THE VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL TATTOO IN NORFOLK - APRIL 29TH , 2018

We drove south last weekend.  Saturday morning, just before noon, we started our journey.  It was a good one and we missed a lot of traffic by getting off the freeway.  There had been an accident on the other side of the road.  I'm glad to say it didn't look like a bad one for the people involved, but the traffic behind them backed up for miles.  Ours started getting heavy and that's when we decided to see the countryside.  Eventually we stopped for a late lunch at Steak and Shake several miles down the road.  Normally we stay away from fast food but on a journey it is a welcome treat.

You know how much I like to record everything when we are out and about, so here is what we had.  They have the most delicous burgers, and Gregg and I also shared a Butterfinger Milkshake.  

The burger I had was the same one I ordered from our previous visit last year.  It had added bacon slices and a fried egg.  I am not usually enthusiastic about burgers, but I thought it was scrumptious.

Near the end of our journey we stopped at our favorite coffee shop, a latte for me and a lemonade tea for Gregg.  You can just make him out at the counter.   

We were here because our sister-in-law had gotten us tickets for the Virginia International Tattoo in Norfolk.  There were displays outside which we were interested in and she suggested we arrive early so that we would have time to look around.  These young men were in the Norwegian Army.  Later we saw The Band and Drill Team of His Majesty the King's Guard perform (from Norway).  We noticed that they were gracious enough to pose with people who were interested in where they were from, and several were in conversations.

I was drawn to this particular tent where kilts and other Scottish items were being sold.  No, I didn't buy anything.  I'm going to wait until I actually go to Scotland, whenever that may be.  It's on our bucket list.

I took photos of members of the army band who performed a friendly competition with other bands before the event.

Below are drummers from the Canadian Forces Base Trenton 8 Wing Pipes and Drums.

It was soon time to go inside and we took our seats.  We were high up which gave us a great view of the performers, and there were large screens on one side of the arena.

The performances were entertaining from beginning to end.  We saw our military bands from the U.S. and also several from other countries, listed below.

The Royal Band of the Belgian Air Force,  Canadian Forces Base Trenton 8 Wing Pipes and Drums, 11th Bersaglieri Regiment Fanfare Band (from Italy), The Highland Dance Company of New Zealand, The Band and Drill Team of His Majesty the King's Guard (from Norway), Traditional Army Band of the Republic of South Korea and the Yepuri Dance Team.  

And from the U.S.A., Grandby High School Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, Hampton Roads Police Color Guards, Old Dominion University Concert Choir, U.S. Army 3rd Infrantry Caisson Platoon, U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Tomb Guard Platoon, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Band, U.S. Army Marine Corps Band, Quantico, U.S. Marine Corps FAST Company, U.S. Navy Fleet Fores Band, Virginia Children's Chorus, Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and the multi-national Headquarters Supreme Allie Command Transformation Multi-National Cermonial Detail, NATO. 

Each and every performance was incredible and left me in awe.  The program was an hour-and-a-half long and it seemed no time at all that we were making our way out of the Scope Arena in Norfolk.  

I have always loved the sound of the Pipes and Drums.  The Canadians were phenomenal, and the drill team from Norway (below) were equally so, all teams were.

I enjoyed the colorful traditional clothing from South Korea, and took several photos.

Each performance was truly amazing.

It lasted for an-hour-and-a-half, and when it was over and we made our way to one of the doors, we stopped at a table with two young female soldiers selling books, DVD's and CD's of their Norwegian Band and Drill Team of His Majesty the King's Guard.  

Sweet young ladies and so friendly, a credit to their country.  We bought one of their DVD's of an earlier Tattoo performance. 

Well, we left saying that we would enjoy coming next year also.  It's a long way off but it is an event we would like to see again, as the programs do change.  You can see the website advertising the event here. 

I have a couple of movies which I will share in another post.

This was one of those flying visits and at five we started home.  It was a memorable and lovely weekend, not just for seeing the tattoo but enjoying being with family.

On our way home we stopped at a favorite, Pierce's Pitt Barbecue, for dinner this time.  It has been a tradition of ours for years, that every time we drive south, we stop on the way back.  The last couple of times it hasn't work out, so this was our first visit in maybe two years.  A lady started chatting to us after overhearing our conversation about how much we enjoyed the place. One of those fun and friendly conversations when you meet people on the road.

I got my doggy fix leaving the parking lot.  They were patiently waiting for their owners to come back.

Cute as buttons!

  This good boy was in a van parked next to us.

The journey north was easy and we didn't leave the freeway this time.  The GPS on our phone showed one blockage of traffic near Fredericksburg, but by the time we got there it had cleared.  Gregg took a different route thanks again to GPS, and we got off the freeway at a place that cut a few miles off our journey.  We decided we preferred this route when driving in the dark, as our normal exit towards home takes us through narrow roads and countryside.

One thing we were grateful for also was for our phone app WAZE.  A fellow traveler alerted us to the fact that there were animals on the side of the road.  Sure enough a mile further we spotted four deer right next to the freeway.  The warning was welcome and we wished our fellow travelers and those deer to stay safe.  We had almost forgotten that this is the time when deer are the most active.

About an hour after seeing them we were rolling into our garage.  Isn't it always great to get back no matter how much fun we have when we are away?  This was an overnight stay but we packed a lot into the short time we had with our family, and it was very enjoyable.  I would like to thank our sister-in-law for getting us the tickets, because it was incredible to see all those military bands perform from various countries.

We stayed up for about an hour just to decompress from the journey, and went to bed after midnight.