Exploring Richmond; Bikes and Air

Very interesting day in Richmond today. Up early this morning to see off the "Child Savers Charity Ride" at the abandoned Cloverleaf Mall in Richmond, Va. It happens to be fairly close to the apartment and as a motorcycle rider (with his bike at his house in Concord, NC) thought it would be fun to check out. Had a really good turnout on a perfect Richmond day for the Tuskegee Airman Motorcycle Club and a few hundred of their friends. I enjoyed the rumble and roar of all those bikes, and met some interesting people before they headed down the road at 10am.


My next stop today was at the Virginia Aviation Museum for the Air Fair. I have been there before, but really enjoy the museum and thought it would be fun to come back for a visit. Had a lot of groups there and some interesting new displays due to that. VCU had a hover craft they were working on, there were some police dogs, police displays, airport fire department vehicles, and that remarkable collection of aircraft in the museum. It was well worth the visit, even for a second time around.



I also made a stop at the nearby Richmond International Airport. Course you can't see it all due to the security checkpoints, but did get inside to see the building. It really is a fine looking building that brings a feeling of flight when you go inside. It has a few places to eat (with the usual airport prices) and got to see a few planes flying around the airport, and I enjoy that. Not 100% sure but very possible that I will be using that airport in the future in some of my travels. One thing that was nice, parking for the first hour was free, and that was the time I spent looking around at the facility.

After that, made a couple of stops. I went to the site of the Confederate Chimborazo Hospital, which was where some 76,000 Confederates were treated in the Civil War. Some 20% died there, which was considered remarkable success back in that day for medical care. Amazingly the ride which I saw earlier take off, ended there...so I ran into them again. I also made a stop (n the sun vs the rainy day I saw it last time) at St. John's Church and looked around there before making my final stop in Shockoe Bottom for a bit of refreshment before heading back to the apartment.
Certainly Richmond is a very interesting town with a great deal to offer. I enjoyed my travels around the area today, even the "repeats" that I did in the course of the day.