Saturday, drove out on Hull Street. Very interesting road with a lot of stores and sights to see. Actually got out to the Metro Richmond Zoo which is out in the country. Did not tour it, but it looks like it would be worth a visit in the future on a better day. I did get to the Midlothian Mines. Its a small park on the Midlothian Turnpike. From the information there, it was the first coal mining site in North America. As with all mining, a very dangerous and sometimes deadly job; many people died down in those deep coal mining shafts . This is a photo of the remains of the only surviving building (such as it is) from the company. Park is also very nice and will be really nice when the trees are all in bloom (not far away I believe). Rains picked up in the late afternoon, and I cut the exploring off early. I did note that the Chesterfield Towne Center was packed; though the economy may be a bit rough, America (or at least Richmond) apparently still shops with gusto!Sunday was a much more beautiful day. Have had good days in Richmond during the week days that I am here, but finally one on the weekend. I took some time and went to Chesterfield to see some of the sights there. Chesterfield was a very impressive town; nice buildings both old and new and a lot of history there as well. I liked the old town hall which is the building below. The museum there was closed on Sunday, and the old jail is being restored, but it is still neat. Drove out to the state park there, and enjoyed that as well.
I also rode out to the Chesterfield County Airport, which was really impressive in the sunlight. Apparently it is also a great place to eat, a buffet was going on in there, and they were lined up for it (and families not all pilot types at all). Got a feeling that will be worth checking out in the future. Looking forward to checking out the food at a future visit.
I liked my visit to the Chesterfield area; a very modern area with a lot of links to the past. Over the next three years will be an area which I return to in my explorations around the Richmond area.
I actually started my day fairly early in the morning, with a trip out to Drewry's Bluff (aka Ft. Darling) which is the first of the Civil War sites that I have seen. The area around here is full of them, and wanted to see one since I have been here. Finally the weather and time allowed it to happen. I was very pleased at my first selection. One because it was close to home (as is Chesterfield) but also was the site of a Naval battle (and I served in the Navy a few years ago.
The battle happened on May 15, 1862 when five Union gunboats sailed up the James River intending to shell Richmond. The Confederates up on this high ground, with the added firepower of sharpshooters, shelled and shot at the ships (one of which was the ironclad USS Monitor) from the heights. The Union ships could not elevate their shipboard guns up to hit the fort, and were driven off. While not much of the Fort remains, again it was a good walk in the country and a great view of the James River from its height.
I have posted some more photos from the visits on my Flickr page. Covered some 108 miles of driving on the two days of trips, and enjoyed them greatly. Next weekend will be in North Carolina, the following weekend will be in Louisville, Kentucky visiting family and friends there. Louisville shares a lot in common in many ways (in my opinion) with the Richmond area, but that will be the subject of a future post.
In the meantime, enjoyed a very pleasant weekend exploring some of the outlying areas of the region this weekend, and look forward to future tours of the area.
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