Bottoms Up, Monument Ave, and Maymont Park

It’s our first full day in Richmond and there is soooo much here to do! Kelly let me sleep in because I was just exhausted, and Emma had a playdate, so we didn’t set out until 11:30. After we dropped her off we headed downtown and ended up at Bottom’s Up Pizza. We all know how much I love pizza, so this was the perfect first stop! Here is the Bottom’s Up Pizza Story… www.bottomsuppizza.com

“Dirk Graham has always been a fan of pizza. During the 1980s, Dirk traveled around the city of Richmond and surrounding areas in hopes of finding a great pizza. Frustrated by his search, Dirk turned to his friend, Fabian Botto, a restauranteur, who was known for his quality cuisine. Fabian soon became Dirk’s mentor and taught him the secrets to making his specialty crust and sauces.

In 1990, Dirk and his partner, Coalter Turpin, used those secrets to open a small pizza shop in historic Richmond. Word spread quickly about the delicious crust that takes over 12 hours to prepare. With a strong customer loyalty, the restaurant quickly outgrew its original location. In 1992, the pizza shop grew into a full-service family restaurant now known as the famous Richmond favorite, Bottoms Up Pizza. Dirk’s vision became true. Voted “Best Pizza” in Richmond year after year.”

Oh yum!!! I am in heaven!!!

Oh Matty bear…was it hot!

All around downtown there are buildings painted with beautiful graffiti…of course we had to stop for photos!

Monument Avenue. It is known to be a premier example of the Grand American Avenue city planning style. The first monument, a statue of Robert E. Lee was erected in 1890. Between 1900 and 1925, Monument Avenue exploded with architecturally significant houses, churches and apartment buildings. A tree-lined grassy mall divides the east and west-bound sides of the street and is punctuated by statues memorializing Virginian Confederate participants of the Civil War Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, Jefferson Davis, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and two additional Richmond natives “Father of the Seas” Matthew Fontaine Maury, and Arthur Ashe, an international tennis star.

After the drive we promised the little ones that we would take them to a park, so off we went of Maymont Park. Now, you may think that we are crazy to venture out in this heat, but it is what it is and the entire area is under this summer heat wave. We wanted them to be able to run and play….

www.maymont.org

Maymont is a 100 acre Victorian estate and it contains Maymont Mansion, now a historic house museum, an arboretum, formal gardens, a carriage collection, native wildlife exhibits, a nature center, and a petting zoo known as “The Maymont Children’s Farm”.

In 1893, Major James H. Dooley, a wealthy Richmond lawyer and philanthropist, and his wife, Sallie, completed their elaborate Gilded Age estate on a site high above the James River. According to their wishes, after their deaths Maymont was left to the people of Richmond. Over the next 75 years, additional attractions were added.

We ended up parking on the opposite side of the property from the children’s farm, but we figured after eating all of that pizza the walk would do us good. The walk was pretty close to a mile and when we finally get there all of the animals were missing! Due to the heat they were brought inside. The kids saw four animals: a horse, a grey fox, deer, and an elk.

The grey fox is down in the middle…

The walk back was brutal. The kids were real troopers, but the heat even got to me. Near the entrance where we came in was one water fountain and a few garden fountains. There were plenty of signs that said don’t pick the flowers, but none that said stay out of the water! It was just to hot to tell them no.

Instead of heading back to the car, we continued down the path and hit the jackpot….a waterfall!!!

We finally wandered back to the car, here I am all beat red from the sun. We stopped at Sonic for cherry limeades and took the kids home to play in the pool. Great first day!!!!