The Journey to Virginia (August 26, 2017)

 Finally had to leave but fantastic memories. Drove from Dayton through the south of the state of Ohio. Peaceful and beautiful drive. Of note saw a hot air balloon, a turkey by the side of the road walking around (and suitable for Thanksgiving) and a C-130 (much like the plane at the museum in the previous post). It was a pleasure being there and fun to ride though. Though sad to leave my girlfriend and Ohio I will be back to see both...and soon.  

This is the West Virginia capital. I think it is amazingly beautiful. Nice dome on top and many monuments on the grounds. Has one monument to Abe Lincoln and even some confederate monuments. Interesting combination and a good idea in my book though in this case the reason for it is simple.
During the Civil War West Virginia split off from Virginia which it was part of and became a new state.
Much of that history can be found on a very fine West Virginia History Museum on the grounds. Though I have stopped there before I had not seen it but took the time this time and was amazed. It is well worth a tour if you are ever in the area and the cost (which is free) can't be beat.
Not just buildings though, West Virginia is a beautiful and interesting state. I have been there a few times with Debbie and have explored many of it is roads. I think its about time to get my motorcycle there as some of the roads are built in my opinion just for riding a motorcycle on.      

 At the Virginia border was close to home though about 100 miles to go from there to Richmond. I saw this sign at the rest area and well...just had to share it with you all.
I do love riding in the state. Close to the mountains, the ocean and many interesting places in between. Richmond is a great deal of fun and has many sights and events to enjoy. I love living here and think its one of the best places I have been in my life.

One final shot from Virginia, here is a view of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the background. In a few few weeks it will be ablaze with fall color and that is a remarkable ride.
Nice to ride the Parkway which is one of my favorite roads and a frequent place to visit in my travels. In fact some great sections can be found in North Carolina where I rode many times while I was living there.
 

Aviation Ohio (August 23-26, 2017)

Even a casual visitor to this site would know quickly I am a huge fan of aviation. So it is with pleasure that I show a few highlights of my girlfriend's home town...Dayton, Ohio. An amazing place and one of the cradles of aviation. Here the Wright Brothers designed their planes. While first flown in North Carolina, here the early design was perfected. That was first done with the Wright Flyer III which can be seen in Carillon Historical Park. The park is remarkable.  

One of the most interesting places in Dayton is Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Not just for the C-17's (one at left) that fly along with many other interesting aircraft but also for the many historic sights to be found near it. Dayton was also the home of many aircraft manufacturers and in fact...it still is. With all the aviation names and tributes to the Wright Brothers it was a fun places to just drive around. It was also a very good place from time to time...to look up.    

This is a recreation, but in looking at old photographs very accurate (though the Wright Brothers used wood no doubt). It is a copy of the type of catapult used to launch the Wright Flyer III which was developed at Huffman Prairie. That happens to be on base at Wright Patterson but though an open gate.
There is actually quite a lot to see there, but the big plus is to stand on the actual ground where history was made.    

Also at Wright Patterson Air Force Base is the US Air Force Museum. I went though it on my last visit to Dayton earlier this year and it is nothing short of remarkable. One of the best aviation museums I have been in..and I have been in a few.
This is a C-130 which is one of the outside exhibits. Most of the aircraft are in a closed series of buildings, but a few are outside. I missed them last time, saw them this trip.  

Rising Sun Indiana (August 21-22, 2017)

Went here for two days, beautiful river city with a lot of friendly people and some great things to see. There is a casino there (Rising Star Casino) but spent a lot of time just exploring the very interesting town.
It has a long history and does a really good job of covering it. Lots of blocks in the sidewalk along the river and in signs tell the story of this area and an interesting story it is. It is one of my favorite places to visit.  

Quiet there, and the Ohio River is majestic to watch it roll by. The actual casino is in the riverboat on the left.
It is fun to go into, lots of lights and noise and interesting people. The boat does not move though I think at one time it did. Believe Indiana changed the law. Early in the casino history they did travel the river, but a few years into it they made it not necessary.

Nonetheless, it is fun to watch barges head down the river and to check out some of the sights to be seen there.

Louisville (August 19-20, 2017)

Formerly my hometown (well, I guess it still is) as I was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Interesting place and went there on vacation to see my family. Had some good visits with them and did a lot of things with them, so not a lot of time for sightseeing with my girlfriend Debbie. However we did get out some, and visited some sights such as the George Rogers Clark Homestead. This cabin is a replica but much like what he lived in.

Very pretty at night is the bridges. You can see the old train bridge in the foreground. It has been turned into a "walking bridge" and you can now walk from Indiana to Kentucky (and back) which is pretty cool. It is really popular and has been for the past few years. Its a fairly new addition to the area.
In the background you can see the Abe Lincoln Bridge. There are four bridges that cross the Ohio River...two free and two toll.

This from the Indiana side of the Ohio River is Louisville. Always a beautiful photo by night and fun to see this location. There are many amazing things to see and do. Churchill Downs is in Louisville and Derby time (which this visit was not) is a remarkable time to see the many things Louisville has to offer. Fall is also wonderful in Louisville and in fact there is hardly a bad time to go there (well, maybe in the dead of winter...but thats another story)

Richmond Filipino Festival ( August 12, 2017)

Went to the festial which has been held the past few years (thinking this was the 12th). I enjoy it a lot because I spent some time in the country during my Navy days and it was just a wonderful place to be.
Good to get out to see some familiar sights, taste some very good beer and amazing food It was pretty neat and has been my practice the past few years went there really early. It is a good idea because this event really brings out the people.  

There was some dancing there, and some booths to explore. The big draw for me was the meal and having a bottle (or in the case of me two) of San Miguel Beer. Really brought back some memories. As for the food different than my usual breakfast but very good and I enjoyed it a great deal.
Fun event if you are in the Richmond area around mid-August and some really fine people put it on.

Maymont Revisited (August 6, 2017)

 Went to Maymont, taking Debbie for the first time to see the whole thing  and had a great time there as always. It is one of my favorite places to go, and a real treasure in Richmond.
Maymont is very old and has a number of things to see. There is a zoo there, plus a nature center which I did not see today, but there were a number of animals out. Here are a pair of the Bald Eagles. I have seen them here in the wild. There are a lot of birds to see, and other things.  

 This is the house at Maymont. It was started by the Dooley family. He served in the Civil War, then got into railroads (I think it was railroads) and got the land and the house.
After he died Mrs. Dooley lived there and at her death willed the property and land to Richmond who has kept it up. Lots of things to see in the house as it has some of the original furnishings. I love to tour the house at Christmas when you can see how they did it back in the day.  

This is the Italian Gardens. There are two actual Gardens there, this one and the Japanese Garden. Did not tour the Japanese Garden this time..as the place is rather huge and we covered a lot of ground on this hot and humid sunny day, but love this one a bunch.
It is really something to see in the Spring but also impressive in the summer. Lots of butterflies where making visits there as well. Just fun to wander around and see the plants.  

Earlier post at Virginia Safari Park had one of these stick it's head in the car (that was a moment) but this one in the park behind the fence. There are three Bison at Maymont in a very large enclosure. Got to see one run for the first time..and that was something to see.
While there, also did the tour of the carriages..they have some very old ones to see. There were a lot of people there, and that made it fun too. Got of couple of cool treats from King of Pops and just enjoyed a wonderful time at this magical place. We spent over two and a half hours there just looking at all the many sights of which this is just a few quick looks.

RVA Tour with Debbie (August 5, 2017)

 Debbie and I explored some sights in Richmond for seven hours on August 5. We stopped at some of the forts along Highway five....which there are a number of. This photo of her was taken at Fort Gilmer. We also toured Fort Harrison, Fort Hoke and viewed a number of the others. They made up part of the defense line for Richmond during what turned out to be the closing days, and closing battles of the Civil War for the Army of Northern Virginia.

We also went to Malvern Hill which was part of the Seven Days Battles, This was a series of battles to capture Richmond. This failed though the Union had many successful engagements such as this one.  

We also went to see Agecroft, which is located in a neighborhood in Richmond. It was brought over from England and reassembled, The manor was originally built in the 1500's. Next door to it is the almost as old (1600's) Virginia House, also brought over from England.
This is not all we saw but just a sample. All of this she had never seen as well as many other sights to be explored in this most amazing city and surrounding area.