A day at the races

Richmond was lovely. Lovely, lovely. Last year we stayed out in the 'burbs and it was cold and gray, so I don't remember loving it so much. Saturday gave us sun and 68 degrees! It was great for spectators, probably not so great for runners. Dave and Diane (Robbie's parents) were happy with the sun, because even though Robbie and I have been rejoicing that the weather has been in the 60s, it's still a bit chilly for the Tucson-dwellers.

Anyway, we had a tasty carb-loading experience at Bacchus the night before, we drove up and down Monument Avenue and guessed how much the gorgeous houses were selling for (we confirmed our guesses with Robbie's Zillow app), and we stayed in a cute inn (which I just found out is haunted?) that was really close to the start and finish line. The lady that ran the breakfast room was pretty sassy and awesome—her name was (I kid you not) LaToya Allspice. Welcome to the Souf.

We had a lot of time to kill between the time we finished breakfast and the time Robbie was aiming to finish, so we just walked along the race route, cheering for the runners and enjoying the weather. And enjoying the cowbell lady:

She was great. She had something nice to say about everybody. "1182, keep it up! 1273, you're almost there! 804, you are looking GOOD!" Conclusion: I am buying a cowbell for my next race.

 

Diane loved the fall colors.

Oh hey, marathon winner, coming in at a cool two hours and twenty minutes. (Which is considered slow. Geez, people.)

Robbie!

Isn't Robbie cute? I won't be mad if you tell me that you think he is. Especially with his hair in that first picture.

The front of the inn—it used to be ten residences.

The view from one of the many porches! One thing I love about Southern living is the abundance of porches. Sigh.

More porch in the cute courtyard.

And a porch is no good unless you have a rocking chair to enjoy it. They had every angle covered.

Before Robbie took his ice bath. He said it felt good. (I don't believe him.)

Robbie's parents and I were standing on the same corner for so long that one of the race organizers came up to us and said, "You've been standing here for a really long time and cheering! Here are some race pins." Thanks, race organizer.

The ride home was gorgeous too. Diane can tell you all about it—she had her camera out for the whole two-hour drive and left no tree unphotographed. (Not an exaggeration.)

It was a great trip. We live by so many cool places that I'm glad we get to take breaks like this from time to time. AND we ran into friends from our old ward (who also ran last year), and my lovely friend Danielle (who was cheering on her boyfriend). Richmond brings everyone together.