A Rainy Day in Richmond!

It seems that today's blog ought to commence with a brief recap of yesterday's introduction to Richmond, where we arrived late-afternoon. The city is bigger than we imagined and staying in the Business area, it was difficult to grasp the significance of Richmond, in an historical context. Nevertheless, setting out on foot to gain our bearings, we soon drew similarities between Richmond and other cities such as Philadelphia. Our tourist map was sponsored by the Capital Ale House and this seemed a reasonable destination for dinner .... a good choice, actually! Sitting on 10th and Main, this classical bar has a great atmosphere, friendly staff, an array of fine ales, and great food ...... including the best fish and chips outside of Santa Fe's Second Street Brewery!

Anyway, rain then settled-in for the evening and threatened to spoil our only full day in the city, but fate played a helpful hand. This morning brought light drizzle which persisted throughout the day, persuading us to head for the Virginia State Capitol Building, after first dropping into to Starbucks!

We were warmly received at the Capitol Buiding and pointed towards an in-progress tour comprising the guide, Betty Allen, and two ladies from Georgia and Oregon ....... Kay and Phylis. The tour was both interesting and informative. Betty was knowledgeable and her enthusiasm shone through endearingly .... she must have been a truly inspirational teacher, in her day. Following the tour's conclusion, we lunched with Phylis and Kay and parted as good friends. We continually count ourselves privileged to meet such interesting and engaging folk on our travels.

Mid-afternoon, we set off to walk the city's historic Liberation Trail, through the Gaslight Quarter, alongside the canal and James River, to Brown Island and into Historic Tredeger Park .... once the site of manufacture for most of the war material employed by the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Unfortunately, time constraints prevented us from spending sufficient time here, but it was well worth seeing. By now, it was early evening as we walked up 5th Street to Main and payed a return call to the Capital Ale House, where both the IPA and Fish and Chips were on par!!       I have to admit that toda's musical pick is an acquired taste, inspired by our current location "Richmond is a Hard Road to Travel!"