Louisville/UVA Football Game (October 29, 2016)

Last did this two years ago....but today went to the University of Louisville vs the University of Virginia football game. That last here was won on a cloudy, cold and rainy day by UVA. On this day it was in the upper 70's and very sunny with not a drop of rain.
Tailgated with some friends from work. Charlottesville is a beautiful city and a fun place to go to. I often ride there on the motorcycle as there is a lot to see. UVA is a beautiful, historic and amazing campus.
This is a photo of the field at left.      

The game was great. Louisville has been (with the exception of a close game with Duke and of course a loss to Clemson) beating opponents with abandon. The Cardinals are currently (as I write this ranked as the #5 best team in the country.
However, this game was very close wire to wire. In fact at half time Louisville was behind and it was a interesting first half to be sure.
I like a good close game even when my team is having a hard time. We are blessed though with one of the nations best quarterbacks.    

This is the band (University of Virginia Marching Band) seen at left. They put on a very good halftime show..I was impressed.
The game came down to the last minute..in fact the last seconds. Virginia scored with a bit over a minute left and then made a two point conversion. Louisville responded in a bit over a minute with a touchdown and also a two point conversion to win the game by a score of 32-25. I had a great time there. Ride up and back (went via car) was very good...traffic was not too bad and the weather was wonderful. Looking forward to doing this again the next time they are in town.  

Fall on the Blue Ridge Parkway (October 23, 2016)

Traveled on a cool (lets just say cold) Sunday morning to The Blue Ridge Parkway to see some fall color. Route started up 60 aka the Midlothian Turnpike. Fun road with a lot of interesting sights (once you get out of the traffic in Richmond). Made a stop here where the bike can be seen. I like cannon what can I say? There is a study going on (from a sign near it) to see if this courthouse was designed by Thomas Jefferson.  

Went past the Parkway and made a stop in Lexington, Virginia. Very interesting town and well worth a stop. This was my second visit there and was shorter than the previous one. Still did a quick walking tour from the Visitor Center (which is very nice) to William and Mary College. Very nice school and enjoyed seeing it again.
Much of it was not open and besides had seen the museums on my last visit.

Did make it to the Parkway. Always a fun and great ride with amazing views. Riding it is fun and even sort of feels like flying. You look out from much of the road and seems like you can see forever. Lots of very nice curves along the way as well but they have a 45 mph speed limit which the park rangers are happy to enforce and I am told that is a pretty hefty ticket. Was quite a crowd there to see the leaves, some of the lookouts were pretty crowded.  

In fact did not get to go to the Farm near Humpback Rocks...it was packed. The roads though were not bad (have been on it in North Carolina where it was bumper to bumper...none of that in Virginia so far).
Color was ok....mostly yellow and orange and a lot of green with very little red. Not sure this will be a big color year. Seeing much the same early on in Richmond. Made this trip though every fall (and a few other times during the year) and plan to do it again next year. I have also posted a few photos on my "Racing with the Wind" motorcycle page about this ride. Covered just short (as in less than 1 mile) of 300 miles during the course of the day. Was smiling from ear to ear during every single one of them.    

Skydog at Music in the Park (October 2, 2016)

Quite a crowd for the last "Music in the Park" for 2016. This free series of shows has been held for the past few years in Forest Hill Park in Richmond, and I am happy to say as it was announced from the stage, that it will be returning for 2017.
I have been to most of them this year and always have a good time. Never any problems there and almost as much fun as the music is seeing all the people and their dogs (cause this is Richmond after all.  

The band tonight was "Skydog" which was an Allman Brothers cover band, and I have to say a very good one. Lots of people know this band, and it is quite popular. Usually a really good turnout but this was a especially large one.
It was a nice sendoff to this years series and the music sounded great. I am looking forward to doing this again next year...of course though there are a lot of exciting things coming up for the months ahead here in Richmond.

Hogtober (October 1, 2016)

 A favorite event held each year is Hogtober in Libby Hill Park (which is in the Church Hill section of Richmond). I have gone the last few years though not last year as it was rained out. With all the rain of the past week (over seven inches) it was iffy...but they held it and further rain held off. There was a lot of craft beer and some really good bands. The band at left was a David Bowie cover band, and they were really good.

In addition to the bands (there were four during the day) and the craft beer there was food. Many of the local BBQ restaurants and a few others were on hand. No admission charge (though food and beer cost of course) and a whole lot of people in what is one of the most interesting and historic neighborhoods in Richmond. Libby Hill Park is cool when nothing is going on and features some great views of the city. I have in past posts quite a few photos of those. It was a very good day and I had a wonderful time.