Hello, hello, hello to anyone who is still following this blog even though I haven’t
written in it since July. At first I didn’t write because I was busy DOING THINGS,
and then I didn’t write because it had been so long since I had written, but now I am
determined to write again.
In late July, I took a trip to the East Coast to visit family. While making my travel
plans, I discovered that the cheapest combination of flights and rental car was to
fly to Charlotte, NC and return from Newark, NJ. On discovering this, my first thought
was “I can finally go to Biltmore!!!!”. The whole four years that Susan was at Duke I
tried to finagle a trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC but it never worked out.
My chance at last! I booked a room at the Glo Best Western in Asheville and a tour
ticket at Biltmore including lunch reservations in the former stable that is now a
barbecue restaurant.
When I arrived in Charlotte I picked up my rental car and put the Glo in my
Google Maps with the Route Option of Avoid Highways. I usually do this on a road
trip since interstate highways are pretty boring. This was a mistake in western North
Carolina. The roads that are not the interstate are narrow, not maintained, winding,
and take you right past the porches of people who give you squinty-eyed suspicious
looks. At one point I drove on a gravel road through a creek. Lesson learned.
On Sunday nights at 9 pm in Asheville, dining options are severely limited, but
luckily for me, Chili’s was still open. I love Chili’s. I sat at the bar and had a terrific
margarita and who cares what else. I set my alarm and went to bed, happily
dreaming about velvet drapes and oil portraits. I woke up in the middle of the night
because my left big toe was on fire.
I guess my shoes had been too tight on the plane, and if you’ve ever had an
ingrown toenail, you know the pain. I took some Advil and went back to sleep.
In the morning, I found a Walgreens, bought some Epsom salts, and soaked my
toe in the ice bucket. And that’s why you should always use the plastic bag liner
that comes with the ice bucket.
The Biltmore estate was even better than I had anticipated. The road from the
gate to the estate twists and turns through the manicured grounds and is something
like two miles long. I parked and found myself in the midst of two touring groups
headed up to the house: a group of rowdy black women in “Oh Sip It’s a Girl’s Trip!”
t-shirts and a big group of family members who looked like they were thoroughly sick
of each other in blue polyester “Reynolds Family Trip 2021” t-shirts. I don’t think
anyone had consulted with the Reynolds family members under the age of 16 about
whether they might enjoy an estate tour.
It was an extremely hot and humid day, and you had to stand in line in full sun
to be admitted to the house, but upon reaching the foyer, you could stay in the
blessedly air-conditioned house as long as you liked. I lurked about inside for
two and a half hours, taking pointless photos of furnishings, right up until my late
lunch reservation in the former stable.
After a delicious pulled-pork sandwich with Carolina vinegar sauce, the only
correct barbecue sauce, and several beers, I wandered around the beautiful
and spacious grounds, looking for shade, and getting increasingly lost. I was
completely on my own for half an hour until I stumbled upon a groundskeeper
who directed me back to the house.
As I made my way back to the house, the sky clouded over and the weather
cooled, which was good, but thunder and lightning began, which was bad.
I booked it back to my car and got there just as it began to pour.
Later that evening in downtown Asheville I found a restaurant that reminded
me strongly of the restaurant at Deep South Glass in the movie Sweet Home
Alabama. It served old southern favorites such as fried chicken and bourbon
Old-Fashioneds, but with fancy descriptions and fancy prices.
The next day I drove to Richmond, Virginia (after removing the Avoid Highways
route option on Google maps). It was a pleasant drive, and I was listening to a
great audiobook: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. As I approached downtown
Richmond on the highway, I noticed a low, dark cloud directly ahead, and then
suddenly it was raining ridiculously hard. I couldn’t see a thing, so I pulled over
on the side of the road and put my hazards on, as did many other drivers, which
made me feel less like an overreacting Californian who can’t drive in the rain,
which, to be fair, I am.
Eventually the rain let up a little bit, so I slowly drove to the next exit, at which
point it began to pour again. I pulled into the first parking lot, which luckily for
me belonged to the Captain Don Julio Seafood Buffet restaurant. As soon as it
let up a little, I got out and scooted over to the restaurant.
Captain Don’s was decorated in a nautical motif, with big captain’s chairs
and tables around which families were busily chowing down on plates piled
high with crab legs. The seafood buffet was too intimidating for me, so I
ordered a fish taco platter and very much enjoyed not driving in the storm.
Richmond is a great city for just hacking around, which is what I set out to do on my first morning there. But it was just too hot and humid for my unacclimatized self to be walking outdoors. I was beginning to feel dangerously overheated when I spotted the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, which is a big name for a very small museum. It was small, but the Institute had the three things that really matter to me in a museum – air-conditioning, toilets, and a water fountain.
There were a whole gaggle of arty-looking youths hanging out at the front desk.
I was the only patron. One of the youths peeled away from the others and
literally followed a step behind me as I looked through the galleries. He never
spoke, just hovered and poked at his iPad. It was very disconcerting. I mean,
I have been to a LOT of art museums of all sizes, and I have never before had
my own personal security guard. It seems unlikely that I looked like a threat to
the artworks, so I guess he was just super-bored? Maybe working on his thesis
project about how sweaty older women interact with multimedia collage?
Annoyed by my guard, but not ready to face the heat again, I hid in the ladies’
room and played Solitaire on my phone for a while. I walked back to my Airbnb,
got my rental car, and drove to the much bigger art museum, the Virginia Museum
of Fine Arts, where I spent the rest of the day in the air-conditioned comfort being
ignored by the guards, as is usual.
and tables around which families were busily chowing down on plates piled
high with crab legs. The seafood buffet was too intimidating for me, so I
ordered a fish taco platter and very much enjoyed not driving in the storm.
Richmond is a great city for just hacking around, which is what I set out to do on my first morning there. But it was just too hot and humid for my unacclimatized self to be walking outdoors. I was beginning to feel dangerously overheated when I spotted the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, which is a big name for a very small museum. It was small, but the Institute had the three things that really matter to me in a museum – air-conditioning, toilets, and a water fountain.
There were a whole gaggle of arty-looking youths hanging out at the front desk.
I was the only patron. One of the youths peeled away from the others and
literally followed a step behind me as I looked through the galleries. He never
spoke, just hovered and poked at his iPad. It was very disconcerting. I mean,
I have been to a LOT of art museums of all sizes, and I have never before had
my own personal security guard. It seems unlikely that I looked like a threat to
the artworks, so I guess he was just super-bored? Maybe working on his thesis
project about how sweaty older women interact with multimedia collage?
Annoyed by my guard, but not ready to face the heat again, I hid in the ladies’
room and played Solitaire on my phone for a while. I walked back to my Airbnb,
got my rental car, and drove to the much bigger art museum, the Virginia Museum
of Fine Arts, where I spent the rest of the day in the air-conditioned comfort being
ignored by the guards, as is usual.
As I drove around Richmond, I noticed that the monuments to
Confederate Generals on Monument Avenue were mostly gone.
Only the plinths remained. As a white woman who has never endured
racism, it was surprising to me how liberated I felt seeing those
empty plinths, so I can only imagine how good it feels for victims of
systemic racism.
Confederate Generals on Monument Avenue were mostly gone.
Only the plinths remained. As a white woman who has never endured
racism, it was surprising to me how liberated I felt seeing those
empty plinths, so I can only imagine how good it feels for victims of
systemic racism.
Susan joined me and we had a really sweaty walk along the James. We saw
some very interesting murals and some Passages youth campers whose van
had the superb motto “We Make Kids Tired!”. As I reached my heat threshold,
we found a craft brewery. I often joke with my brother that you could throw a rock
anywhere in Richmond and hit a craft brewery, but it isn’t really a joke. Before we
entered the taproom, we both guessed how many men would have facial hair.
We both wildly underestimated.
Poe Museum. My expectations were low, and I was pleasantly surprised. It's a very
cool museum that I would recommend to anyone.
cemetery class. Backstory: I’ve always loved cemeteries, so imagine my excitement
when I discovered that Atlas Obscura offered a four-part seminar taught by a Harvard
religious studies professor who has also worked as a cemetery director. My zoom
classmates were from all over the country and we mostly just shared anecdotes about
our favorite cemeteries.
Two of my classmates, Rebecca and Kim, live in Richmond and since I knew I was
Two of my classmates, Rebecca and Kim, live in Richmond and since I knew I was
headed to Richmond in late summer, I asked if they would give me a tour of their
favorite cemetery, and they graciously agreed. I showed up with Shelby, Stella, Susan
and Ellen and the seven of us wandered all over Hollywood cemetery. Even the rain
did not deter us. Rebecca and Kim are self-described goths and they shared some great
Richmond stories with us. It was a really fun afternoon.
 |
| Rebecca said many people believe this tomb contains a vampire. |
the San Francisco Giants!), to an enormous farmer’s market, to the five-star Jefferson
Hotel, and to a French café and vintage shops in Carytown. It was a great week, Doug
and Shelby and Stella are great hosts, and it all just made me want to spend more time there.
