About Norfolk's Downtown

Effective October 19, 2009, unsupervised minors are no longer permitted in the MacArthur Center Mall in Downtown Norfolk after 5pm.

Yes, ID's will be checked and extra security is on hand to enforce the new regulation. Teens found in the mall unsupervised after 5pm will be escorted to their "accompanying adult" or escorted out of the mall.

According to mall officials, the new rule is to help keep shoppers safe and kids out of trouble. In recent years, the number of minors "hanging out" in the mall has grown.

Some of the businesses are not happy about the new rule. Both Nordstrom and Dillards said they will continue to allow teenagers to shop in their stores after 5pm.

Click HERE to read the new "Adult Supervision Policy" for MacArthur Center.

The Virginian Pilothad an article today about the city of Virginia Beach and its likely purchase of a 10 mile tract of railroad paralleling I264. I am so excited! This is a great step (in my opinion) of bringing region rail service to the area. I would love to be able to hop on the TIDE and head from Norfolk to the Oceanfront or Pembroke and not have to drive -save gas and carbon emissions! Just avoiding the intersection of I264 and Independence is enough for me to shout - Yeah!

I am sure there will be more to this story so stay tuned. In the meantime, here is a link to the article

Beach to spend $10M for likely light-rail right of way

If you want to look for homes or real estate in Hampton Roads, please use my website! Or search by map!

I was lucky enough to spend the morning with my husband. It was our anniversary so we went to brunch at Freemason Abbey and spent time walking around Freemason District and Downtown Norfolk before heading to Prince Books to buy our anniversary gifts (romantic!) and then home to rake the last of the leaves (really romantic)!

Here are some images from our tour!

Norfolk has selected Mermaids as their sculpture/symbol of choice. There are many throughout the city from Ocean View and Willoughby to Downtown and beyond. My favorite is at the Nauticus. Even though we walked that way today, I didn't take a photo. This one is on Granby Street near Macarthur Center.

We walked through Selden Arcade which houses the D'art Center. It is decorated for the holidays with greenery, wreaths, and a tree.

This area is filled with small artist's studios and is a great place for finding a unique gift. Not many stalls were open on a Sunday afternoon, but it was fun to window shop.

I have written about Macarthur on Ice before. Here is a photo of the skaters with St. Paul's in the background.

It is really hard to tell these are skaters - but I promise!

We had a great chat with the gentleman manning the Norfolk Visitors Center booth on Granby Street before walking over to the ice skating. He was really jazzed about the number of people downtown today. He was right -- there were families everywhere - kids skating, people out walking, eating, and shopping. It was a good day to walk through the city -- usually quiet on a Sunday afternoon!

THANKS FOR JOINING ME on this brief tour! If you are looking for a home in Norfolk, Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, or throughout the area, I am happy to help!