My Very First Trip Report - Richmond 8/5-8/7
 

I am a frequent lurker and infrequent poster on this website. DH and I traveled to Richmond this past weekend for a wedding so I thought I would write a quick trip report to get my feet wet...
First of all, after much debate, we decided to fly to Richmond rather than drive, which turned out to be a really good decision (more on that later). We flew US Air from LaGuardia on Friday at 3:30. Our flight was delayed one hour, I guess due to some weather issues elsewhere. The flight was fine but the plane was SMALL...I haven't had to walk out onto the tarmac to board a plane in a long time. One side of the plane had a single seat and the other side had two seats...lots of people couldn't even stand up straight since the ceiling was so low - it was a good thing that we are short because it wasn't a problem for us :) and we had plenty of room once in the seats. We landed in Richmond, collected our bags and headed to Hertz to get the car. There was a lot of construction going on in the Richmond airport and everything seemed to be in a temporary location (baggage claim, car rental, etc.) but it was fine. We rented a Mustang (don't ask, DH insisted) from Hertz and the agent (unprompted) gave us several discounts so that was nice and we ended up saving about $30. We got directions and drove about 15 minutes to the Omni hotel. The highways and streets are clearly marked so we had no problems getting around.

I haven't been to Richmond in years -- always driven around it on the 295 by-pass. Where did you go and what did you do besides the wedding? ((b))

We checked into the Omni and headed up to our room on the 14th floor. The room was a good size with a king size bed, two chairs and a table and a desk. The bathroom was also large but looked like it could use some updating. Everything was clean but there was a lot of rust in the drain area, etc. But, for $109/night it was great. The lobby and common areas of the hotel are beautiful and the huge birdcage with parakeets (?) in the lobby was cute.
We changed and went out to get some dinner. The hotel's location is really fantastic. It's on the corner of S. 12th Street and Cary Street...there are a lot of bars and restaurants on Cary Street, and we walked down a few block to check everything out. After walking on the cobblestone streets for a while I realized that wearing heels was probably a bad idea so we headed into the Tobacco Company to have dinner.
The Tobacco Company has a really cool interior, it is three stories high with sort of balcony seating on the second and third floors that looks down to the bar area below, with tons of hanging plants and stuff. The food, however, was just OK. We had crab croquettes and smoked salmon appetizers which were good. But the main courses, crab stuffed sole for me and ribeye for DH were not great. DH's steak was seriously overcooked. We skipped dessert and decided to go down to the bar to have a few drinks. The bar area is great and we sat on some stools in front of the big windows in the front and people watched for a few hours. It was fun and everyone that we met was really friendly. We also ran into a few people from the wedding, who had driven down from NY. It took them anywhere from 9 to 10.5 hours to drive (should be about 7.5 hours) so we were really glad that we spent the extra money and flew down!

We woke up Saturday morning and decided to have breakfast at the hotel. The hotel is attached to the James Center and there is a huge atrium between the two where the breakfast area is set up. We opted for the buffet at $10.25 per person and were not disappointed. There was an omelet station, belgian waffles and all the other standard stuff you expect. We went back upstairs, showered and headed to my aunt's house on the outskirts of Richmond. She is recovering from a stroke and I haven't seen her since it happened so it was a really nice visit. On the way back, we drove through Richmond a little bit trying to get a feel for the area. We were both surprised at how rundown much of Richmond was, and there were definitely some areas where I would not feel safe walking around at night...but it did look like a lot of revitalization/gentrification was going on, buildings being turned into luxury condos, loft space, etc. We were discussing that now would be a great time to buy some real estate, especially riverfront, since so much development appeared to be going on.
Anyway, we went back to the hotel got ready for the wedding which was at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, a beautiful old church with a lot of Civil War-era history, so that was interesting. We took a taxi to the reception at the Willow Oaks Country Club. The clubhouse was really nice and the outdoor patio overlooked the beautiful golf course. While there was thunder and lightening for much of the reception, it never actually rained so we lucked out.
After the reception, about 20 of us went back to the Tobacco Company (pretty much out of convenience, since we were all staying right across the street at the Omni). We partied until about 2 am and had a great time. We ordered some chicken fingers and french fries late night which were surprisingly excellent - although the booze may have had something to do with how great I thought it was ;). It was nice to catch up with my friends from law school.
We had planned to go to the Third Street Diner Sunday morning on my aunt and uncle's recommendation, but since we stayed out so late we didn't get up in time. We checked out of the hotel and drove back to the airport, dropped off the rental car, breezed through check-in and security and had a lot of time to kill before our 2:25 flight. We decided to get some lunch and were really disappointed with the selection (or lack thereof) of dining choices in the airport. I'm assuming, though, that with all of the construction going on that they will be adding some options. On a security guard's recommendation, we ate lunch at the BBQ place (sorry, can't remember the name but it's the only BBQ place there). I had a hamburger and DH had a grilled chicken sandwich, both of which were good. Our flight took off on time and after 50 minutes in the air we arrived home at LaGuardia.
Obviously, we were only in Richmond for the weekend and much of it was taken up by the wedding. However, now that we know how easy it is to get there, we are planning to return and really sightsee (like actually going into places such as the capitol building, etc. instead of just driving by. We are both sort of history buffs too, so I know there is a lot of interesting stuff to see, both in and outside of Richmond.
Thanks for reading and hopefully my next trip report will be more interesting!

Glad you had fun in Richmond!! I am a resident in a nearby suburb.
Richmond airport is small and we fly those little planes everywhere to the nearest hub where we can get on with our trip. It is nice to come home to our little town though.
How was the wedding itself and where was it located?

I love the Omni, the Tobacco Company, and the Shockoe Slip/Shockoe Bottom area!

I got upgraded to a corner suite at that Omni and it was divine!

Looks like our posts got crossed...if you have any questions please ask!

I can't imagine Richmond gets many tourists other than people visiting friends or family (like Raleigh). Not a bad place, but not one many would go out of the way for.

carolyn, the Shockoe Bottom was severely flooded by one of the hurricanes last year which may have something to do with the construction.

Really enjoyed your trip report, carolyn! Thanks for taking the time to post it. I'm a fan of the Omni too.

Raleigh_NC, I'm not sure what the point of your post was. Answering Budman maybe? It's not exactly an international destination, but Richmond has a lot to offer anyone interested in early American or Civil War history.

The Berkeley (sp?) Hotel and The Jefferson are also nice places to stay. Richbrau Brewery is a cool spot for drinks/food. I agree with Carolyn that The Tobacco Co. has great atmosphere, but the food is so-so. I live 30min. outside of Richmond, so we go for dinner. Great report!

Also, Carolyn, I just got back from NY and we flew out of La Guardia. Yes, the planes are small.

Richmond is trying very hard to build up its tourist trade, and count me as another who has been quite pleased with my few visits there ... I spend most of my VA time in Williamsburg.

I like those little "puddlejumper" flights, which were running only $79 r/t a few years ago. If you want something larger, look into Airtran from LGA to Newport News; it's only a little more than an hour to Richmond from there. I've been seeing specials from EWR to RIC too for as low as $68 r/t (+taxes) just within a month but with recent oil price increases they may be history now.

Great report!

Glad you had a good time! That horrendous thunderstorm Saturday evening knocked out our power east of town until the next morning! Some other things to do if you come vack to visit: Richmond has Museum of Confederacy, White House of Confederacy next door, and Tredegar Iron Works by the river is Civil War visitor center. The James River runs right through town and you can go rafting & fishing. Belle Isle has terrific mountain biking trails. The historic capitol building is undergoing MAJOR renovation and all the statues, artwork are temporarily housed at the State Library on Broad and Ninth streets. Those big holes you saw on Broad Street are for a performing arts center (eventually). Poe Museum (Edgar Allen), Maymont Park, Science Museum, Museum of Fine Arts has extensive Faberge egg collection (thanks to a generous donor who bought them in the 20s and 30s from deposed Russian royalty and kept them in a box under her bed - HONEST!) And don't forget - NASCAR!

I also wouldn't compare Raleigh to Richmond. Very similar cities in some ways, yes, but I feel that Richmond has many more sights of more than local interest. It is also a great starting point for exploring other areas of Virginia - Williamsburg, Petersburg, Fredericksburg, etc. I have been up there several times for short trips because of my interest in history. I have noticed over the 10 years or so that I have been going up that way that the city seems to be improving a lot.

Glad everyone enjoyed the trip report! As far as the flight, the days of $79 r/t are long gone...we paid $200 for each r/t ticket. But the convenience is great. Anyway, I agree that Richmond is a good starting place or "home base" for exploring lots of Virginia's history. As I said, the roads are easily navigable. We will definitely return, especially now that my aunt is feeling better and will be bothering us to visit a lot more!

Thanks for the Richmond update. Takes me back to graduate school days when I lived there in an apartment on W. Franklin Street. Good memories....

ttt for cjbrown