Friday, May 4, 2018

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. 



48 comments:

  1. I cannot listen to pipes without my eyes filling with tears.
    I am so glad that you had a wonderful day trip - family AND a treat.

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    1. I am the same, they do evoke all the emotions don’t they? Thank you EC, it was a wonderful time.

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  2. Isn't WAZE great? I love it! What a fast and fun filled trip! Where in Virginia do you live, anyway? I wonder if you are close to us? I am getting forgetful, so hope I haven't asked you before! My favorites here are the band in kilts and the South Koreans. So much variety! The Steak & Shake burger really looks good! It is always good to get to fun places, and just as good to come back home.

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    1. It is indeed, a very clever app. We live in Northern Virginia, about 25 miles from Washington DC. It is about the same distance to Skyline Drive so is a wonderful location as we feel we have the best of both worlds. Thanks Ginny, hope all goes well with you.

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  3. glad that you had such wonderful time in the event and enjoyed bit of it
    magnificent series of splendid photos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    1. Thank you Baili, appreciate your comments immensely :)

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  4. Loved this post, Denise, it brought back memories of when I used to go to Tattoos.
    Heehee, when I saw the name Norfolk I thought for a minute you'd popped back to the UK.

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    1. So glad Valerie :) yes, I used to get confused myself when I first lived here. There were many names the same as the UK, and would you believe we have the town of Stafford, and also a county of Stafford? It was originally settled by people from Staffordshire, England many, many years ago.

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  5. You'll really enjoy Edinburgh when you visit Scotland. And if it is in August you can go to the Edinburgh Tattoo on the Castle in Princes Street. It is spectacular.

    God bless.

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    1. I certainly would Victor, in fact I grew up watching the Edinburgh Tattoo on TV. Everything stopped in my family when that came on. It would be amazing to see it at the Castle.

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  6. What a fabulous performance thanks for sharing!

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    1. You are very welcome Christine, happy you enjoyed.

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  7. Denise, the military bands are impressive. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. So welcome Doug, and happy you enjoyed my post :)

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  8. I have seen that kind of event here. It is done on Parliament Hill each summer. Excellent shots!

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    1. Thank you William, the tattoo on Parliament Hill must have been an impressive sight too.

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  9. I would have enjoyed that. I loved the Korean colors, too.

    Thanks for the visits and well wishes at my blog. I am glad to see you posting. I had taken a break from blogging, then had my real break(s) Feb 12 and recovery is a slow, slow process.

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    1. Gosh Rose, wish I could wave a wand for you.

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  10. What a beautiful weekend. I especially liked the colorful Korean costumes.

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    1. I thought you would Gigi, those huge drums were amazing too. Powerful!

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  11. The tatoo looks superb, hope you enjoyed it as much as I did the virtual show. Thanks for sharing. Happy Sunday Diane

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    1. I certainly did, it was enthralling. Enjoy your week Diane.

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  12. Loved seeing all of your photographs. How lovely to see the Tattoo performance.

    All the best Jan

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    1. All thanks to my sister-in-law :) Thank you Jan, you too.

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  13. Hi Denise,
    What a wonderful day and visit, you certainly got some great images. We always visited the Royal Tattoo in London that appeared to be based on the same lines with visiting displays.
    All the best, John

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    1. Thank you John, I bet the Royal Tattoo is an impressive spectacle.

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  14. waze...gps...google, how did we live without them???

    i enjoy your travel journals, you always share FOOD and lot's of interesting details!!

    the show looks colorful and beautifully done. at first glance, i thought you guys were getting tattoos, and i thought, that can't be right!! any who, this looks like it was a lot more fun!!!

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    1. I know, how did we, lol :) oh yes, we must always remember the food! Nope, no personal tattoos. Way too scared of needles, so no eagles on the chest yet, lol!

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  15. What a wonderful getaway, Denise,and I must admit that when i read the post title i was thinking of people being "inked." So, of course, I had to look up the meaning of the word "tatoo" and learned a lot about the background. Thanks for sharing the photos of these colorful and talented military bands and drill teams.

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    1. Thanks Dorothy, you will have to come back and read my comment above :) Happy you enjoyed learning about the Tattoos of the uninking kind.

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  16. I'm so ignorant ... I saw tattoo and thought 'that doesn't sound like Denise' .... did not even know this other (and much nicer at least in my opinion) meaning of the word! Your pictures are gorgeous -- what a wonderful event. (Bill walked into the room as I started this comment and I asked him if he knew about tattoo and he did of course (It's good to have one smart person in the family)! .... we both thought the festival sounded amazing!)

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    1. Definitely not ignorant Sallie and you did make me smile as no, you would be correct, I have no tattoos. The only reason I knew about the Tattoo is that I watched the Edinburgh one on British TV growing up. Absolutely loved it then and feel fortunate to see this impressive display in Norfolk. And yes, a wonderful time with family was the icing on the cake.

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  17. What an awesome day, Denise! That looks like so much fun. That first burger photo made my mouth water. Ahhh... It's 4:00 PM right now and I'm getting hungry for dinner.

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    1. You are very welcome Kay. The food was a naughty treat but oh so good. And talking about being good, back to being ‘good’ as soon as we got home, “sigh” :)

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  18. Wow what a busy, enjoyable weekend. We just had one of those but not much driving involved only to the airport and back. The tattoo must have been very enjoyable as is being with family. I laugh at the way you have to have a dog fix.

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    1. Hi Diane, glad you had a chuckle. I truly miss my dog but it is not in the cards to get another right now. So I follow people around and take photos of theirs. I am a bit of a doggy stalker, lol!

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  19. Firstly, if you've ever noticed on my header and throughout my blog, I'm a cheeseburger aficionado, so your lunch is calling me right now. (lol) Wow, you shared some fantastic pictures! I had no idea they did that in Norfolk, and would have loved to drive down to check it out. Looks festive and glad you had such fun! Hugs...RO

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    1. Hi RO, Thank you and I must check your header out for sure.

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  20. Hi Denise,
    You have posted a very nice blog with a multitude of beautiful and fun photos.
    Your texts and stories in between are also fun to read.
    Cordial greetings,
    Helma

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    1. Thank you Helma, I am happy you enjoyed it.

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  21. Wow....looks like an amazing time, so much fun. Your photos are so beautiful.

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  22. Accidents make a terrific traffic. We have experienced the same issue while traveling. We saw three accidents on the road so the was a heavy traffic.
    Yummy food! I love to have burger doing my travel.
    Want lots of eye to enjoy the performance:)

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    1. Thank you :). Always relieved for the folks when I can see they are okay, even when the traffic backs up for miles. Glad you enjoyed the look of the food.

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  23. The burger looks enormous to me.

    Oh how I wish there are videos of the performance.. from your description, it's amazing

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    1. Thank you Small Kucing. So happy you enjoyed my post.

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  24. Cool! I didn't know VT did a tatoo! Awesome! That burger looks amazing.

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