This week on Tidewater Talk, we sat down with Virginia Beach insurance agent Leslie Schofield to talk about her roots in Coastal Virginia, her family, and the work she’s doing across Hampton Roads. Leslie shared her journey from growing up in Portsmouth to building Tri State MediHealth Solutions and Ashes to Assets Insurance Agency, where she helps families navigate Medicare, life insurance, retirement planning, and veterans’ coverage questions. We also talked about Kiwanis, her passion for serving children in the community, and her perspective on helping people long before they ever need to make an insurance decision.

We also dug into annual Medicare enrollment, what veterans should know about SGLI and VGLI, and why this season can feel overwhelming for people approaching 65 or reviewing their current plans. Beyond insurance, Leslie shared details about One Matters, a nonprofit working to create affordable housing solutions for veterans across Hampton Roads, including shared housing and larger long-term housing projects. We wrapped up with a quick local weather update, a new round of our “Where in Tidewater” clue, and Tidewater tips featuring the Bee and the Biscuit, the Virginia Fall Wine Festival at Town Point Park, the Poquoson Seafood Festival, and fall fun at Hunt Club Farm.

This week on Tightwater Talk, Brodie and Co catch up on everything from new hobbies to big local news around Coastal Virginia. We look back at our conversation with Molly Allaire from Joy Farm, talk about the recent nor’easter and the unusual salt-related power outages it may have caused, and react to the city’s plan to turn the longtime Dairy Queen on 17th Street into a police substation. We also share a few thoughts on how these local projects take shape and what they mean for the community.

In our Strange and Odd of Tidewater segment, we dig into the story of Willoughby Spit and the legendary 1667 “Harry Cain” storm that may have helped shape it, plus the fascinating origins of the word “hurricane.” We also run through the latest weather, including a cooler and more comfortable forecast for the week ahead, highlight our latest “Where or What in Tidewater” mystery featuring Norfolk’s waterfront pagoda, and wrap up with Tidewater Tips for the weekend, including Hunt Club Farm’s haunted attractions, an improvised ghost story show at Push Comedy Theater, Suffolk Peanut Fest, and a hoedown at the Virginia Beach Farmers Market.

This week on Tidewater Talk, we sit down with our neighbor Mollie Alaire of Choose Joy Farm in Lanexa, out by the Chickahominy. Mollie was born at the old Williamsburg hospital, and her great-grandpa bought the family's 68 acres in 1901. The family grew watermelons and corn until 2008, when Mollie got a goat to make goat milk soap for her brothers' eczema.

Now the farm keeps pygmy goats, Nigerian dwarfs, LaManchas, pigs, silkie chickens, and 15 year old ducks, and Mollie teaches soap making, milking, and goat care to students from 3 to 89. We hear about goat snuggling, piglet yoga, goats launching off a chicken tractor onto the barn roof, and Damiana, the 14 year old LaMancha who runs the whole yard circus.

Co tells us what the nor'easter did to the Boardwalk, and we look at a warm week before weekend showers.

Plus Mollie's picks: mango cheesecake at Colattao on Independence Boulevard and a pistachio cream latte at Elite Coffee in Norge. Also the free U.S. Marine Band concert at the Sandler Center, Zoovies at the Virginia Zoo, the last weekend of Ghent Restaurant Week, and the Tour de ORF bike ride.

We reveal last week's Where in Tidewater, the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse, and give you three new clues for a historic stage on Church Street in Norfolk. Send your guess to tips@tidewatertalk.com.

If you're in Coastal Virginia, this is your weekly mix of neighbors, local lore, weather, and where to go next.