Easter Sunday Ride (April 16, 2017)

I like Easter Day rides and at least for the second time in the last couple of years it was a good day to ride. Certainly it was breezy but it was fun,.traffic was light and the ride was very warm with temperatures in the upper 80's. There was also a zero percent chance of rain.
All those factors make for a remarkable day. I went to South Park Mall. Went to see something in a store but the store was closed as was around half of them.    

Went to West Broad Village (near the mall) and stopped at Carolina Ale House. I had lunch earlier at Zaxby's but did stop in for some refreshment. Cruised around a bit and also made a stop at the Anchor Bar. The original store is supposed to be where Buffalo Wings were invented. Tried some and liked them.
Got home around 4;30 pm, Mileage was not real big around 46 I think but it was a very nice ride on a very fine day.

Hampton Air Park (April 14, 2017)

While on a Good Friday motorcycle ride (more photos on my "Racing with the Wind Page" to the Hampton Roads area saw many things. Stopped by the Hampton Air Park where I saw this F-105 Thunderchief. It was a Vietnam era fighter-bomber flown by the US Air Force. The museum is one of my favorites.    

I have been here many times and enjoy the collection of aircraft, rockets and spacecraft found there. It is on "Mercury Boulevard" right off a I-64. Found it once a few years ago and have been there a few times.
This place at left is an F-100 Super Sabre which also saw action in the Vietnam War. I think it was the first US fighter that could go supersonic in a straight line (if not in a climb). I always thought this a very beautiful aircraft.  

This is an old air defense missile which was designed to shoot down Russian bombers. Like many of the weapons there, it never (thankfully) did that role. I could see that many of the weapons have been repainted and cleaned up, and there is still some work to do as can be seen at left. Still it is a very cool to see all the items in the park and you can't beat the price which is free. There is also a small museum inside a building there but it was closed for the holiday.    

Photo here is of a T-33 trainer. It was based on the P-80 Shooting Star which was the first real US Air Force jet. The P-59 Airacomet  was the first plane with a jet engine but was not put into production. The P-80 (later F-80)  and both were developed in World War II. Neither flew in the war. The F-80 did see action in the Korean War. The T-33 was the most widely produced version and was in use for over 20 years. It was considered the best jet trainer in the world.
I had a great time (as always at this museum) Wikipediia has some more information on this museum (just punch up "Hampton Air Park") and usually make it a regular stop when I am in the Hampton area. It is a great area to see aviation items with another museum - The Virginia Air and Space Center - which is the official site for the NASA Langley Center which is local to Hampton. Langley Air Force Base is also in the area and usually (but not this year) puts on a really good air show. I have some photos in a previous post from last years show. Fun city for an aviation fan, as is nearby Oceana Naval Air Station. Oceana will be putting on it's air show this year and look for photos of that (weather permitting) in a future post this September 16-17.    

Visit to Charleston, SC (March 30-April 1, 2017)

 Great time during my visit to Charleston, South Carolina with my girlfriend Debbie during my vacation. We did not pick the best time to go, as there was a huge flower show in Summerville, South Carolina and also the Saturday morning bridge run which brought a great number of people there. We had to stay in nearby Moncks Corner at the Moncks Corner Inn. Great thing was that turned out to be a really good hotel and enjoyed it.
We did get out to the South Carolina Aquarium which is (as it has been been in past visits) nothing short of remarkable. It remains my favorite one to visit and we enjoyed it a great deal. The visit to the aquarium lasted almost three hours. It is a can't miss stop if you go to Charleston.
We attempted to go into Charleston to see some of the sights. Never have I seen the city so packed with people and cars. There was literally no places to park and just a huge mass of people there, We did drive around to see a few things and had hoped to take a carriage ride around town but the long lines made that something to do for another time in the future.

We did get out on the bridge which is a remarkable thing. Have ridden on it before but as always impressed and a huge change from what was there a few years prior. It is a beautiful bridge.

We did make a lunch trip to Shem Creek. Stopped at RB's which is a favorite stop of mine. Good fish and the service is really good as well as the view there. No dolphins were playing in the water this time, but a number of pelicans were and enjoyed watching them. While it was really busy there, it was not too awfully bad and after a short 25 minute wait we were able to get a table and enjoy some fish.
After that, headed back to Moncks Corner and visited with Debbie's Cousin and her family there. It was a wonderful time.

While the drive to Charleston was gray and gloomy the ride back was very nice. Made a stop at a Harley-Davidson dealer (Debbie was looking for some t-shirts) and as for myself really enjoyed the visit to North Carolina. Stopped at this rest area and checked out the art work there. It is called "Dive Bomber Duck" and was made by the late Vollis Simpson. Mr. Simpson is the official Folk Artist of North Carolina.
Trip was without problems on the road and we got back right around midnight of what I guess would be April 2. Looking forward to my next visit to this great city.