Get Lost! Be aMAZEd! at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
Visit the Virginia Zoo's new Asia – Trail of the Tiger. Be sure to bring your camera!
Go kayaking at Windsor Castle Park in Smithfield.
Tour the James River Plantations in Charles City County – the heart of Virginia's history.
Join the crowds at Busch Gardens. Hint: Get a Fun Card and return all summer.
If the Fourth is blazing hot as usual, skip Busch Gardens and head straight to its sister park Water Country USA.
Check out the super-awesome laser show at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News.
Take a Dolphin-Watching Boat Trip arranged by the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach.
Stay cool at one of them newfangled moving picture shows during the day.
Give Nauticus some love. Come on, folks – they've got some cool stuff there now. Plus, you know, an ENTIRE BATTLESHIP!!!
Think outside the Seven Cities — our nation's capital is only three and a half hours from here (twelve hours if you're going by I-64. Ha ha. No, really. It's horrible.) Perhaps Nicolas Cage will meet you there to help steal the Declaration of Independence.
Philadelphia is five hours from here via the Eastern Shore. The Declaration is in DC, but Philly has the Liberty Bell. And cheesesteaks. And the Rocky Statue. I can't believe you require more than that.
Choose one of these historic sites and settle in for an epic fireworks display: Mount Vernon, Yorktown, Williamsburg.
You could stay home, cook hotdogs on the grill, indulge in potato salad, swim in your neighbor's pool (when he's not looking), and hug your dog when the fireworks make him nervous.
Did I leave out any great ideas? Let me know what you think is the coolest way to spend the Fourth of July in Hampton Roads. Write about it in the comments section.
Graphic art courtesy of Web Weaver.