So, I’m on day two of Whole 30. We’re short staffed at work, running with about 20% of the staffing we should have. One of my cats has some bizarre looking cut on her neck I’m worried over. I’m kind of all over the place, here. So my posting has been erratic to say the least – sorry!
Anyway, today I wanted to share our itinerary and day through Richmond, VA. I was completely blown away by the charm of the city, the historic buildings, the skyline on the river, the historic mansions and homes, and the hospitality of the people in the area!
We started our day at Maymont Mansion, built in 1886 by James Dooley. The tour started in the “below stairs” part of the house, with a view of the servants quarters. If you spend any time watching Downton Abbey, you’ll be right at home imagining the lives of the servants there. There are museum like exhibits with things set up similar to the way they were when the Dooleys lived in the home. We then headed up to the main level where a tour guide took us around the different rooms of the mansion.
(You’ll have to forgive the grey and cloudy day. Despite the weather, everything was still so beautiful!)
The Dooleys’ style was, let’s say, eclectic (see here for what I mean). They had pieces from all over the place, different eras, all mixed in together. It wasn’t necessarily my style, but there was so much to take in and the tour really was informative and entertaining. After the tour, there were also beautiful gardens to explore, and an EXTENSIVE Japanese garden area that seriously felt like we stepped into Asia as we walked through the bamboo.
Afterward, we grabbed lunch and headed to Agecroft Hall. For both Nick and I, this was really the highlight of the day. Not only is it just a “cool old giant mansion” to explore, it is literally over 500 years old. It was built in England in the 1500s, and moved to Richmond VA in the early 1900’s. Only about a third of the house was reassembled here, but it is still absolutely enormous. The detail of the home is incredible, kept the way it was in the 1500s, complete with a tour guide explaining just how people lived 500 years ago. Even if you’re not a history nerd, the estate, the grounds, the home itself is incredible to explore!
We ended the day by walking down historic Monument Avenue. Every few blocks or so there are enormous statues to the greatest thinkers, activists, poets and figures from throughout history. But for Nick & I, we were really drawn into taking in the enormous mansions and grand homes, walking hand in hand down the tree-lined boulevard. It was just as cheesy and beautiful as it sounds. We also spent a ridiculous amount of time on Zillow on our phones, deciding if these were homes we could ever afford :-) [fyi, no.]
Later, we relaxed downtown at Tarrant’s Cafe where we had the best She Crab soup, ever. I’d highly recommend it if you have time for a nice sit down dinner! It was such a fun day, and I’d highly recommend Richmond as a place to explore and immerse yourself in history, culture, southern charm and good food!
My posts have been on hold for a bit – it’s been a whirlwind of a few weeks. Traveling for conferences, seeing family, having repairs done to my apartment, the general busyness of life. But I am so thankful that June is here, and I’m looking forward to a month of rest. There’s been a lot going on, so many prayers sent up for so many people in my life, and so much soul searching. I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want this space to be, the things I like to think about and write about, and how to be more involved in this little blog of mine.
I’ve found that so much of it just boils down to intentional living. It’s easy to get caught up in the humdrum of daily life, social media, work demands, car repairs, errand running, and the mind’s incessant thinking – that we miss the little, grace filled moments that make life so beautiful. It’s like in the midst of all of that commotion I come across these great opportunities, great ideas for reaching out to people, inspiration for walking with God, and dreams that float around in my head, but never have time to flesh them out, take the first step or really get involved.. So, after a work conference this week I’m definitely going to be spending more time here working on living intentionally – I hope you’ll join me!
In the meantime, I wanted to share a snapshot of an awesome restful day at the North Carolina Zoo a few weeks ago. If you’re in NC, its centrally located in Asheboro, NC and worth the trip. Nick and I go every few years and there’s almost always something new to see. The animals aren’t kept in cages or inhumane conditions by any means, like some smaller zoos might have. Instead, there are open spaces for them to roam across acres and acres of land.
(Yes, the buffalo do roam, right by Old Faithful…)
The park is grouped into two different sections, North America and Africa, with parking at both entrances. There are trams to take you to and from, and across the park. I’d advising checking ahead before you go to see what’s open because they’re constantly renovating and making it better. For instance, when we were there many of the “desert” exhibits were closed but due to be open soon, and the polar bear exhibit had just re-opened after renovations were completed.
They put a lot of effort and time into conservation, community education and creating a sense of appreciation for animals and their habitats. The animals are well cared for and fascinating to watch. They have quite a few interactive exhibits, but we didn’t get a chance to stop at any.
If you’re in the area, pay these amazing animals a visit!
But ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of the earth and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? (Job 12:7-9)
In honor of that thing social media likes to do on Thursdays (#throwback), I thought I’d pause before posting my last segment on our day trip to Washington, DC, and instead throw it back to one crazy day last July.
In honor of Nick and I’s 6 years of dating, and our many, many day trips, we decided to make one day trip for the books. In one single day, we traveled to NYC and back (thanks to some seriously cheap flights) and saw all the city’s highlights. If you ever need a jam-packed one day itinerary for sight-seeing in NYC, I’d advise this one! Though by the very end of the day we were both pretty exhausted, it was worth every footstep and every subway ride! (Note: my photography back then just wasn’t quite as good, so you’ll have to excuse the photos, and instead be amazed at the absurd amount of things we saw/did in a day!)
We left on an airplane at 6 AM direct to NYC! Compared to the fact that when we’d make day trips to Asheville, or even to DC, we had a 3.5 hour car ride usually each way, a 1.25 hour flight was nothing. In fact, it was THE BEST. Peanuts and Coca –Cola at 7AM is for sure the breakfast of champions.
We landed at JFK at 7:30 AM and took the Long Island Rail Road straight into NYC’s Penn Station, and were in the heart of NYC by 8:15. How’s that for an early morning?
From there, we walked up 7th Avenue and took a quick pit stop in Macy’s. Up ahead we could see the Empire State Building, and we visited the bottom floor, too. Nick’s not too big on heights, and I’ve been to the top of the Empire State, as well as Rockefeller, so we decided to keep our feet on the ground there.
Our walking tour continued up 5th Avenue looking at all the gorgeous 5th Avenue shops (with a few visits inside, too). By 9AM, we made it up to the NY Public Library, which I’d toured with my mom when I’d traveled with her, and unfortunately it was closed given that it was a Sunday. Definite planning “oops”.
Oh well, that ended up giving us more time to visit Grand Central Station and Times Square! We spent the next two hours getting coffee in Grand Central, admiring the gorgeous buildings, and exploring the ENORMOUS Toys’R’Us in Times Square. (THEY HAVE A FERRIS WHEEL INSIDE – need I say more?).
Afterward, we made our way through Rockefeller Plaza, sat down for a snack, and made our way to St Patrick’s Cathedral at 11AM. Unfortunately, the cathedral was in the middle of renovations so there was a ton of scaffolding and construction going on, but the general awe-inspiring grandeur of the building still made an impact.
(Plant sculpture at Rockefeller… I dont know….)
At lunch time, I had a surprise up my sleeve for Nick. I told him I’d planned for us to grab lunch at the Green Café (pretty tasty sandwiches and food) to take on a picnic to Central Park. We stopped in for lunch and got it to go, then ate in the park.
It was then that I told him the good news – we wouldn’t have to walk around Central Park to explore. Instead, I’d booked a pedi-cab tour! It wound up being amazing. Our guide was so kind, funny and knowledgeable. He played Pharrel”s “Happy” while we flew through the park. He allowed us to stop at Bethesda Fountain, the Bow Bridge and other movie worthy stops. And, although the official tour was supposed to end near where it started, he was even kind enough to drop us off by Belvedere Castle at my request. (If you’re in NYC and want an incredible way to explore Central Park pretty quickly, I’d highly recommend it!)
It was around 1:30 when we climbed Belvedere Castle and took in the city’s skyline. Its name actually translates to “beautiful view” in Italian. Pictures just don’t do it justice.
Around 2:30 we took a subway down to the Wall Street Area and explored the Financial District. We made it a point to stop at the World Trade Center Memorial, as well as St. Paul’s Chapel. That was really meaningful for me because in high school my choir sang there in honor of 9/11, and it was such a moving experience. They’ve kept the chapel just as it was during the aftermath of 9/11, with memorabilia from the time, and going further back in time they even have a portion of the pew George Washington used to sit in there. It’s really an incredible place to see.
Afterward, at around 4, we walked down Wall Street to Battery Park and took in the sights of the Statue of Liberty and the harbor.
We hopped on another train to Brooklyn and at 5:30, stopped at the famous Grimaldi’s for pizza by the Brooklyn Bridge. We found a table at the Brooklyn Bridge Park to eat at, and ate on the Hudson right by the bridge. The sites were incredible, the city was beautiful, and the pizza was absolutely delicious. I can’t think of a better NYC dinner, we ate the ENTIRE pizza!
Finally, we took a sunset walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. You really have to be careful on it, as there is a lane not only for pedestrians, but also for bikes. And, those bikes will fly by and probably run you over if you’re in the way!
After such a full, full day we got on the Subway at the Brooklyn Bridge stop, took it up to Jackson heights, and hopped on the Q70 bus through Queens to LaGuardia. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 9, but it got pushed back to almost 10, making it a much later day than we’d originally planned for, but we slept the whole way home! So, in just 14 hours we managed to see: Penn Station, Empire State, NY Public Library, Grand Central Station, Times Square, Rockefeller Plaza, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Central Park, Belvedere Castle, the World Trade Center Memorial, St Paul’s Chapel, Wall Street, the Statue of Liberty, and had Grimaldi’s NY Pizza on the River, with a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to top it all off. A successful day if I’ve ever heard of one.
If you’re at all interested in my itinerary complete with even walking directions and a timeline, just send me an email! I’d be happy to give it to you. It was completely do-able between walking, and the subway, plus train rides in and out of the city. I found that more reliable than worrying about a cab getting you in and out through the traffic.
After a morning of cherry blossom exploration, we made our way (or tried to at least) through the subway system of DC. We purchased day passes for unlimited metro trips, which helped so much in the long run when covering a lot of ground while keeping your feet rested.
Of course, as much as I try to plan ahead for the unexpected, something always comes up. On our way to the National Archives we had to pop into a CVS as I started to feel little blisters on my toes. I swear, I choose my comfiest flats even with Nick looking at me like, “Shouldn’t you wear, you know, tennis shoes?” But my tennis shoes hurt my toes after a while, which is another problem entirely. Anyway, after bandages were purchased and applied, we were good to go!
We didn’t get tickets in advance for the National Archives, but thanks to the Cherry Blossom parade along Constitution Avenue, standing in line for about twenty minutes was actually pretty entertaining! The facade of the building is beautiful and taking some time to stand in line and appreciate it was not the worst thing in the world.
Photography wasn’t allowed inside, so I don’t have any shots of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution or Bill of Rights, but it was amazing to see the original documents. Much of the ink had faded and some portions were hard to make out, but it was certainly a worthwhile experience to just be near that kind of history. Not to mention, as we left the parade was just wrapping up and we walked into a confetti celebration!
Afterward, we took the subway east and made our way to Good Stuff Eatery. I’d read a Food Network article about the best places to eat in DC, and this had been listed. They had handcrafted burgers and I chose one with Roquefort cheese, Applewood bacon, horseradish mayo and an onion marmalade. I’m not usually very excited about burgers, but it was absolutely delicious. Not to mention their “Village Fries” covered in fresh rosemary and thyme. If you’re in the nieghborhood, give it a try!
After our tummies were full, we made our way to the Library of Congress. The building was constructed after the original library, housed in the Capitol Building, was set on fire by British troops in August 1814. President Jefferson offered his own library of 6,487 books as a replacement. The Library as it is today was built in 1886, and styled after buildings from the Italian Renaissance. I’d highly recommend stopping, I think it was my favorite part of the day.
You can get a “Readers Pass” and visit the library itself, but they encourage you not to do so if you’re going to simply browse. Instead, they ask that you have a valid research question. Nick is clearly much more honest than I am, as he pointed out we didn’t have any research questions and no need to really go in and bother those who were actually researching…
Meanwhile, I desperately racked my brain for things that sounded official enough to go research! The library was beautiful, and between my love of books, architecture, and history, I was in heaven.
Our last stop was Chinatown, which I’ll post about soon, and was an adventure in and of itself!
A Southern Silver Lining 