So begins the spine-tingling tale of The Raven by the man himself, Edgar Allan Poe. If you think R. L. Stine is good, try Poe. He lived what he wrote and you'll find that out at the Poe Museum in downtown Richmond! That's where I went to get my first passport stamp. I live near Richmond, so I didn't have to travel far, but it was awesome. The museum is in a small stone house, the oldest building in Richmond. When we arrived, we had some time before the guided tour, so my friend Erin and I ran around in the absolutely beautiful garden in the back, while my mom stayed inside and looked around in the gift shop.
A guide told us all about Poe's life (1809-1849), his lost loves and other torments that inspired his writing. Near the end of the tour we were left alone in a dark room. It was FREAKY! There was nothing in the room except illustrations from The Raven. The pictures were dark and scary and some included skeletons and lightning and other things I don't even want to remember! After that sad and scary experience, we headed over to a rockin' 50s restaurant, the River City Diner, located conveniently close to the Poe Museum. The restaurant is decorated with 50s memorabilia, including the front half of an old car that hangs on the wall. I ordered a swingin' chicken burger and a keen chocolate shake. Erin had a B-B-Q sandwich and my mom got the breakfast combo. The food was pretty good and the atmosphere was great. After that, we went to the State Capitol to see the statue of Edgar Allan Poe along with the large population of squirrels and pigeons. Then, to finish off our time-traveling tour, we took a quick drive through Richmond's old Hollywood Cemetery. The view of the James River is incredible. Speaking of cemeteries, here are two tales from the Poe Museum. The guide told us about them after everyone else had left. Late one dark winter afternoon, a tour guide glanced outside toward the street and saw a nicely dressed man looking into the museum. She went up to the door and said, "We're open, come on in". He looked at her strangely and replied, "I can't!". She asked why and he said, "There's someone behind you!" and he ran away terrified. She turned around and there was nothing. The other story was about a time that two guides were standing in one of the museum rooms and, all of a sudden, a wooden peg shot across the room through the air. They checked everywhere and decided that the piece of wood couldn't have come from anything in the room. Wow! |
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And here are my links on the matter:
> Next adventure |
"Once
upon a midnight dreary,
Anyway,
Erin and I went to a fountain and another garden on the side with
beautiful iron gates. It was a sight to remember and we hadn't even
started the tour.
