My Other River City: Louisville (October 11-15)

Spent a few days in Louisville this month, it is my hometown, and a very interesting town as well. Enjoyed visiting family and friends and also wandering around interesting places. Louisville and Richmond have a great deal in common, both being older cities (though Richmond is much older by far), but both being cities that keep a connection to the past. Louisville though has been through a number of hard times. It was once an industrial city, but many of the old industries have gone South or to other countries. It often works to re-invent itself. One such re-invention was the creation of the entertainment complex called "Fourth Street Live". It was created out of a downtown shopping complex called "The Galleria" which failed to catch on.
Louisville is the home of the Louisville Slugger and this is the factory where they are made. They used to be made just a few years ago in nearby Jeffersonville, Indiana after being moved from Louisville some years prior to that. The bat outside the factory is actually made of steel, but its pretty impressive and can be seen from a great distance (including from Indiana). The factory offers tours and has many historical items there. Louisville is also the home of the Louisville RiverBats AAA baseball team. What REALLY is the most important sport in Louisville though is basketball; though it can be either the Louisville Cardinals of U of L, or the Kentucky Wildcats of U of K. Basketball talk is a year round event in the city. Hockey was popular for a while, and so was Arena football, but for now both are gone. Horse racing especially around the first Saturday in May is also a major event of "some" local importance. For two weeks around that event, Louisville celebrates the Kentucky Derby, and that is a great time to visit with a host of events.

Much like Richmond, Louisville celebrates the old. These buildings on Main Street are used, and date to the late 1800's-early 1900's. Louisville likes to find new uses for old buildings (unlike Charlotte which likes to tear down even not so old buildings....Charlotte is constantly changing with very few buildings older than 1950). Old factories are condo developments, new businesses, or even nightclubs. At this corner is a very interesting hotel which features art as a draw inside. Many small and interesting places to eat can be found along Main Street, as well as a number of museums: the Louisville Science Center, an Arms Museum, the Kentucky Center for the Arts, and further down the road many newer buildings. Louisville is a mix of the past and the present; without neglecting either. It is a home to many interesting bands, and has a very lively music scene. NRBQ, My Morning Jacket, and Days of the New are among the bands that have called the Louisville area home.


Above all, like Richmond, Louisville is a River City. This is Louisville from the Indiana side of the Ohio River. From here you can see downtown Louisville. At the far left under the cranes is the new Arena going up (which will be the home of the Louisville Cardinals) and you can see the Belle of Louisville steamboat docked in front. Many events are held along the riverfront from air shows to concerts, to festivals of all types. Some changes do not come easy. Louisville has three bridges that run from Indiana to Kentucky and has been trying for almost 30 years to build two new ones. Lawsuits have kept that just a dream. Change is often difficult in the city. Though I have been gone for some 11 years, it still is easy for me to find my way around with very little change. (Unlike the Charlotte region where when I have not visited areas for just a couple of months find myself marveling "when did they build that?"). Louisville is a city where the old adage "the more things change, the more they stay the same" is really true. One thing for certain though, its a great place to visit, and I look forward to my twice yearly wanderings around the town.

Panthers Game Day and Charlotte, NC (October 11,2009)

My son Robby and I went to the Carolina Panthers/Washington Redskins game on Sunday October 11 in Charlotte, NC. For me, it was a short drive from my home in Concord, NC though did run into a lot of Virginia based Redskin fans who had made the drive I make every couple of weeks from my "other home" in Richmond. Photo at left is a view of the city taken from the walk from the parking lot. Charlotte is a pretty neat town, and has a number of new buildings going up (th0ugh read one of them is "on hold" and only partly completed due to the economy). Big thing in Charlotte last few years has been condos, and there are a great many there.

Walking on up, got this photo of Bank of America Stadium. I have been to football games when I lived in Kentucky; saw the Bears, Bengals, and Colts on various road (and in the case of Chicago by air) games. Bank of America stadium is very nice and a first class facility (though have not seen the new ones in Indy and Cincinnati) and a very nice place to see a game. The stadium is right at the end of NC29 (which also runs through Concord). One of the neat things about the area is the road system; can take I-85 to downtown, or the "backroad" route of NC-29 to the stadium. Parking is pretty wild though; we paid $10 around a mile from the stadium, up close it was running $35 (but the lots were packed even at that price).

I like the big cats at the entrance(s) pretty neat statues; two on each side of the (four) ways in. There was some things going on outside, saw the Top Cats perform, and a local radio host was working the crowd. There were some parties going on in the parking lots, and some of them were pretty remarkable. One group had a very large screen tv under a tent, and a grill they had towed in for the game. Lots of music playing of all types, and some huge crowds for the game. Weather looked bad all day long, but the forecast held and we never got a drop of rain.


Got this photo of the team coming out for the game. As for the game itself, got to say that neither team (have seen the Panthers play on tv during a few visits home, Washington play on tv when I spend weekends here) that if either team is planning to go to the Super Bowl they had better get tickets soon (heard it tends to sell out early). I don't see either one getting into the playoffs at this point in the season. Enjoyed the game though, and it was the first win for Carolina in 2009. It was a strange game in a lot of ways, but enjoyed being there. The Redskins have a lot of local fans from the days when Charlotte did not have a football team, also that so many people in Charlotte have other teams from their days in other parts of the country. Had a good group as noted earlier from Virginia and enjoyed visiting with them. Mostly good natured bantering during the game, though I did see a couple of fights in my section, which is unusual for a football game (though not for NASCAR races). As some of us noted, kind of strange considering the record of both teams at this point.
Great thing was that we got back home in less than an hour; again the highway was pretty backed up (judging from the slow movement up the ramp) so we rolled down NC-29 and had no problems getting back. Plus, enjoy seeing University City and that was a treat as well. It was a very nice day in Charlotte, NC.

Virginia Drizzle Drive (September 26, 2009)

Spending another weekend in Richmond, and this one has been gray and overcast, with bits of spitting rain. However, figured it was a good day to get in a little morning exploring. I started out with a drive to Colonial Harley-Davidson and nearby Burcham Cycles in Prince George, VA. I am a motorcycle fan, and enjoyed visiting those shops. Colonial sells (duh) Harley-Davidson (but also Buell Motorcycles...many HD dealers have dropped the Buell line) and Burcham sells Kawasaki (I have a Vulcan Classic waiting for me in Concord, NC), Suzuki and Yamaha motorcycles. It was a nice quick drive out to the shops; Burcham was a nice surprise.
As for the photo above, that is the library at Hopewell, VA. I have been to Hopewell on a previous visit, but liked the town and wanted to give it a "second look" to see some of what I missed last time. Library building is striking on the outside, but really liked the inside as well.
Not far from the library is the Beacon Theater. I read someplace that it has been fixed up on the inside, and is used. I like old buildings, and Hopewell had quite a few. Kannapolis, NC has a great old theater (The Gem, previously featured on these pages) which is used to show first run movies, and is a great place to see films thanks to its great old balconies. Not sure what The Beacon is used for, but nice to see it in use and not in ruins. Charlotte, NC does not keep old places, they tear them down and build new ones; and I do miss the history there that can be found here.
In fact, I really got a feel for that at City Point. Wandered around the area there looking at many of the old houses. Many dated to the Civil War period when City Point was a major Union supply depot, and had roles to play in the war. Some of the houses were used by Union troops and the river was filled with tents, cabins, ships, horses pulling wagons, and thousands of Union troops.


Among those troops was General Grant, and this was the cabin he stayed in as City Point was also his headquarters during the Battle for Petersburg. I had another photo of it during my earlier visit, but this is another view. The cabin has been on display (moved from another site to where it was) for over 100 years, so only 10% of the wood is "original", but the design is the same. City Point also has the big house nearby to tour, and best of all, its all free. It also has great views of the river, and was a nice place to wander on a cool gray Virginia day.


It was a very enjoyable morning and early afternoon in Prince George, Hopewell and City Point, Va. I got to see more of Hopewell than I planned, as I got a little lost during the drive; but that is part of the fun of exploring. It was a very good day!

"Publick Days" (Henricus Historical Park)

This afternoon, on a gray Saturday, fired up the car (praying it would start) and rolled out to Henricus Historical Park for Publick Days. A big attraction was the replica ship "Godspeed" which made a visit to the park. Got to walk out on that ship, which was very interesting. Many of the crew were on there, and had a lot of good information on the voyage to Virginia (which I am told took 144 days!) and other voyages of the time. The ship was built according to the original plans. I was surprised to learn the ship was steered with a tiller rather than a ship's wheel. It was a beautiful replica of a long lost part of history.
The village was a sort of living history museum. Many of the people there played the roles of people of the time. Scene at left was a reenactment of a "Call to Arms". There were also blacksmiths, musicians, women doing laundry over kettles with boiling water (the Maytag of the day as one woman referred to it) and even people playing games of the time. I enjoyed the period buildings of the time, and the various crops such as tobacco, and the animals which all would have been part of daily life in 1611. In that year, 300 people lead by Sir Thomas Dale founded the settlement called "The Citie of Henricus" which was named for King James I eldest son.
I also enjoyed the Indian settlement which is "right next door". There was again much of the events which would have gone on in a village, as well as living areas, and cooking as seen in the photo at left.
The event was free (always good at times like these) with shuttle buses from the lots nearby. Best of all, if you have missed it today, there is another day to check it out tomorrow on Sunday September 20 from 10-5. Take Exit 61A near Chester and follow the signs to the park.
As I have often noted, the history to be found in Richmond and the surrounding region is nothing short of amazing. I had a great time today!

Weekend in North Carolina (September 12-15)

Enjoyed a fine visit to my family in North Carolina over the weekend. As noted in my previous post, had a good time at the Winston-Salem Air Show, and a nice Saturday night. One of the things Patty and I did was to watch the NASCAR race in Richmond.
Sunday got out on the motorcycle for a while after washing it, and we watched some football. Local game was the Panthers/Eagles; that got off to a good start, but then went rapidly downhill. After that, did a bit of running around with Patty, played frisbee with the dogs. It was a good weekend by the way, weather was really nice. A bit warmer than last weekend, but still not very humid. Monday took a motorcycle ride again, this time around Charlotte (which is easy to do, as the city covers a lot of area; believe its one of the larger cities area wise though not population wise) but made a stop at Hendrick Motorsports in Concord where, among other things, saw this technician working on one of Dale Earnhardt, Jr's cars. There are many buildings at Hendrick; Dale Jr's and Mark Martin's teams are in the same building.
I headed back to Richmond on Tuesday morning, with work the same day. I had car trouble, was was able to limp the Neon into Richmond. I took it (after dropping off some things at the apartment) to Firestone, but they felt it was a cruise control problem and could not tackle it. I was able to get a ride to work from a coworker, and a ride home while Firestone said it was ok to leave the car overnight. I called AAA who suggested Cloverleaf Tire and Auto, and that is where their tow truck took the car. Good people there, and was very happy with the service and the price....car was fixed later that afternoon in time for me to drive it to work.
Will be in Richmond this weekend, and have some fun things to check out on tap here this weekend!

Winston-Salem Air Show (September 12, 2009)

On the way back to Concord, NC on Saturday morning, took a detour to the Winston-Salem Air Show. Ran into massive traffic in Winston-Salem, but toughed it out, getting into the show a little after 12pm. I was able to check out the aircraft on display, and some really great flying. Very impressive was the B-1B bomber which made some very nice passes over the crowd which was among the largest number I have seen at this air show over the past few years. Wings back and afterburners lit this plane made quite a roar over the people below. It was a really impressive early flight in a day which was filled with some great flying in the skies over Winston-Salem, NC. Normally this is a motorcycle ride to the show, but with the Richmond transfer, normal has gone out the window this year.


Many interesting and historic planes were on display. I think the numbers of aircraft (probably due to the recession) were down this year. I did enjoy seeing this P-47 Thunderbolt, a warrior

from the WWII era. I believe something like 15,000 were built, but few are still flying. All sorts of planes were on display: old warplanes, aerobatic planes, transports, commercial, helicopters, private planes, new warplanes...just about anything you could imagine. They even had a school bus with a jet engine make a run down the runway. Though the air show charged an admission (parking was free) it was well worth the money to get in. I have always had a good time at the air show, and this year was no exception.


As noted modern warplanes were on display such as this F/A-18 Hornet which drew quite a crowd all day long. The F/A-18 replaces a lot of carrier planes including the F-14 Tomcat. Did a lot of walking, a bit of a stiff neck from looking up....and had a wonderful time.
Did not stay to the end, not wanting to be in a traffic jam going out, and besides, had my wife and family at home waiting for me; so headed out around 3:30, but just a short drive from there to Concord and a great weekend spent there. I will have some more on that in my next post.
As for other air shows; do have one to see in Virginia at NAS Oceana near Virginia Beach. Actually went to that air show many years ago in what was my first visit to Virginia, and looking forward to making that one (if the planets all align correctly). Also of note, the trip back had a bit of adventure on the way back to Richmond (still a bit of an on-going saga) and will write more on that in my next post.

Labor Day Weekend in Carolina (Sept 5-7)

After a very intense weekend with Patty during her visit to Richmond, had a laid back four day Labor Day weekend in Carolina. Patty and I mostly relaxed; I tacked a home project, and threw a lot of frisbee's with my two border collies Cassie and Mollie. The weather during the entire visit was perfect; no rain, low humidity.
I did get a motorcycle ride in on Sunday September 6 with Bill (in the blue shirt, rides the purple Honda Gold Wing) and Steve (in the brown shirt who rides the red Harley Ultra Classic). The silver Kawasaki Vulcan Classic is my ride. We stopped for lunch in Albemarle, NC at Harmanco's and rode out to Morrow Mountain.

I have been to Morrow Mountain (which is a North Carolina State Park) quite a few times lately. However, its a great ride out there, and riding around the park is really a lot of fun. While its a real gathering place for motorcyclists, it also offers camping, swimming, and hiking inside the park. It was Bill's first time to be up there, which was sort of a surprise, but he really enjoyed the park, and we took him on a good tour of the area. Steve took us back to Concord via some really fun backroads; course there are a great many of those there.
The four days were really nice, had a lot of fun with the family, also enjoyed seeing many friends from (my former) work. While I have a good time in Richmond, VA, its always fantastic to be back home again!