Virginia Drizzle Drive (September 26, 2009)

Spending another weekend in Richmond, and this one has been gray and overcast, with bits of spitting rain. However, figured it was a good day to get in a little morning exploring. I started out with a drive to Colonial Harley-Davidson and nearby Burcham Cycles in Prince George, VA. I am a motorcycle fan, and enjoyed visiting those shops. Colonial sells (duh) Harley-Davidson (but also Buell Motorcycles...many HD dealers have dropped the Buell line) and Burcham sells Kawasaki (I have a Vulcan Classic waiting for me in Concord, NC), Suzuki and Yamaha motorcycles. It was a nice quick drive out to the shops; Burcham was a nice surprise.
As for the photo above, that is the library at Hopewell, VA. I have been to Hopewell on a previous visit, but liked the town and wanted to give it a "second look" to see some of what I missed last time. Library building is striking on the outside, but really liked the inside as well.
Not far from the library is the Beacon Theater. I read someplace that it has been fixed up on the inside, and is used. I like old buildings, and Hopewell had quite a few. Kannapolis, NC has a great old theater (The Gem, previously featured on these pages) which is used to show first run movies, and is a great place to see films thanks to its great old balconies. Not sure what The Beacon is used for, but nice to see it in use and not in ruins. Charlotte, NC does not keep old places, they tear them down and build new ones; and I do miss the history there that can be found here.
In fact, I really got a feel for that at City Point. Wandered around the area there looking at many of the old houses. Many dated to the Civil War period when City Point was a major Union supply depot, and had roles to play in the war. Some of the houses were used by Union troops and the river was filled with tents, cabins, ships, horses pulling wagons, and thousands of Union troops.


Among those troops was General Grant, and this was the cabin he stayed in as City Point was also his headquarters during the Battle for Petersburg. I had another photo of it during my earlier visit, but this is another view. The cabin has been on display (moved from another site to where it was) for over 100 years, so only 10% of the wood is "original", but the design is the same. City Point also has the big house nearby to tour, and best of all, its all free. It also has great views of the river, and was a nice place to wander on a cool gray Virginia day.


It was a very enjoyable morning and early afternoon in Prince George, Hopewell and City Point, Va. I got to see more of Hopewell than I planned, as I got a little lost during the drive; but that is part of the fun of exploring. It was a very good day!