Campground

We knew we wanted to be close to Richmond, so right away Americamps RV Resort in Ashland jumped to the top of the list, and then we saw that THERE IS A BREWERY ACROSS THE PARKING LOT. As in, you can walk there–and more importantly, walk home. The campground is huge, with lots of amenities: good wifi, a fitness center, scheduled activities, and free breakfast!

Complimentary waffles and Keurig coffee are always a welcome surprise. Almost as important as free breakfast, for some people: the bathrooms were spacious and clean.

Exploring Richmond

We visited Richmond on a Sunday, so treated ourselves to Sunday brunch at Amuse, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It was fantastic: creative dishes expertly executed, using local and seasonal ingredients. We didn’t indulge in cocktails, but admired the list of themed drinks to go along with the visiting Rodin exhibition. Please go have drinks at Amuse and tell us how good they are.

After brunch, we fetched Bugsy from her crate and burned off a few calories by walking down to Byrd Park and then through the funky shops of Carytown.

Carytown was a bit too busy for sensitive Bugsy, so we put her back in her happy place (crate) and drove down the road to Isley Brewing Co.  The beer was just OK to us, but we liked the tasting room atmosphere: lots of light from big windows on the street side, a selection of board games, and soccer on TV at the bar. We didn’t take any pictures here, so I looked at their Facebook for something to borrow and found the shot below. What a cool trend: I know many breweries are forming running clubs, but yoga in a brewery is new to me.

Next stop on the brewery tour was Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, which was a madhouse on this beautiful winter day. They had a full afternoon of live music scheduled, and the patio was open and full of families with kids AND dogs. We grabbed beers and got Bugsy out for some fresh air, but the scene was too nuts for her, and for us, really. The beer was pretty good, and they had some tasty-looking food trucks there, but the older I get, the less I enjoy waiting in line, and there were lines for beverages and bathrooms. They have a full calendar of events, so if you live in the area, I bet you could catch some fun stuff there.

Last stop was the brewery right next door to our campground. Center of the Universe Brewing Co has the standard area with a bar and tables, but also has a separate game room with disc golf putting and darts. We sat at the bar and had a few, comfortable in the fact that WE COULD WALK HOME.

Look, they do yoga at COTU too! I like this trend of combining fitness with beer drinking!

We had a great experience at Americamps in Ashland. It’s convenient to all sorts of activities in Richmond, and it’s hard to beat having a brewery across the parking lot!