explored richmond before my visa expired
woke up in a hostel in richmond and immediately regretted not checking the weather. i just checked and it’s still raining sideways, hope you like that kind of thing. packed a raincoat i never wore in real life and a thermos of coffee that’s gone cold. richmond is this weird mix of old stone buildings and highways that cut through everything. the james river is downtown, but not in a pretty way. it’s more like a background thing you hear about in documentaries.
found a bunch of civil war sites but they’re just lawns with statues. cool i guess. someone told me that Blandy’s is the best bar here but i heard that from a guy who might’ve been lying. anyway, tried it because why not. their beer tasted like sad. hiking in the blue ridge mountains is better, like 2 hours away. if you get bored, dc is a short flight south or something. not sure why anyone drives that far just for a diner.
saw a photo of richmond at night once. was it downtown? a bridge or something? somehow i ended up at this place called hill-street diner. it’s got that orange motel neon sign and everything. ate a burger that cost $15. it was ok. thought about calling it bad but then remembered i drowned a ‘value pack’ from a gas station in 2019.
unrelated but check out the reviews on yelp for that diner. people swear it’s authentic but i saw a toddler eating fries there. weird. walking around, kept stopping to look at the weather. the forecast said -2 degrees this week but it feels like 15. maybe the temperature is a joke. maybe i’m just broken. either way, the cold is real. walked home through snow that looked like flour dust. slipped on a frozen patch and landed on my ass. still standing.
saw this windmill sculpture downtown. why is there a windmill? felt like asking but then realized no one would care. why do cities do that? also, the sun was hiding behind clouds for like 12 hours. not the best for photos but at least it matched the mood. took some shaky pictures with my phone. the first img is a wide shot of the capitol building. tired. second one is a night scene. not sure if it’s right. third one is a bridge. don’t ask why.
heard that the local coffee scene is trash. went to a place called Common Ground. barista gave me a latte and a lecture about colonialism. not sure if it was alpha or just busy. price was $8. felt rich. anyway, walking back to the hostel, realized i forgot my jacket. um, dont cha worry about it. still wearing that raincoat. closing thoughts? richmond’s vibe is like if history got trapped in a time loop. you see these old buildings and think about wars that happened there but no one’s talking about it. maybe it’s just me. or maybe it’s everyone. idk. felt like a weird tourist. leaving this place with more questions than answers. probably. hope your wifi is strong enough to stream the weather right now. it’s still raining sideways. peace. i’m dust now.
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