Turns out Virginia — and Richmond — really is for lovers.
This Valentine’s Day, we used your stories to make a map of places where our readers have made memories. From best friend meet cutes to pandemic dates and decades-long love stories, you guys did not disappoint.
Explore all the local love stories by clicking on the hearts on the map. Here are just a few we had to share.
📍 Pump House Park, Carillon
When I wasn’t taking good care of myself living alone my last year in college, biking over to the Pump House trail and making my way to the river to have picnics (alone) helped me learn to love myself the outdoors and life again.” - Anonymous reader
📍 900 Moorefield Park Dr., North Chesterfield
“In the early 90s my (now) wife and I were just casual friends and would meet in the evenings here after our shifts at Ukrop’s (her in the office, me in the dairy department) to listen to the live acoustic music by local musician Wayne Ruotolo while we ate some riblets, talked about music, books, and commiserated over our troubled love lives. In time we realized the past was not as good as the present, fell hopelessly in love and have been married for over 30 years now. We still get sentimental for some acoustic yacht rock.” - Kevin G.
📍 Bottoms Up Pizza, Shockoe
“My partner Jim and I had our first date at Bottoms Up Pizza after meeting at a (now defunct) Richmond Braves game through a Meetup group. Now married for 13 years, it seems like the first date worked out.” - Carmen C.
Entries may have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
