Richmond, Virginia's State Capital

While in Richmond, we walked around a bit at Capital Square. Lots of traditional government buildings and statues surround the square. Here's some photos, including the governor's mansion.

The Capital Building.

This is the George Washington Equestrian Monument.

The smaller statues are of Andrew Lewis, Patrick Henry, George Mason, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Nelson and John Marshall.

There are also statues representing colonial times, revolution, Bill of Rights, independence, finance and justice.

Not really sure what this building is, but it's beautiful. One of my favorites we saw in the city.

The governor's mansion.

Country Park and Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

While in Greensboro, we visited Country Park and Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.

I used to walk around Country Park's paved trail during the few months I lived in Greensboro several years ago. The paved trail is hilly and winds around man made lakes.

Many families, walkers, dog owners and bikers use this trail. There are paddle boats, fishing, playgrounds and picnic shelters.

What I consider the main entrance is north of the Natural Science Center's parking lot on Lawndale Drive, so it was a nice addition to our trip to the science center. (There's also a second entrance located south of the science center. The park runs behind the center.)

From Country Park, we walked along a trail that connects to the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. This national park has a paved walking, biking and driving trail and some dirt trails through woods on the property.

Throughout the park there are monuments, grave stones and interpretive signs commemorating the Revolutionary War battle here. The Battle of Guilford Courthouse weakened Cornwallis' army and he surrendered several months later in Yorktown, Va.

Where to Eat: Sette, Richmond, Va.

Our first night in Richmond, Chris and I grabbed a bite to eat at Sette, a pizza joint on N. 23rd Street.

The restaurant is a small, intimate place with colorful, abstract artwork on the walls. Staff was prompt and cordial.

The table for two we sat at was sort of small, but big enough to hold one pie.

We ordered the Church Hill, which has pepperoni, roasted red peppers and mushrooms on a tomato sauce. It was so tasty! Take a look:

We had three pieces each and finished if up so we didn't have to worry taking it back to the hotel. Not that we could stop eating it anyway! It was that good. :)

I sprinkled black pepper on my slices and Chris used parm cheese. There was plenty of sauce and cheese and all the flavors melded together beautifully. Nothing was burnt. Nothing overpowered everything else. Everything was in harmony and so was our tummies!

For dessert we shared tiramisu. Not really anything to write home about, but I find it hard to screw up tiramisu. It was a generous helping and one was enough for both of us. A nice ending to a wonderful meal.

We were tempted to go back another night, but we were only in Richmond for a short weekend and wanted to sample other local fare.

If we visit Richmond again, Sette will have to be the first food stop! Other pizzas I want to try are:

* Arugula: white sauce, arugula, roasted red peppers, goat cheese and basil

* The Greek: balsamic glaze, kalamata olives, merquez sausage, artichokes, grape tomatoes and feta

* The Florentine: white sauce, baby spinach and goat cheese

* Herbivore: white sauce, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, artichokes, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized fennel and onions with mozzarella

* Wild Mushroom: tomato sauce with a blend of wild mushrooms

I count at least 5 more visits and I didn't even glance at the appetizer or salad menus!

Bodies Revealed, Natural Science Center, Greensboro, N.C.

Since Chris had to work last night, he took me to see the Bodies Revealed exhibit at the Natural Science Center in Greensboro, N.C., for Valentine's Day on Saturday.

This traveling exhibit displays several bodies and body parts that have gone through a process called polymer preservation. Besides showing the respiratory, circulatory, reproduction and other body systems, there are examples of organs with cancer, a diseased lung and organs that are enlarged for various reasons, such as infection. It may sound like a weird Valentine's Day trip to you, but I loved it!

The exhibit is only at the center through March 6, so you've got a couple more weeks to visit and check it out. The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday and is located on Lawndale Drive in Greensboro.

There were a ton of people there to visit the museum and the exhibit. A coworker, who went Sunday, said a museum employee told her that 1,300 people visited on Saturday! The museum gave people tickets and allowed people into the exhibit in shifts.

We had the 12:30 time and had an hour to kill before we could enter, so we walked around the museum itself and the small zoo behind the building.

Downstairs are several science labs were kids can get their hands on some projects and experiments. I think most of the labs are held as classes and you have to register. When we were there, there were kids in the physics lab building with Legos. I couldn't see what they were working on, but the kids were intently working together in small groups. Cute!

We peeked in the biology and herpetology labs and an aquatic area to look at the various creatures in aquariums and such. There were snakes, lizards, morays, turtles and fish.

A two-headed yellow-bellied slider turtle.

A moray, which is related to an eel.

A snake.

A hellbender, which is a salamander

Another snake; this time a rattler. I don't know what's with Chris's obsession with snake pictures! :)

Iguana

Outside in the zoo there are turkeys and peacocks wandering around the park, lorikeets, gibbons, lemurs, tigers and a petting farm with goats, burros and other animals.

Wallaby

Peacock

Animals at the petting farm.

Lemurs!!! I wanted to pick one up and squeeze it! :)

Civil War spots, Chester/Richmond, Va.

We stayed near Chester, Va., during our Richmond trip.

On the first day we got to the area pretty late in the afternoon. After checking into our hotel, we jumped back in the car to head back to Richmond for some exploring. Along the way we saw signs for two Civil War sites and turned off the main drag to check 'em out.

Now, we're not big Civil War history buffs or anything, but Chris likes history and is always interested in learning about local areas and our nation.

Fort Wead
First stop was Fort Wead, a former Union fort. It was really hard to find this site. It was smack dab in the middle of a subdivision. If it wasn't for the large sign beside the road, we would have missed it.

It's nice that the site was preserved, but it was awfully weird to visit a site in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

What's left of this small fort was the earthworks and the powder magazine. Here's a brief history on the Chesterfield Historical Society's website.

I doubt you can read the sign, but it explains how earthworks, surrounded by a moat, was used for this fort.

This is a shot of the whole fort from the back looking forward. The fence to the far right is where the magazine was located. See all the houses? Amazing a historic site would be located in a neighborhood!

Battery Dantzler
The next stop was Battery Dantzler. Read a brief history here.

This fort also has earthworks and there are interpretive signs showing where artillery and the powder magazine were located.

The powder magazine was to the left of the platform where the interpretive signs were.

The sign shows the position of artillery weapons.

This shows a photo of the original earthworks.

From the site, you can get a great view of James River.

Confederate troops fought Union boats from here.

Monroe Park, Richmond, Va.

We stopped at Monroe Park one chilly afternoon in Richmond. The park is surrounded by Virginia Commonwealth University and is heavily used.

The day we were there it seems students were moving in. Cars lined the streets along all four sides of the park; and students and their parents pulled out sleeping bags, laundry baskets and luggage from the backs of cars.

There must have also been an event because people were serving warm soup to what seemed to be the local homeless population.

Walking through the park we'd see a sweatshirt and bags on this bench, a shirt at the foot of that tree and bags of clothes sitting in the middle of the grass without anyone nearby. It was like a large living room where people leave clothing lying on furniture and the floor. Weird.

According to this site, the college students use the park frequently for events. It's sort of like a town square for the college, I guess.

And, in a recent Richmond Times-Dispatch article, the park is slated for renovations. You can learn more about the park over here, too.

Here's just a few photos we took the day were there. If I'd thought about it, I'd taken photos of the bags of clothes, the event and the students moving in. But then that would have felt like I was invading people's privacy, so I don't know.

Very nice building across the street from Monroe Park.

Another nice building across one of the streets from Monroe Park.

Where to shop: Main Street, Abindon, Va.

We went to Abingon, Va., last Saturday to walk the Virginia Creeper Trail. While we were there, we also checked out Main Street and some local businesses.

First off, we ate a quick lunch at the famous Martha Washington Hotel and Spa's Market Deli (there's two links: hotel and the deli). This hotel is gorgeously decorated and would be a very pleasant place to stay. I'd love to check out a cabaret and get a massage at the spa.

Chris had a reuben with chips and I had 1/2 a turkey sandwich with Italian Wedding soup and chips. Very delicious.

After the walk, we stopped by A Likely Yarn, a local yarn shop on Pecan Street just below the Creeper's trail head.

The business is one of the largest, locally-owned stores I'd been in. A knitting class was taking place in a small room to the left as we walked in and several ladies were browsing books and yarn in the large shop area to the right.

There was a large collection of books, a lot separated by category, such as socks, crochet or knitting. There was also a rack that had "Handknit Heros," a comic book of needle welding crime fighters.

I was very impressed with the large selection of crochet and knitting books at A Likely Yarn.

The yarn selection was pretty nice too. Prices were comparable to other shops I'd been in and there was a wide variety of brands.

I think I just about picked up every skein of yarn along this wall.

I signed up for the shop's e-newsletters and the lady tending the shop told me about an upcoming retreat in February.

Next we walked around Main Street and stopped in several antique shops, including Abingdon Mercantile and Frames. We were on the hunt for Rookwood Pottery (Chris' parents collect it) and a dress form (I want one so much!).

We also stopped at The Arts Depot to check out some artists' studios. I really liked some fabric hats and paintings, such as those by Jackie Dolpp and Joyce Samuel. The artists' collaborative is a one block off Main Street on Depot Square.

Before heading home, we grabbed coffee at Zazzy'z Coffee House.



While in Abingdon, you should also check out  Barter Theater, A House on Main, The Tavern, and other antique, clothing and gift shops along Main Street.