The Horror of Comcast...Part II

Nothing to set the morning off like the monthly Comcast bill. Mentioned the saga in a couple of previous posts. Well, got my bill today, and once again it is a mess. Basically, I had gotten the service which was on a COD basis on February 16 (all new installations are that way, fine with me). Got a bill about a month later for the installation. Told them it was COD, had the service, must have paid. Checedk with bank...no payment on it. So I stop the check, and write a new one. Problem solved right? No. First check posts on 3/10, the February 16 check posts on 3/11. In a communication thought I was getting a credit for my stop check fee, turns out it was for their returned check fee, which was caused because they lost the first one (taking a total of 23 days to post a check and sending a bill prior to that counts as "lost" to me).
As a friend suggested, who has also had problems with them (third friend did finally get his worked out after "a few" phonecalls) wrote the corporate site. Dealing with the local office he told me was like slamming your head into the wall. I see his point. Looking forward to the perfect business relationship; I send them a check each month, and they provide a service. Actually, the service itself (knock on wood) has so far been pretty good.
Anyhow, while in Louisville, came back to find that two people died in my apartment complex while I was gone of apparent drug overdoses. News said they were dead in the apartment for some 36 hours. I guess considering that, things could be worse. Checked out some local blogs today, some good stuff out there in the Richmond area. I do enjoy reading them, and they have been pretty informative on the local things of note in the area.
Getting in some overtime this weekend on Saturday, will be doing a bit of exploring this Sunday. Still an interesting place to check out, and get a lot of goodsuggestions of things around town to see. Do need to check on some good local places to eat; like when in an area to get outside of the chains and get to some places with "local flavor". Not a food critic at all and will not be doing reviews of food places, but interested in what people find good in the town. One place I am going to check out this weekend is the food at the Chesterfield County Airport. At a previous visit to the airport (just to see it while out exploring) saw that was packed on a sunday. My barber in talking about the town, also said it was a good place to eat. Will have to see what its all about. Nice place though....a buffet with planes to view; think that would be right up my alley.

Louisville Over Easter

Visited my home town of Louisville, Kentucky over the Easter holiday, photo at right is of Louisville, Kentucky taken from the Indiana side of the river. The two states of Indiana and Kentucky are divided by the Ohio River. I lived there for many years and still have family and friends there that I miss a great deal. Visits home are very special.
Louisville is a city much like Richmond in many ways. The Ohio River is one such thing in common; both being river cities. Louisville is a mix of older buildings and newer ones. I think that size wise they are close in area (though I have not checked to be exact) and also in population. Louisville is also a minor league sports town, though they have built the baseball stadium downtown that is being discussed in Shockoe Bottom (its a first rate ball park) and still have the AAA team "The Louisville Bats". Like with Richmond, they have had mixed success with hockey teams over the years. College sports (U of L) dominate the scene there.
Like Richmond (and unlike Charlotte) the city likes to re-use old buildings. For instance the old Reynolds Aluminum factory is now condos, and many old warehouses and stores are put to other uses. Many of the buildings in Louisville are very old but are still used today.
Louisville also shares a road....to get there from Richmond I got on I-64 West which runs (though some amazing sights in Virginia and West Virginia) straight into Louisville, Kentucky. This weekend is the kickoff to the Kentucky Derby Festival with "Thunder Over Louisville" being held this weekend. That is a huge air show and fireworks display held on the banks (both sides) of the Ohio River. It is always one of my favorite events though I don't get to go every year including this one. There are a host of events (many if not most such as Thunder...free) held up to the running of the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. If there is ever a good time to visit the city, that period would be among the best.
It was great to be back, but also good to be back in Richmond again. Looking forward to checking out more of the sights of this fine city as well over the next three years. Richmond is a very interesting place as well. Have seen much of note here, and have only scratched the surface of this city.

Carolina Weekend/Next Up Louisville

Great weekend visit in Concord, NC with my family. Drove out Saturday morning on a beautiful day. Took a breakfast stop at Ft. Lee, nice town from the quick look I had of it. Smooth ride down the road though was tired from an extra long night at work (almost 11 hours). Got to Concord around 11am. Did make a short stop before getting home at RideNow; a big motorcycle dealer in Concord (its where I purchased my bike in 2005, though under different ownership). Saw a riding buddy there, and they were having Victory Motorcycle demo rides. If I was not so worn out, might have taken one.
Great weekend with Patty, my son Robby and the dogs. Dogs were really happy to see me, played frisbee with them a lot; they love that. 70s and sunny all day. Not a real active day though; watched "Marley and Me" Saturday night.
Sunday nice. The typical morning routine; Charlotte Observer, a dog walk, breakfast, and the Sunday morning motorcycle ride. Was a great ride, was warming (got up to 77 during the day) and nice to be out in the country for a while. Patty and I went out during the day to Memorial Gardens, to the grocery, and also did some yard work. Nice to have a yard to work in, don't do yard work at the apartment.
Got back to Richmond Sunday night around 1am. Again another nice drive in the night, with no problems. Interesting drive coming up, four day trip to Louisville this weekend. Dad, my brother, my son, his wife and the grandkids are all there. Also good to be back in Louisville; grew up there. Like Richmond a river city (the Ohio instead of the James), mix of old and new buildings; quite a few interesting things to see and do. Patty coming here Thursday night (will see her after work) and we are leaving for The Ville Friday morning. One thing about this Richmond transfer; getting in a lot of highway miles.

Midlothian and Chesterfield (March 28 and 29)

An amazing thing happened this weekend in Richmond; it did not rain the whole weekend. First weekend I was here it rained with snow, then the next weekend went to North Carolina...sunny both days. Following weekend, it rained all weekend here. Last weekend in North Carolina...picture perfect weather for three days (took a vacation day on Monday). This weekend here in the Richmond area.....a day of rain, but a remarkable Sunday.

Saturday, drove out on Hull Street. Very interesting road with a lot of stores and sights to see. Actually got out to the Metro Richmond Zoo which is out in the country. Did not tour it, but it looks like it would be worth a visit in the future on a better day. I did get to the Midlothian Mines. Its a small park on the Midlothian Turnpike. From the information there, it was the first coal mining site in North America. As with all mining, a very dangerous and sometimes deadly job; many people died down in those deep coal mining shafts . This is a photo of the remains of the only surviving building (such as it is) from the company. Park is also very nice and will be really nice when the trees are all in bloom (not far away I believe). Rains picked up in the late afternoon, and I cut the exploring off early. I did note that the Chesterfield Towne Center was packed; though the economy may be a bit rough, America (or at least Richmond) apparently still shops with gusto!

Sunday was a much more beautiful day. Have had good days in Richmond during the week days that I am here, but finally one on the weekend. I took some time and went to Chesterfield to see some of the sights there. Chesterfield was a very impressive town; nice buildings both old and new and a lot of history there as well. I liked the old town hall which is the building below. The museum there was closed on Sunday, and the old jail is being restored, but it is still neat. Drove out to the state park there, and enjoyed that as well.

I also rode out to the Chesterfield County Airport, which was really impressive in the sunlight. Apparently it is also a great place to eat, a buffet was going on in there, and they were lined up for it (and families not all pilot types at all). Got a feeling that will be worth checking out in the future. Looking forward to checking out the food at a future visit.
I liked my visit to the Chesterfield area; a very modern area with a lot of links to the past. Over the next three years will be an area which I return to in my explorations around the Richmond area.
I actually started my day fairly early in the morning, with a trip out to Drewry's Bluff (aka Ft. Darling) which is the first of the Civil War sites that I have seen. The area around here is full of them, and wanted to see one since I have been here. Finally the weather and time allowed it to happen. I was very pleased at my first selection. One because it was close to home (as is Chesterfield) but also was the site of a Naval battle (and I served in the Navy a few years ago.

The battle happened on May 15, 1862 when five Union gunboats sailed up the James River intending to shell Richmond. The Confederates up on this high ground, with the added firepower of sharpshooters, shelled and shot at the ships (one of which was the ironclad USS Monitor) from the heights. The Union ships could not elevate their shipboard guns up to hit the fort, and were driven off. While not much of the Fort remains, again it was a good walk in the country and a great view of the James River from its height.
I have posted some more photos from the visits on my Flickr page. Covered some 108 miles of driving on the two days of trips, and enjoyed them greatly. Next weekend will be in North Carolina, the following weekend will be in Louisville, Kentucky visiting family and friends there. Louisville shares a lot in common in many ways (in my opinion) with the Richmond area, but that will be the subject of a future post.
In the meantime, enjoyed a very pleasant weekend exploring some of the outlying areas of the region this weekend, and look forward to future tours of the area.

Home to Carolina/Back to Richmond

Had a great visit in Concord, NC (where my home is) from March 21-23. Nice to be back with Patty, my son Robby, and the two very cheerful border collies Cassie and Mollie. The weather was wonderful, and we all had a great time. I got the Vulcan out for a couple of good motorcycle rides. One was to downtown Concord on a Sunday morning (which is where I took this photo of the Old Courthouse...which is now used as an art museum) and one with a friend to High Rock Lake via some very fine backroads on Monday. Patty and I spent a lot of happy hours together, Robby and I discussed sports, and the dogs bounded around the yard chasing tennis balls. It all ended too soon; headed back late Monday night. I rolled into Richmond about 1am early Tuesday morning. Found my apartment the same as I left it, and had a pleasant sleep.
Since then have been posting some photos to Flickr, and planning the weekend coming up. This next weekend I will be in Richmond, and am looking forward to some new explorations of this fine city. Once again though and for the third weekend in a row, looks like exploring will be in the rain. Still, have seen many interesting sights so far, and am looking forward to some new discoveries here. After all here I don't have a motorcycle...I do have a car and a umbrella.
On Comcast, I have not heard anything new; don't know if the billing issues have been solved or not. I was told though from a friend (also having problems with Comcast) that miracles sometimes happen when you click on the corporate link on the Comcast site and complain there. Have not done that yet, but nice to know its there.

The Horror of Comcast

Well, a bit of the bloom is off the rose.....first problems in Richmond and it's the Internet provider. Had some strange billing issues with Comcast, they have so far been unable to resolve them, in fact they barely respond. Business must be really great at Comcast because customer service is not a real big deal. The service is generally good (though have DSL in Concord back in the house, and its just as good) but at least in Concord I don't have to spend endless hours it seems with billing people. Don't want to go into it, but have receipts so hopefully eventually someone will sort it all out. Sometimes its best to just give up and let things run as they will. When talking about this from work, another new transfer had problems as well; tried to bill him a monthly fee for his modem (he purchased it). Not a great start considering this is month one with them for the two of us.
Verizon and the local phone company do not (yet) offer DSL to this area. When they do will change to one or the other. Besides Clearwire (which seems to have its own problems judging from reviews I read) not a lot of options in this part of Richmond right now. Comcast has a six month special, but after that it gets really high. I pay less than 1/2 that much for the DSL in Concord. Plus there, I don't have to waste time with billing issues.
Speaking of Concord, will be back there come Saturday morning for three days this visit. Looking forward to being with family and friends, and to get a ride on my motorcycle. Weather both here and there has greatly improved, and looking forward to a fine visit.

Rainy Day Drive in Richmond, VA

Took a good drive around the Broad Street area today on a very wet day in Richmond. Very interesting area, and probably would be considered the heart of the city. Drove from near the capital (saw that on a previous visit) and down most of its length (to I-64). Saw the Science Museum there (photo of the building with the green dome) and a very striking building. I am looking forward to seeing the inside soon. Went past a lot of interesting places among them the Altria Corporate Headquarters. I got on I-64 near there to I-95 and went back to Broad Street.
Visited Shockoe Slip and Shockoe Bottom; made a stop on this St. Patrick's Day at Buffalo Wild Wings for a bit of refreshment. Went from there to see St. John's Church. That is the church where Patrick Henry gave his famous "Give me Liberty or give me Death" speech which was a major spark of the American Revolution. On those grounds is also the burial site of Elizabeth Arnold Poe, mother of Edgar Allen Poe (also a famous Richmond resident).
So far am two for two as far as weekends in Richmond, but sure that pattern will change. Nonetheless an interesting look at the city, and enjoyed the sights around town. Still feel this area has much to offer and many things of interest.