When we set our phones to give us directions to Richmond from the Big Meadows Campground in Shenandoah National Park, we both snorted a bit because all of the suggested routes came with tornado watches. Granted, we knew Nicole was blowing through, and it was very windy, very rainy, and very foggy, but as we came down out of the hills and progressed towards Richmond, conditions improved dramatically. We stayed off the interstates and took a state highway to within five miles of the city, where we jumped on I95, knowing that our friend Margaret’s house was just off the interstate. We found her house and pulled into her back alley, where we moved a bunch of garbage cans and wedged the camper into a space designed for a normal sized car. We were right in the middle of the greetings and the hugs when all three of our cell phones started buzzing madly, just as we heard sirens from every direction.
Apparently we should have paid more attention to the Tornado Watch notifications, because despite the fact that it looked as though the weather had cleared, the weather service had detected clouds with a circular wind pattern approaching Richmond, and they upgraded the Watch to a Tornado Warning and advised us to seek shelter.
We cut short the greetings and the camper tour and went in the house, where we sat at a table near the downstairs powder room, which is the only interior room in the house. We checked the weather radar and saw a very dark red thunder cell heading in our direction, and within a few minutes the loud continuous booming of thunder started, along with torrential rain. The sirens continued blaring, and the Emergency Alerts continued to come in on our phones, and we ended up sheltering in place for close to an hour as the storm moved over us and finally drifted off to the north west. We never saw any signs of a tornado, but the wind and the rain left piles of debris in the streets.
When the storm cleared, the sun reappeared and we decided to take the mile and a half walk from Margaret’s to the Capitol building. Like Trenton and Annapolis, the capitol is under construction, so we had to work to get photos without hazard tape and hazard fencing marring the view. While this capitol doesn’t have a dome, it is set on the top of a small hill in the middle of a park, and surrounded by grand old buildings and brick and cobblestone streets. Broad Street runs into the capitol complex, and is lined with a mix of small businesses and upscale hotels and restaurants, and it all makes for an interesting walk.
When the storm cleared, the sun reappeared and we decided to take the mile and a half walk from Margaret’s to the Capitol building. Like Trenton and Annapolis, the capitol is under construction, so we had to work to get photos without hazard tape and hazard fencing marring the view. While this capitol doesn’t have a dome, it is set on the top of a small hill in the middle of a park, and surrounded by grand old buildings and brick and cobblestone streets. Broad Street runs into the capitol complex, and is lined with a mix of small businesses and upscale hotels and restaurants, and it all makes for an interesting walk.
The next day, which was Saturday, we did a walking tour of the city. We couldn’t really drive anywhere because many of the streets around us were closed due to a marathon, but we walked down the street known as Monument Avenue, despite the fact that most of the monuments have been removed as part of the Black Lives Matter movement since they portrayed Confederate military men. The walk was an interesting lesson in interpreting history, since the monuments were erected shortly after the Civil War to memorialize the Confederacy, where they remained until relatively recently when people finally realized that memorializing people who were fighting to keep other people as slaves probably wasn’t very nice or respectful. Walking gave us time for both introspection, as well as discussions, although since the three of us agreed on the issues, we didn’t cover much new ground. Despite the fact that we were discussing a somber period in US history, it was a beautiful day for a long walk and we enjoyed cheering on the marathoners.
Because we had gone out for a delicious dinner at Mama J’s on Friday night, we cooked in and had salmon and roasted Brussels sprouts, which is still a treat for me and Tom since the only salmon and Brussels sprouts we get in Belize are overpriced and not the best. We went to bed early so we could get an early start as we headed for the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Because we had gone out for a delicious dinner at Mama J’s on Friday night, we cooked in and had salmon and roasted Brussels sprouts, which is still a treat for me and Tom since the only salmon and Brussels sprouts we get in Belize are overpriced and not the best. We went to bed early so we could get an early start as we headed for the Outer Banks of North Carolina.