Summer Vacation

...is half-over. Whew. Okay, it's actually about completely over, but I'm cheating and back-dating this post so I can split my vacation over three posts. The weekend after our med shelf exam, I helped move Kiran and Lisa into their new place (sorry, no pics). Pretty chill, seven of us or so moving boxes and furniture. They had a lot of stuff. Of course, the one day they pick happens to be the only day this week that it poured rain. As soon as enough stuff was moved so that the floor could once again been seen, Kiran and I set up the NHT 2.9's. I have to say, his sound system is in a real funny position and he may go without a desk to accommodate it. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

Kevin took his boards on Monday (congrats!) and we headed up to Richmond for the first part of my great adventure. I've lived in this crazy state for 3 years, it's high time I see some of it! We met up with Heidi, Kevin's fiancee, and they gave me a tour of the town before we sat down for some yummy chicken/pineapple/brie sandwiches over at the Tap House.

Richmond is actually one of the coolest cities I've had the pleasure of visiting. Southern heritage is strong here--palpable even--and the historical style of construction really lends itself to the sensation that time had frozen over a hundred years ago. I got to see Carytown, MCV, Monument avenue, Hollywood cemetary (final resting point of Jefferson Davis), and of course Church Hill and St. John's church, where Patrick Henry famously declared, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"

The view of Richmond from atop Church Hill, where the residents watched the burning of Richmond during the Civil War:

Today, you can see the state capitol on the left side, and MCV (or VCU MCV division if you will) on the right.

Tomorrow, my journey to Northern Virginia.