Day 8-Richmond

 Saturday, May 10

Breakfast again at our campsite, same menu.  Sorry no photos, but I'm sure you can use your imagination.

Our first stop for the day was the Berkeley Plantation on the James River which was just over a one hour drive north from our campground. Plantations were money making adventures, this one initiated by the Berkeley group of London.  In order to be considered a plantation a farm must raise a cash crop, be self sustaining, and operated by slaves.  

This plantation was started in 1619, and was actually the locale for the first Thanksgiving celebrated in the United States.  The original plantation's building were made of wood, although most of the buildings in my photos were constructed in the 1720's.  Our tour guide noted that even the bricks used in these buildings were made on site.  Over 100 slaves worked this plantation, however, our guide rarely mentioned their presence or role in plantation life.

Slave Quarters

These were not the original slave quarters but were typical of what the originals would have been like.

The Berkeley Plantation was purchased by the Benjamin Harrison in 1630.   His descendants were very active in both Virginia and national politics.  Benjamin Harrison V was one of the original 76 signers of the Declaration of Independence, and William Henry "Tippecanoe" Harrison was our 9th President, who died 31 days after taking office.  He holds the distinction of delivering the longest inaugural speech and serving the shortest term.  Benjamin Harrison, our 23rd President, was the grandson of William Henry Harrison.

An archeological dig in progress being conducted by one of the local colleges.

Leaving the plantation we headed to Mama J's for a fried chicken lunch.  Mama J's is considered Richmond's premiere soul food restaurant.  This family owned and operated restaurant builds its menu on having Sunday dinner at grandma's house. Our chicken and spiked lemonade were perfect.

 

Leaving Mama J's our next stop was the Maggie Walker house which is a National Historical Site.  Mrs. Walker, a community activist in Richmond, was the first black woman in America to establish her own chartered bank in 1903 when she opened the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank.  All her life Mrs. Walker spoke out for equal rights and fair employment working alongside leaders like W.E.B. DuBois.  She served on many local and national boards including the NAACP.  Her name is omnipresent in Richmond.

The laundry room.

The Kitchen

Mrs. Walker's bedroom.  She contracted diabetes later in life and was unable to walk

We left the Maggie Walker home around 4:30 pm, driving to a scenic spot where we parked our van and listened to the 2nd half of the Celtics game.  They're back!

Once the game ended we drove to a nearby Whole Foods to replenish our water and OJ supplies, and then we headed to Stella's for dinner.  Stella was born in 1942 in Nazi occupied Greece.  She emigrated to the United States in 1956 with her arranged-marriage husband and has been running a restaurant ever since. We were lucky and were seated even though the place was packed.  

CHICKEN SOUVLAKI  WITH ONIONS & PEPPERS, WITH FRIED POTATOES

SHRIMP SANTORINI SAUTEED OVER PLAKI & BAKED WITH FETA, SERVED WITH HOUSE ORZO

SALTED CARAMEL GELATO WITH CRUSHED PISTACHIOS