Back from NC (July 2-July 13, 2009)

Spent a fine long visit back home in North Carolina the past eleven days. It was a good time to relax and reconnect with my family there and friends. On the top of the list...my wife and son who maintain our house during my part time residence in Richmond. Wanted to share some of the sights with some of you.
I enjoy motorcycling (in fact my other blog is a motorcycle blog) and took some great rides around the area. The Baden Drive-In Theater works, and in fact has two screens with Wi-fi sound. Those are getting more and more rare in the US.

I went on a lot of rides during my time in North Carolina. The bikes seen here (mine is in there someplace) are from the Vulcan Riders Association, Charlotte Chapter. I rode with them to Morrow Mountain just outside of Albemarle, NC. Its a beautiful place to ride, and draws motorcycles like flies to honey. It was a very fun group to ride with, and I enjoyed it a great deal. Did a lot of riding while I was home, I also went to Bike Night at Quaker Steak and Lube in Concord, NC. We have a few of those in the area, they are famous for their wings, but I like them for the bike nights which sometimes draw up to 900 motorcycles.

On Sunday July 12, I had read that the South Carolina Breakfast Club would be "flying in for breakfast" at Rowan County Airport near Salisbury, NC. They have been doing this (with a short break for WWII) since the 1930's. I rode out on an early Sunday morning down some almost empty roads thanks to church in the area (Sunday morning is absolutely one of the best times to ride a motorcycle in North Carolina) and they brought in some really interesting aircraft. I used to do some flying (aircrew) in the US Navy, and enjoy the various types of aircraft that come to these events.

Finally on the same day, did a bit of exploring around Salisbury, NC. A very interesting town with a great deal of history, and like Richmond some Civil War history as well. Photo at left is the Hall House (built in 1820) which was the residence of the chief doctor at the Salisbury Confederate Prison. Like Belle Isle, many of the prisoners died of starvation and disease, and the Union troops burned the prison when they captured the town. The doctors house is virtually unchanged from when he owned it (he put the iron work on it). Know that from a nearby Civil War site placque which has a photo of the house in 1862.
I have more photos on my website and also on Flickr. Looking forward to some interesting explorations in the Richmond area this weekend, and will also be returning to work later today after the long break. Sometimes difficult to be far from home, but this was a real good recharge for the days to come. Helps that both North Carolina and Richmond have a lot of interesting places to explore...and I love to explore cities and surrounding areas.