A Beautiful Day to Fall in a Creek
- sarahwilk24
- Apr 6
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 19
Ovechkin Breaks the Record
39 pieces | LEGO: 30405 (retired)
Assembled by Sarah Wilkinson, May 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
April 6, 2025
During a trip to Richmond from their home in Alexandria, the couple's nephew, Andrew, and sister, Rachel, discovered Maymont (a vast park with farm animals, a nature center, and gorgeous gardens) for the first time. It was an unseasonably warm spring day and sunny, requiring them to break out the sunscreen. They visited the farm animals first and cooed over the baby goats. A couple of kids kindly shared their goat food with Andrew so he could experience feeding them through the fence. Already sweating, they found a cool creek to sit by, passing two grazing bison on the way. Andrew couldn't resist getting in the creek and exploring, immediately making a crowd of friends. Another parent pointed out a northern water snake sticking its head out from a hole in the wall of the creek bed, which the kids were fascinated by (though the man incorrectly identified it as a copperhead, unnecessarily scaring other parents). While he was exploring, Rachel saw the news that Alexander Ovechkin, who plays hockey with the Washington Capitals, had broken the all-time scoring record by surpassing Wayne Gretzky's record. Andrew is a huge hockey fan, so when Rachel told him the news, Andrew put his fists in the air while standing in the middle of the creek, claiming victory. He'd later go with his dad to the event at the Capital's arena to celebrate Ovechkin's milestone. Inevitably, Andrew slipped on a rock and fell into the creek, getting his butt soaked.
Meeting Nola & Lewis
836 pieces | Rice Block: RB0042
Assembled by Vanessa Reyes, February 2025
Interaction Rating: 3 / 5 (interaction with the set is okay, but only with help from an adult)
They then visited the nature center, where they saw turtles, seahorses, catfish, horseshoe crabs, and two adorable otters named Nola and Louis. Venturing to see the Italian and Japanese Gardens, they encountered a Kona Ice truck and had to stop for something sweet and cold. The tulips were in full bloom at the Italian Garden, and the pollen was thick enough to create a haze in the air. It was too dry for the waterfall to be running in the Japanese Garden, but Andrew enjoyed crossing the stepping stone bridge. They tried to visit the bears and the bobcat, but construction thwarted their attempt. They climbed some steep hills to return to the car and then headed back to Sarah and Hunter's house.
Andrew LOVED the new pinball machine that Sarah's mom, Bonnie, had recently bought. He beat Rachel and Hunter at it, but when Bonnie came home, she played the best game of her life, and Andrew's winning streak ended. They headed over to Sergio's for dinner, and while waiting for a table, discovered a free library where Andrew was excited to nab a book about Minecraft zombies. They feasted on Drunken Grandma pizza, which was the real reason Rachel wanted to come down for a visit (or so they teased), since she can't get it up in Alexandria. They were all exhausted and ready for bed even before the sun went down.
Andrew found some daffodils on the ground at Maymont that someone else had picked (we'd never condone picking flowers from someone else's garden!). He gave one to Sarah and one to Rachel, but both of them ended up in the front pocket of Sarah's overalls. If you look at some of the photos, you can spot them!
Andrew sure loves retro pinball! They could hardly break him away from it to go to Maymont.