We're leaving Virginia, and we're heading to Texas for the Christmas holidays. The week we get ready to move on should be smooth sailing by now, but, alas, not so much. This week is just about the only time you can hear quarrels in the Smith house. Drake is completely unreasonable, cranky, snide, obsessive, and exhibits every other bad behavior of which he is abundantly capable. Of course, you can say DITTO about me. Drake always thinks we have 'too much stuff', and I'm all about, 'you can fit this in'. Makes for spirited discussions; a little euphemism that involves raised voices, finger pointing, and arm waving. This move at the end of autumn and the beginning of winter is always weather dicey, and the forecast for Richmond this coming weekend is shaping up to make us nervous. We both have memories of the 12 inch snowfall in New Hampshire the day before we were due to leave.
I'm usually ready to 'move on', but not so much this time. I really like Richmond. I do recognize we've experienced only the best weather here, but I like the livability of this town, and the living pace. I'm wild about the visual aspects of this town. The trees are gigantic and the mixed forest of deciduous and evergreen defines the topography wherever you look. There are hardy flowers (zillions of crepe myrtles) and trees with colored leaves (such as Japanese maple) planted everywhere. This town is also compact. You can zip around quickly which opens up the entire city no matter in what area you live. The beach is an easy drive as are the mountains. Then, there's the American history that has shaped Virginia in the Colonial period and during the Civil War.
Richmond isn't cosmopolitan in that Eastern seaboard way. For instance, last night we went to their excellent Botanical Garden which is wired with lights for the Christmas season. It was sweet and fun, but obviously a big local effort by staff and volunteers to transform the garden into a Christmas lights display for the city. They even had a toy train layout in the botanical library set up by a local group and manned by volunteers. It reminded me not of a professional production as much as when a neighborhood becomes known for 'the Christmas lights'. It felt real and fun. We saw multi-generational families, but also lots of teens out on group dates.
This town has all the usual generic franchise restaurants, but also a thriving community of individual restaurateurs. There's a live theater on the usual Broadway circuit, a symphony and a fledgling ballet. We were also thrilled to see they had a Bow Tie Criterion Movie Theater - what most people would have called 'an art movie house' at one time, but is really a theater that specializes in limited release pictures. We've seen some of my favorite movies at this theater chain. Richmond also has a fabulous fine arts museum housed in a breathtaking building. There are historic neighborhoods here with interesting architecture.
I won't bother to recite all the things we've done while here, but I think I could live in this area another six months before I saw all of what I would consider to be 'major attractions'. Drake claims we have seen the 'best', and he's probably right. I think the depth of historical sites and museums I'm willing to see is a couple of feet deeper than his.
One good thing about the upcoming 'move on' is we get to try a new route across the country - the 'southern' route which will allow us to catch up with some old friends along the way and help us dodge winter snow and ice. The prize for leaving is 10 days in Austin with a wonderful extended family Christmas which we are all eagerly anticipating. We'll be back in Arizona for the winter. Time to visit our furniture.
