifteen, and the captain with his family, the Dictator carried a large cargo of pine lumber and was heading to England from Pensacola, Florida. With repairs scheduled in the Hampton port, the Dictator made her way up the Virginia coastline. It was Good Friday.

With gale force winds, the Dictator grounded into the sandbar and both lifeboats were smashed. All on board were feared to be be lost.

But the Cape Henry and Seatack Lifesaving Stations (the forerunner to the current day United States Coast Guard) began to work tirelessly through the storm and dangerous waves to rescue the trapped passengers. At the end of the day, 8 were saved before the ship fully broke apart by nightfall. The captain's pregnant wife and their toddler, along with five sailors perished. The captain washed ashore onto the beach, alive, but barely conscious.

1918 Va Beach Postcard featuring The Norwegian Lady

Ships in that time frame, had a wooden figurehead carved into the prow of the ship that rested horizontally to the water. The figurehead for the Dictator was found on the beach days later and it was positioned at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Eventually, it was removed due to hurricanes in the area, and unfortunately, the figurehead was lost. As news of the loss of the figurehead in the early 1950s reached Norway, the city of Moss discussed with Virginia Beach the possibility of replacing the missing figurehead. Instead, two statues were crafted; one in Virginia Beach, and one in Moss, Norway. On September 22, 1962, The Norwegian Lady in both cities was unveiled, and in 1974, Virginia Beach and Moss, Norway became sister cities.

Every year on the anniversary of the wreck, a wreath is placed at The Norwegian Lady. In 1995, Her Majesty Queen Sonja of Norway visited Virginia Beach to place flowers at the statue.

The following is inscribed into the statue: 

I am the Norwegian Lady. I stand here, as my sister before me, to wish all men of the sea safe return home.

Pretty neat story, huh?

What about you? What's going on in your area that you want to spotlight?

Article sources from VirginiaBeach.com, Wikipedia.

After Thursday's humbling and inspirational visit to Grommet Island Beach Park for my feature "A Walk About Town," I had a few pictures of Rudee Inlet and the Virginia Beach Boardwalk that I wanted to share. The angle here is right around the 2nd street area for both the inlet and the start of the boardwalk. I don't know about you, but while I enjoy going to the beach on a warm day, I think I actually prefer it when it's a bit cold, with a little bit of wind. Something about it makes it a bit more peaceful.

For more of this week's snapshots, please visit Alyce with At Home With Books.

I can't tell you how excited I was with how this picture turned out a couple of weeks ago. This is the King Neptune statue down at Virginia Beach's boardwalk, dedicated to Virginia Beach in 2005 and sculpted by Paul DiPasquale. Granted, it's much bigger than this (34 feet!), but isn't it cool how the clouds look behind it? I did use a filter with it, and it enhanced the shot even more.

For more of this week's Saturday Snapshots, please visit Alyce with At Home With Books.