Hilton Head Island

A lot of people think that Hilton Head is this:


Or this:


But Hilton Head is also many other things such as this:


And this:


It's a beautiful island and it's only a short plane ride (or a seven hour drive) away. Hilton Head may be a haven for older people and filled with tourists, but they've done a beautiful job of keeping some of the Island's natural beauty intact even through years of excessive development.

Richmond International Airport

Less than a week ago I stepped into the Richmond International Airport. As always, I marveled at how few people were there, how quickly the lines moved, and how easy it was to get to my gate.

I grew up on the North Shore of Chicago, meaning that O'Hare was my home airport. At the time that I lived in Chicago, O'Hare was the world's busiest airport in terms of takeoffs and landings. I was used to getting to the airport two hours in advance and still feeling rushed for time. In Richmond on the other hand, I breezed into the airport an hour in advance and still had 45 minutes to sit and wait.

Today, I returned to Richmond and to the Richmond International Airport with a slightly less rosy disposition. After being delayed in Savannah, missing my connection in Atlanta and barely making it on a standby flight hours later, I returned to Richmond exhausted and irritated. The only saving grace was that because I live in Richmond, my bag was in my hand five minutes after getting to baggage claim.

Thank God for smaller airports. I never realized before that time in an airport didn't have to be ulcer producing.

The Omni: Barlowe's Terrace

A few weeks ago my weekly routine got a little bit busier when I started waiting tables at Barlowe's Terrace Restaurant at the Omni Hotel in Richmond. Two nights a week I meet stranger after stranger as I serve them food. The mix of people at Barlowe's Terrace is always interesting. Tourists, Business travelers, groups of recent graduates who have just started working at Capital One, and the occasional local who probably works in the James Center.

I've worked in several restaurants in the past, and I never get tired of talking to the people I wait on. The best guests broaden my worldview. The worst, crabby as they tend to be, make me work harder at my communication skills (and my frozen, subservient smile).

Working at the Omni may have given me fifteen less hours every week to think about advertising, but I'm starting to think that maybe that's a good thing. Fifteen less hours of advertising means fifteen less hours of spinning my wheels. Somehow, as tired as I am after work, I find myself much more likely to have a fresh perspective on whatever problem I'm working on.

Crossroads Coffee and Ice Cream

Last Tuesday while I was frantically getting ready for a presentation, I got a phone call. When I looked down at my cell phone, I was surprised to see that it was from a friend from undergrad who had been living in China (not for a few months apparently - communication via phone is not my forte). This friend announced that he was in Richmond to visit his girlfriend for the afternoon and would love to see me while she was in class. He was near Monroe Park and wanted to know where we could meet up.

Being a downtown / shockoe slip kind of Richmonder, I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't really know where one went for a quick coffee in the Fan. Instead of letting him know what a bad Richmonder I am, I told him I would meet him in the park and then quickly Googled for coffee near Monroe Park when he hung up. Fifteen minutes later, I was ready to show my friend Crossroads, which I had never been to but had heard much about from friends who have lived in Richmond longer than I.

While I can't say that Crossroads changed my perspective on life or anything that dramatic, I can say that I liked it quite a lot. Before walking in, I had no idea that they also served ice cream. And what a great way to cover all seasons and temperatures. I had latte, my friend had a vanilla malt, and we were both happy with only one stop. Aside from the drink possibilities, I really enjoyed the people watching opportunities at Crossroads. My friend, whose family is originally from Richmond, pointed out that he believes that the hipster movement is larger here than anywhere else in the world. I was about to argue for Brooklyn or London, but at that moment a girl walked in dressed so perfectly that I now have an amazing picture in my mind of what it is to be a hipster.

The Old-South Hipster capital of the world: just one more example of Richmond's cultural diversity, and of why I like this city so much.

The Brunswick Stew Festival

Last year I didn't read Mark Fenske's blog until it was too late. This year I was prepared. After a year of curiosity about Richmond's Brunswick Stew Festival, my hunger for knowledge and for stew was satisfied today.

The Brunswick Stew Festival is held in the 17th Street open-air marketplace in Shockoe Bottom. For one day, stewmasters from across Virginia get together to compete for the honor of being the best Brunswick Stew makers in the state. Before moving to Richmond, I had never heard of Brunswick Stew. As someone who grew up in the Midwest, your typical chili cook off (complete with freshly shot venison) is more my speed. But as someone who desperately wanted to participate in (and win, though I didn't really cook at the time) a chili cook off as a kid, I felt called to the Brunswick Stew Festival from the moment that I heard of it.

By the time I arrived at the festival, some of the more popular or less prepared stew makers had already run out. But for a dollar a cup I was able to taste stew from a few different vendors. Quite good. What is Brunswick Stew, you ask? About.com informed me of the following:

"According to one story, Brunswick stew was named for Brunswick County, Virginia, where in 1828 Dr. Creed Haskins of the Virginia state legislature asked for a special squirrel stew from "Uncle Jimmy" Matthews to feed people attending a political rally. Brunswick, Georgia residents claim their stew is the original. It's just as likely the stew - at least a very similar version - was created much earlier. With the original ingredients of game (usually squirrel) and corn, and long simmering over an open fire, it's typical of early native dishes.

Brunswick stew is now most commonly made with chicken, or a combination of several meats, which might include rabbit, beef, and pork. Onions, corn, and tomatoes are usually included, and many recipes call for lima beans, peas, and/or okra."

In addition to the actual stew, I was impressed by the festival as a whole. The sunny day and the promise of great food pulled in quite a few people, several bands, a petting zoo of sort and even a unicycle-riding man who juggled flaming batons while talking to his audience via wireless mic. While I didn't walk away from the festival with a quart of my own, I really enjoyed seeing people walk around downtown Richmond throughout the day clutching multiple quarts.

The Byrd's Mighty Wurlitzer

Tonight I saw the AICP show at the Byrd Theater in Carytown. For fifteen years, the AICP has worked with the Museum of Modern Art to award and archive the best commercials of each year. Looking at winners from past years is always interesting, because they are so indicative of pop cultures and hot issues from that time. If you have any interest in commercials, I highly suggest that you visit www.aicpshow.com to check out this year's winners.

However, while the AICP show was great, my favorite part of the event was seeing Bob Gulledge play the organ at the Byrd. Both times that I've seen him play, I've found it childishly thrilling to see him rise from below the stage as he enthusiastically plays hits on a Wurlitzer. There is so little in our lives that hasn't been touched by the digital invasion, that hearing that giant organ sound is a real treat.

If you haven't heard Bob Gulledge play at the Byrd, make a point to do it in the near future.

A change in the winds

Fall has arrived in Richmond. The leaves are turning and the temperature has fallen below 60 degrees several times this week. This change in the season leaves me wanting to have a few indoor tourist activities in mind for when we finally do reach winter. I know Richmond is home to great museums, which I have visited very few of. But beyond the museums, what does Richmond offer to the cold-weather tourist?

East Coast Truckin' Nationals

This past Saturday I did something the likes of which I have never done before.

I spent the afternoon at the East Coast Truckin' Nationals in Petersburg, Virginia.

My decision to visit a truck show came out of a semester-long class project on Semi-truckers rather than a tourist urge, but I still think it deserves a moment of recognition on this blog for a few reasons. First, because as a grad student with limited time, a trip to P-burg maxed out the hours I have to dedicate to the pursuit of tourism. Second, because as a girl who grew up in the North Shore Suburbs of Chicago where trucks and truck shows are not of huge interest to most people, this was truly a Living Richmond opportunity for me.

My fellow group member and I got to the truck show around 1 PM, and immediately felt like we had joined a new world. As we got out of the car at the the Virginia Motorsports Park, we were quickly greeted by loud music with even louder bass. For $18, we got to spend the entire afternoon truly immersing ourselves in trucker culture. As we were reminded by one truck driver and owner, this event isn't the complete trucker experience. He pointed out that these shows are the kind of thing that those who truly love their trucks do for fun. By going to the truck show, we didn't get to see a lot of company drivers (they don't own their own trucks, so they don't have a truck to enter for the judging) and we were in an environment where truck drivers were completely relaxed. While I recognize that a day at the truck show is a limited perspective, I think that when I combine it with my team's online research and our visits to the Ashland truck stop, we're starting to get a well-rounded understanding of the world of the American semi-truck driver.

In Petersburg, I spoke with truckers, got to see the truck that won the Mid-America Build Off (The Beast! Almost 1/2 a million dollars in modifications!), saw a modified school bus do wheelies at close to 120 miles per hour, and saw a truck with jet engines attached to it do 3/4 of a mile down a track at over 140 mph while trailing flames and smoke. Some highlights of the trip included:

1. Meeting an owner-operator who was so friendly that we spent over two hours with him and his crew, interviewing them on camera
2. Being accepted enough by his crew that we watched the modified truck showing with them
3. Standing in line to have Kate's Peterbilt hat autographed by a member of the Chrome Shop Mafia
4. Seeing the amazing number of little kids who know so much about trucks that it would take me months of research to catch up
5. Shattering some of my stereotypes about truckers

Props to Kate for finding this show. Truly the most interesting and loud-fun weekend I've had in a long time.

Ugh. Speeding ticket.

I just got my first speeding ticket. I'm looking for a traffic violation lawyer who deals well with the City of Richmond court.

Any suggestions?

69th National Folk Festival

I spent this morning wandering around the National Folk Festival, which is taking place on Brown's Island and around the Museum of the Confederacy. The Folk Festival has been going on since Friday. If you haven't had a chance to stop by yet, make sure you stop in before it ends tonight. At 75 and sunny, today was the perfect day to enjoy the outdoors in downtown Richmond, listen to music and eat culturally interesting food.

I saw the gospel group The Madison Hummingbirds (video above) and Rosie Ledet & the Zydeco Playboys. After listening to those two groups perform, I started to wish that my life came with upbeat background music. The musicians were incredibly energetic and obviously enjoyed sharing their music with everyone at the festival.

Lastly, I entered a drawing to win a Smithfield Ham. After asking me to enter my name, the woman manning the booth found out that I was a grad student and seemed a bit worried. She suggested that if I win the ham, I call the Smithfield hot line to find out how to cook it so that I don't kill anyone. What great faith in my ham-bilities!

I hope I win that ham... I need to prove myself.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

One of the things that I have enjoyed greatly since moving to Richmond is the city's proximity to the free museums of Washington DC. Ever since my Mother made me skip my school's 8th grade trip to DC, I've wanted to see the Holocaust Museum. I had always heard about how moving the museum was, and am a true believer in the idea that by learning about the past we can avoid making those same mistakes in the future. The Holocaust Museum may not be fun, but I think that it is our duty to understand what happened and to use that knowledge in our own lives.

I walked away from the museum with two thoughts:
1. The curators of this museum have done an amazing job at weaving together video, artifacts and texts.
2. I still cannot imagine what the Nazi regime must have been like for those who lived it

On the one hand, the Holocaust Museum was truly well done. The time you spend in the museum's permanent exhibit is a journey from the beginning of the war to the end, and does a nice job of showing how seemingly insignificant changes came together to create genocide. On the other hand, I was disturbed by the number of middle school aged kids who looked bored or were making fun of the exhibit.

I stepped over stones that were used to pave an actual Jewish ghetto. I walked through one of the rail cars that was actually used to transport people to concentration camps. And yet, while I can connect the stories told at the museum to my own life and future, I can't say that I truly understand what that must have been like. Standing alone in a rail car in an air conditioned museum, it is hard to understand what it must have been like to be sandwiched in with 100 frightened and tired people people, travelling 30 miles an hour day after day in the middle of a freezing winter.

It was a wake up call to realize that for many of the teenagers at the Holocaust Museum, this trip was nothing more than another chance to prove ones coolness by putting others down.

Camping in Julian Price Park

After a seriously stressful week at the Adcenter, I needed to escape Richmond and my apartment for a bit. To accomplish that goal, I called up a friend from undergrad who lives in Chapel Hill. Allison and I have been friends since we were 18 years old - we met on a pre-orientation camping trip before our freshman year at Kenyon College. Since that time we have lived together for 5 semesters, have had the same friend group and major, have lived in Hilton Head Island at the same time and have taken many bad pictures.

I was looking for an escape from the city and Allison had just gotten a new tent for her birthday. As a result, after a sharing a fabulous Shabbat dinner with the Greenberg's (Allison's boyfriend's family), we threw our gear in her car and drove to Boone to meet up with some of her friends for a weekend of camping and hiking.

The weather was perfect for the entire weekend, with blue skies and a slight breeze. I would have never dared to go camping at this time of year in Illinois, so I was especially thankful for the 70+ temperature. At Julian Price Park off of the Blue Ridge Parkway, we met up with four friends of Allison's who were also camping. Our site was perfect and it was great to meet a bunch of new people. A camp fire, s'mores and a star-filled sky may be one of my favorite forms of therapy.

After camping for the night, Allison and I headed off on our own for a quick hike the next morning. We drove around the Blue Ridge Parkway for about half an hour admiring the scenery, and then choose an hour long hike that paralleled a stream bed. The trail was deep in a valley in a hugely dense part of the forest, and so at times it felt like we were hiking at dusk.

Sometimes I wonder about my career choice. I know that strategic planning and working in an agency are things that I want to do. I also feel more connected to forests than I do to many people, and know that I will be happiest living in a cabin in the middle of the woods. I haven't yet found the connection between those two dreams. Are there any national ad agencies in national forests? Unfortunately, I don't think so.

The Italian American Festival

This weekend, I visited Richmond's Italian American Festival. The whole experience should have been right up my alley, given that I'm an Italian culture junkie and a somewhat of a foodie, but I left the festival with mixed reviews.

On the positive side, Saturday was a beautiful day to be outdoors and enjoying the Church Hill neighborhood. The mix of foods smelled wonderful even from a distance of a few blocks, everyone involved in the festival was incredibly friendly, and it was wonderful to see such a large gathering of Richmonders. I certainly wasn't the only one taking advantage of the fabulous day.

On the negative side, though, the Italian American Festival seemed to focus much more on mediocre sausage and pepper sandwiches (not so mediocre that I didn't eat the whole thing) and store-bought cannoli. After enjoying cannoli from a great little bakery in New York a few weeks ago, the one I bought at the festival seemed like it belonged to a different species. With such a vibrant Italian community, I would have expected more from the festival. Where were the fabulous foodstuffs I had envisioned? How exactly was this festival giving me any sort of immersion into Italian culture? Even the musicians seemed to be on break during my stroll down Broad Street.

To end on a positive note, I did buy a fabulous sausage, and have been eating it one little slice at a time since Saturday. If only I could remember who sold it to me...

Conquering Belle Isle

Today, on the second day of Autumn, the weather in Richmond was decidedly summery. With weather.com predicting 88 and sunny, I decided that today was the day that I would finally visit Belle Isle. The fact that I hadn't been yet is a bit puzzling; I live less than a mile away and often walk down canal walk from 14th street until just before the Lee Bridge.

It may have taken me a year to get my act together and visit, but seeing Belle Isle reminded me once again how impressed I am with the James River Park System. The James is truly beautiful, and Richmond has taken full advantage of it with their parks and trails. I found Belle Isle particularly interesting because of its history of habitation. As you walk around the island you see reminders of several economies of the Island's past: a mill, an extensive logjam, the skeleton of the ironworks building, remnants of the civil war prison camp. In each case, Belle Isle has won: no one occupies the island. While in most cases, I would be disturbed by a natural resource like Belle Isle having a highway cross over it, somehow the building remnants make it seem natural. Belle Isle is beautiful but it is also unique in that man has not been able to resist or conquer it.

My walking tour of the isle took about an hour, but I could have stayed much longer. For today's trip, I stuck to the main pathways because I have a terrible sense of direction and needed to ensure that I had some time left in my afternoon to work. After taking my first loop around Belle Isle, I know I'll come back when I have more time to explore -- and when I'm wearing shoes instead of flip flops. However, just from walking the main loop I got a beautiful view of the James and some geese who had claimed a rock, saw Hollywood Cemetery across the river, visited the quarry and explored many decrepit buildings. Best of all, I found a new place to escape my everyday: a small, shady stretch of beach with a great breeze.

You say tomato

I'm pretty sure that a trip to Kroger doesn't count as a tourist activity. However, after all the things that I have done this week, my Kroger check-out experience has been the most interesting.

I stopped into the Kroger on Broad St. this morning to get a few groceries. When I got to the checkout lines, I was frustrated to find that only one was open (this is a Richmond phenomenon, I think - every other place that I have lived actually hires cashiers for their grocery stores). The line was pretty long and every person in front of me had filled their car to the top and then some. I'm not a big fan of the self checkout because I tend to be quite slow, but I decided that today was the day to try again. I put a bag of tomatoes on the scale, clicked 'fruits' and searched, but to no avail. Apparently, Kroger lists tomatoes as a vegetable. Seeing as the fact that a tomato is a fruit is the only thing I can remember from science class, I was a bit taken aback. Do Richmonders really think that tomatoes are vegetables?

Because I get fixated on things like this, I decided to check it out with the help of Google. What I learned makes me even more puzzled:

1. Biologically, a tomato is a fruit (one point for me!)
2. Legally, a tomato is a vegetable (one point for the supreme court!)

I have to say, I find it discouraging that when science tells us one thing, the legal system can turn around and say "nope, you're wrong, and now we're going to pass a law about it."

Thank you Richmond Kroger for teaching me the difference between science and law, fruit and vegetable. For more information, visit the websites listed below.

http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutother/tomato?view=uk
http://www.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm?parent=question143.htm&url=http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch8.html

I love bocce

When I visited New York this past weekend, I had the opportunity to temporarily join my friends' bocce bar league team, Bocces and Hos. I fell in love with the game, and would love to introduce it to the Adcenter. Bocce may originally be an Italian lawn game, but I can say from experience that it works just as well in a dark bar with a can of Schlitz. And I think that's something we Adcenter folk can all appreciate.

Anyone know where to find bocce courts in Richmond?

A call for cultural explorers

As an assignment for Cultural Exploration and Communications class this semester, we have to update our blogs at least once a week with something cultural. Richmond is full of culture and cultures, so come explore with me. If you have any suggestions of what to see and where to go in Richmond, let me know. If you want to join me, that's even better!

Canoeing the South Anna

After a summer of touring Richmond alone, I was excited that my Adcenter friends would be returning soon. I spent much of my time outside of work outdoors, and found myself hoping that people might want to join me in my tourist activities once we were back together. Thankfully, people like Kelly exist to make my outdoor aspirations come true. A few days ago, Kelly acted as tour guide and hostess when she took Megan and I canoeing down the South Anna river.

I used to love canoeing; I even went to a 7 week overnight camp where that was one of the main activities. But before this trip, I cannot remember the last time I was in a canoe. Camp, family outdoor vacations and duck hunting on Wisconsin's Twin Lakes with my Dad hadn't happened for at least ten years. And so, I was a bit shaky getting into a canoe for the first time. Did I remember how to steer from the stern? The half moon strokes they taught me at Camp Osoha?

Ten minutes later, I found out that it didn't really matter. The South Anna moves so slowly that all steering decisions can be made at the last minute. The water was too low to paddle effectively anyways, and Megan ended up pulling us for much of the second half. And lastly, Kelly's canoe, dubbed the party boat, is so indestructible that bad-steering just resulted in us happily bumping over the rocks with no consequence.

Lessons for the day:
1. Polarized sunglasses really do help in underwater rock spotting
2. Megan is stronger than she looks
3. Half an hour outside of Richmond is a totally different environment
4. Sometimes it only takes a few hours to relax for a few days

Pony Pasture Rapids: Take Two

After last week's failed trip to the Pony Pasture Rapids, I drove out again today to see if I could find a parking spot. Luck was with me and I arrived to find the parking lot half empty. I've just returned from spending the afternoon wading around Pony Pasture and am convinced that it is my favorite place in the city. I'm sure I'll be returning as long as the water stays warm, as pony pasture seems like a great place to de-stress and enjoy the river.

The part of the river that Pony Pasture is on is filled with huge flat rocks that look like giant turtles. Up close, the rocks look almost cantaloupe textured, and make wonderful sunbathing spots. Just sitting on a rock for ten minutes - water rushing all around me, breeze rustling the trees, sun overhead - is the most relaxing thing I've done in a long time. If I had brought a book and some suntan lotion, I would still be there.

Forget Windsor Farms, I'm moving to Riverside Drive.

Chimborazo Park

While searching for today's tourist adventure, I happened upon the VCU Back to School Guide. I live near the medical school, which has its own section of the site, and so I clicked on activities for med students. According to the VCU page, all the med students hang out at Chimborazo Park in Church Hill, sunning and relaxing, when they have time off. The site promised a beautiful view of almost the entire city, which I really wanted to see. And so, this afternoon I found myself driving up Broad Street further East than I've ever been to the 3200 block.

When I got to Chimborazo Park, I have to admit that my initial reaction was disappointment. While my trip convinced me that I need to spend more time getting acquainted with Church Hill, it didn't convince me to add Chimborazo Park to my list of must-visit-regularly sites. Where were all the lounging doctors? Where was the beautiful view of the city that I was promised?

To be a bit more positive, I can see the appeal of the park. It offered a wide expanse of grass high on the hilltop, a beautiful gazebo and a neat old neighborhood. For those interested in medical history, the park is also home to the Chimborazo medical museum. And to top it all off, the boy scouts have donated a miniature replica of the Statue of Liberty. Now we never have to leave Richmond to get the New York experience!

Overall, though, the view of the city was much less than promised, and the lack of trees made it one of the hotter places I could think of to be on a Richmond summer afternoon.

Pony Pasture Rapids: Take One

After coming to the surprising realization that people can swim in the James River (being from Chicago, swimming in rivers seems like not one of the smartest things to do), I became determined to find the best spot to try it myself. I had heard good things about Pony Pasture, so off I went. Apparently, though, I'm not the only one who thought that a day at Pony Pasture sounded like a good idea. After circling the parking lot for twenty minutes with no luck, I gave up and resolved to come back next week.

The whole trip was worth while though, because I found my new favorite advertisment at a flower shop near the rapids.

Byrd House Market

Through a message board at my office, I keep receiving notices that the Byrd House Market runs every Tuesday afternoon until 7:00. After several message board reminders, I finally took the hint today and visited the Market.

Though today was a bit rainy and grey, the market was still busy and several vendors came out. I spent about half an hour looking around, and found myself really enjoying the sense of companionship. Vendors chatted happily with their potential customers, friends chatted with each other. After walking once around the market, I chose some raw honey, a rosemary bush, three perfect yellow tomatoes and a pint of blackberries. A feast and a plant for $11! As I drove home munching on berries, I noticed that aside from being wonderfully sweet, they were the largest blackberries I had ever seen.

What a treat!

Canal Walk

Since yesterday's trip took me so far outside of the city, I decided that today was a day for a seriously close-to-home excursion. And so today I walked out of my apartment and and headed down to Canal Walk. I started at 14th Street and walked to Bell Isle, and it was a brilliantly sunny (and hot!) day. And now, Canal Walk in pictures:

Monticello

Today's Adventure took me out of Richmond and all the way to Charlottesville. I remember visiting Monticello as a little kid and know that it's one of my Mother's favorite places to tour, so I thought that it was time for another trip.

First of all, traveling alone has its pros and cons. I got in line around noon and was shocked to hear the volunteers say that anyone who didn't have a ticket would have to wait until at least 4:00 to see the house. I wasn't too disappointed since I had hoped to spend some time wandering around the gardens, but I was hoping for something earlier. When I got to the head of the line and said that I wanted to buy a ticket, the guy at the desk asked "just one?" I responded "yes," and he said "you're alone?" Once again, I said "yes," and once again he couldn't seem to wrap his head around my singleness, and said "by yourself?" I've been touring alone all summer, so I didn't think it was anything to be ashamed of, but I was definitely starting to feel a bit red at this point. However, right as I was preparing to be defensive about it, the ticket-taker said "well then I can get you in at 3:00!" Apparently I'm more sensitive about seeing our nation's great historic homes by myself than I thought...

It was more than a little bit warm out this afternoon, but the perfectly sunny day made the gardens of Monticello even more beautiful. During the time that Thomas Jefferson lived at Monticello, the gardens were a primary source of food for the plantation. In order to feed his many slaves and his family, Jefferson planted over 1000 feet of herbs and vegetables, all of which look towards the mountains in the distance. I am envious of the plants that they've been able to grow -- rows and rows of basil two feet tall, and huge rosemary bushes that were incredibly fragrant.

After spending some time in the herb garden, I walked around the outside of the house and saw the underground passageway, the stables and the kitchens. Jefferson had several innovative passages throughout the house, all meant to decrease time spent with people outside the family. Instead of having several slaves walking in and out of the room as meals were served, his passageways, revolving doors and dumbwaiters allowed for food and drinks to be brought up and be served by just one person.

At 3:00 I joined the line for the house tour. Thomas Jefferson had so many debts at the end of his life, his family was forced to sell the property and most of his personal items to pay his debts. Because everything was sold off much of the furniture in the house today is on loan, which means that there are no pictures allowed in the house. As our tour guide showed us around, I found myself feeling like I had been through the house just yesterday. Last time I was in the house I remember being captivated by the alcove beds. Seeing the house again was amazing, and I couldn't believe how much I remembered.

After touring the house, I walked around the flower garden in front. Like the Botanical Gardens, the flower gardens at Monticello made me wish that I could spend my life outdoors planting flowers. The variety and placement of plants was beautiful, and the gardens looked summery and perfect.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Today's excursion brought me to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, which I have been meaning to visit for quite a while. Growing up I lived very near to the Chicago Botanical Garden, and so we visited quite frequently. I was always partial to the Japanese gardens, as well as the miraculous one legged goose that I seemed to see every single time we visited.

While Richmond's Botanical Gardens can't boast a one legged goose - at least not that I could see - they do have a beautiful Asian garden among other things. Today was the perfect day to visit. It only got up to 85 degrees and was bright and sunny. I started by visiting the Four Seasons Garden, Healing Garden and Sunken Garden, all of which lead up to the Conservatory. As the website says, "the Conservatory is the 'Jewel of the Garden.'" While not imposing in any way, it's structure and the sheer amount of glass in the building make it quite awesome from a distance. I have always loved the earthy-sweet-green smell of conservatories, and that was the first thing to greet me as I walked in the door. There were two separate gardens in the building, one an English garden and the other more tropical. I could have spent all day soaking up the smell and bubbling-water sounds of the second garden.

After visiting the conservatory, I ditched my map and wandered aimlessly. I found myself noticing the uses of water in each garden. While I wouldn't go so far as to call it a theme, the garden planners have done a beautiful job incorporating different kinds of water into many of the gardens. Somehow everything seems more relaxing when standing next to a stream or on a bridge, I think. Walking around the gardens gave me a great urge to own my own home and spend every weekend gardening. There were many plants there that I don't think I could get to grow if my life depended on it, including the huge (bigger than my head) white water lily of some sort, which I fell in love with.

As soon I arrived home I decided to spend some time in my own fire escape herb garden. After transplanting two basil plants and a parsley, I realize that I will never have the time or the energy to have a garden with even one one-hundredth of the beauty of the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Perhaps this is a good thing to know early on. Perhaps this is why such gardens exist.

Cultural Exploration: Collard Greens

Thanks to Cait and Porsche, I have an amazing cookbook called "The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook" which includes almost 600 pages of southern favorites from all different regions. After trying collard greens at Comfort a few weeks ago and loving them, I really wanted to see if I had the capacity to make this dish, of if there was some kind of genetic factor involved in the art of Southern cooking.

While I can't claim to make collard greens anywhere near as wonderful as Comfort's, I actually think that these are good enough that I would make them again. Now I'm envisioning some kind of big 'Return to Richmond' party, complete with greens, grits, fried chicken and all the other good stuff that the Lee Brothers offer. Except for boiled peanuts. There will be no boiled peanuts at my imaginary party.

So that you can make your own greens, here is the Lee Bros. recipe for Sunday Collards.

SUNDAY COLLARDS (serves 6):

1 T extra-virgin olive oil, peanut oil or canola oil
1 smoked ham hock, smoked hog jowl or 1/4 lb slab bacon, diced
8 C water
3 dried chile peppers or 1 T crushed red pepper flakes
1 T kosher salt
3 3/4 lb collard greens, ribbed, washed, and cut into 1-inch-wide strips

1. Pour the oil into an 8-quart stockpot over medium-high heat and swirl it around so it covers the bottom. Score the ham hock with a small sharp knife, and when the oil begins to shimmer, set it in the pot. Sear the hock all over as best you can and allow it to render some fat, about 6 minutes.

2. Pour the water into the pot; it will his and pop for a few seconds. Add the chiles and salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat do medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, until the stock is deeply flavored with smoke and spiciness.

3. Add a few handfuls of the collards to the pot. The greens will float on the surface, so stir them frequently, submerging them with the spoon, until they have turned a bright kelly green (3 to 5 minutes) and become floppier and more compact, so you can add more handfuls. Continue adding handfuls of collards, stirring and submerging them, until all the greens are in the pot (6 to 10 minutes). Turn the heat to low and simmer very gently for 1 hour. The greens will be very dark matte green and completely tender.

4. Place on plates with a slotted spoon, and pass a cruet of Pepper Vinegar at the table.

Washington DC: Epsilon Delta Mu Style

This Saturday was spent wandering around DC with some friends from my sorority. While DC isn't in Richmond, I consider it my duty to point out to all non-Richmonders how close we live to the nation's capital. Friends from New York take note: I do not live in the deep south. Seriously.

When Emma and I were both working in Chicago last summer we became incredibly addicted to Potbelly Sandwich Works and would go there at least once a week -- each of us choosing the same sub every time. Potbelly's is Chicago's own amazing sub shop, and it has been one of the greater sadnesses of life in Richmond that I cannot get a roast beef sub that is so good it's mood-improving, all for about $4.00. Needless to say, after meeting Emma and Aileen at Metro Center, our first stop was Potbelly's.

After choosing to eat outside on the windiest day of the summer - we did get plenty of exercise chasing our meals' waxed paper around the block - the three of us decided to walk around the mall and the surrounding area. The first thing on our sightseeing tour was the White House. After seeing many movies where the White House is lit with dramatic skies or zoomed in on in an almost threatening way, I have to admit that it looked a bit plain in person. Or at least, plainer than I had envisioned. Sure the house was huge and beautiful, but it truly does seem like a house. Not really a government building where the head of state works. While the house itself was slightly underwhelming, the masses of protesters were not.

Next on our stop was the mall. We started at the World War II memorial, saw the Lincoln Memorial (I am preferential to this one, having grown up in the Land of Lincoln), and then walked through the whole mall, where they were setting up the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and holding the World Children's Festival. The Folklife Festival looked awesome -- I may have to go back to DC to tour it again once it's open. The picture of the truck that I've included is actually part of an exhibit. The Children's Festival, on the other hand, looked pretty lame. Other than the fact that they were building an amazing representation of the United States in Lego's, the festival looked like it had attracted about 20 kids to one small tent with two performers. By far the best thing that happened to us on the mall was the college kid offering free hugs, who advertised with a large poster.

After spending some time getting cultured (and sunburned) on the mall, we moved the party to the house of one of our sisters who just finished her freshman year at Kenyon. She lives in DC close to Silver Spring in a beautiful house. The evening that followed was filled with an amazing dinner of pasta, salad and pie; punch so good that made our EDM punch seem even grosser than it always has; and imaginary rides on the Thorne's baby-blue Vespa.

Agecroft Hall

After visiting the Three Lakes Nature Center, I decided to change focus a bit. I crossed town and headed to Agecroft Hall. Agecroft is in my favorite Richmond neighborhood that I could never afford. If I ever decided to stay in Richmond, get married and have 2.5 kids, Windsor Farms is where I would want to live.

Agecroft Hall is a Tudor estate that was originally located in Lancashire, England. The house was built in the late 15th century, and after many years of use fell into disrepair. When it became apparent that the house was going to sink into the ground due to nearby coal mining, it was auctioned off. A Richmond tobacco company owner named Thomas Williams Jr. bought the house and had it crated up and shipped to Richmond. After two years of restoration, the house became their home. He bought the house for $19,000 at auction in 1925, but the restoration and rebuilding cost him over $250,000. An enormous project considering the impending depression, but Williams seemed to be quite well off.

One year after completing his dream home, Mr. Williams passed away. His wife, who was 29 years his junior, remarried and stayed at Agecroft. Many years later, after Agecroft became too much for her to manage alone (her second husband had passed away by this point), it was turned into a museum in the period of the late 15th / early 16th century. The home itself is beautiful, but the gardens are spectacular. Throughout the property there are 15 gardens. A sunken garden, an Elizabethan knot garden, an herb garden and a scent garden among many others. I spent most of my time wandering from garden to garden, soaking in the scenery and the scents.

To add to my early statement about the 2.5 kids and all, if I decided to move to Richmond permanently (and happened to have about $100 million in the bank), I would want to live at Agecroft Hall. The gardens and the view of the river make it the perfect place to live, even without the house.

Three Lakes Nature Center

My first stop today was to Three Lakes Nature Center. It's only about five miles from my apartment, but seemed like a quick way to get out of the city. According to the Henrico County website:

"Three Lakes Nature Center and Aquarium brings together three worlds; air, water, and land, for visitors to explore. The center features a variety of exhibits designed to give the visitor hands-on knowledge of the plant and animal life of the area. A 50,000 gallon aquarium gives visitors a "fish-eye" view of the underwater world.

The exhibits in Three Lakes Nature Center and Aquarium introduce you to the wildlife living in the wetlands and woodlands of the park. Through simple, self-guided tours, appropriate for all ages, hands-on activities, and animal habitats, the Nature Center makes the world of nature come alive."

With the prospect of seeing the world of nature come alive, I figured that even if it was only half as good as it sounded, it still might be fun.

Thankfully, the Nature Center didn't disappoint. The Three Lakes Nature Center includes three lakes, a nature center and several playgrounds. I think that to be fair it should probably be called the Three Lakes Playground and Nature Center, but I suppose that might be a little much. I started my excursion by visiting the nature center itself. They have a great collection of fish, turtles and snakes, and it was fun to see how much all the little kids enjoyed it.

After doing some learnin' about nature, I took a walk around two of the three lakes. Today was a perfect day to spend outdoors, and Three Lakes had the perfect scenery. The birds obviously know that they're safe there and so it's become something of a hangout. About a hundred geese, ducks, herons and turtles were hanging out on the main lake, all begging for food. Once I got away from the Nature Center, I felt like I owned the whole lake. No one else seemed interested in actually getting out in the woods, so I had the whole place to myself.

If you're looking to get out in the woods without actually taking a huge amount of time out of your day, I highly recommend the Three Lakes Nature Center.

Drewry's Bluff / Fort Darling

My second stop today was at the site of Fort Darling. While the fort is long gone, evidence of its presence is still incredibly visible. After walking through the woods for half a mile or so, I came to the site of the fort, which is on Drewry's Bluff overlooking the James River only a few miles from the site of Henricus.

At the site of the fort, mounds of earth about twelve feet tall mark the old boundaries. I was amazed to see that more than two hundred years after the Battle of Drewry's Bluff ( for more information see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Drewry's_Bluff ) in 1862, the fort's underground tunnel and bomb shelter are still visible.

Aside from the history, which is amazing, I highly recommend Fort Darling as a picnic site for a sunny day.

Citie of Henricus

Today I visited the historic Citie of Henricus in Chesterfield County. Founded in 1611, Henricus was the second permanent settlement in Virginia. The city was started by Sir Thomas Dale, on instructions from the London company when they wanted a more suitable location for a colony than the swampy land at Jamestown. It is in the same area where Pocahontas grew up, and is situated on a bluff overlooking a beautiful part of the James River.

To get to Henricus from Richmond is almost a straight shot down 95 South. As I got closer to the historic site, the land was beautiful and smelled fresh and green. But then everything changed. Suddenly, after turning down what looked to be a small country road, I was greeted by the site of an enormous power plant whose facilities run almost to the edge of the road. Piping stretched as far as I could see, and the grounds were filled with towering piles of coal. It was at this point that I got a bit nervous. what kind of historic village exists in the middle of a power plant? And should I really be driving this close to all that scariness? I have a vivid imagination, and all I could think about was blowing up. After rounding one more curve I was back to the Richmond countryside and through the gates of the Henricus site. Given the amount of billboard advertising leading up to the site, I was surprised at the lack of immediate excitement. There were only three other cars in the parking lot when I arrived. For six dollars I got a pass to the site and was ready to go.

The Henricus site includes both an Indian village and the colonist's village. In the Indian village I met an Indian in full leather get-up complete with fringe. My Indian friend, who was in reality a middle-aged balding man with a serious southern accent, was planting tobacco with a small wooden tool. While he wasn't very good at role playing -- he talked to me about the celebrations that were taking place for the 400Th anniversary of Jamestown -- he knew quite a lot about tobacco and told me that at Henricus they plant a strain native to Virginia.

After visiting the Indian village, I walked through the colonist site. I was slightly underwhelmed with village given its lack of instruction, but the buildings were really neat. The entire settlement's buildings are made of some kind of dried mud and stone patted into wood frames. The roof of every building is made from dried circular reeds piled almost a foot high and bound together. Looking at the settlers gardens I found myself looking at the tiny amount of tobacco that was grown. Henricus was the first place where tobacco crops were grown and cultivated for sale in Europe. While I'm sure there was more tobacco then than now, I still can't even fathom how little tobacco it took to become an international enterprise, compared to today.

After visiting the historic site I walked out along the bluff, where the view of the river was quite beautiful. On the bluff was the remains of a light house - just foundations at this point - and two statues. One, an obelisk, was dedicated by the Colonial Dames because Henricus was supposed to be the location of the first American university.