STATE: Virginia (VA)

THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

"The Old Dominion" / "Mother of Presidents"

I'm a Virginian! I wasn't born in Virginia, but I grew up there. I lived in Hopewell, Portsmouth (where I went to Westhaven Elementary, Harry Hunt Jr. High, and Woodrow Wilson High School), Chesapeake, Hampton, Norfolk (where I went to Old Dominion College and played in the Norfolk Symphony), and Williamsburg. It's too hot for me, I'm afraid, but I love the ocean!

Virginia's Specialties in this Blog:

• Chocolate bonbons (Portsmouth) memory
• Fresh Limeade / Orangeade (Portsmouth) memory
• Fairy Stone Crosses (Fairy Stone State Park)

Virginia Grown is the key to farmers markets, produce, etcetera. Click on the tiny map or search in any one of several ways.
Virginia's Finest is a government service that has been around for about 20 years, and tells you where good stuff is located. I clicked on the first entry - "Baked Goods" - and the first thing that came up was a Mexican food company. Look around -- you're sure to find something you like, and I'm sure Virginia corn makes great tortillas, but this is not quite the same as the intention of this blog.

Virginia Fun Facts

Virginia was named in honor of Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, and the original land grant included. As one of the original colonies, Virginia entered the Union on June 25, 1788, the 10th state to do so. Residents call themselves Virginians.

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Motto: Sic semper tyrannus ("Thus always to Tyrants")

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Slogan: Virginia is for Lovers (the first state to use this slogan, btw)

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Flower: American Dogwood
Bird: Cardinal

Tree: Dogwood

Shell: Oyster shell

Song: "Carry Me Back to Ol' Virginny" (words and music by James A. Bland - and please don't change it!)

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Webcams . Map . Richmond (capitol) . General Info . Gov
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Counties (scroll down below the map to the List, or table, which is quite good)

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Cities and Towns:

A
Abingdon . Alexandria . Altavista . Amelia Court House . Amherst . Annandale . Appomattox . Arlington . Ashburn . Ashland
B
Bassett . Bedford . Berryville . Big Stone Gap . Blacksburg . Blackstone . Bluefield . Bristol . Burke
C
Centreville . Chantilly . Charlottesville . Chatham . Chesapeake . Chester . Chesterfield . Christiansburg . Clifton Forge . Clintwood . Coeburn . Collinsville . Colonial Heights . Covington . Culpeper
D
Danville . Dublin . Dulles . Dumfries
E
Emporia
F
Fairfax . Fairfax Station . Falls Church . Farmville . Floyd . Forest . Franklin . Fredericksburg . Front Royal
G
Gainesville . Galax . Gate City . Glen Allen . Gloucester . Great Falls . Grundy
H
Hampton . Harrisonburg . Hayes . Haymarket . Herndon . Hillsville . Hopewell
K
Kilmarnock . King George
L
Lawrenceville . Lebanon . Leesburg . Lexington . Lorton . Louisa . Luray . Lynchburg
M
Madison . Madison Heights . Manassas . Marion . Martinsville . McLean . Mechanicsville . Middleburg . Midlothian . Moneta
N
Newport News . Norfolk . Norton
O
Oakton . Occoquan . Onancock . Orange
P
Pearisburg . Pennington Gap . Petersburg . Poquoson . Portsmouth . Powhatan . Pulaski . Purcellville
R
Radford . Reston . Richlands . Richmond . Roanoke . Rocky Mount . Rustburg
S
Salem . Sandston . Smithfield . South Boston . South Hill . Spotsylvania . Springfield . Stafford . Staunton . Stephens City . Sterling . Stuart . Suffolk
T
Tappahannock . Tazewell . Triangle . Troutville
V
Vienna . Vinton . Virginia Beach
W
Warrenton . Warsaw . Waynesboro . Williamsburg . Winchester . Wise . Woodbridge . Woodstock . Wytheville
Y
Yorktown