Snapshots of RVA: Maymont

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  • IMG_3496 This is a fountain near Maymont's entrance.
  • IMG_3546 This is a fountain in the Italian Garden.
  • IMG_3501 This is Maymont's Italian Garden.
  • IMG_3522 This is a pathway in the Italian Garden.
  • IMG_3537 This is another view of the Italian Garden.
  • IMG_3564 This is near the Japanese Garden.
  • IMG_3569 This is near the Japanese Garden.
  • IMG_3601 This is the lake in the Japanese Garden.
  • IMG_3599 This is the lake in the Japanese Garden.
  • IMG_3586 This is the lake in the Japanese Garden.
  • IMG_3587 This is the lake in the Japanese Garden.
  • IMG_3624 This neat waterfall and bridge is near the Japanese Garden.
  • IMG_3676 This massive praying mantis was hanging out near the Maymont mansion.
  • IMG_3693 Trees change color with the season here!
  • IMG_3689 Trees have dropped leaves with the arrival of the fall.
  • IMG_3748 Benches are spread throughout Maymont's green spaces.
  • IMG_3730 Here's more of Maymont's green space. There are a lot of hills throughout the area.
  • IMG_3729 It was clear and sunny for most of the day.
  • IMG_3678 This is the Maymont mansion.
  • IMG_3750 The day became cloudier and more ominous near the end.
  • IMG_3755 This is a last shot of the Maymont mansion.

These are pictures from a trip to Maymont, which is an estate that was first donated to the City of Richmond and is now run by the Maymont Foundation, a nonprofit. The estate has gardens, a nature center, a wildlife area, and the estate mansion. I made this trip in October 2014.

Snapshots of RVA: Petersburg National Battlefield Park, September 2014

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  • IMG_2772 A cannon near the entrance of Petersburg National Battlefield Park.
  • IMG_2781 A display of several Union cannons near the front of the park.
  • IMG_2783 A close-up of one of the previous cannons, with its sign.
  • IMG_2787 Another close-up of one of the cannons near the park's front entrance..
  • IMG_2803 This fancy cannon is along the trail within the park itself.
  • IMG_2815 This is a view of one of the batteries at the park. Several cannons were placed here.
  • IMG_2820 Another view of the battery.
  • IMG_2835 A view of the trail beyond the previous battery.
  • IMG_2842 A view of the trail on the way back to the battery.
  • IMG_2846 Another view of the previous battery.
  • IMG_2854 A large grassy expanse covers the area between the park entrance and the battery.
  • IMG_2868 This is the trail and the grassy area between the park entrance. The battery is in the distance.
  • IMG_2872 This is the road leading away from the park entrance.

These are pictures from a trip to Petersburg National Battlefield Park, which I visited in September 2014. The battle that took place here was decisive in the Civil War, as the Confederacy’s loss at Petersburg led to the later evacuation of Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. I came in at the eastern front visitor center and saw battery 5 before bad weather made me leave.

Introducing Snapshots of RVA

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The James River in the foreground and the Richmond skyline are divided by the CSX train tracks.
Welcome to Snapshots of RVA! This is a new pictures-driven blog I’ve begun following my move to Richmond, Virginia in May of 2014. I moved to Virginia after growing up and going to school in Florida — first in Miami, then in Gainesville, where I went to the University of Florida.

During my first few weeks in Richmond, I learned the city has a lot that makes it unique — the city has a lot of personality, which you can see in murals all around town, festivals almost every weekend and RVA bumper stickers on almost every car you see on the street. RVA is the nickname for this city — and there’s a good chance you’ll hear “RVA” used more often than “Richmond” when people here talk about it. The pride people feel for this town is reminiscent of the pride people feel for a college in a college town — and it’s quite contagious.

In addition to that personality, there’s a lot to see here. Richmond is unique in that there is a lot of history here. Virginia played a role as one of the original Thirteen Colonies in the United States’s independence, and you can see signs of the founding fathers here — the Virginia State Capitol, located in downtown Richmond, was designed by and is known as an object of pride for Founding Father Thomas Jefferson. And the history doesn’t end there — Richmond played a part in one of America’s most difficult chapters as the capital of the Confederacy, and indeed, the executive mansion of the president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, stands as a historic landmark just a few blocks from the Virginia State Capitol.

Richmond has the makings of an urban city and an industrial town at the same time. There is a financial center with several high-rises in downtown Richmond, and in south Richmond are the remnants of old factories and industrial facilities. Throughout the city, many buildings that were previously factories are being converted into loft apartments. RVA has evolved over time, and you can see that the town continues to evolve to this day.

But despite all the development over time and recently, nature is a big part of this area. The James River splits the city into two parts and is a big part of the city’s personality. The James is known as a popular outdoor attraction for swimming and kayaking. Part of river actually has rapids, which are rare in this region. Along the river are forested areas and nature trails. Walking those trails, it’s hard to believe you’re still in the city — but those trails and those natural areas fall within the city’s lines. It’s a remarkable combination of nature and development.

All of this combines to provide many picturesque scenes and sights. After I took pictures of a trip to Brown’s Island here, the idea occurred to me to post the pictures here, rather than just have them sit in my computer’s pictures file. (This is why this introductory post appears after some of the pictures posts. Think of those other posts as a soft opening of sorts to this blog.) As I document my adventures here through pictures, I’ll share them on this blog.

If you live in RVA and know of any neat places that I should check out, please feel free to let me know on Twitter: I’m @veryChrisP.

Cheers!

-CP

Snapshots of RVA: James River Park and Belle Isle, October 2014

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  • IMG_2916 16x9 Near the James River Park's Reedy Creek entrance.
  • IMG_2924 16x9 Near the James River Park's Reedy Creek entrance.
  • IMG_2937 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_2961 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_2977 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_2986 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_3010 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_3017 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_3025 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_3031 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_3052 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_3055 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_3073 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_3096 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_3108 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_3122 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_3130 16x9 Near the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_3161 16x9 Along the Reedy Creek trail.
  • IMG_3175 16x9 A narrow part of the James River.
  • IMG_3178 16x9 A view of the bridge connecting to Belle Isle.
  • IMG_3190 16x9 Part of the Robert E. Lee Bridge that connects Belle Isle to south Richmond.
  • IMG_3210 16x9 Entrance to the James River Park.
  • IMG_3238 16x9 A view of the Richmond skyline from the Robert E. Lee Bridge connecting Belle Isle to South Richmond.
  • IMG_3248 16x9 A view of the Lee Bridge over a shallow James River.
  • IMG_3255 16x9 On a trail at Belle Isle.
  • IMG_3274 16x9 A view of part of Tredegar Street from Belle Isle.
  • IMG_3300 16x9 The pedestrian walkway under the Lee Bridge -- suspended by cables from it!
  • IMG_3306 16x9 The Richmond skyline from the pedestrian bridge.
  • IMG_3318 16x9 A view of the shallow James River from the pedestrian bridge.
  • IMG_3330 16x9 A view west of the James River from the pedestrian bridge.
  • IMG_3336 16x9 A view east from the pedestrian bridge. The Manchester Bridge is in the distance.
  • IMG_3344 16x9 The Richmond skyline from the pedestrian bridge.
  • IMG_3387 16x9 A view of the James from the pedestrian bridge.

These are pictures from a trip along the James River Park System. I made this trip on the first day of fall of 2014 — and as you can see in the pictures, it was a great day to be outside. The trip began at the James River Park System’s Reedy Creek entrance, extended to Belle Isle, and to Brown’s Island — and back.

Snapshots of RVA: Gambles Hill Park and Canal Walk, September 2014

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  • Downtown street light 16x9 At the intersection of 9th Street and East Byrd Street in downtown Richmond.
  • Fence and railroad track and field 16x9 The view from the 2nd Street Connector near Gambles Hill Park of the James River
  • Murals 16x9 An artsy area along Canal Walk features several murals.
  • Open field and skyline 16x9 Gambles Hill Park in the foreground and parts of the Richmond skyline in the background.
  • Under bridge 16x9 The view from under a bridge along Canal Walk.

This trip began at Gambles Hill Park — where I was able to find a parking spot on a Sunday afternoon when parking was at a premium — and ended at the Manchester Bridge, near the intersection of 9th Street and East Byrd Street, and included parts of Canal Walk.

Snapshots of RVA: Brown’s Island, September 2014

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  • Bridge and flags One of several bridges at Brown's Island.
  • Bridge with swans Several swans have made Brown's Island home.
  • Bridge panoramic A panoramic perspective of the James River.
  • Bridge over canal One of several bridges crossing the canal at Brown's Island.
  • Bridge and sun The afternoon sun over the James River.
  • Buildings and bridge The Federal Reserve building is a prominent feature of Richmond's skyline, as it is here, from the perspective of Brown's Island.
  • Canal panoramic One of the bridges at Brown's Island.
  • James and Bridge The Manchester Bridge over the James River.
  • RVA downtown and James The James River in the foreground and the Richmond skyline are divided by the CSX train tracks.

For the inaugural post of Snapshots of RVA, I took a trip to Brown’s Island Park near downtown Richmond in September 2014. I was originally looking for the bridge that runs from there to Belle Isle, but I didn’t realize that the bridge I was looking for — the pedestrian walkway under the Lee Bridge — was further to the west. Instead, I explored Brown’s Island and snapped these pictures.

Map: Cross Florida Barge Canal

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The Cross Florida Barge Canal was intended to connect the west coast of the state with the east coast, thereby allowing merchant vessels to move from one side to the other without having to circle around South Florida. This map shows where the canal was planned, and the parts that were actually constructed. Courtesy: Florida Memory

A Trip on Rodman Reservoir and to Kirkpatrick Dam

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  • Rodman0
  • Rodman1 Rodman Campground boat ramp
  • Rodman2 Kenwood boat ramp
  • Rodman3
  • Rodman4
  • Rodman5
  • Rodman8
  • Rodman10
  • Rodman13
  • Rodman14
  • Rodman15
  • Rodman16 Kirkpatrick Dam
  • Rodman17 Kirkpatrick Dam

We traveled on the Rodman Reservoir to Kirkpatrick Dam, which is on the Ocklawaha River, on an airboat with the state Department of Environmental Protection. Above is a slideshow of what we saw.

Living Along the Ocklawaha

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Captain Erika Ritter gives tours along the Ocklawaha River on a pontoon boat, in large part because of her unique attachment to the river. She grew up along it, and it was as she was growing up that the Cross-Florida Barge Canal was planned and partly constructed. It was ultimately stopped, in – as she put it – her front yard. She reflects here on what it was like growing up along the river, and in the midst of such a major project.

A Tour of the Ocklawaha River

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  • IMG_1964
  • Ocklawaha2
  • Ocklawaha1
  • Ocklawaha3
  • Ocklawaha4
  • Ocklawaha5
  • Ocklawaha6
  • Ocklawaha7
  • Ocklawaha8
  • Ocklawaha10
  • Ocklawaha11
  • Ocklawaha12
  • Ocklawaha13

As part of our project, we went on a tour of the Ocklawaha River with Captain Erika Ritter. Captain Erika gives tours of the river on a pontoon boats. Above is a slideshow of what we saw.