Pollen aside, there is so much to love about spring, and after our collective dreary winter, we finally have perfect temps and longer days to get outside and enjoy all that RVA has to offer (and that’s a lot!).
We enjoyed reading your thoughts about spring in last month’s Reader Poll, and we put some of our favorite responses on page 8. Birds, flowers, baseball, and swapping sneakers for flip-flops made the list, and we say, bring it all on!
We’re taking a deep dive into two of our favorite spring activities in this issue. First up beginning on page 18, Richmond’s resident outdoor enthusiast Phil Riggan gives us a timely update on the state of bicycling in our region. A fire was lit under Richmond when we landed the UCI Road World Championship in 2015, and progress has been steady ever since toward making Richmond a more bike-friendly town. My family loves biking on Brown’s Island and across the pedestrian bridge over to Belle Isle, and we were excited to read in Phil’s article that the northern portion of the 43-mile Fall Line Trail, which will run from Ashland all the way down to Petersburg, will be completed this spring.
Next, flip to page 34 for a story that I know you’ll enjoy and earmark to revisit for many years to come. Brandy Centolanza, one of our Virginia travel and family adventure contributors, has the scoop on pick-your-own farms around the state, and I guarantee she’ll tell you about some you didn’t know about. I can’t believe I hadn’t heard about the Market at Grelan in Orange. It sounds amazing, and I’m putting it on our spring must-do list. We visited Hanover Peach Orchard last year, and I was embarrassed that I didn’t know it was so close to home before then. We had a fabulous time, brought home a ton of juicy, delicious peaches, and had a lovely chat with the owners. They are hoping to have apples ready for this fall – fingers crossed!
The RFM calendar, beginning on page 54, is starting to fill up with in-person events again, and we’re thrilled to tell you that we’ll be out and about again – finally! – at some community events. Miss Anne will be at The PopUp Market at the Diamond in April and May with her signature kids’ crafts, giveaways, and of course, the latest issue of RFM for you to take home. Look for the yellow Come See Us block in the calendar for the dates, then make your plans to come out and say hi!
It’s been a long road, but with the vaccine rolling out to more and more people, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and have high hopes for more normal days ahead.
Thank you for picking up this issue, and thank you in advance for supporting our advertisers who make RFM possible!
