Virginia, officially known as the Commonwealth of Virginia

Tourists love Virginia's history, its greenery, lush landscapes, beautiful beaches and the wealth of activities. For more than 50 years they've been using the slogan for the state, "Virginia is for Lovers," referring to the many reasons people love the state, or put another way, what's not to love?

Virginia's beautiful beaches are a huge summer draw. You may not believe it but Virginia has thousands of miles of shoreline with the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries stretching 7,213 miles. However, the sunbathing beaches along the Atlantic coast account for a mere 112 miles of oceanfront which isn't a lot compared to another East Coast destination, Florida. Virginia beach vacations include popular Virginia Beach (the state's largest city,) plus  Sandbridge, Buckroe Beach, Ocean View Beach, Willoughby Beach, Chic's Beach, First Landing State Park, Croatan Beach, False Cape State Park, Cape Charles Beach, Colonial Beach and Assateague Island National Seashore.

Virginia Beach gets, by far, the most traffic with numbers as high as 19-20 million annual visitors. If you're looking for things to do, there's Virginia Beach Aquarium, America's first lighthouse (The Cape Henry Lighthouse,) and lots of outdoor dining, socializing, concerts and events during the summer months.

Its theme parks and attractions are also a big hit. One in particular, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, has ranked as the most beautiful park in the United States for 31 consecutive years in the National Amusement Park Historical Association survey.

Kings Dominion in Doswell is a Cedar Fair theme park with thrill rides and family entertainment, and you'll find more than a day's worth of fun with Williamsburg Attractions Ripley's Believe it or Not!, Jamestown Settlement Museum at Yorktown,  Colonial Williamsburg, America's Historic Triangle and as we mentioned before, the top-rated Busch Gardens.

The Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area offers spacious living with enough distance from Washington, D.C. to make commutes a preferred choice for many working in U.S. government jobs. The headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency are actually located in Northern Virginia.

Virginia became a U.S. state in 1788, with Richmond its capitol. The population of this East Coast state surrounded by  Maryland and Washington, D.C. to the north and east; Atlantic Ocean to the east; North Carolina to the south; Tennessee to the southwest; Kentucky to the west; and West Virginia to the north and west; is close to 8.7 million (8,700,000).

Located between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains, and shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, much of the state experiences humid subtropical climate that transitions to humid continental west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Averaging close to 90 degrees on warm summer days, the weather changes to cold, damp winters with more than 40 inches of rain each year.

People who are born, raised and spend their days in Virginia never forget it. When they leave, they often come back, if only for a visit.  One such person who moved to California but still has roots (family members "back home") tells how she feels about returning to and seeing Virginia once again.

Carry Me Back to Old Virginia

By: Barbara Steinberg

I sit waiting for my connection from JFK to IAD (Virginia's Dulles Airport in airport-speak). Blurry-eyed from marginal sleep, I've been suddenly torn from my bumpkin Sacramento life and sit surrounded by the hustle and bustle of New York…even if it is only the airport. It's a whole other place. It's 9a.m. and the pizzeria is doing a brisk business – slices of pepperoni pizza and their neighborly bagels and cream cheese. This is definitely NOT SMF!  Continued...>