Wednesday, February 11, 2015

What a Winter Day (February 8, 2015)

 This is a companion piece to my "Racing with the Wind" blog....more photos and information from a remarkable winter day. Feb 8 and temperatures in the low 70's...a good day for a ride ...and a lot of motorcyclists had the same idea.
Rode the famous "Five and Dime Ride". That starts at VA5 which is a beautiful road, to the Colonial Parkway (even more beautiful) that runs from Yorktown to Williamsburg to Jamestown. I rode it all on February 8.
This is the Yorktown Victory Monument which celebrates the end of the Revolutionary War with the victory of the Colonial Army ...with a big assist from the French Navy...over British Forces under Lord Cornwallis. I have been on that battlefield, and it is well worth seeing. It also has a civil war history.
The monument was raised shortly after the war, and it is a cool thing to see and check out. My goal though was Yorktown beach.      
 While there though saw a number of the Colonial Era houses, such as this one. Yorktown  existed before America was America, but has a number of modern things. Lots of cool shops, restaurants (I ate at the Yorktown Pub), and just a lot of things to see and do.
Yorktown Beach is really nice...plus its the closest beach to Richmond, Va. I had a great ride there and a great time walking about and checking out the sights, eating the food and visiting with some of the people there.
This is the grave of General Thomas Nelson who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. His grave can be found in the graveyard of the still standing Grace Church which was founded in 1697. Though have been to Yorktown a few times this was the first time I had seen this.
After a couple of hours there, headed back down the Colonial Parkway through Williamsburg and through Jamestown. It was a beautiful ride and I really enjoyed it.
Williamsburg has a replica Colonial Town which is really cool to explore though I did not see it this day, but had during other trips.
Jamestown, which I have also explored in the past, was the site of the original English settlement in the New World.
You can get a pass to see both Yorktown Battlefield and Jamestown which is really reasonable. Both have a lot of things to see and a lot of history can be seen in just a few hours. I did not get to do that this trip, but have in the past and will again in the future.  


This is Yorktown beach...well another view of it. I have a few other photos on my Racing with the Wind Page from the trip.

Finally this is my motorcycle on the Jamestown Ferry. I crossed the river via the ferry to VA10 which I took back to Richmond, Va. That again is a really nice road. I will tell you to make sure you are good on fuel, there is a gas station at Surry, Va which I passed...the next one is just outside of Hopewell. I got there but just barely, the low fuel light had been shining awhile when I found that gas station.
It was just an amazing ride, and I had a remarkable time. Had not done this ride for some time...too long in fact, and can not wait to do it once again.  

West Virginia and Maryland (November 12-15, 2024)

Sights during our travels in West Virginia, Maryland, and even a stop (at John and Annie Glenn's house in Ohio) over a four day trip to ...