Touring the North Boulevard (July 18, 2009)

Very interesting day today spent in Richmond, Va. I like checking out the sights of the town, and wanted to get to this area. From some research three places I planned to see. Went to Velocity Motorcycles, had a great time there. Always fun to see motorcycles, and they have a fine bunch in there (both the bikes and the employees). Directly across the street is Buz and Ned's. I am no food critic (and don't want to be) but did like the bbq there. Being originally from Louisville via NC had a lot of variety in BBQ. In North Carolina, the meat is made without sauce (you add it yourself, either regular bbq or vinegar based) while here its like in Louisville, the sauce is cooked in. People were friendly, and the food was good.


My next stop was The Diamond which was just up the street, walked up there. On the way passed Movieland. Found that was formerly the site (and the building) of the Richmond Locomotive Works. It is neat the way that Richmond recycles old buldings, and they did a nice job with that place. It is looking like they will recycle The Diamond. Sort of sad seeing all the Richmond Brave logos on it; was kind of like a bride left at the church with the groom not showing up. It is your basic stadium but an interesting looking place nonetheless. I had seen Richmond play in Louisville a few times, they have (and still do) a AAA team there, also one in Charlotte (though its actually right across the border in Ft. Mill, SC) but its called The Charlotte Knights. Always enjoyed the AAA games, prices are not too bad, and the fireworks shows are always good there.
On the way home, passed the Virginia Historical Society, which is free until August 30. Without huge plans for the night thought I would tour it on a whim. A very pleasant surprise, some remarkable historical items inside, and some great displays. I walked though a few of them a couple of times. Considering that I did not have that on the list of things to do, I was really glad to stumble across it. Virginia has a long and interesting history and that was a neat thing to discover. I will be returning both to the places I saw today (well to The Diamond if they ever get a team there) and to the museum, which was a pretty good find!
Tomorrow heading to the Petersburg National Battlefield, have been wanting to see it, and they are also waving the admission fee for that this weekend (normally $5). Was a major historical site, and should be worth a look. I enjoyed reading about the Civil War as a kid, but we did not have a great deal of it in Kentucky where I grew up. Finding all the sites here really makes those old classes in High School and College really come alive. I will share some comments on that tomorrow.
Do have to say this is a really great city and area to explore. Have been really impressed with how friendly the people are here, and you certainly have a great deal to check out if people take the time to look. Though I am away from home, Richmond certainly makes that easier with so many interesting things to explore.