Daddy was in Charlotte this week for business, but on Thursday, Mommy and I left for Richmond so she could run her race on Saturday. The airplane ride was really fun, so I found no reason to sleep at all. When we arrived in Richmond, Mommy's friend Margi and her daughter Scout picked us up. Except for the fact that Scout kept calling me "her" and "the baby," it was really fun to hang out with them. Friday I got to see Grandpa Neil and Grandma JC, who came down from DC to spend time with us and watch Mommy run. We went to the Richmond Children's Museum, which was a ton of fun! On Saturday we watched the marathon, which was really fun. We met up with Mommy at three different places on the course, including the finish line. It wasn't my favorite thing to get in and out of the car a lot, but I knew that Mommy was counting on us. Sunday we went to Maymont Park and I played in the leaves. Monday we had breakfast at Mommy's favority diner - Dot's Back Inn - and then hung out with Frani before heading to the airport. All in all, a great trip.
Grandpa Neil and Grandma JC took all of us to the Richmond Children's Museum. It was so much fun! We only had a couple of hours, we only got to see a few parts of the museum, so I hope we can go back sometime. I got to walk into a huge model of a human digestive system, which was pretty cool. I got a little scared to go down the throat, so I pretty much hung out in the mouth. We also spent a lot of time in the area of the museum that was like a store and restaurant, except that it was kid-sized. That was really, really fun. I could have stayed there all day!
It was a long time coming - five months of training! And I spent a lot of time in the cougar over the last five months, riding along on training runs. So I was as invested in Mommy's marathon today as she was. I'm so glad she finished! And I'm glad it was a really nice day - 65 degrees and sunny. Since I was just standing around with Daddy, Grandpa Neil, and Grandma JC waiting for for Mommy to run by, the fact that the weather was so nice was a big bonus. I've included one picture of Daddy and me watching Mommy run by. The second picture was taken right after Mommy finished the race. She was wrapped in a mylar blanket, and she was still in the finishers area, so we were separated by a fence. If you want to see more pictures of the race, you can see the Richmond Marathon event pictures website.
Yesterday was a nice day. Today was a phenomenal day. We went to Maymont Park to spend some time outside, and so the grown-ups could go on a tour of the mansion there. They thought I would go along on the tour, but I just couldn't put up with being indoors looking at old furniture and architecture when I could be outside playing. So Daddy and I hung out while the others did the tour. I played in the leaves and tried to be as cute as possible to charm Grandma Neil and Grandma JC. I think it worked.
Mommy and Daddy took me to Dot's Back Inn for breakfast today. It's Mommy's favorite breakfast place; she always raves about the fact that she can get two eggs, toast, grits, and a bottomless cup of decent coffee for five bucks (including tip). I wanted to try the grits, which she raves about, but they were gone before I got any. Mommy does love her grits. Sometimes I think we'll move back to the South, just so she can get grits on a regular basis again. Anyway, after Dot's, Aunt Fran took me for a walk down the alley so I could throw some rocks (a favorite activity of mine lately). When I had had enough (or, more accurately, when Mommy and Daddy had had enough), we went to Aunt Fran's house a few blocks away and hung out on the porch... and in the leaves, of course.