Saturday:
After an easy and crazy cheap (~$50 on Jetblue) flight to Richmond, I grabbed my cute little red rental car (I don't know the make because I know nothing about cars) and I was on my way! I first drove to the downtown area where the Hostelling International (HI) Richmond was located. I parked and headed straight to the Capital Ale House for some good grub and to try a few local beers. For my meal I got pierogies (always a good idea) and a burger, which was way too much food but it was all yummy! Once I was finished it was time to check into my hostel and try to squeeze my very full tummy into a dress for the wedding. The hostel was very nice and new within the last year, so it was great and fully equipped with everything I might need in my room.
The drive to the wedding was pretty simple (minus figuring out tolls) and the wedding was a small, beautiful affair at a country club. It was outside and it had been sprinkling a bit, but it cleared up beautifully just before the ceremony. Marian looked beautiful, and it was a very emotional ceremony and even reception. But very fun too! I danced to all of the typical wedding dance songs (chicken dance, YMCA, macarena, electric slide, and the hokey pokey) and had a good time chatting with my table-mates. My first wedding that I attended solo was a success!
Sunday:
Sunday was quite a busy day and it didn't help that I got a bit of a late start so that I could sleep in a little. I went to a place that was recommended by a number of people called The Black Sheep. The menu looked awesome and I was pretty excited for this brunch. Unfortunately, what I got was the Gambas Bravas, which was basically a skillet but with shrimp in it and I just think I wasn't feeling the seafood that morning. I should have had stuff with something with sausage in it instead. Oh well, I would definitely give it a go again - especially because of the number of recs I got for it.
Next I walked down to the Museum of the Confederacy, which I only saw a little bit of because there was a tour of the White House of the Confederacy (next door) just about 20 minutes after I arrived. As I said, I got a late start so I really needed to make that tour. The museum is part of the American Civil War Museum, but as the rest of the museum detailing the civil war in it's entirety not just from one side, was across the river and no where near, I was only able to visit this museum. I obviously don't subscribe to anything that the confederacy thought or somewhat still thinks today, but the fact is that it was a large part of the history of the United States and therefore why still having these historical places in Richmond, the Capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War, is so important.
The tour of the White House of the Confederacy was really interesting and something that I thought was crazy in that some of the portraits that they had there, Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, looked somewhat like Abraham Lincoln - so weird! Not only did he look like Lincoln, but they had similar stories of many of their children dying and only 1 or 2 growing into adulthood. Something that was also fascinating was that I just happened to be in Richmond at this house and museum on the very day, April 3rd, that 151 years ago Richmond fell to the Union and the war was all but over.
On my walk back to the hostel and car, I walked by the Virginia State Capitol Building, which was quite big and very pristine and white, and the gardens area around were beautiful. My next stop on my way out of town to drive to Monticello was Hardywood Craft Brewery, the top brewery in the RVA area and one that was also recommended to me. I arrived just in time for a quick 30 minute tour of the brewery and complimentary tasting, which was perfect for me! I liked their beers, but I wasn't blown away by them. The complex however, was beautiful and it would be a great place to hold an event or just to chill outside since they had many picnic tables and even bocce ball courts!
I had initially hoped to go into Charlottesville and visit Monticello AND Ash-Lawn Highland (where James Monroe lived), but as Monticello is so big and they have very specific times of when you can go on a tour, I only had time for that. But I didn't mind. I LOVED going to Monticello. I thought that it was so well put together - how it honors this very intelligent, former president and founding father, yet also is incredibly real and honest about what kind of man he was and how he treated his "property". The visitor center is where you start on your trip to Monticello, and as I was pretty hungry I grabbed a quick sandwich and beer (because I could) and enjoyed just sitting with nature before I took my shuttle up the mountain to the main part of the Monticello estate.
I'm very glad that I visited Monticello when I did and not 15 odd years ago when I was last in Virginia with my parents visiting the D.C. area, because I am positive that people wouldn't be as frank about Jefferson owning slaves. Since then, it has been genetically proven that Jefferson fathered a number of children with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. The "Slavery at Monticello" tour was fascinating and eye-opening to how slaves lived and worked on this particular plantation, and how Jefferson may have interacted with them. Although Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that "All men are created equal", he certainly didn't believe that that right pertained to all men, or all people. Doing this tour at Monticello is an absolute must.
Finally it was time to see the inside of Monticello. What I learned most from walking around the inside of Monticello was that Thomas Jefferson was quite frankly, brilliant. As soon as you walk in, we are to see a clock that he designed (and built, I believe) himself and that still runs. It's mechanism of which is very hard to explain, but believe me it's very interesting. In the parlor area is a wine dumb waiter, that was stored in a little side cupboard of the fireplace and would very easily be sent down to the cellar for a slave to put a fresh bottle in. So we can see he was clearly an inventor of sorts, but he was also a weatherman, spoke 7 languages, and was of course the POTUS. He was also a businessman, which is why he didn't think of the 600 slaves he owned in his lifetime as people, but as his property and of whether or not they were making him money.
The last stop before leaving Monticello was the family cemetery, where Jefferson is buried. Overall, it was an incredibly fascinating trip to Monticello and I am so glad that I made the drive. I would highly recommend visiting this area but giving yourself a few days, because why not visit Ash-Lawn Highland as well, which is right next door to Monticello. Or drive a little bit further and visit Montpelier, the home of James Madison. I also heard a lot about the wineries and a few breweries in this region. Really, I think you could spend a full 2-3 days here.
After my drive back to Richmond, it was time to grab some supper. I intended to eat (and drink) at Mekong Restaurant, which is supposed to be the best beer bar in the state as well as serve Vietnamese food - an interesting combination. The food was pretty good, but the couple beers I tried that were brewed in house (or next door) were pretty terrible. Maybe it was just the beers I chose, but I was pretty disappointed by Mekong. Since I was in the area of Mekong, Strangeways Brewing wasn't too far away either and that was another one I wanted to visit on recommendation from a couple people, especially if I like "weird" beers, which I do. I wasn't disappointed by Strangeways, thankfully! Their beers were definitely unique and a little weird, but also good. It was a chill Sunday night and so I just sat there talking to the bartender a bit and some other customers. The design of the brewery is also wacky and fun, I would recommend going to this brewery for sure if you are in the area.
I took advantage of the free breakfast provided by the hostel, and then checked out and drove to Hollywood Cemetery where there is a large confederate cemetery, as well as a number of famous people buried there including two presidents, John Tyler and James Monroe, and Jefferson Davis. Thankfully I found a map on the internet that I kept following on my phone to figure out where the main parts/graves in the cemetery were located because it was much bigger than I thought it would be. I was thinking it would be more like the Granary Burying Ground here in Boston. I love walking through old cemeteries and this one was no different. It was a beautiful day, and the cemetery is on a hill in parts and overlooks the James River. Sadly, the birdcage grave/memorial of James Monroe is being refurbished so I didn't really see that, but that was okay. Next time!
My next stop was to drive to the Chimborazo Medical Museum which is on a huge piece of land, which makes sense because of the amount of space they would need for a military hospital during the civil war. This was a tiny little free museum, and I just loved it. It was the kind-of place that you walk in and the person at the desk is so excited to see someone and friendly! I always find museums of medicine fascinating, and although this place was tiny (just one room of exhibits), it was still pretty cool. Especially seeing the different medical instruments they used during the war, such as tourniquets and saws (ick). There was even an example/description of how to amputate a leg in 4-5 minutes which was interesting, but incredibly gruesome as well, so I didn't want to take a picture of that and make anyone ill by reading it. Overall, a neat little museum that was worth it to me.
Lastly, I was a bit short on time but I really wanted to check out Bottoms Up Pizza as it was on recommendation from someone who went to school in RVA. Specifically the Chesapeake Pizza was what I was supposed to get, which is a white pizza with Maryland crabmeat, sweet onions, and Old Bay seasoning. It was super good! The restaurant itself was also in a cool area called Shockoe Bottom (I think) and it's where all of the old tobacco plants used to be, so it looks kind warehousey and has old train tracks everywhere. On the backyard patio of Bottoms Up, there is an old train tracks area, it's pretty neat.
I was sad to leave Richmond as I was dropping off my rental car at the airport and boarding a flight for Denver (via Charlotte), but I was excited to head to one of my favorite states to attend a conference, and see friends, and family! More on that later...