VIRGINIA IS FOR LOVERS

Episode ONE: Land & Sea

“Virginia is for Lovers” is the tourism and travel slogan of the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. This State has a long beach, high mountain ranges and a significant history in the American civil war- a place for beach lovers, for mountain lovers, for history lovers. But what exactly does that slogan signify apart from these? Is Virginia more romantic than any other state? It did not really seem so for me as it is not a much happening place as New York or Los Angeles or Boston or Vegas. I got a key to the answer for this while going through a travel literature in a book stall in ‘Miami’!  Perhaps the key is that the slogan appeals not to one’s brain, but to the heart. People want to say, ‘Yeah, if it’s for lovers, then obviously it means and is meant for me’. I just think it appeals to people’s egos too in a way- nobody wants to be known and remembered as a hater -right?

Of course, I love this place for its tranquillity, the all- friendly weather, the vast landscapes, the long walking trails along the serene beach, the dense greenery. Getting to VA is the easy part- the hard part is deciding what to do first! 

Now that I have spent continuously almost half of a year in Virginia, I have formed an opinion of this lovely place.

When my daughter and son-in-law moved from Boston to Virginia, they said their new home will be at New Port News- the name was so funny for me-a place being named like this??!! I have heard BBC news,CNN News,Sun News…. What is this NP News. I googled up to know more about the place and the more I read about it, the more exciting was it. This being one of the oldest settlement of America-dates back to late fifteenth century, deriving its name from the Great Britain Naval Commander Capt. Christopher Newport and whose fleet landed in this part of the world. He was the one who made several trips to the new found land, bringing “news” of supplies and settlers to the place. That stuck up with his name and thus became ‘New Port News’. With its documentation from 1619, it’s one of the oldest place names in the New World.  Whew….. {Wow Ram!…proud of you!!…….you have become an historian too!!!}

How history is conserved and passed on to the coming generations is a lesson to be learnt from the Western countries. From what I have seen in whole of Europe or Canada or America, they showcase and record their history to posterity. In any of these places, how much ever a  small county or town ,if it has a historical significance, then, that is preserved with all respect and reverence and all minutest relevant details are captured and showcased with all pride- even a child would  know the significance of the town he resides! My opinion is that I (we??) have derailed somewhere sometime on this count of our country’s rich culture and heritage, I have not dwelled in depth in knowing the milieu barring very few people and places of prominence. The great mathematician Shree Ramanujam seem to had lived for a year in the same Thope Street in Triplicane where my ancestral home was. I came to know about this in 1979 when I was glancing through a book in my dads friends publishing house Star Publication .Ever after, I tried to retrace the history-  Sadly, no elders in my family or in the neighbourhood  knew about that at all {To this day, I do not know the details of my third great grand parents when discussing the family genealogical tree-what can I comment on the conservation of National History!!}

Oops! That was a detour!

Getting back to where I left, I wanted to record of one such premier Centre for the preservation and interpretation of American colonial history is in Williamsburg – situated between Virginias capital city Richmond and NP News. This historic place immerses visitors into 18^th century American life- a must see for the history buffs. The vast place is dotted with very huge old trees and restored historically significant buildings; the re-enactments of pivotal events in that period by the overly dressed actors, the horse-driven chariots, the costumes adorned by the curators – there is so much to see in this iconic place which is mostly pedestrianized and makes it a pleasant place to walk through. It was a stroll back to the past! Not far from it is York Town – the venue of the last battle of American Revolution engineered by George Washington, who later became the first president of America, which put an end to British dominance. The victory in York Town is seen as the start of a new Nation’s independence. To commemorate this, a majestic, imposing, carved pillar is erected in the bay front. It is a heritage town – many houses there are converted into museums-every brick is studded with history. The walk along the beach of the York river is one of the most memorable one I have had in the recent times.

#“Mullai”

No land trail along the James River is yet another ‘not to miss’ landmark – this five mile trail hiking in the woods crisscrossed by the river is a jolly good event. The cool breeze, the deafening silence, the tall trees, the occasional chirping of birds, the elegant swimming of the swans, is a serene place to walk, hike or run amongst rolling woodlands. A much sought after place for picnic are the surroundings of the Lions Bridge overlooking the tranquil James River. Taking pictures with the four stone lions is a ritual for the picknickers. At least once in a month we stroll through this beautiful urban oasis which brings a new experience every time! The last time we went, I heroically walked much ahead of the family- the dampness in the weather fogged my specks and I lost my way!! How much ever wiping the glasses did not help a bit. The chillness was overwhelming – not a single soul in the vicinity….No one in the no land! The darkness was engulfing the woods. Walking either side of the trail will bring me out to the open- but if my guys were to search for me in the dark- I did not feel it was alright- in any case I would see their frowning face- I did not want to aggravate that to the next stage…so, I stay put. After a while I heard some voice from a distance and slowly approaching towards me. With a blurred vision, I saw my daughter coming -thankfully enough, I could not see the reaction on her face and for rest of the way out, I walked with my specs in the hand. Thinking about it now, it seems to be hilarious , but at that time, it  really was not!!

#“Neithal”

Virginia has a stunning coastline on the Atlantic Ocean but also has sandy beaches along the Chesapeake Bay and the many such stretches. The Virginia Beach has a massive broad boardwalk- not of wood but a superior concrete structure, along the beach running for over 3 miles bordered with multi-storied hotels and suites. The unbeatable sight of the calm blue sea on one side and super structures on the other from the boardwalk is a marvel. In summer, the boardwalk, I am told, is home to hundreds of activities from festivals, live entertainment and concerts to outdoor art showcases and sports competitions. The white sands are devoid of any dirt or rubbish of what we are used to see in our part of the world. This coastline is famous for scuba diving and dolphin watching- which is open from May through October. Invariably my visit to USA has always been during the Fall- this time it is extending to the summer- hopefully the dolphins will have the opportunity to sight me! My favourite cheese nuggets and hash browns are available aplenty alongside the boardwalk. Also is there my heartthrob(??) Auntie(!!!!) (Annies!) along the inner road serving my favourite soft spicy jalapeno pretzel with cheese dip. If our stay in USA is getting protracted, sure to spend a couple of days in the beach hotel.

The Cape Charles village in the town of Cheriton(‘a small town with a big heart’ is their slogan!) is situated on the shores of Chesapeake Bay. It is a typical sleepy village in the seaside with rows of restaurants, pubs and a solitary theatre. I could visualise how busy the place would be in summer when people throng the beach. At the time we went there, many of the Airbnbs were refurbishing. The creamy taste of the refreshing hot chocolate in Cape Charles Restaurant still lingers in the mind.  The sea is clean and refreshed by the proximity to the confluence of the Atlantic Ocean. Surprisingly there are no waves. The stroll in the super soft white sand, the wooden boardwalk across the dunes and out to the bay in such a pretty beach in a perfect clear and sunny spring afternoon is a fine adventure. However, the stench was overwhelming- like that of a uncleaned fishing net.

Ahhh.. I forgot to mention about the drive to and from Cheriton. Of the 50 and odd miles between the places, around 18 miles has to be traversed on one of the seven engineering wonders of the modern world, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel that spans the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and connects Virginia’s Eastern Shore with the mainland in Virginia Beach. We are cutting through sea water which is of 75 feet average depth. This wide bridge is one of the tallest structures in the world – an engineering brilliance. Sadly, I have not captured the visual treat in the camera- I was so astounded to travel on that- we were literally ‘high’ over the sea….yes, this is the tallest bridge .

This diary would be incomplete without a mention of Luray Caverns- a natural landmark wonder that was discovered more than a century ago, in the mountainous region. But ,I am saving the tale of the mountain part( # Kurunji & Marutham) – the Western Virginia, for a separate episode which will be published sooner.

You may wonder what these # (hash tags) mentioned above are all!!!!!!!!! These are the symbolism depicting the natural geographic landscapes in Tamil Sangam Literature!! I wanted to bring this somewhere- this piece seemed to be apt!!!!!!

All said and done, these pages from my diary might have sounded more narrative- I really couldn’t help it as lot of history is embedded in i. Whatever I have described is only a tip of the iceberg!!  It will cause a real boredom if I write what all (??!!!) I have learnt about the American History. How much ever I tried to minimise, since I earnestly wanted to share the glimpse of what I conceived, this portion may look more as a prose writing!!!!!

Till I lace up for the next…………..

J. Ram