Another healthfood store, Terra Nova, is a little further inland just off Virginia Beach Blvd. The store offers a café, groceries, a newsletter, and a well-stocked bulletin board. It is at 550 First Colonial Road in the Hilltop Square Shopping Center, Virginia Beach NC 23451, (757)425-2583.

The Tidewater Companion 2000: A Holistic Health Directory and Resource Guide Serving the East Coast of Virginia, by Jus B Community, lists several businesses and practitioners in the area, online and in print.

Ask for a copy at a local healthfood market or holistic bookstore. Click on Jus B Community Contents for other useful resources and information. Contact at (757) 877-8575

My son, Rocky, and I went the local library to main library on Virginia Blvd to check and respond to email. There was only one Internet access computer and it was booked all evening, This is going to change this summer with many more systems about to be installed. We were directed to the local Internet Cafe, WebCity CyberCafe, owned by Jerry Heath. The rates were very reasonable – about $6.50 per hour – the service friendly, and the ambiance conducive to surfing and quiet conversation.

Location/Contact: 116 South Independence Blvd, Virginia Beach VA 23462, (757)490-8690.

On the way back to Baltimore, we stopped in Williamsburg, and picked up a small book at the historic – and still operating – print shop, The Apothecary in Eighteenth Century Williamsburg by Thomas K Ford, the late Editor of Colonial Williamsburg publications (PO Box 1776, Williamsburg VA 23187, 757-229-1000). This 40-page book describes the state of the 18th-Century Apothecaries – the pharmacist. The Physicians of the day had "as much as 14 years training and four degrees from Oxford and Cambridge and were naturally not abundant." Also, Physicians considered compounding medicines and surgical operations as undignified.

Because of this, Apothecaries – and barbers – stepped in to fill the void. While Apothecaries performed the menial compounding work, barbers performed much of the surgery – amputations, dressing wounds, bleedings and "subjecting patients to the other normal medical practices of the day." Apothecaries sometimes became Surgeon-Apothecaries, doing all the "menial" work. Training for either modality was usually by apprenticeship, with little classroom education.

According to book, "Virginia was the only colony that tried to draw legislative boundaries around the various aspects of medical practice." The 1736 effort addressed modality definitions, fees and documentation, that has interesting parallels to today's medical care costs and paperwork situation. It provided for higher fees for Physicians than the other modalities – often double – and required certain itemizations in the bills. The legislation was repealed the next year.

I also picked up a 1736 text – printed and hand bound by the local press using the methods of that day – called Every Man his own Doctor. It was interesting reading since they used a form of 'f' instead of 's,' and it described about 65 self-care remedies using herbs and honey to deer's dung as well as bleeding to a daily horseback ride. Except for bleeding as part of any remedy – archaic and dangerous – the remedies seemed logical and similar to Herbalists and Naturalists recommendations.

On another trip to the area, we discovered a wonderful sanctuary for your mind, body and soul – National Wildlife Refuges. As some of you may have already discovered, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with other federal and state agencies, has created more than 500 refuges from northern Alaska to the Florida Keys and in a few other US territories, for wildlife that depend on wetlands. Migrating birds, endangered species of many kinds and local wildlife enjoy relatively pollution-free habitats protected from human traffic except for restricted trails and a few roads.

As a result, these serene, almost pristine areas provide virtually unheard of opportunities to observe and be in nature, in a quiet nearly reverent atmosphere, without hiking miles into a forest or wilderness area.

We have enjoyed two on the Deleware-Maryland-Virginia (Delmarva) Peninsula, north of Virginia Beach: Chincoteague on Chincoteague and Assateague Islands VA on the Atlantic, and Blackwater near Cambridge MD on the Chesapeake Bay. In late May, both refuges provided hours of leisurely walks accompanied by soft sounds of birds, slapping waves and jumping fish, and soothed by the sights of lush forests with rabbits and squirrels, marshes with Snowy Egrets poised to spear a fish, shallow mud flats with small birds scurrying to peck insects, and amazingly few mosquitoes or flies.

Contemplation, meditation, communion with nature, reading, sunning, moderte walking or biking, all lend to complete stress relief. Just what your healthcare practitioner may have suggested! And ... you get great photos, minimal motor noises, little if any trash to spoil your view, and only a few steps or bike pumps from your vehicle. We stayed about a half mile from the entrance to Assateague Island in the Refuge Motor Inn so we could walk or bike into the refuge each day.

For more information on Wildlife Refuges, visit US Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuges. You can go directly to the Database Query to search for Refuges near you or where you would like to vacation.

Some other lists of holistic resources can be found at:

• "Holistic Practitioners," by Microsoft Network Yellow Pages.
• "Health Food Stores," by Microsoft Network Yellow Pages.
• "Health Clubs," by Microsoft Network Yellow Pages.
• List of ARE Healthcare Professionals throughout Virginia and the US, found at the ARE Information Desk.

Exploring Virginia Beach, by Jo Hehnke

"The keys are locked in the Tahoe!" Luckily, we were not leaving on our long-anticipated family vacation to Virginia Beach until the next day, so we had time to wait for AAA to rescue us. The entourage – I, Kent, Kent's son Rocky, Rocky's wife Carrie, and their almost two-year-old son Tyler – stayed at the AmeriSuites that night to be closer to the airport, but still had to get up at 3:30 am to catch our 5:30 am departure to Baltimore. Flying into Baltimore allowed us to see more of the sights around Chesapeake Bay.

We arrived at Baltimore about 1:00 pm, picked up our rental car, and were on our way. Driving down the Delmarva Peninsula – the East side of the Bay – we crossed the 17.6-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, one of the "Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World." A stop at the gift shop was called for to purchase a few souvenirs then on to Virginia Beach to find the Dolphin Run Condominiums.

The Dolphin Run security guard checked our hot and tired little group in at 8:30 pm. Our unit was beautiful, located on the 13th floor and decorated in an nautical theme with an ocean front balcony – all the units have one. We slept very well that night and awoke to a cooler Mother's Day.

Carrie dipped her toes in the ocean for the first time; Tyler was much more reluctant. We explored a bit of Virginia Beach's three-mile boardwalk that day and ended at the landmark 15th Street Pier for supper. Rocky tried the a soft-shell crab, which were in season.

Monday, we dropped Kent off at the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE) founded by Edgar Cayce, while the rest of us drove to Cape Henry and saw both the new and old lighthouses and the Battle of the Capes Memorial.

That evening, Rocky and Carrie's celebrated their wedding anniversary at a beach-front restaurant, while we took Tyler for an evening stroll. We stopped to admire the artwork at the end of each block, turtles, fish and blue marlins. On the return we walked back on Atlantic Avenue to check out some of the many stores specializing in beachwear, lawn chairs, sunglasses, shells, t-shirts and other tourist items.

Tuesday was spent at the Virginia Marine Science Museum learning more about Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Beach and its marine life, including a special presentation on jellyfish. Unfortunately, the Museum closed at 5:00 pm, so we returned the next morning to explore the Owls Creek Marsh Pavilion before departing for the Portsmouth's Childrens Museum. At the Museum, Tyler had a great time with the motorcycle, fire truck, model trains and other interactive displays. Adding a mere $1.00 to our ticket allowed us admittance into three others nearby: the Lightship Museum, the Naval Shipyard Museum and the Courthouse Galleries.

Thursday we made a trip to the Outer Banks, NC to see the lighthouses (though most are open only in the summer) and the natural 76-mile arc created by a peninsula and several islands. Stopping at the Visitors Information Center to pick up brochures, we found that nearby Kill Devil Hills is the location of the Wright Brothers Memorial. We did not have enough time to continue to Cape Hattaras – that will have be another trip. On the return, we stopped at the Austin Fish Market to pick up soft shell crabs, crab cakes and various seasonings mixes for supper at the condo.

Friday, after spending a lazy morning at the beach, we took the two-hour ocean cruise from the Virginia Beach Fishing Center to Cape Henry. That evening we dined at Rudee's on the Inlet where they had the best crab cakes of the trip. Tyler looked adorable – his outfit had a little bow tie – the staff made quite a fuss over him which he ate up.

Saturday, time to depart came all too soon. We took the inland route back to Baltimore, stopping at Williamsburg along the way for lunch and a few photos in the Colonial District.

We overshot our turn to Alexandria ending up in Washington DC, so we drove by the White House and the Washington Monument. Then back to Alexandria, where we stayed at the Radisson which had a nice view of the Potomac.

That evening, Kent and I strolled around Old Town Alexandria checking out the Torpedo Factory Art Gallery and the waterfront. We returned the next day for a scrumptious $3.00 breakfast.

Sunday, we departed for the airport at 11:30 am, checked the car in, made sure we had enough souvenirs. The good news was our flight did not depart until 1:35 pm so we weren't crabby.

Another useful website:  Virginia Beach Visitor Information Center

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