When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
The great pandemic of 2020 is quite a big,
juicy lemon. Baking artisan bread, sorting out sock drawers, and/or binging on
Netflix are a few of the many ways folks around the world
are making lemonade.
My husband I took to the local parks.
Last March, one week into lockdown, we came
up with the parks idea. Parks are places where we could enjoy the outdoors
while being socially distant. Parks offer oases from civilization, even when
civilization is mere steps away. Richmond, Virginia abounds in parks.
We were familiar with a few of the parks
that dot the Richmond landscape, but most were new to us. Fortunately, all have
remained open since March. Bonus: parks generate lots of writing ideas. The
mystery writer in me sees crime scenes everywhere!
Here are the parks we’ve visited over the
past eight months (except for the hot, steamy summer when we took a break):
Mid-Lothian Mines Park is a preserve where we learned about the earliest coal mining in America. Trails wind through beautiful woodlands and past the cut stone ruins of the mines. A short walk through a tunnel leads to a lake with more walking trails.
In
the picture, I pose in front of the ruins of the Grove Shaft.
Forest Hill Park, listed in Virginia's Historic Register, has been a quarry, an estate, and an amusement park! Walking around the park’s lake and climbing the pictured stone staircase invigorated, to say the least. I love outdoor staircases, a remnant from my years in Los Angeles.
The rustic Larus Park is a gem. We took a 2-mile hike through a rolling forest landscape with streams and many species of trees. The park is family and dog friendly and offers lots of different trails to explore. Small creatures abound. Despite being a mere mile and a half from home, neither of us had ever stepped foot in Larus Park.
Deep Run Park: hands down our favorite spot. Peaceful and beautiful with two ponds, walking and biking trails, and picnic pavilions. Many enjoy fishing and waterfowl-watching. Seeing people out and about, relaxing and enjoying themselves, reminded me of Europe and somewhat satisfied the longing to travel—a longing that we need to put off for now.
Bryan Park’s history dates back to the 19th century, making it one of Richmond’s oldest parks. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was the site of Gabriel's Rebellion, a planned slavery insurrection. This sprawling park attracts visitors out for a scenic Sunday drive. The stone gateway entrance is impressive.
Unlike most of the parks on our tour, Glen
and I have visited Bryan Park many times. We’d hoped to see the place ablaze
with azaleas in April and were disappointed to find only a smattering of the
blooms. Bryan Park is a picturesque spot, but it runs along Interstate 95, disturbing
the peace.
Maymont Park is a Victorian estate and public park. It features Maymont Mansion, an arboretum, formal gardens, native wildlife exhibits, a nature center, and Children's Farm.
With Maymont’s open spaces, rolling hills,
and natural beauty, you'd never guess you were in the middle of the city. Lots
of trees are twisted into abstract shapes. Most of the animals are hidden from
public view (animals social distance as well).
Tuckahoe Creek Park is quiet, desolate, and other-worldly, but close to civilization. The turtles came out in force to entertain. It’s a marshland, so we didn’t get in much walking.
Besides walking
through parks, I bake (not artisan bread, though), read, watch movies and
shows, and participate in a LOT of webinars on Zoom. If anyone knows how to
look decent on Zoom, please let me know! Alas, my sock drawers, and other
drawers, remain in disarray. I try to write, but, like many writers, I find
myself pandemic-challenged. I have three short stories coming out in the next
year, and I’m looking forward to presenting them to the world.
Through it all, I
don’t forget that I’m one of the lucky ones. The pandemic hasn’t impacted my
life to a great degree, but I’m well aware that it’s been devastating for many.
I pray that they will find the help and comfort they need.
Stay safe, everyone.
Visit us in Virginia once the pandemic ends. Put our parks on your agenda.
And keep making
lemonade!
***
I’m giving away 2 e-copies of Murder at the Moonshine Inn. Please
comment for a chance to win and leave contact info. Thanks for stopping by.
***
Maggie King is the author of the Hazel Rose Book Group mysteries, including Murder at the Book Group and Murder at the Moonshine Inn. Her short stories appear in Virginia is for Mysteries, 50 Shades of Cabernet, and Deadly Southern Charm.
Maggie is a founding
member of Sisters
in Crime Central Virginia, where she manages the chapter’s Instagram account.
Maggie graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in
Business Administration, and has worked as a software developer and a retail
sales manager. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband, Glen, and two
mischievous cats.
Website (sign up for my newsletter): http://www.maggieking.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaggieKingAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaggieKingAuthr
Beautiful! We have many local parks in our area too, and my family and I have taken advantage of many of them. We even took a waterfall tour. Stay safe and healthy!
ReplyDeleteJennifer, a waterfall tour sounds wonderful, especially in high temps.
DeleteWhat a wonderful idea to hang out in beautiful Virginia Parks. A good way to be safe while not tied down and you get to experience so many fabulous parks. I'm not commenting to win anything. It was just nice to see you from the past days when Novel Spaces Blogspot was still active and we had regularly scheduled posts there. This one, on 50 Authors from 50 States, is so refreshing since you found a way to, like you said, make lemonade out of the lemons life is bringing so many of us. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLinda, nice to see you, too. NovelSpaces was a great blog and I’m proud of my association with it. Stay safe.
DeleteI love most all Victorian mansions, even put one in one of my novels. I also like outdoor staircases. As younger people a lifetime ago, we used to ride our bikes down long staircases wherever we could find them. Does that conjure a lot of skinned elbows and knees? And then, walking around our many lakes here in Scottsdale, AZ is something we did also. Usually our lakes offer parks dotted here and there but nothing as interesting as what you shows us here.Mostly golf courses line the lanes and parks. This has been a wonderful tour of your area. It shows how to be creative in any situation.
ReplyDeleteMary, thanks for commenting. The good old USA a offers much beauty. I hope we can soon enjoy more of it. In the meantime, let’s enjoy what we have close by.
DeleteBeautiful pictures. Virginia is a beautiful state. I love the Shenandoah Valley. It's one of my favorite places in the world.
ReplyDeleteCara, I agree. the Shenandoah Valley is a fabulous place.
DeleteThanks for this opportunity to share the beauty of my city.
ReplyDeleteWhen our 3rd son was doing his masters work in Geology at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, we moved him down there, then camped for a few days. We usually only camp in the Midwest, since we live in IL. We enjoyed the state campgrounds we were at, and he spent a couple of nights with us, setting up his tent on our campsite. We did find it amusing that every time we were on small country backroads, we had to be sure to keep an eye peeled for dogs lying in the middle of the road. It became a family joke--whenever we're on back roads now, if there are lots of twists and turns, we warn each other to watch out for the "dawg" in the middle of the road.
ReplyDelete