I remember when... (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake: preschool, military, shop)

[Old Town FFX]

Originally Posted by Babe_Ruth

Anybody remember around 1987, there was a Brunswick bowling alley near present day S. Plaza Trail & VB Blvd. Basically where PetSmart is located.. In the same strip mall was a spot called the Sharks Club (?).
Anybody remember Sharks.. or go in there. I assume it was like a private club, or similar to a Moose Lodge type organization. I think @ the time, that part of the street was still North Plaza Trail..

Vaguely...was that where Smackwater Jacks later moved into? I know the Alley was raised to make room for the Pier One and that center are now, iirc.

[Babe_Ruth]

Originally Posted by Old Town FFX

...was that where Smackwater Jacks later moved into? I know the Bowling Alley was raised to make room for the Pier One and that center are now..

Smackwater Jack's was in the old Princess Anne Plaza (where Harris Teeter & Chanellos are located..)
The PetSmart would be closest to where the Brunswick bowling alley was. But PetSmart faces VB Blvd, the alley & Sharks Club were in the arm of the defunct strip mall that faced N. Plaza Trail..
The strip mall that had the bowling alley also had a True Value hardware store.. Think that strip mall was remodeled in the early 90s & eventually bulldozed..
Seems like Long John Silvers is one of the only businesses that's survived all the changes @ Princess Anne Plaza(s).
Roses, Highs, Brunswick bowling alley, Gene Walters Marketplace, True Value, Plaza Barber Shop, Olan Mills.. memories now.

[Speedyny]

I remember when the boys and girls club on Adams avenue in Newport News was the girls club back in the 80s. I lived in the apartment complex right across the street called the Garden View Apartments in 1983. It was only for a few months while we waited for military housing. I’m wondering if anyone else lived in that area or same complex at that time.

[Steelnomad]

Does anyone remember "Duck Inn" restaurant in VA Beach? I went there years ago when visiting the area, and found out it closed a while back.

[Old Town FFX]

Originally Posted by Steelnomad

Does anyone remember "Duck Inn" restaurant in VA Beach? I went there years ago when visiting the area, and found out it closed a while back.

Closed years ago, land bought up and condos were incoming.

Many friday nights down on the beach, spending Duck Bucks, having a good time. One of the best views of the bay.

[Babe_Ruth]

Originally Posted by Steelnomad

Does anyone remember "Duck Inn" restaurant in VA Beach? I went there years ago when visiting the area, and found out it closed a while back.

Yeah.. Like FFX stated, the vacated land was bought up & eventually developed. The units are practically in the water, they squeezed a lot of condos on a small patch of beach. And the (aging) Lesner bridge started getting rebuilt/enlarged around the same time (circa 2015). It's a crowded spot there now..

FFX also mentioned good weekend partying there back in the day.. in the 90s Duck Inn also hosted a weekly, weekday party (think it was Wed evening ?). Good times, & it was a much better view of the beach before the Lesner remodel, etc.

Rest in peace Duck Inn..

[KathrynAragon]

I remember when my Newport News neighborhood (near Sanford Elementary) was out in the country and I used to ride my bike just a few blocks away to the river - and there was a little trail with wildflowers on either side. I would drop my bike and climb in a little boat us kids had down there and I'd lay in the bottom of it and just float gently through the reeds. I have great memories of living there in the 1970s.

I've visited the area several times recently and the neighborhood is holding up well, though there are newer neighborhoods all around it now. Sanford Elementary is still there too. It seemed so huge when I was going there!

Here are before and after pictures of the house I lived in as a kid. To this day, even though I love living in Texas, Virginia is absolutely my favorite state and that area is my favorite region. In fact, my husband and I just visited the area again a few weeks ago and as usual, I loved meandering down memory lane!

[Babe_Ruth]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

I remember when my Newport News neighborhood (near Sanford Elementary) was out in the country and I used to ride my bike just a few blocks away to the river - and there was a little trail with wildflowers on either side. I would drop my bike and climb in a little boat us kids had down there and I'd lay in the bottom of it and just float gently through the reeds. I have great memories of living there in the 1970s.

I've visited the area several times recently and the neighborhood is holding up well, though there are newer neighborhoods all around it now. Sanford Elementary is still there too. It seemed so huge when I was going there!

Here are before and after pictures of the house I lived in as a kid. To this day, even though I love living in Texas, Virginia is absolutely my favorite state and that area is my favorite region. In fact, my husband and I just visited the area again a few weeks ago and as usual, I loved meandering down memory lane!

Very cool post (& photos).
I lived on the Peninsula as a kid..

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by Babe_Ruth

Very cool post (& photos).
I lived on the Peninsula as a kid..

Thank you!

I loved our years in Virginia - they really left a lifetime impression on me and a love of American and British history. And the beach...always the beach...and rivers and creeks, etc. My husband is from Texas and every time we go to the Hampton Roads area he always remarks about how much water there is everywhere.

[Old Town FFX]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

Thank you!

I loved our years in Virginia - they really left a lifetime impression on me and a love of American and British history. And the beach...always the beach...and rivers and creeks, etc. My husband is from Texas and every time we go to the Hampton Roads area he always remarks about how much water there is everywhere.

You can't go anywhere without hitting water. I've often wondered why there isn't a water taxi service besides that of Portsmouth to Waterside.