Into every life…

There’s a saying in Norway, Iceland, and probably elsewhere: “There is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.” Today was a very rainy day (1.32 inches at my brother’s house so far), and we definitely had brought inappropriate clothing – no rain gear of any kind. My sister-in-law lent us an umbrella and some ponchos (still in their package) and off we went!

Our first stop was Greenwood Cemetery to say ‘hi’ to my mother. We had problems finding her grave the last time we visited, so I was careful to make a note of the location; unfortunately, I only noted the section, which was insufficient to find her. As I was going to the office to get help and remembered that I’d also created a waypoint in the GPS app – and that got us to the right place. I’ve now added an additional line to my note saying that she’s near the “Simon Family Bench”, so I have great hopes of needing to search less next visit.

We grabbed lunch at a Greek restaurant named “Greek Cuisine”; Jeff and I liked it but Diane was not impressed. And then it was off to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts – Jeff wanted to see the mummy and other ancient art, and Diane and I wanted to see the Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France which had opened on Saturday. We had a little over an hour, which was just about enough time for the exhibit – I wouldn’t mind seeing it again, but I don’t think I missed much.

Our niece wanted to show us her apartment, so that was our next stop; it’s very nicely furnished and she was a gracious host – but she only was able to take an hour out of her work day before telling us “goodbye”.

And then it was time to say “goodbye” to Jeff; he’s flying out early tomorrow and wanted to see a Tulane friend who lives in Richmond, so we crossed the James and dropped him off before returning to my brother’s house to dry off and pack. Our feet were wet, but we seem to have survived.

Tomorrow, we are off to New York City for the next phase of our trip.

All paintings from Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts through July 31, 2022. In order:

  • The Ten Cent Breakfast – Willard Leroy Metcalf
  • The Sketchers, 1913 – John Singer Sargent
  • Lighthouse at St. Malo – Maurice Pendergast
  • The Birthday Party – John Singer Sargent
  • Le Pont des Arts, 1907 – Edward Hopper
  • The Young Sabot Maker, 1895 – Henry Ossawa Tanner
  • L'Apertif – William J. Glackens

Who Knew?

We did the Richmond Capitol volksmarch today. The start point was Legend Brewing, a micro brewpub on Southside; we had lunch there but skipped the beer in deference to Passover.

The route took us to the Manchester Floodwall Walk and over the James River on the Potterfield Memorial Bridge. There’s a rock-climbing area just before crossing the river, and it was a busy day there.

While crossing, we saw the remains of several bridges that had been used in the evacuation of Richmond at the end of the Civil War.

Our first stop on the North side of the river was the Virginia War Memorial (dedicated to fallen veterans of wars from WWII to the “Global War on Terrorism”). En route, we saw Ethyl Corporation HQ, where my Mom used to work.

Even though my Grandfather had a store only a few blocks from the War Memorial, I’d only been there once or twice in all the time I lived in Richmond, and today was undoubtedly the longest time I’d been on the grounds.

We returned to the river and walked down the Canal Walk to Brown Island.

The walk took us to Shockoe Slip; my mother used to work at Virginia Elevator Company at 1210½ East Cary, which is now Sam Miller’s restaurant.

We continued to East Main Street and passed the former location of Branch Cabell in the Ironfronts (where my brother worked for many years as a stockbroker).

The next stop was Capitol Square, where we walked past the Capitol, the Washington statue, the Stonewall Jackson statue (Old City Hall is behind him), the Civil Rights memorial grouping, and the Executive Mansion.

We left Capitol Square and walked down to Main Street Station; it still has a little passenger service, but it’s mostly being used as a tourist center today.

We continued on Main Street to 20th, passing busy restaurants and the Poe Museum on our way.

On our way back to the river, we passed the Virginia Holocaust Museum and discovered that we had been taking the Richmond Slave Trail for a good part of our walk.

We returned to Legend Brewery and our car via the Mayo (14th Street) Bridge and the western section of the Floodwalk, enjoying the views of the James along the way.

I’d been in Capitol Square and on East Main Street many times while I lived in Richmond, but most of the rest of this walk was new territory to me. Who knew?