Concord....So Far

Got out this morning a bit before noon, taking the motorcycle for a ride. Been a great visit so far, even the bike seemed happy to see me (started right up) on Thursday, and again today. Went for a good long ride on a chilly North Carolina day under blue skies with light white clouds. Photo at left is Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Nice race shop, kind of shoots down the image of these little shops building race cars (instead they are multi-million dollar operations). DEI was closed today, but it was fun to ride by there. The road its on (believe it or not, its NC-3...and yeah got that number for Dale Sr.) is a very nice road out of Kannapolis, NC.
I rode on into Huntersville, NC on NC-115, another nice Carolina rode. Huntersville, like Concord is home to quite a few race teams, as well as this Christmas tree display downtown. Many of the houses in the area spent the weekend taking their Christmas lights down, but still a lot of displays (and quite a few houses...including mine) with the lights still on, and the Christmas trees still up. Christmas, and in fact the entire visit so far with family and friends has been fantastic. Having a very good time to this point so far. Everything has been going well, and looking forward to the next few days.
Have been following the news from Richmond while I have been here. Seems to have been a pretty good holiday in Richmond for most people and over the weekend. I assume (due to lack of mention) that the remains of the great snowfall are gone at last. Will be back there in a few days, but in the meantime, nothing could be finer, than to be in Carolina (as the song goes).

Slipping in the Snow

Having come from Carolina where a fraction of this amount of snow is enough to shut down the region (and start a mad dash to the grocery for those staples of life: Milk and Bread) this December 18 and 19 storm really brought some adventure into my life. Some eleven years ago I was living in Louisville, Kentucky where snow like this was common, so I do enjoy it. However, as I saw on the drive home from work Friday night, it will be a big month for area body shops. For them, this will be a real Christmas gift! Driving from work down VA-150 took well over an hour to cover the 10 mile distance. I was impressed that people were not going fast (not that it would have done much good to do so) but kept a slow steady pace largely single file. Got the car back to the apartment complex in one piece, where it sits awaiting the thaw. Took this photo today during a walk to see what it looks like. Winter is a beautiful time, and I have seen some very fine looking photos. I guess the timing could not better in some cases, though I am sure this will put a crimp on some late Christmas shopping. Traffic (took this around 2pm) was almost nothing. This will be a good night to enjoy the Christmas tree, a good movie and a hot bowl or two of homemade chili. Enjoy the snow, above all be safe!

A December Night of Tacky Lights

Armed with printed directions, and with a general knowledge of where I was going, took to the streets of Richmond in search of the Tacky Light Tour. It is a bit of an adventure in the dark, but was able to find what I was looking for. Actually the first place I went to was not lit and I thought "this is off to a rousing start" but I continued on. Came to Asbury Ct where two adjoining houses were lit to a degree that could probably be seen from space. I actually knew I was close as I could see the houses from some distance away. It was a remarkable sight to behold. I am told the two houses have a total of some 4,000,000 lights; and I can believe that!
These are the two Asbury Ct houses from a distance. One has to wonder how they got the lights in the trees like that, pretty tall order and a whole lot of lights around them. It was also fun to see all the displays around the yard, I had parked up the street and walked around to the houses, and was glad I did that. Lots of eye candy around the yard; everwhere you looked there was something amazing to see. There were also some limos there, some tour buses, and a lot of cars. Those houses alone were worth going out for tonight. However, found a few more to check out in the course of the drive. Back to the car and back on the road...I came across more!
A little out of order, before coming to Asbury Ct, came across this house on a creek (or river...whatever) and took this photo from the bridge. Again a really impressive bit of work went into this house, and liked the way it was reflected on the water. I had actually seen a few other places; Richmond really does a fine job of lighting up the city. Passed quite a few places on the road and had many oh wow moments driving around. Not quite as great as it would have been if Patty was there, but will get her up here before Christmas is over. In fact we did see some of the Tour last year when we came down to check out work and some of the city.

When I left Asbury Ct, followed one of the tour buses, and came across this house just a few blocks away. Again, another impressive display of lights! Lost the bus, but rolled on in what I thought was the general direction of Richmond. Luckily, I was right and via I-64 and I-95 got to The Boulevard and rolled on to Cary Street. Last stop of the night was The James Center which had a nice display. I also enjoyed the way the skyscrapers were lined out in lights, and there was a small band playing Christmas music. From, there it was back to the apartment. Got to say though, my two experiences checking out the Tacky Light Tour were really remarkable. You guys really put on quite a Christmas light show!

Christmas Lights in North Carolina

Spent a good four day weekend in North Carolina with family and friends. Always good to be back home, and especially nice to be there for four days. Great food and a wonderful time over Thanksgiving; plus good traveling weather up and back. Got the lights up at my house, and the "Santa on the Motorcycle" yard display (have that on my motorcycle blog). Sunday night Patty and I got some coffee, and took a ride to see some of the light displays. The one at left is the lights at Cannon Village in Kannapolis, NC. Sadly, many of the stores there (due to the economy) are closed, but they still have it all lit up. Not a great many houses were decorated, but enough to make it an interesting drive around the area.
In Downtown Concord, this is the city Christmas Tree. They have a big event lighting it with all sorts of food, music, stores opened up, and even a fireworks display after the tree is lit (and last year it was a pretty good one). This year for the lighting I was in Richmond (which also does a really good job of Christmas displays as I have seen so far) so missed it, but the tree was nice to see.
For the upcoming weekend, hope to see if I can find any of the famous "Tacky Light Houses" in the Richmond area. Patty and I got to take a bus tour of the lights in the area, and it was remarkable. There are a few houses in the Charlotte/Concord area that would qualify for Tacky Light status, but not on the scale here! To me this is one of the best times of the year, and am looking forward to a fun Christmas in both cities this year.