Richmond to Chapel Hill

We didn’t post yesterday because our day ended with dinner at our friends Erica and David’s in Chapel Hill and there was too much catching up to do.
 
What we did was leave C’ville (as we learned to all it) and drive to Richmond. First coffee with Noël, a colleague Laura has been working with and never met IRL, in Shockhoe Slip, a restored industrial area. Then on to the much anticipated American Civil War Museum. The museum is a great accomplishment and has some amazing artifacts and very moving stories that personalize the war and its impact in an effective way. But we did not love it. The firm responsible (not naming and shaming) bills itself as… “Creating emotionally engaging, award-winning experiences for civic, corporate, and cultural destinations.” So perhaps not surprising that we found it over-designed and hard to follow. 
 
The site – the old Tredegar Iron Works – is fascinating but disappointingly under-interpreted. Photos online include wayside signage which is gone. The NPS visitor center looked abandoned. If we hadn’t been hungry, we’d have explored more on our own. Instead we opted for a late lunch in Manchester, another restored industrial area, then on to Chapel Hill. Wish we had more time in Richmond!
 
We are lingering in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill to spend time with friends and family. Today, Laura introduced Ed to the Museum of Durham History, one of her favorite clients, before lunch with our niece Abby. Then onto the Duke Gardens, which were at their spring best, and the Nasher Museum of Art.