Our Fabled Nest

Magdalene, the sweetest love bug you’ll ever meet! She is the fancy pants, drama mama, stage five cling on of the crew. I love this about her! She is the one that request pawpa to grill shrimpies, she prefers to lounge in bed until her meal is ready then she needs someone rub her belly and have a good morning beautiful conversation. She is my bestie and I love her, dearly!

Being the beginning of summer but middle of June – it’s hot. The weather is quite atrocious – sorry summer lovers! Planning her date wasn’t easy. I searched through AllTrails for shady hikes or cool streams. I also called a few of the restaurants and inquired about how shady their patios are. I told ya, I am a dedicated dog mama! We could have easily done a picnic in the truck with the air on high and taken Magda to a few pet friendly stores. Instead, we woke up around five am to have an early morning kind of adventure!

First Watch is an amazing restaurant! I have been here several times, and it never disappoints! I feel safe with the staff’s knowledge of allergens, and love there is no upcharge for gluten free items when it is a necessity. At 7:15, their umbrellas were already up, which made the shaded patio even better! Here, there is no separate menu, but they have things marked and like I said the staff is phenomenal! Started with some much-needed coffee – it is good. Basic but fresh coffee on a patio with a slight breeze is always appreciated. Decaf is available, along with summery juices like a Kale tonic and a pretty Purple Haze. If brunch cocktails are your thing, they have some fun ones! I love the variety here – there is always something for everyone! The kid’s menu is super cute, and I almost got Fancy Pants a kid’s grilled cheese. This girl loves her some warm cheesy melty goodness. I don’t blame her because I have to agree! Then I saw an elevated Egg Benedict with smoked Salmon…. if you read previous post, you know how much of a seafood lover we have. I simply inquired if I could purchase a side of smoked salmon…. the waitress was like sure in a “questioning not meaning anything bad by it” way. I then mentioned it was for Magda and Magda had the gall to sigh and side eye this lady. Dramatic little furry girl, isn’t she?! Once, the food arrived, someone was back her happy little self again… I think the smoked salmon helped! I ordered the ham and Gruyere omelet with egg whites and roasted potatoes. So good! The smoked ham and melty cheese really hit the spot for me! Hubs went with the Tri-Fecta. He chose his eggs, added a Belgium Waffle and went with chicken sausage. The syrup was warm along with blueberry sauce on the side… not gluten free by any means but it sure looked delicious! Her requested salmon was gone in a matter of seconds- we knew it would be!

Second stop was a little hike. Magda is getting older; so, on these little dates with just a kiddo, we tailor it to exactly what they would enjoy. We save our longer hikes for group outings. While I was researching All Trails last week, I stumbled on Larus Park. Seemingly in the middle of nowhere but right off of Huguenot Road right outside of Richmond. If you know anything about Richmond area, you know that area and road are very congested with shopping centers, traffic lights, and overall, it is a very bustling area. Tucked behind Sneed Garden’s Center is a tiny little parking lot barely visible from the road. Free to enter along with the common courtesy rules of hiking. Larus Park was a welcome surprise! Be warned, the parking lot is small but having a single trail head made finding the trail easy. It is rated as wheelchair friendly…. I might beg to differ in certain areas. But I do think it is doable and manageable within reason. The first thing we noticed was how clean the trails – not wide but definitely manageable and easy to follow. We loved the boardwalks and how peaceful our little meander turned into! This place was the perfect date for her sweet self! We practically had the trails to ourselves, and the shaded trees cooled the forest beneath so we could enjoy our walk without rushing back to the comfortable truck AC. Larus Park was exactly what my nature lovin’ heart needed… while there weren’t those spectacular mountain views nor babbling creeks, it was a bite of serenity and tranquility and that was perfect enough.

Cheers to our next adventure!