quakin' in Richmond

What an interesting day.  Hmmm where to begin??  First of all we survived the 5.9 EARTHQUAKE!!!  I'll start the story there.  I met up with another blogger friend today for the first time.  She was showing me all over Richmond and we had just finished lunch and decided to get some yogurt. 





We are sitting there gabbing and all of a sudden I felt this vibration, almost like we were sitting by a subway train or something, you could hear it too.  It kept getting stronger and stronger and I looked at my new friend and I was like can you feel that??  By this time the back of my legs were tingling from the vibration and the walls were shaking...glasses tinging together.  I looked across the street and I could see the glass on the building reflecting light from moving.  We immediately got up and ushered the kids outside to see everyone else on the sidewalk in kind of a daze.  It was the weirdest feeling.  Above the commotion I'm like UH NO ONE TOLD ME YOU HAD EARTHQUAKES HERE!!!;)



It was exciting and crazy and too weird for words really.  I tried calling Honey, but all the phone lines were jammed up.  He worked from home today and was taking Fergie for a walk when it happened.  He said it was like a gust of wind went through.  Strange.  Everyone came out of their houses and just looked confused. (That's one way to get them to come outside...ha!)  I'm just thankful it wasn't damaging or harmful to anyone.  I remember when all the devastation happened in Japan.  I was glued to my computer watching videos of the earthquake and now I know on a small scale how that felt.  Surreal. 

Okay so enough earthquake talk.  Maureen showed me the art scene a bit and took me to the Visual Arts Center of Richmond.  Uh can you say right up my alley:)

Rooms filled with every kind of creative medium you can find.  They hold side by side (adult with kids) classes in the winter that are FREE!  Eureka:) 

She took me to Maymont Park too.  It's a beautiful property that used to be owned by an affluent family and they donated it to the city.  It was amazing.  Japanese gardens, bamboo forests, huge climbing trees, koi ponds etc...  None of my pictures did it justice.  So I'll wait and show that to you another time.  I was a really neat place to visit.

Before she dropped us off we went to her home and she showed us all her critters.  She lives on a beautiful piece of land with a lake and room for all of her sweet animals to roam.  It was weird to just walk around with these animals right out there in the field.  Inside the fence...just right by them.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the day.  This lady is fascinating on so many levels.  We are completely opposite...she's been in the Air Force and teaches a class at the VCU on Homeland Security.  She's traveled the world and experienced so many different cultures.  She's ran ultra-marathons (50 miles) and is a BEEKEEPER for heaven's sake!  I mean could we be any different??  But yet despite the differences I kept thinking how much fun I was having in her company.  Conversation was easy and she was interesting.  I guess that's what I'm learning so far in my experiences in Richmond.  I'm moving outside my box.  I'm not playing it quite as safe anymore.  Everything is new and exciting.  The ground is quakin' a bit and it's a good thing. 

Have a blessed day.

34.  provision and protection from the quake
35.  a new friend
36.  pizza that made my eyes roll back in my head.
37.  excitement about the future.
38.  hearing embarrassing stories that made me laugh so hard.
39.  worried friends and family that make me feel so loved and cared for.