// wknd4-5:
*All within two hours drive
When I think of Virginia, of course the slogan VIRGINIA IS FOR LOVERS comes to mind. [Side note: I'll say it. The history behind this slogan is anti-climactic. It was never a reference to Loving vs Virginia (1967), which would have been way more interesting than some advertising agency deciding it was a nice catch-all for "Virginia is for history lovers," "Virginia is for mountain lovers," and "Virginia is for beach lovers." Seems a little lazy to me? Maybe I'm revealing myself as a history lover.] But when I think of Richmond, I think of no slogan in particular. I mean, do we even have one? I did a quick search on Google and found my favorite alternative slogan, which is so accurate:
It's... *chef's kiss* literally how I always describe Richmond to a non-Virginian. So even though I went to neither the beach, nor the mountains, nor the nation's capital, here's a little snapshot of my weekend back home.
Friday Cheers: Lucy Dacus
I've been to Brown's Island plenty of times. It's a fantastic park; I have lovely memories of taking field trips there to work on a re-photography project, post-brunch walks with my mom, etc. etc. Amazingly I seem to never be in town for Folk Fest, so never had I imagined Brown's Island's truly powerful ability to so quickly transform into an outdoor venue. It was crazy, AND it was only $5.
Not only did Lucy Dacus give an amazing hometown performance, but I also finally tried a Goatacado bowl. 10/10.
James River (Riverside Dr)
This is definitely a favorite of all Richmond-metro natives. The most popular spots to go river-ing* are Belle Isle and Pony Pasture, but with a little bit of extra walking and willingness to park in front of someone's house, you can find these really accessible and much less-crowded rocks.
*river-ing including (but not limited to): sunbathing, rock-hopping, cloud-watching, rock-slipping, enjoying life, contemplating life, and being in the company of two high-quality buds.
Back to the nation's capital*
*Sort of. Everyone knows that northern Virginia is not part of DC, butttt if I'm allowed to call my neck of the woods part of the Richmond-metro area, I'll cut Fairfax some slack. Since weekend 5 was a long weekend for the Fourth of July, I was able to visit some friends staying in DC before heading home once again.
Cafe Bonaparte
Not the most patriotic place to enjoy some brunch, but it was one of the few places in Georgetown that was not already fully booked with reservations the night before.
Montmartre crepe: Worth ordering, but not my best crepe experience.
My one real complaint is the $8 bread basket that was advertised to come with assorted breads and marmalade, yet arrived with two small packages of Philadelphia cream cheese... Do the French even eat Philadelphia cream cheese?
National Mall, Post- "Extravaganza"
Let me clarify that we, in no way, intended to condone the diversion of $2.5 million from the National Park Service, nor really any part of Trump's excesses. Luckily we arrived just as the "Salute to America" ended and enjoyed a humid, humid fireworks show.
