Ashland and Kings Dominion (September 22, 2012)

 A really nice day on the first day of Fall 2012. The last weekend I was in Richmond, battled a bug that has been going around the area, but over that, and went to a company event at Kings Dominion. Spent some time in Ashland, VA - saw these ladies working some spinning wheels at the Farmers Market there, and thought it would make a really good photo (and so it does). Nice city, enjoyed the sights there, it is a college town, and so saw a lot of people on bicycles, and like how the train tracks run right through the city. Very nice place to visit and I enjoyed my time there before the event. 

 This is the Train Station and Visitors Center in Ashland, VA. While I was there an Amtrak train made a real quick stop there. I also got to check out Ashland Coffee and Tea - read about that a great deal, not only is a very cool coffee shop has a big area for bands (and some notable bands come though there. I enjoyed walking around a bit, got some really good photos, it was one of those places I had heard a lot about. I think they call their city "The Center of the Universe"....kind of bold, but I could see why the locals love it. Its the kind of place you want to visit, and would be a very fine place to live from what I saw.   

 Anyhow, got out to Kings Dominion - nice to get to go on the company dime; they paid the admission and also gave us some park bucks for dinner. I love the rides, I have always been a huge fan of roller coasters, and this one is one of the biggest I have ridden; the Intimidator 305. The ride (looked this up on Wikipedia) is 305 feet tall (taller than the observation deck at the parks Eiffel Tower) and hits a top speed of 90 mph. At times, it exerts a force of six G's; quite the ride for a fan of aviation though the theme is racing and it is named for NASCAR racing legend (and resident of Kannapolis, NC) Dale Earnhardt. It was a real event to ride this coaster which is one of the best I have ever ridden. In fact the park has something like 14 coasters, and I rode quite a few of them during my visit, as well as a number of other rides. During my visit the big Windseeker Ride was shut down due to problems with it (none resulting in injury though at other parks. Many of the rides are at other parks; this ride can also be found at Carowinds near Charlotte, NC.       

In addition to Kings Island (near Cincinnati, Ohio, another sister park) Kings Dominion has a 1/3 replica of the Eiffel Tower in France. Nice ride to the top and a good look at the view from the Observation Deck of some of the rides and the view of the Virginia countryside. This trip was my second visit to the park, and as with the first trip had a wonderful time. Love to walk and that is a good thing, as you do a lot of walking. I also enjoyed the "Dinosaurs Alive" exhibit there, felt sort of like I was in the movie Jurassic Park (though they moved, they did not walk, but did move and made dinosaur type sounds, very cool). Nice way to enjoy the first day of Fall, and a great time in Virginia. Of course, it did not feel much like fall, was rather warm actually (but sunny so no complaints); and expecting some fall weather tomorrow which will be really cool (both actually and in my opinion - I am ready for fall to be here, one of my favorite times of the year!).