Oystoberfest

We went to a really cute festival the other weekend. It is called Oystoberfest!

It was at a local Episcopal church. They have been having it for years, it was really well organized. There was a good crowd, lots of white people though, still surprised at how segregated the city is.

They had Rappahannock oysters, surprisingly good choice of beer, live music, bounce house for kids, etc.

The weather was so beautiful, it was not really warm, but sunny and dry. We sat by another couple our age, who brought their dogs. They were pitbull, great dane mixes, they were only six months old. We didn't get a good photo. They were so cute! They looked like skinny, tall pit bulls. They were really well behaved. The other side of the table was two couples in their early 70s. They teased us a bit, and asked how our food and beer was. Made us miss our grandparents. Everyone was talking about college football, of which we know nothing, especially about teams out here.

They had raw oysters, we got 12. They were good. They weren't particularly sweet or briny. They were very fresh.

They also had fried oysters, we got six. They were really good, still creamy on the inside, and crispy on the outside. I think they were a mix of bread crumbs and corn meal coated. So different from the panko we are used to. They also had steamed oysters, which we skipped. As well as hot dogs and fries.

Super awkward photo, thanks Tanner, your getting to a pro at that

They had hot sauce, cocktail sauce, lemon, horseradish, so all the best toppings

That church is in Ginter Park. This is another historical neighborhood. It was a planned suburb, started in 1894, with wide roads and big houses. I love looking at houses, so we walked around for a while after our lunch and took some photos.

Their cute garden looked better in real life

This house had some awesome Halloween decorations

Real life pineapple statue thing!

Salmon colored house

Amazing screened in porch!

Lots of porch furniture 

The neighborhood across this four lane highway was a mess. Some houses like these, but all in poor repair, and some newer buildings. It is kind of crazy here. You can walk five blocks and end up a totally different type of neighborhood. I know some places are like that in Seattle, but it seems far fewer.

Museum District tiny post

Hey!

Sorry I got really distracted and have not posted in a while. We are also really broke. We overspent in September, which was unavoidable, since we needed stuff for the house, pantry items, and we got Craig. So we have not been going out as much in October.

We did go see an exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art either late in September, or early this month, I don't even remember. The museum is beautiful. It is also free! It is supported by tax payer dollars and fundraising. You do have to pay for special exhibits, like the one we saw, but it is very affordable.

Tanner got a haircut and trimmed up the beard since this was taken

It was the first cloudy, drizzly day, so we both were really happy, felt like home. The building you see is the studio and learning space for the museum, and the patio is the museum cafe

We saw an exhibit on Japanese tattoo. Which doesn't seem like a big deal, being from Seattle. It was supported by the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angles. This is considered a pretty conservative museum, so for them it was a bit risky to put on an exhibit all about tattoo. It was all photographs of tattoos. Some of which were life sized, so that was pretty amazing. We did not take photos in the exhibit. It was recently extended, and has a good website: http://vmfa.museum/exhibitions/exhibitions/art-japanese-tattoo/

We were both really impressed. The free exhibits include a bit from all time periods and continents. I think it will be a great resource for me. I need to go back and practice sketching, and thinking about art quilts.

The neighborhood is called the Museum District. The biggest museums are this one and the Virginia Historical Society, but I guess there are other smaller ones as well. The streets are beautiful. The homes are from a few different times periods, but are all older and pretty well preserved. Much of the  neighborhood is on the National Register of Historical Places (sometimes it seems like the entire city is!)

I snapped a few photos just on the way to the car and back. I will go back and take a long walk and a bunch of photos for her.

Carriage houses! Most of them in this neighborhood have been converted in garages. In some places they are offices, and even little apartments. 

Chapel of the Confederacy. Need to go back and look around here some more as well.

After the museum we got brunch. Brunch is a huge deal here. Loads of restaurants offer it, and lots of families and friends get together for brunch.

The place we went is called LUNCH! It was full of hipsters. They focus on local meats and southern inspired food. But they had a really affordable mimosa. The food was very delicious.

Tiny little space. The couple that owns it opened up a place next door called SUPPER, which is pretty much the same menu, so the have room for everyone

Awkward photo Tanner, sheesh. He was trying to get a photo of the kitchen, which was tiny, and staffed by almost entirely women 

I don't know where the picture of his food went. This is my breakfast sandwich, fancy European cheese, roast beef, a homemade caramelized onion and tomato spread, fried egg. We both took home leftovers, the portions were huge. Tanner got huge biscuits with gravy, using local sausage.