Petersburg

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A Day in Richmond, VA, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (and Amuse Restaurant)

Ooh, it’s been a long day and it’s not over yet. I’m at a Starbucks somewhere in Virginia, maybe Hopewell. I’ve got some pictures at the bottom of this post.

A nasty couple of leg cramps during the night meant that my early start today was on about an hour of sleep. Gah. I headed north out of Petersburg, stopped for breakfast, and then pointed the car towards Richmond for my appointment.

Minutes after leaving the Starbucks where I posted this morning, the phone rang. I was shocked that it was my adjuster at Aviva; it was 7:30 in Vancouver! She confirmed that they will be filing a claim with the moron’s insurance company to cover the repairs, my deductible, and the tow bill. The repairs are coming in at $5,600… HOLY MOLY.

She, of course, couldn’t resist chastising me again for continuing without having a thorough inspection made of the rig. I maintain that discovering the damage during an inspection is a big what if. One of the guys at the salvage yard in West Virginia actually got under the rig with me and said that there was no visible damage. Who’s to say that an inspector would have even thought to look for a weak axle? I maintain that the moron’s insurance company got off lucky because I would have put them on the hook for kennel fees, a rental car, a hotel, and three square meals a day, minimum, to salvage my vacation had I been stuck in West Virginia.

I asked her how long I can have a hotel room (thinking that I might need it again Monday) and she said that as long as I’m within the prescribed limits, it can be until Miranda is road ready. She was concerned that I’m staying at home this weekend, saying that if I cause extra damage to the axle by living in the rig, the extra repairs won’t be covered. *shakes head and reminds herself that not everyone RVs*

Anyway, she gets points for calling me early! 😀

By the time I hung up with her, it was about 10:50. I couldn’t believe I was now concerned about being late for my appointment! I knew I had plenty of time to get to the address, but was worried about parking. The options got more dismal the closer I got to Capitol Mac, so I was relieved to find a spot right across from the store. I popped in, handed over my computer, and was out of there in less than 10 minutes. I guessed, correctly, that I’d need to charge the new battery, which justifies ending the day at another Starbucks.

From Capitol Mac, it was just a couple of blocks to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia’s answer to New York’s Met. Now, nothing compares to the Met, but this was a fine museum and the perfect place to kill several hours. Best of all, it’s free! I had fun leisurely roaming through the exhibits, which cover the span of human history. I did pretty much skip over the modern stuff, however.

Many of the reviews I read said that lunch at the Amuse restaurant on the top level is a must. I was leery about eating at a museum, figuring the prices would be astronomical, but a couple of reviews claimed the prices were reasonable. I decided to give it a shot. I got a nice table on the balcony and glanced through the menu, relieved to find that just about everything was $15 or less. The offerings are very fancy/gourmet.

The first thing that caught my eye was a tuna tartar, but I already had raw tuna this week, so I kept looking. Ooh, crab cakes with a horse radish sauce and fingerling potatoes! And then I came to seafood chorizo. Hmm. Now, that sounded different. I decided to try it out. While I waited for my food, I was brought a hunk of delicious herb bread.

A picture of my lunch is below. As I said to the server, “There are no words to convey how delicious this is.” The seafood chorizo was, of course, a sausage, thickly sliced and deliciously caramelized. It smelled strongly of the sea, but the taste was much more mild and quite sweet. The sausage was served with cubed and herbed Yukon Gold potatoes. Finally, there was a slaw made of julienned apples, red onion, radish, and fennel, topped with Parmesan shavings. I’ve always avoided fennel since I don’t like licorice, but it turns out that the plant is completely inoffensive, offering a bit of bite with a lot of crunch and not that much licorice flavour. All for $14.

I’d had my fill of the VMOFA by about 2:30. I decided to find a mall since I needed an outfit to wear to the party next Saturday. I picked the first one my GPS listed, drove all the way there, and discovered it had been razed. This is when I remembered that my phone has internet so I Googled ‘Richmond Mall’ and got a hit for the Regency. My GPS got me there without incident.

In Canada, I would have headed for a Reitmans, but I didn’t know what stores in the US would have clothes in my price range. So I was happy to see a JC Penney at the mall; it was the perfect place to start looking. I wound up finding a ton of things I liked, so there was no need to go anywhere else. I spent about an hour putting together an outfit then headed to the Payless next door for some dressy sandals. I wandered through the mall for a bit, but was quickly reaching burnout so I returned to the car.

I asked the GPS to take me to the nearest movie theatre, but when I arrived at the location, there was no cinema. I’d just about had enough, so I decided to drive by home and see if Miranda was level. It was only 5:00, so I was actually a little relieved to see that she was still tilted. This gave me the impression that perhaps work wasn’t done for the day. I decided to try the movie theatre idea again. The GPS took me here, where the cinema has been shut down for some time. *sighs* At least, there was a Starbucks right there.

$5,600 worth of damage

$5,600 worth of damage

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

now, this was interesting: that lady is sculpting a statue that is part of a series, one of which is at the Mariners' Museum in Newport (the one where I thought the men were wrestling a penguin)

now, this was interesting: that lady is sculpting a statue that is part of a series, one of which is at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport (the one where I thought the men were wrestling a penguin)

I just wanted to hug this little fellow; notice that his tongue is sticking out

I just wanted to hug this little fellow; notice that his tongue is sticking out

hilarious!

hilarious!

lovely view (which I would revisit at lunch)

lovely view (which I would revisit at lunch)

this image of a futuristic Marine World (with all the animals being deformed) was rather disturbing!

this image of a futuristic Marine World (with all the animals being deformed) was rather disturbing!

"An Athenian woman asks a Spartan woman, Why are you the only women to rule your men? In which the Spartan woman replies, Beause we are the only women who give birth to men."

“An Athenian woman asks a Spartan woman, Why are you the only women to rule your men? In which the Spartan woman replies, Beause we are the only women who give birth to men.”

these are more than more than 2,300 years old!

these are more than more than 2,300 years old!

more than 2,300 year old jewelry!

more than 2,300 year old jewelry!

this impressive sarcophagus was on loan from the Met!

this impressive sarcophagus was on loan from the Met!

statues like these could stand in for the person if the mummy was damaged

statues like these could stand in for the person if the mummy was damaged

deliciousness

deliciousness

a view is always good for digestion

a view is always good for digestion

I don't like the Art Deco style, but now I understand it. This clock is based on an Egyptian head dress!

I don’t like the Art Deco style, but now I understand it. This clock is based on an Egyptian head dress!

that window is the next best thing to a view!

that window is the next best thing to a view!

I was impressed that I could spot the Monet among the imitators

I was impressed that I could spot the Monet among the imitators

I adore Tiffany lamps

I adore Tiffany lamps

love the dragonflies

love the dragonflies

I'd never seen this Van Gogh, but recognized his work immediately

I’d never seen this Van Gogh, but recognized his work immediately

unmistakably a Renoir

unmistakably a Renoir

I was impressed that I could recognize a Matisse

I was impressed that I could recognize a Matisse

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Killing Time

I am at a Starbucks in Mechanicsville, VA. Let me pause for just a minute to say that I have always loved the name of this town; it sounds like a Fisher-Price little people play set. 🙂

I had breakfast at the Cracker Barrel next door, my first and most definitely not last time having breakfast at that chain. Since I don’t eat eggs, I usually end up ordering pancakes for breakfast. By the time I add on some protein and a tip, breakfast comes in around $13, and I always end up throwing away half the pancakes. At Cracker Barrel, I was able to order their hash brown casserole and turkey sausage side combo by itself, which made for a reasonably portioned and very tasty breakkie with a good balance of carbs and protein. Their coffee was really good, too! The tab was $6 and I added a $2 tip.

I’ll be heading into Richmond shortly to have the laptop battery replaced. I found the perfect place to spend the afternoon and hope that it’s as great as the reviewers claim. As a hint, it’s considered Virginia’s answer to the Met. That’s a major promise and I’m curious to see if the comparison is accurate.

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I Hope My Victory Dance Isn’t Going to Shoot Me in the Foot

The mechanic just came by, appalled by the fact that I’m home and my rig isn’t level, sure that I had said I’d be back tomorrow. I told him it’s fine. Since they’re doing the welding in the morning, it’s not worth getting a truck out to relevel me to sleep. They will make sure I’m level for the weekend. I appreciated the concern for my fridge. If two days off kilter is going to kill it, I’m not sure I want to know. 😀

The work should be done by Monday afternoon and I can hit the road on Tuesday. What I’d like on the Monday is to take Miranda out for fuel and propane so I can make sure she’s running smoothly and I can focus on getting through Richmond on Tuesday.

He said that the appraiser came and looked at the damage and will be back with a cheque. Yes, the appraiser is 100% convinced that the damage was caused by the accident. A lot of whooping has ensued (all my windows are open and there are people outside, so I’m a little embarrassed, but anyway). The adjuster still needs to sign off, but, come on, she’s not going to go against the appraiser, is she?

Now, I just need to confirm if I will need to pay my deductible (which would be reimbursed) and the towing fee (which I would fight). I’m probably celebrating a little too early, but I know I will sleep more easily tonight!

I am really irked that my adjuster at Aviva knew about this yesterday, did not let me know, and was unreachable today. The appraiser has also complained about how hard she is to reach. She knows I’m on a time crunch and have been stressed about this. So I am rather less than impressed with her tonight.

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Home Not So Level Home

I just got home to find Miranda tilted. I’d been told she would be dropped back down level in the evening so I could be comfortable. I guess they weren’t expecting me. I’ll be fine for tonight; the tilt is in the right direction for me to sleep comfortably. My cats are fine. Tabitha is mad at me, but Neelix is really happy that I’m home.

When I made my appointment in Richmond at 11:00 tomorrow morning, it was with the idea that I’d have nearly two hours to drive to get there. Now, I only have about 45 minutes. I’ll need to leave here early and will have to kill some time. I’ll probably just go grab a quick breakfast then park myself at a Starbucks for a bit. I’m sure I could move the appointment up, but that would mean being done more quickly and I’d still have the rest of the day to kill. I’m off to research Richmond attractions so I can find something to do to kill the afternoon.

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I Hate Driving an Automatic Car!

I’ve been tooling around in the rental car for a several days now. It’s a four-door Accent. It doesn’t have the rear wiper blade and power doors and windows, but it’s still very comparable to my poor toad. But driving it is another matter. I experienced the same thing in California in 2007 when I rented the same type of Accent.

First off, what happened to fuel efficiency?! When I got the rental car, it had a quarter tank of fuel. With my Accent, I could drive about 150km on that quarter tank before the gas light would come on, and then I’d be able to do another 30 to 60km without running out. I took the Accent home from Enterprise (about 10KM) then drove it to the hotel (about 85KM). About 10KM out from the hotel, so I’d driven 85KM on that quarter tank of fuel, the gas light came on! I put in half a tank of fuel. In my Accent, I could do 300 to 400KM on that half tank, depending on if I was driving in the city or on the highway. With the automatic Accent, I did just over 200KM and the gas light came on. That’s insane! BTW, that comes out to a fuel efficiency of 24MPG with the automatic Accent, while my manual got 30 to 40.

The automatic Accent doesn’t drive smoothly, something that I’ve experienced with all the automatic vehicles I’ve driven, including Miranda. The transmission just isn’t as smart as is a human in knowing when to shift gears. It is so frustrating to know that I should be in a lower or higher gear, but the transmission refuses to shift, resulting in an unnecessary loss of speed or an inability to slow down, both of which can be dangerous. With this Accent, whenever it’s thinking about changing gears, I literally feel it pull back and then push forward as it tries to decide what it’s going to do. It’s really annoying.

I also hate having to keep my eyes glued to the speedometer because there is no other way of knowing how fast I’m going. In a manual car, until 5th gear, I always have a maximum speed I can reach, so it makes it very easy not to speed. Stuck in a 25MPH zone? Stick to 2nd gear. 45MPH? Don’t shift into 5th. This Accent is so quiet that I have hit 70MPH in a 55MPH zone without intending to.

Which brings to braking. With a manual, I just downshift until I coast to a stop. With the automatic, I have to relearn braking distance and have had quite a few sudden stops because I misgauged my speed and distance from the stop sign or red light. This is the only thing I will admit is DUE (dumb user error) and I know braking would become second nature once I got used to driving an automatic car again. Which I hope happens when pigs fly, the moon turns to cheese, and hens get teeth.

My first car, a 1992 Honda Civic, was an automatic and really didn’t enjoy driving it. I only bought it because it’s what was available in my price range from a trusted source at the time. There was no question my next car would be a manual. When I went for the test drive on my 2004 Accent, I hadn’t driven stick in about six years, but the salesman said he would never have guessed that. This is because I learned how to drive stick. I never learned how to drive automatic. And, frankly, beyond what I need to operate Miranda safely, that’s not a skill I would care to master.

It’s going to be interesting to hear all you automatic fans chime in and tell me what a dolt I am (in kinder words, of course *g*). But do I have any other readers who prefer to drive a manual?