What We Love: Air

Smell of the Ocean

Driving into the Beach along Shore Drive, the first whiff flows in through the air vents and slowly builds. There is nothing to describe the clean, salty air that blows in from the ocean, or the freeing feeling it gives you. It’s water, water everywhere. And we love it. ~P.E.H.

Public Airwaves

WHRO is the only locally-owned television station, nonpartisan and publicly supported—a visible, viable neutral ground for citizen debate. Oddly enough, it was founded in 1961 with a handshake between Vincent Thomas and Hunter Andrews, then respective chairs of the Norfolk and Hampton school boards. Today it is owned by the 14 public school systems of Hampton Roads, an anomaly among its peers. This is television that entertains smartly and informs entertainingly. You’d have to name a dozen separate cable channels to cover WHRO’s diverse offerings. Few areas our size enjoy two public radio stations—we’re in the same league as Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. It’s a luxury to have the full-time classical music of WHRO-FM (90.3), our cultural nexus. The new format matches programming to the pace of the day: faster in the morning, slower at night, now locally produced and broadcast live. The local programming is singular, too, with Cathy Lewis on HearSay at noon everyday bringing big-city savvy to local issues. Nightly music with Rollie Radio, Jazz with Jae Sinnett, and Gyroscope, the Friday night non-rock eclectic local show by John Kranz, all have a broad following. ~J.M.H.

Kite Sailing/Surfing

Bold and bright parabolic curves dancing over the ocean in a flying ballet of coordination and verve—and the hottest new water sport. But it’s just not sure of its name yet. ~J.M.H.

Brown Pelicans

Since the banning of DDT in the 1960s, brown pelicans have made a strong comeback and extended their range northward to Virginia and Maryland. ~A.W.

Migratory Birds

Millions of migratory birds and a prime location on the Atlantic flyway make the Hampton Roads area a birder’s paradise. In late winter and early spring, hundreds of northern species pass through on their annual journey home to their breeding grounds. Many have spent the winter in the southeastern U.S. Others have flown as far as Mexico, Central and even South America. Even though Ned Brinkley, co-owner of Sterling House Bed and Breakfast in Cape Charles, leads bird watching trips all over the world, he says the lower Eastern Shore is as good as it gets. “In the fall, a river of birds flies down the Delmarva peninsula. As the peninsula narrows at the lower end of the Virginia Eastern Shore, there is a funneling effect, making an abundance of birds unrivaled anywhere.” To celebrate the millions of winged visitors, the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce has sponsored a Birding Festival in early October for the past eleven years. From mid-August to the end of November, a volunteer group, the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory, captures and bands songbirds at Kiptopeke State Park. ~A.W.

Hang Gliding

Small wonder that the birthplace of aviation is the best place in the world to learn hang gliding. The East Coast’s largest sand dune makes a soft place to land. Since 1974, more than 200,000 intrepid souls have gone to Jockey’s Ridge State Park for lessons from the pros at Kitty Hawk Kites. ~A.W.

Ballooning in Gloucester

Up, up and away—a dream takes flight over Gloucester. We love the magical hot air balloon rides from Balloon Promotions, and the enchanting views of the expanse of land and waterways of beautiful southeastern Virginia. ~P.E.H.

Sunsets on Cape Charles Beach

Sublime sunsets on Cape Charles beach inspire impromptu gatherings on pleasant evenings. Residents have been heard to wonder, “Is there life west of the Chesapeake Bay?” ~A.W.

Langley Research Center

Founded in Hampton way back in 1917 as the first civilian aeronautics laboratory, NASA’s Langley Research Center employs the real rocket scientists and engineers who set the bar for aerospace technology research. Along the way to making the skies “safer, quieter and more efficient,” Langley contributes $201 million to our local economy. ~J.M.H.

Discount Airlines

Now arriving—two of the nation’s largest discount airlines. While many cities would love to have either Air Tran or Southwest Airlines set up shop at their airport, we have both. Air Tran connects the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport with its Atlanta and Orlando hubs and also offers nonstop flights to New York City. Air Tran flies snazzy new Boeing 717 jets and also allow passengers to upgrade to business class for just $35 over the cost of their coach ticket. We really love that. From Norfolk International Airport, Southwest flies Boeing 737 jets to its Baltimore hub, and also offers nonstop flights to Florida and Las Vegas. Southwest is just a fun airline to fly. Hard to believe? Wait until you experience their sassy flight crew and in-air antics. Another thing we love—both airlines fly real jets, not the commuter jobs that are about as big as a Volkswagen Beetle and as smooth as one of the rides at Busch Gardens. ~P.E.H.

A.R.E.

He was the Sleeping Prophet—a man who foretold the future while in dreamlike trances. Edgar Cayce moved to Virginia Beach in 1931 and established the Association for Research and Enlightenment. We love the offerings: psychic readings, meditation and yoga classes, holistic healing and exploration of the unknown. We love an open mind. ~P.E.H.

Virginia Symphony

With grace and innovation, Maestro Jo Ann Falletta hits all the right chords. Founded in 1920 and reorganized as a merged regional orchestra in 1979, the symphony’s 70 professional musicians fill the air with wonderful music, play for the Virginia Opera and teach our kids on the side. ~J.M.H.

Hampton Air and Space Museum

Why go to D.C. to see the Air and Space Smithsonian when there’s so much here from first flight to outer space? An amusement park it isn’t, but brave souls can ride inside a spinning ball similar to what astronauts use to get used to working upside down in different levels of gravity. Not recommended right after lunch—try an IMAX movie instead.~K.H.Q.

Virginia Opera

Boasting the largest educational touring program in the United States, the nationally- and internationally-recognized Virginia Opera performs under the direction of Peter Mark in Norfolk, Fairfax and Richmond, where it also maintains offices. In Norfolk, the exquisite Edyth C. and Stanley L. Harrison Opera House is a fitting hall for this opera company once described by the New York Times as, “Absolutely tops by any standard.” ~B.D.

The Weather

Inhabitants of Hampton Roads are fortunate to live at the edge of the continent in a temperate climate with four distinct seasons and a ten-month growing season. But what accounts for this favoritism shown to local residents by Mother Nature? “The biggest influence on our weather,” writes Channel 13’s chief meteorologist, Jeff Lawson, “is definitely the ocean.” The physics and dynamics of warmer or cooler water and its slower rate of temperature change, as compared to the land, is a large part of the equation. “The second big factor would be the mountains.” Lawson explains that even at a distance of 100 miles, they have a significant impact on Hampton Roads weather, depending on whether an air mass is moving off of them or whether they are acting as a wall, trapping cool air to the east and preventing warmer western air from moving in. These factors, combined with a southern latitude, account for what Lawson proclaims is “our great climate.” The clash of drier mountain air and humid air over the ocean, as well as the significant differences in temperature between the ocean and the land, accounts not only for storms, but for stronger ones, insuring more than a little weather drama in this region. Despite the potential for devastating hurricanes, from which Hampton Roads is minimally protected by the Outer Banks, Lawson enthuses, “I just love that it gets cold, but not too cold. It snows, but not too much. It gets hot, but not too hot É. It is often just pleasant and dry, especially in the fall.” ~B.D.

A Musician

Bruce Hornsby plays rock. He plays jazz. He toured with The Dead. But we also love him because he’s a regular guy, too, who sends his twins to public school and occasionally is spotted at the local rec center. We also love his wife, Kathy, a philanthropist who does more than throw money at problems—she gets her hands dirty. Even has her own tool belt. ~J.M.H.