1/12/10 – 1/14/10 – Heigh ho, heigh ho, to Virginia Beach, VA, we go!

From blustery Burlington, VT, we headed south to Virginia Beach. We stayed the night in Rochelle Park, a subdivision of Hackensack, NJ. Everything that I have learned about New Jersey, I have learned from MTV, The Sopranos and Bravo…and sadly, most of what I have learned is true. Although Hackensack is an inner ring suburb of NYC, located 12 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan, it possesses none of the sophistication or charm of New York.

The following day, we travelled through four states on our journey – New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. I was excited to return after twenty years to Virginia Beach, the place where I spent many a summer in my youth. Located on the Atlantic Ocean and the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Beach is the most populous city in Virginia. To arrive at this city, one must travel the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel, the world’s largest bridge-tunnel complex. Measuring a total of 23 miles, including approach roads, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel is the only direct link connecting Virginia’s eastern shore with Virginia’s mainland at Virginia Beach. This four-lane bridge is one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World, has been crossed by more than 100 million vehicles, and was featured in ‘Mission Impossible 3’. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel even offers a driver’s assistance program, where the police department will arrange for someone to drive a customer’s personal vehicle across the bridge whenever the customer has a phobia of heights, bridges, tunnels, etc. Fortunately, we did not have to make any such arrangements.










In Virginia Beach, we performed two shows (one full school show and one small public show) at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, a beautiful 1300-seat, three-tier theatre. At our public evening show, we met an eager high school student, who was extremely inspired by our performance. It was refreshing to be able to provide advice for this student as he embarked on his journey toward a career in theatre.



One thing that I am noticing on this leg of the tour is that the cold dry air and overzealous heating systems everywhere are wreaking havoc on my throat. My throat feels like a desert regardless of how many bottles of water I drink. Hopefully, this condition does not persist or this could mean future vocal trouble. Yikes!

Next stop – the Community Arts Center in Williamsport, PA. Until the next adventure…

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine