Hot Weekend in Concord, NC (August 8-10)

Got back to Carolina this weekend, the warmest of the year. Took an early morning motorcycle ride on Sunday, which is a great way to avoid traffic and the heat to a point, out to Harrisburg, NC. Rode mostly some backroads, though did roll down NC 24/27 (nice road that rolls into Charlotte later on) but went only as far as Harrisburg. There stopped and checked out the cabin at left. It is being restored, and is said to be a "Pre-Civil War" structure. Like Virginia, North Carolina is one of the original 13 colonies and dates way back in US History. One of the great things about both places is that I am a real history buff, and enjoy that part of the area(s).

Building at left was near the cabin, and also is an old restored building. There is a small train that apparently runs around the building. This old stuff is "sort of new", so I am not sure exactly what it will be (or what its like when its open) but enjoyed it.
At any case a good Sunday ride. I also rode on Monday with a buddy from work (Steve, who took early retirement from the job that brought me to Virginia) , but that was the warmest day of the year. Nice ride in the country, but we cut that one short. Partly due to the heat, also due to things I needed to do to get ready to come back to Virginia for two weeks. On top of everything, had some car issues to deal with while I was home, luckily that turned out well. I also got the required NC auto inspection, so good for another year with the state.
Getting back to Sunday, Patty and I did a little exploring. Went a number of places, including a first look at Ikea which is new to University City, NC just outside of Charlotte, NC. Ikea (for the few that do not know) sells furniture; and really enjoyed checking out the store. It is wildly popular and I could see why. Prices and many of the items they sell are creative, interesting and very inexpensive. Plan on spending a good amount of time there, as the crowd is huge at the store. They also have some interesting food there with (by the look of it) Swedish meatballs being very popular. The University area was very packed on Sunday, in addition to being the home of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (aka UNCC) it also has a great number of retail areas.
It was a very good trip home. Using a bank vacation day, made it a three day weekend. That makes it more worthwhile, but still a short visit to me. Enjoyed time with my wife, son and the two border collies who never fail to keep me laughing. Patty will be here at the end of the month in Richmond, looking forward to showing off some of the town sights I have seen so far, we are also going to explore the food choices here. I have found a few local places of interest, but looking for some more; and that is my project for this weekend. I think when you go to a town the more interesting places to eat are the local ones rather than the national chains. That search will be the focus of my next post!

Along the Midlothian Turnpike

Nice low key weekend in the Richmond, VA area. Spent the weekend here, took some time to do a little exploring along the Midlothian Turnpike. Wanted to take a look at it, basically its my backyard, but have been wandering on my weekends here more downtown and also around Petersburg. Plus, my wife Patty will be spending a weekend here with me at the end of the month, and there is a quilt shop in Midlothian that she wants to see, and I thought it a good idea to find that. Turned out to be fairly easy, the quilt shop is behind Crab Louie's in a bright yellow building, and looks like a good size place.
On previous visits I went to the Midlothian Mines which is sort of neat; something remarkable about very old abandoned ruins; and have been to the big mall just past 288. This trip I went to Lowe's (for research on a project I am working on back in North Carolina), and took a tour of the Chesterfield Towne Center which was a return trip. Made a first visit to Hooters; hoped they would have another bike show, but no such luck this visit but enjoyed a tasty barley malt. Rode up to the big mall after finding the quilt shop, passing a string of strip malls. Again have been to a few of those (really liked the Richmond Music Center in one of them) but relatively nameless commercial sites. A string of car dealerships from one end to the other.
At the big mall, many of the buildings are empty, but a few places of interest in there. Stopped for lunch at CiCi's Pizza. I like it, and even like the "Welcome to CiCi's" greeting you get at all of those. Cheap eats and sometimes some really good surprises in there. Went by Books A Million for a while, nothing like a bookstore.
Drove on up, went past some country roads. Came across a Civil War sign, so turned down a very twisty road found an old Confederate graveyard. Out of the 250 or so graves, only 92 were identified. Nice little monument there, find a great many of those sort of things here. Circled around and got back on 288, rode back down Midlothian Turnpike and back to the apartment. Rented a movie at Blockbuster before going to the apartment; Watchmen was pretty interesting with some great music and a rather different sort of story. Have to say I enjoyed it, not your typical superhero movie at all.
Today have pretty much stuck close to home. Did get the laundry done at the laundrymat; one of the joys of apartment living. Always an interesting group there though; its a real multicultural experience. Cleaned the apartment here, and have been watching X-Games and the occasional drizzle outside under very cloudy skies.

Visiting Kannapolis, NC (July 26, 2009)

I like Sunday morning motorcycle rides; traffic is light with people either in church, or relaxing on a Sunday morning. Good time to get out and ride for a while without most of the usual dangers (such as Cars for instance). Plus its peaceful, cooler in the early am, and Sunday was a very fine day on all counts. I rode to Kannapolis, NC which is known as the hometown of Dale Earnhardt, Sr (and he is featured on a big statue in the square) and the former home of the Pillowtex Mills. At one time they employed thousands. A nice town, took a photo of my motorcycle in front of the GEM Theater. It goes way back, but still shows first run movies. Good admission prices, and if you like popcorn and cokes they won't clean out your wallet.

This is the great hope for Kannapolis, the NC Research Center. It is planned (was created by the President of Dole Foods) as a giant bio-technology center. Quite a few buildings have been (and are continuing to be) built on the grounds of the former giant mill buildings. The closing of the mills were the largest mass layoff in NC history. As I write this today in nearby Concord, Philip Morris is closing its giant factory which two years ago employed some 2,500 people. Richmond, VA is now the home of the last US Philip Morris factory. The last few years and especially this recession has been tough on North and South Carolina.
It was a very good visit to the area; spent three days there, and am now back in Richmond, VA. Looking forward to some interesting exploring this weekend; sure is a great deal to see and do here in Richmond.

On the Rest Stop Issue...A Road Warrior Perspective

As expected as I saw the signs posted near the planned closings on my last trip to Richmond, the state today closed 18 rest areas in Virginia, including a number along my well traveled route from Richmond to basically the NC border. I like the rest areas, they offer a peaceful oasis along the route, have at times been a good place to duck during severe storms, good location to check out real and possible car problems, and of course those all important rest rooms. Sometimes its just a good place to get out, and get away from the seat of the car for a bit. I have used rest areas for picnics (when traveling to other places with my wife) though not during these solo trips to Virginia.
Will just have to adapt to the change; often make a stop in South Hill, VA for food on the way back, and often on the way up. Have made a fuel stop during my trip to move into the apartment here in the rental truck; many places along the road are sort of well off the road and kind of isolated. Sure this will make a lot of changes to the traveling public....but not much else we can do.
West Virginia travel centers are pretty commercial; have a number of places to eat in them, and also many gift shops. I guess that will be (if I had to bet) the future of the rest stops here, think that they will eventually go that route. Better that then to just leave them closed.
I understand the state has to save some money, and its always sad when its your ox is gored. This may be a safety issue for some, especially big rigs, and older folks (plus a real issue for families with children). It has even gotten to be a issue with the election as candidates are promising a quick re-opening.

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.