Richmond Memories

What a fun weekend that Mallory and I had in Richmond! Friday night we drove down after work and met friends from Winston at Brooke's parent's house. We spent some time catching up (and stretching after our ride!) before we were on the move again. After chatting a bit, we went to see the movie The Break Up. I think the movie was liked by most, although I was slightly disappointed in it. The funny parts were hilarious, but it also stressful. Of course, it was about a couple breaking up, so I'm kinda silly to expect "pleasant fights". The fights were pretty intense and the language a bit over-the-top. However, I was satisified with how the director ended it.

Friday evening, we relaxed after the movie by hopping in the hot tub at Brooke's parents' house. I love hot tubs! Friday ended at about 3 AM for some of us.

The pictures above were all taken on Saturday. The first five were captured at Bell Isle as we stood on the rocks while the James River flowed around us. Although cloudy, the weather was perfect. You can see that the clouds shielded us from the sun (I didn't have any sunglasses at this point) and the rocks were set throughout the river, providing easy access to the water's edge. The river was amazingly warm. Unfortunately, none of us donned our swimsuits, so jumping in wasn't an option.

The first two shots are of the group. Between the two of them, all of us who went to the river are in them (with the exception of me). Picture number three is of Brooke and her beau, Jason. Number four is of Mal and her friend (and my blog fan!), Dave. The fifth is of Dave, Jason, me, and Mike (the same Mike (#3) in my previous blog).

After we left Bell Isle, we went to some Outlet stores and did some quick shopping. Mike and I hit the kitchen store (he loves to cook) and then the Sunglass shop where I picked out some shades (yay!). He graciously bought them for me and made my afternoon.

We departed from the Outlets and went back in time to Colonial Williamsburg, VA. We all split up and spent a couple hours walking around the grounds. There were some shops that provided yummy treats (grilled cheese sandwiches, boiled peanuts, and chocolate covered pretzels). After Mike and I checked out some shops and ate lunch, we walked around and explored the gardens, businesses, and homes of the early settlers. It was fun. The sixth picture is of Mike and me in the stocks. Oh no! You can tell that we were miserable.

After our time warp, we had dinner at the house (see last pic) where Brooke's dad grilled out for us. Mmm. Some more of Brooke's family came over and we played Taboo later. It was a night of many laughs (thanks, especially to Dave!) and fun memories.

Sunday, we awoke for church where we were highly entertained by the "children's choir". A group of about eight kids stood on the stage and sang to pre-recorded kids' songs. About two of the eight kids actually sang along. One "played his arm" the whole time. This was an amazing feat where the boy stood and blew on his arm while rubbing it up and down against his mouth. All the while humming off tune with the song. He did this for all three songs and no one took him off the stage. The congregation was split between being mortified and rolling.

I, of course, was rolling.