Stay-cation

MAYMONT

Be sure to bring a few water bottles, pack a picnic lunch, and bring a blanket to hunker down on beneath a tree on one of the many sprawling hillsides. Also bring some quarters for the feed machines in the children's farm! Nothing says spring quite like adorable baby goats nibbling from your hands.

It might not be the exact same as a trip to Italy or Japan, but the Italian and Japanese gardens here are nothing to scoff at; while the Italian garden is bursting with color and filled with exquisite statues and gazebos, the Japanese gardens are just as beautiful but in a more understated way, with a reflecting pond filled with koi and plants with muted shades of red and brown. Be sure to take a seat in the pergola of the Italian garden before visiting the waterfall in the Japanese garden below.

Admission to the grounds is free, but the Nature Center now costs $3 for adults and $2 for kiddos up to 12 and seniors over 60.

CARYTOWN

Featuring several blocks of boutiques, selling both new and vintage clothing and jewelry, locally-owned eateries, and funky stores (World of Mirth, anyone?), Cary town is a little place where an entire day can be spent either shopping or just people-watching.

If you can, catch a movie at the Byrd for $1.99 to round out the day. Further on down W. Cary St. is Little Mexico, which has dollar taco night every Monday and dollar enchilada night every Wednesday! Cheaper than an actual trip to Mexico, but the atmosphere is lively and the food delicioso.

HOLLYWOOD CEMETERY

Nestled away in the Oregon Hill neighborhood is Hollywood Cemetery. Located on a sprawling hillside overlooking the James River, Hollywood is peaceful and serene, and not at all as morbid as one would think.

Fitting for the history buff and amateur ghost hunter alike,

Hollywood contains several famous names within its iron gates, along with a fair few legends.

First and only President of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis, is buried here (after being exhumed from his home state of Louisiana), along with Civil War General J.E.B. Stuart and Richmond authors James Branch Cabell and Ellen Glasgow.

Local legend says that the mausoleum bearing the name W.W. Pool is haunted by the city's own Richmond Vampire; not Edward Cullen by any stretch, the story goes that "a blood covered creature with jagged teeth and skin hanging from its muscular body" emerged from the wreckage of the Church Hill Tunnel collapse in October 1925. The creature allegedly fled into a mausoleum and was never found. Ellen Glasgow also stipulated in her will that when she was buried in Hollywood, to have her two dogs exhumed and buried next to her; supposedly, their barks and scamperings are heard late at night in the cemetery.

Admission to the cemetery is free, but walking tours are available.

THE EDGAR

ALLAN POE MUSEUM

Though Poe might be associated most closely with the city of Baltimore, he spent a majority of his childhood in Richmond after being taken in by John and Frances Allan, and even worked for a short time as the assistant editor of the Southern Literary Messenger when he was older. Artifacts from Poe's life are contained here in the Poe Museum, including one of only 12 copies of his first collection, Tamerlane and Other Poems, and oddly, even a lock of his hair. Though small and ostensibly unimpressive from the outside, the Poe Museum is a must-see for VCU's English majors, or really anyone interested in the history of Richmond or Poe himself.

Admission for students is $5.

Right around the corner from the Poe Museum is the River City Diner. Named after its home city, the atmosphere of this diner hearkens back to the 1950s with its wall decor and juke boxes settled at each table.

Be sure to stop by the 17th Street Farmer's Market and see what local vendors and artists have in store!

THE SCIENCE MUSEUM OF

VIRGINIA

Still feeling a little intellectual? Located in the former Broad Street Train Station, this museum is home to exhibits focusing on outer space (did you know there's a moon rock in the museum?), the earth (check out the BayScapes Garden on the museum's front lawn), electricity, "new" energy, and of course, the Foucault Pendulum.

BELLE ISLE

Can't make it to the beach? Then hike on over to Belle Isle, a small island on the James River, and relax on the boulders while getting some sun (don't forget your sunblock!). Be sure to wear some sturdy shoes, as it takes a bit of walking to get there if you're without a car, and the island itself is worthy of an afternoon stroll. See if you can spot a heron basking in the sun, and don't miss the dilapidated remains of the Virginia Electric Power Company and the remnants of the prison for Union soldiers of the Civil War.

If you do decide to take a dip in the river, stay safe! Be aware of the river's currents and the slippery, mosscovered boulders beneath the surface of the water.

URBAN WORKOUTS

The weather is too nice to work out indoors, even with VCU's newly-opened Cary Street Gym, so break a sweat outside at Byrd Park! A winding, one-mile long running trail next to Shields Lake, with exercise stops situated along the way, offers an abundance of fresh air, a striking view of the water, and plenty of shade under the trees. So ditch the gym and do your pull-ups in the great outdoors.