Day after Thanksgiving, RVA (Nov 29, 2013)

 Was the day after Thanksgiving, and on that same night, some of the (what is known as ) Tacky Light Houses (you can find a whole massive list on Richmond.com-Facebook page or web site) lit up (with more to come over the next few days). Richmond is a remarkable place to see Christmas lights, and it is a popular thing for me and others to do this time of year. This one at left at 14309 Long Hill Road was a first time visit for me, but sure put a smile on my face, and also my girlfriend. You have to love this time of year, and sure is a lot of sights to see and do this December in the RVA. 

 Second house we saw was this one at 8009 Summerbrooke Ct, and it is really remarkable. One of the brightest houses you will find on the tour, and really a remarkable piece of work. I put my Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving, work on this sort of project takes place in June or July (and continues) It is a very cool thing to see. It is one of the most popular houses on the tour, there are quite a few of them all over the area. I have been going to see this, and other sights for the past few years I have been here, but still some new stuff to see. The tree at the right is not real clear, but is in my Flickr photos where I have more photos of these 3 houses.

Finally, the houses at 9604 and 9606 Asbury Court which are probably the most popular on the tour. Going early was nice, usually a mob scene here with tour busses, a line of cars and limos and tons of people. The fact that it was 29 degrees (below normal temps for this time of year) and a huge shopping day probably helped. I sure enjoyed seeing these two houses, to be honest in the area there is not much quite like it. Here you can see the sort of trees I mentioned above...but as also noted more photos on Flickr photos from my page. I will have more of these sort of photos coming up in the next few weeks, as well as like photos from other places over the Christmas holiday. Looking forward to a great number of weekends enjoying what Christmas has to offer...the sights and sounds of the holiday! 

Asheville and Beyond (November 8-10, 2013

 Back to Carolina and to one of my favorite places with my girlfriend and my dog. There is so much to see and to do here, and wanted to share some of the many sights with you. Main thing we wanted to see was the Candlelight Christmas Tour of the Biltmore Mansion, and we did that (and that will be the next post). Getting into town on the 8th we went downtown and took a walk through the old Grove Arcade which is seen at left. Lots of very cool old buildings and interesting sights in Asheville, and like exploring it though have been there many times. Lots of street musicians were playing, and as I have found in the past lots of good places to eat and drink there. Mountains all around you, it is just a remarkable place to spend the day or even a very good night checking out some of the music. We also went to the Grove Park Inn. I have photos of that and some other sights at my Flickr Photo Page, and there is a link to that on this page. I also have some motorcycle photos on my Racing with the Wind page. 

Kaye and I ate at the Moose Cafe, and my advice is to come hungry...you will need the room. Very good food, it is located off of a nearby Farmers Market, and the meals have never been anything short of outstanding.
As for the hotel we stayed at a Best Western on Tunnel Road in Asheville, it was a great place to spend a few nights; very clean and it has been updated. As I told the clerk on leaving, found it well deserved the hype. Really good breakfast also, and it was nearby a whole lot of things. I can recommend that hotel without reservation.          

 Took this photo on the Blue Ridge Parkway, had to take a drive on that great road. Though we did not take the motorcycles on this trip (my girl also rides, but my dog does not and both came with me) saw a lot of them riding it. Great roads and great views. I liked the visit there, which also included many roadside stops and also visits to the Visitor Center and the Folk Art Center.
The Parkway is one of the great American roads, and I never tire of it. I have ridden a lot of the Parkway in both Asheville and the Blowing Rock area, not so much in Virginia, but I will!

McDonalds near the Biltmore is one hell of a thing. I like this one, most of them are the usual thing, but some of them around the country are very unique. This one is near the top of the list with this scene at left, also a player piano and a fireplace.
Wandered around some of downtown in the Biltmore Village right across from the entrance. Then we went back for dinner, and came back to the hotel. Those photos can be found on the Flickr page, and I will be adding a few here very soon. It was a great time, and a nice look at a bygone era. Hard to believe it is all real to be honest, it is beyond belief. 

Finally on the way back to Richmond we stopped at Chimney Rock (seen at left) though did not go up to it this trip. That is a very interesting town, and we also took a walk around nearby Lake Lure which has a beach of all things (but a little chilly for that). A number of movies have been filmed there in whole or in part including part of Dirty Dancing.
It was a remarkable trip and I sure enjoyed it as did my girlfriend and even (I think) my dog who enjoyed the tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway with us.
There is no doubt in my mind, that once again down the road, I will be back!   

Urbanna Oyster Festival (November 2,2013)

 Had a great time at the Urbanna Oyster Festival in Urbanna, VA which is roughly an hour-and a very pleasant drive down some really nice roads-from Richmond, VA. My girlfriend was a big fan of this event, so we got in the car and rolled out. Parking on Saturday was $20 (read it was $10 on Friday) and then there was a short walk to the festival over this bridge which was also at the harbor. Lots of boats there, and was fun walking around the harbor. We even got to check out a condo that had an open house, sure would be remarkable to get up in the morning and see this for a view.     

There were lots of neat things on display, lots of booths selling products . Some of them, and for that matter other photos from the day can be seen on my Flickr photo site (there is a link to it on my page). Lots of fun events to go see, and enjoyed walking around with my lady. We even got to try some free samples of things (and some of those things...we purchased) and of course as mentioned was fun to walk around the shoreline of the harbor.
Town of Urbanna was founded in 1680 so there were a lot of old buildings to see, and fun to see all the people as well.   

Not just people-they had a very cool car show there with some remarkable automobiles and of course a few very cool motorcycles. Liked seeing some of them, and was fun to walk around.
There was a also a very cool "newish" Corvette, but not sure quite what it was. I have a photo of that on Flickr, but also enjoyed a great deal seeing the very old cars such as this one at left. Amazing that some of these cars look almost brand new, as if they had just come out of the factory. I was impressed with the cars there, and we had a great time.

 Of course the festival was about Oysters (hence the name) and got this photo of one of the types we had. There were raw, roasted (which is what these were) fried and even a few in sandwiches. Had something called an Oyster Fritter which was really good. There were booths all over the place, and few places had huge lines...and for those who wanted something else there was something else.
They had a lot of fair/carnival sort of food as well including things such as fried Oreo's, but we passed on those, but was fun to see all the things being offered.

Finally, one of the last things was the parade. Lots of cool things, event queens, stunt motorcycles, marching bands...and as in this photo very small trucks driven by a single Shriner. It was a very cool parade and was a nice event was we had done a lot of walking around and eating. Even met some friends at the parade that Kaye had ridden motorcycles with back in the not too distant past.
It was a very fun event, and I am planning to make a return visit in 2014, but can only hope for such a perfect weather day next year. It was a great time and hope you have enjoyed these photos!