Petersburg National Battlefield (July 19,2009

With the possible exception of World War II, no period of American history has had quite the impact of the Civil War. Especially when you consider the impact on society at the time, the Civil War changed America profoundly. Of course in visiting Virginia the Civil War is hard to miss. Today, I went to the Petersburg National Battlefield. I have been to a few Civil War sites, but this was one of the best preserved that I have seen. In the photo at left are many of the guns which were used during the war; some of those are Union, and some are Confederate. At Petersburg they were used to full effect.

Here you can see some of the original earthworks and the cannon placement. It was basically trench warfare; troops covered open ground under cannon and rifle fire from troops protected by the earthworks. That is one of the reasons why the siege went on for so long; being one of the longest sieges in US history. Many attempts were made to break the lines protecting the city, resulting in great loss of life on both sides. Some of the replica defenses in the park were something to see as well. Boredom, disease and bad food were also problems the soldiers on both sides had to deal with along with the battles.

This is one of the most famous battle sites of the Civil War; "The Crater". Here, Union troops made a tunnel under the Confederate lines, packed the end under the Confederate position with four tons of explosives, and lit the fuse! The result blew a hole in the Confederate line, but stunned by what they saw, the troops failed to exploit the breakthrough, and were repulsed in a counterattack later that day. It is one thing to read about it in a history book, but another thing to see it in person.
Really enjoyed the visit, today the usual $5 admission was waved, and the weather could not have been more perfect. That is a good thing, for many of the sites in the park require some walking. Heat and humidity were both down. If you have not seen this battlefield before (or if it has been some time) you might want to check it out. It was a perfect ending to a very fine weekend in the Richmond, Va area.

Touring the North Boulevard (July 18, 2009)

Very interesting day today spent in Richmond, Va. I like checking out the sights of the town, and wanted to get to this area. From some research three places I planned to see. Went to Velocity Motorcycles, had a great time there. Always fun to see motorcycles, and they have a fine bunch in there (both the bikes and the employees). Directly across the street is Buz and Ned's. I am no food critic (and don't want to be) but did like the bbq there. Being originally from Louisville via NC had a lot of variety in BBQ. In North Carolina, the meat is made without sauce (you add it yourself, either regular bbq or vinegar based) while here its like in Louisville, the sauce is cooked in. People were friendly, and the food was good.


My next stop was The Diamond which was just up the street, walked up there. On the way passed Movieland. Found that was formerly the site (and the building) of the Richmond Locomotive Works. It is neat the way that Richmond recycles old buldings, and they did a nice job with that place. It is looking like they will recycle The Diamond. Sort of sad seeing all the Richmond Brave logos on it; was kind of like a bride left at the church with the groom not showing up. It is your basic stadium but an interesting looking place nonetheless. I had seen Richmond play in Louisville a few times, they have (and still do) a AAA team there, also one in Charlotte (though its actually right across the border in Ft. Mill, SC) but its called The Charlotte Knights. Always enjoyed the AAA games, prices are not too bad, and the fireworks shows are always good there.
On the way home, passed the Virginia Historical Society, which is free until August 30. Without huge plans for the night thought I would tour it on a whim. A very pleasant surprise, some remarkable historical items inside, and some great displays. I walked though a few of them a couple of times. Considering that I did not have that on the list of things to do, I was really glad to stumble across it. Virginia has a long and interesting history and that was a neat thing to discover. I will be returning both to the places I saw today (well to The Diamond if they ever get a team there) and to the museum, which was a pretty good find!
Tomorrow heading to the Petersburg National Battlefield, have been wanting to see it, and they are also waving the admission fee for that this weekend (normally $5). Was a major historical site, and should be worth a look. I enjoyed reading about the Civil War as a kid, but we did not have a great deal of it in Kentucky where I grew up. Finding all the sites here really makes those old classes in High School and College really come alive. I will share some comments on that tomorrow.
Do have to say this is a really great city and area to explore. Have been really impressed with how friendly the people are here, and you certainly have a great deal to check out if people take the time to look. Though I am away from home, Richmond certainly makes that easier with so many interesting things to explore.

Back from NC (July 2-July 13, 2009)

Spent a fine long visit back home in North Carolina the past eleven days. It was a good time to relax and reconnect with my family there and friends. On the top of the list...my wife and son who maintain our house during my part time residence in Richmond. Wanted to share some of the sights with some of you.
I enjoy motorcycling (in fact my other blog is a motorcycle blog) and took some great rides around the area. The Baden Drive-In Theater works, and in fact has two screens with Wi-fi sound. Those are getting more and more rare in the US.

I went on a lot of rides during my time in North Carolina. The bikes seen here (mine is in there someplace) are from the Vulcan Riders Association, Charlotte Chapter. I rode with them to Morrow Mountain just outside of Albemarle, NC. Its a beautiful place to ride, and draws motorcycles like flies to honey. It was a very fun group to ride with, and I enjoyed it a great deal. Did a lot of riding while I was home, I also went to Bike Night at Quaker Steak and Lube in Concord, NC. We have a few of those in the area, they are famous for their wings, but I like them for the bike nights which sometimes draw up to 900 motorcycles.

On Sunday July 12, I had read that the South Carolina Breakfast Club would be "flying in for breakfast" at Rowan County Airport near Salisbury, NC. They have been doing this (with a short break for WWII) since the 1930's. I rode out on an early Sunday morning down some almost empty roads thanks to church in the area (Sunday morning is absolutely one of the best times to ride a motorcycle in North Carolina) and they brought in some really interesting aircraft. I used to do some flying (aircrew) in the US Navy, and enjoy the various types of aircraft that come to these events.

Finally on the same day, did a bit of exploring around Salisbury, NC. A very interesting town with a great deal of history, and like Richmond some Civil War history as well. Photo at left is the Hall House (built in 1820) which was the residence of the chief doctor at the Salisbury Confederate Prison. Like Belle Isle, many of the prisoners died of starvation and disease, and the Union troops burned the prison when they captured the town. The doctors house is virtually unchanged from when he owned it (he put the iron work on it). Know that from a nearby Civil War site placque which has a photo of the house in 1862.
I have more photos on my website and also on Flickr. Looking forward to some interesting explorations in the Richmond area this weekend, and will also be returning to work later today after the long break. Sometimes difficult to be far from home, but this was a real good recharge for the days to come. Helps that both North Carolina and Richmond have a lot of interesting places to explore...and I love to explore cities and surrounding areas.

SunTrust Indy Challenge (June 27, 2009)

Got to let you guys in on a secret; the IndyCar race last night at Richmond International Raceway was a blast. It was a perfect evening (not too hot, and no rain) and the breeze the cars kicked up at something like 167 mph on the 3/4 mile track was really nice. Had really good access to the drivers (thats Helio Castroneves signing an autograph on his way to the race), and I also saw Ryan Briscoe and Danica Patrick (some more race photos are on my Flickr Page) in the garage area. There was a lot of things to see and do, and really enjoyed the whole event. I am already making plans to return to this race next year.

It was amazing how fast the cars are, having been to some NASCAR races over the years (though mostly at Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC) I was amazed how quick they could fly the IndyCars around Richmond International Raceway. I also was very happy with the seats, having a good view of the entire track as well as pit road. That is just a first rate facility and as my son had told me (who had been here when he worked with Richard Petty) just a first rate track. For sure it was just around 1/3 full, but that made it really easy to see the drivers and also to get out at the end of the race. I was back home in no time .
As I noted, saw Danica Patrick, and also got a close look at her race car seen here in the garage. Indy Cars are technological marvels. All of them use Honda engines and make a remarkable sound when they go around the track. There were also a great many booths to visit, and a whole lot of things to watch. I had gone to Indy a few years ago (actually many years ago now) and have to say this was my favorite Indy Car event. Looking forward to their return in 2010!

Race Shop Touring (Concord, NC)

I am planning to attend the upcoming IndyCar race in Richmond, VA. When I lived in Louisville, Kentucky went to a few Indianapolis 500's and am looking very forward to this race. I live currently both here in Richmond, and have a home in Concord, NC. There I took a motorcycle ride on Monday June 22 to visit the museums and shops of some of the local race teams. One that I saw was Earnhardt-Ganassi near the Concord Regional Airport. The airport has been the focus of many of the local races teams (in fact all three here are near it). This is a view of the race shop where the cars are built for Earnhardt-Ganassi.


The crashed car seen here (a video of the crash is seen on the monitor next to it) was seen at Roush Racing. As with the other shops, many race cars are available for viewing, along with many other race items. The shops also have items available for purchase (shirts, hats, etc). Though a few shops in the area do charge admission, these three at least are free to wander through and offer an interesting look at the cars. All are in very modern buildings; the era of backyard race shops is long gone in NASCAR. In fact all of these are in huge buildings, if not multi-building complexes.


The largest of the museums in the Concord area, is Hendrick Motorsports. This is Dale Earnhardt, Jr's car one of the many on display. The shops are in a large multi-building area, and the museum has a number of cars on display from many drivers, and including some past drivers. As with the other shops you can see the teams working from viewing areas, and get a real feel for how the cars are built. I posted a few more photos from all the shops on my Flickr Page if you would like to look at a few more photos. There are also a number of race teams located in nearby Mooresville, NC and of course the Richard Childress operation is located in Welcome, NC with a great collection of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. cars (that is one of the shops I previously mentioned that charges admission). With three great tracks clustered together (Lowe's Motor Speedway, The Dirt Track, and the Z-Max Dragway) the area offers a lot of big time racing action, as well as some fine local racetracks. If you like racing, its a fun place to be.
However...so does Richmond and as I noted will be making the next post on the upcoming IndyCar race. It will be fun to get back to that, and to see that race live.

Two weeks in Richmond

Coming near the end of a two week period in Richmond, VA. Work has been a real slog lately, with a lot of problems with equipment, and long hours. Friday nights tend to go into the early Saturday hours.....yeah, I am grateful to have a job, but sure would not mind a little less of it. Over the weekend just stuck close to the apartment. Interesting place, saw a car towed the other night. Owners and passengers came running out of their apartment (saw this as I was pulling up at 11pm after work) and talked to the tow truck driver. Looked like some money changed hands, the pickup truck was lowered from the lift, and they all drove away. Anyhow, visited the pool some, gave the DVD player a workout (watched The Dark Knight....yeah, its been out a while, but sure glad I saw that one, best of the Batman movies), and mostly relaxed. Good thing, as this is shaping up to be another wild week.
Probably will head back to NC this afternoon. Did see that there is a Motorcycle show at Hooters of Chesterfield this Saturday from noon to ? (ad did not say ending time). Depending on when I head out, will be possibly roll out there. Course, have my motorcycle in North Carolina and the only thing better than looking at motorcycles is riding them. In fact, due to the bike being there, and me being often here, looking at getting a PC Motorcycle game. As a former flight crewman on a Navy plane miss flying, and enjoy my flight simulators. Think it might be fun checking out a motorcycle sim (and as a bonus, get to ride a MotoGP sportbike at least virtually). Amazing how real the flight sims are; after many hours of Microsoft Flight Simulator, doing the real thing in a "Discovery Flight" had that been there/done that feeling.
Have also been reading some local blogs. One of note that really made me smile when I needed it was "Working Stiff" which is about working in Richmond, VA. I really enjoyed that blog. I also have enjoyed reading "Journey to Ironman" which is about bicycling, but some good stuff in there. Makes me want to put some new tires on the old Huffy and get out for a bit on that (plus with the rising fuel prices, be a cheap way to get out in the wind).
Next post will be on the weekend in North Carolina, looking forward to being back with family and friends there.

Riding NC on a Three Day Weekend (June 6-8)

Pretty wild Friday night at work. With so many out of work; don't want to sound ungrateful, but it was a LONG night. Came in at 3PM Friday left at 4AM on Saturday morning. Needless to say the drive back to North Carolina at 8am was quite an epic journey. Had a big barbeque and bike event called the Hog Happenin, but thought a ride on four hours sleep after a close to five hour drive was a really bad idea. So will head to that next year.
I did get out on Sunday, for a change of late beautiful weather all weekend. Rode around some of the two lane routes, and also visited some friends for a while. Great time of course with the wife and my son and the dogs. I even got out the lawn mower and cut the yard (my son usually does it, but I gave him the weekend off from lawn care). I enjoyed doing it frankly....no yard work in the apartment, but its fun. Monday (had a vacation day) rode with my friend Steve around the area. Steve knows some great routes and we took a roundabout way to Salisbury, Nc for a good lunch and a visit to Tilley's HD. Steve is in the photo above, has the red Harley Ultra Classic (thats my Vulcan next to it). That blew away some of the disapointment from Saturday.
Ride back to Richmond was nice; again great weather (the rains apparently held off till I got here). Will be in Richmond this weekend since the Curtailment Day we had scheduled at work for Friday was cancelled (yeah I know....days off without pay and overtime...go figure) and we will be working Friday and maybe Saturday now.
Still have been checking some of the blogs for weekend events, and do enjoy exploring the area which I will do some of this weekend (whatever the weekend actually turns out to be with work).