This old Mall is located on Midlothian Turnpike, and has been largely empty and abandoned since I have been here, which is almost a three year period now. However over the last couple of weeks, work to tear it down have been underway. One of the outlying buildings is completely down, and work is starting on the big complex. Coming is a new development which is supposed to have a very large Kroger store, some sort of apartments/condos sort of thing, and perhaps some offices and other stores of some sort. Will be interesting to follow this, and to see how it all goes down the road. I will be keeping an eye on it.   

I read a neat review in Richmond.com on Station 2 which is on Main Street in the Shockoe Bottom/Church Hill area (not quite sure in what "section" it really lies) but the review sounded good, and being a fan of fried pickles I thought it would be worth a trip and a visit. Nice place inside, found the service friendly, and the prices reasonable (though no weekend happy hour prices on beer...damn the luck). I did enjoy a pair of Virginia brewed beers (and finding Virginia has some really good ones!) and thought the fried pickles were really good. Had the usual ranch sauce and a sort of mustard based (and hotter) sauce, I really liked the latter one a great deal. Certainly no food critic (my food favorites tend to be of the fast food variety, and I am a big fan of cheap) but I did like what I had there. Think I will be making a few return visits to Station 2 which also has a nice outdoor area which some people were enjoying. However, that outdoor area will probably have to wait until spring, because winter and the Christmas holiday will soon be here.   

Part of the days adventure was looking for Christmas. Last couple of years have enjoyed the holiday decorations at The Jefferson, and went by there today. Apparently I am a little early, but the place (which opened in 1895) is certainly a beautiful and remarkable place. The hotel has a remarkable history having been around for so long. It was built by noted Richmond resident Lewis Ginter. The hotel had a decline in the 1980's and then was reborn a few short years later. 12 Presidents have spent a night (or in some cases a few) in the hotel, as well as a long list of other notable people. The hotel web site (which I referenced for this) has a long and interesting history of this remarkable place. I will be back there in a few weeks, the Christmas display has in the past been one of the highlights of the Christmas season in Richmond, and I am sure this year will be no exception. Be looking for those photos in the next few weeks. If you get the chance go by and check it out in person - it is a most remarkable display!

Owned by the very wealthy James Dooley and his wife Sallie, Maymont House is currently all decked out for the holidays. It is a nice way to look at Christmas as it was done at the turn of the century  shortly after the Civil War. Maymont House was built on some 100 acres near the James River, and has some 33 rooms. The lower floors were servant quarters and are very interesting, the upper floors were the house of the millionaire railroad baron who built it. It is very elegant and it is quite interesting to see all the remarkable items inside. The cost of the very interesting and informative tour was $5, and I have to say it was well worth the price.

Finally, after a bit more driving I went to see the Christmas tree at Stony Point Fashion Park. Got to see it lit the first two years, this year I was in North Carolina when it happened for 2011. I did enjoy seeing the tree which is all new for this year. The tree lights change color to music which is a pretty neat effect. Pretty sure that most of the other area malls are either decorated or in the process of doing so.
I love the colors of the leaves in the fall, and I love the Christmas light displays. I will be exploring some of those in the next few weeks; North Carolina has some nice ones to see and I will be showing some of those, but Richmond really does Christmas all out with the remarkable and amazing "Tacky Light Tour" which I have been enjoying for the last two years. I am hopeful that the third year of my time in Richmond will bring me some more remarkable sights.
I put up my Christmas tree (smaller than this one) in my home away from home here in Richmond, and will be doing some decorating in North Carolina very soon as well (as my actual place of residence). Looking forward to a great and fun holiday season in both places this year.