Brenna Without Borders

Being in a long distance relationship, Garrett and I  have found that it is challenging to take vacations together. He is either visiting me in Pittsburgh or I am going down to Savannah to stay with him. While the back and forth is fun. We were really looking forward to planning a real trip together. The pandemic has made that challenging. However, we found that Richmond Virginia is almost the same distance from Pittsburgh as it is from Savannah.  A nice change of pace, we booked a bed and breakfast, packed our bags and drove 6 hours each to meet in Richmond,VA last weekend. 

The weather was unusually kind to us for November.  Bright blue skies and a balmy 70 degrees.  I’m not sure if it was the weather, picturesque streets, or beautiful parks, but Richmond left me with an overwhelming eagerness to return. 

 One and a half days is not a lot of time to tackle an entire city.  We picked our top choices and went from there.  The real point of this weekend was to spend quality time together anyways. So even though I always want to see and do it all, I allowed myself to slow down and enjoy being in the same city as my man. 

Where we stayed: 

After much discussion over hotel versus airbnb, we settled on neither.  Garrett stumbled across the Museum District B&B.  While I do not know much about Bed and Breakfasts, I was pleasantly surprised by the attentive staff and cozy accommodations. 

The Museum District B&B is the perfect choice for a short weekend trip to Richmond. Located in the heart of Museum District (as the name suggests), you are surrounded by museums of all genres. 

 Driving in from different cities as soon as work ended, we arrived in the dark.  I pulled in to the tiny parking lot right behind the B&B right after Garrett.  We requested a late check in and Melinda the owner waited up to check us in. We got in late, parking was provided at the rear of the building which was a great relief to my anxious heart. She shows us to the Judge Rhea’s Suite, which was named after the Congressman who built the house in 1922.  The suite did not disappoint.  We had a living space, office equipped with a coffee pot and mini fridge, sunroom with darling shades that was the bedroom, and the most beautiful bathroom I have ever seen.  A clawfoot bathtub sitting on black and white tile floor, white fluffy robes hung from the hooks.  And to top it all off, a walk-in shower that doubled as a sauna, pampered is an understatement. 

Our breakfast was made to order. We were offered the option of croissants and cinnamon rolls, fruit and yogurt, and finally eggs cooked to your liking, bacon, and a side of fresh veggies.

There was fresh juice and ice tea set out during the afternoon for guests that may stop at the room before heading out to their next adventure. And the main selling point for me, a wine and cheese happy hour during the evening to mingle (socially distanced) with other guests. Garrett and I got our own cheese platter and a guess of red wine.  We sat on the porch swing and l met a family that was in town to show their daughter the college. 

As you can tell I am a big fan of the Museum District Bed and Breakfast. Garrett and I have already decided we would like to come back and make a tradition of staying here. 

Where we ate: 

The downside of staying at a bed and breakfast is that you don’t get to explore breakfast places in the area.  I’m not one to turn down a “free” or should I say included with our stay breakfast. So Garrett and I were so full both days we ate very late lunches. 

After watching a video of what makes Richmond great, I knew I had to make room for Sugar Shack donuts.  They make their donuts fresh everyday, no machines involved.  The flavors vary day to day.  Garrett and I got a half dozen that fulfilled all my donut dreams.  Let me just tell you that donuts are probably one of my favorite things in the world (right there next to pizza). The Sugar Shack donuts were melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I bet if we would have went first thing in the morning, the line would be out the door. 

For our late lunch on Saturday, we wanted to try out a local taco place called En Su Boca. Our margaritas cost more than our four tacos and chips and salsa meal. The marg was delicious, the tacos were a bit disappointing in my opinion. The atmosphere of this place is really great though and it seems as if a lot of locals come here to drink and socialize. 

What we did: 

As if I can’t rave about the Bed and Breakfast enough, with our stay we received free tickets to the Sunken Cities of Egypt Exhibit in the Museum of Fine Arts.  I love museums and this was no exception.  Garrett and I had a wonderful (and socially distanced) time wandering through the exhibit learning about cities that were completely under water. Included with our ticket we received a free drink from the cafe at the museum. 

After the museum, we drove down to Maymont Estate and park.  This was nothing like I expected.  I thought it would be an estate that we paid to enter and tour.  There is an estate, but it is first and foremost a park.  And a very beautiful one if that.  The Estate is closed due to Covid.  But Garrett and I wander around most of the grounds.  There are Italian and Japanese Gardens, a petting zoo, some local wildlife exhibits, a nature center and aquarium.  There is a lot going on.  Our foot tour of these grounds made me realize I have to start running again.  If you are really going for the day to see the whole thing, be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather! I enjoyed the whole park, but my favorite part was sitting on a bench with Garrett amongst trees.  The leaves were falling around us and the sun was shining through the falling canopy creating a beautiful array of colors.  It is the perfect place to picnic or go with friends to hang out and read.  Again, I loved seeing the entire park, but I couldn’t help but think, if I lived here, everytime the weather was nice I would be camped out on that lawn with a good book. 

Sunday morning, we ventured into downtown Richmond to find the Canal Walk and suspension bridge.  Being that it was a Sunday morning and the weather was beautiful, parking along the trail was hard to find.  We paid to park in the Civil War Museum right along the trail. 

The canal walk is clean and beautiful.  All the paths are paved and the green spaces are well kept.  This is the perfect path for a morning jog or walking your dog.  There  were beautiful view of the canal and the river, as well as several murals on the sides of the buildings surrounding the canal path.  

Towards the end, the canal walk opens up into a larger park area, it seems that pre-covid, people would gather here for concerts and community events.  In this same section, there is a Bridge, according to Instagram it’s called the T. Tyler Pottersfield Memorial Bridge. It is a foot bridge for people only that goes across the James River to Belle Island.  We didn’t have time to explore Belle Island. I really want to go back there though! I found out that Belle Island is an island in the James River and apparently there are a bunch of abandoned buildings on the island.  If you want to learn more about Belle Island, check it out here. 

Why I love it here: 

My only regret is that we didn’t have more time here. Garrett and I have already decided that we want to make a tradition of coming back to Richmond, our half way point, 1 time a year. It’s a perfect romantic getaway. There is so much to do and see. It’s an incredibly walkable city, I really just wanted to wander around the city all weekend long.  And even when we didn’t feel like going out, the bed and breakfast was the perfect amount of cozy that made it feel like we were right at home. 

A weekend getaway was exactly what I needed right now.  Planning trips give me so much life and a sense of normal right now.  Now I have to start thinking about where to go next!