Christmas Lights in North Carolina

Spent a good four day weekend in North Carolina with family and friends. Always good to be back home, and especially nice to be there for four days. Great food and a wonderful time over Thanksgiving; plus good traveling weather up and back. Got the lights up at my house, and the "Santa on the Motorcycle" yard display (have that on my motorcycle blog). Sunday night Patty and I got some coffee, and took a ride to see some of the light displays. The one at left is the lights at Cannon Village in Kannapolis, NC. Sadly, many of the stores there (due to the economy) are closed, but they still have it all lit up. Not a great many houses were decorated, but enough to make it an interesting drive around the area.
In Downtown Concord, this is the city Christmas Tree. They have a big event lighting it with all sorts of food, music, stores opened up, and even a fireworks display after the tree is lit (and last year it was a pretty good one). This year for the lighting I was in Richmond (which also does a really good job of Christmas displays as I have seen so far) so missed it, but the tree was nice to see.
For the upcoming weekend, hope to see if I can find any of the famous "Tacky Light Houses" in the Richmond area. Patty and I got to take a bus tour of the lights in the area, and it was remarkable. There are a few houses in the Charlotte/Concord area that would qualify for Tacky Light status, but not on the scale here! To me this is one of the best times of the year, and am looking forward to a fun Christmas in both cities this year.

Stony Point/Shockoe Bottom (Nov 21-22, 2009)

Saturday night went to Stony Point Fashion Park to see the Christmas Tree Lighting. Surprisingly, there was quite a crowd there; must have come across a really good idea due to sheer luck. I like Christmas, and especially enjoy the lights and sounds of the season. This was a nice event; they had people handing out antlers (lighted) to kids, had Santa there, and even had an ice skating rink open...all free too. Dodging the masses of people with their stroller and well bundled kids I wandered around the stores for a while, and then at 7pm sharp they lit the tree seen at the left. They even made snow and blew it from the roofs of the stores and you can also see that in the photo. It was a very nice touch. Met a couple of people due to a Jeff Gordon t-shirt I was wearing, they were NASCAR fans, and were surprised to find I was from Concord, NC. Talked some about racing, also a bit about (of all things) Christmas at the Biltmore in Asheville. They asked if I had ever been ("yes") and if I thought it was worthwhile to go to ("hell yes!").

Forgot to mention they also had the band "The Kings of Swing" playing. I think I heard from the stage that they have been together since 1974; was a nice tight unit though. So far I have not been able to do much exploring of the local Richmond music scene, but have quite a bit of time left for that. To me though, there is nothing like live music, and did enjoy that part of the night a great deal. Played a lot of old classic music. I really did not expect last night to be all that much, but it was a good time for a couple of hours. What really surprises me in Richmond are the things that I come across out of the blue that turn out to be really fun.

Today, on Sunday, got out in the car and rolled down a part of the Midlothian Turnpike that was new to me. Sign off of 150 says "Richmond" to via that route to Richmond I was bound! Somewhat of a gritty area; with a lot of older neighborhoods, old factories, empty storefronts, and rolled straight into Shockoe Bottom. Been there a few times, but like that a great deal. Got out of the car and wandered around. I have seen this entrance which I would guess is an old sort of mall idea that (apparently) did not pan out. Never have seen it get any use, or anyone go in and out, but looks like it was one someones bright idea.

Probably will be again I would guess, for Richmond certainly recycles buildings. This building in Shockoe Bottom looks to be in the process of being re-worked into something else. Warehouses, old tobacco factories, buildings of all sorts...Richmond turns them into something new. Not that much different from my old hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Not so in Charlotte, NC..there an old building is 20 years old, and its torn down and turned into a new mall or apartment complex. Charlotte is constantly changing to an amazing degree (though with the economy that has slowed down a great deal in the last few months).
Good couple of interesting days in Richmond though. Fun to do things completely for the first time, and to see things that I have never seen. Was eleven years ago that I rolled into Charlotte thinking "man, how did I get into this?" while exploring that town. It is fun to be here, and doing it all again!

Around Town (Post Museum) November 14, 2009

In what is now yesterday, following the tour of the Science Museum of Virginia (previous post) wanted to do a little more exploring. There were some monuments on Monument Avenue that I have not seen; the one of Matthew Fontaine Maury ("Pathfinder of the Seas") and the tennis great Arthur Ashe (seen at left). Of course the Richmond Marathon was going on at this time, so traffic was a bit wild. Still, even on a gloomy, misty and gray day, Monument Avenue is a beautiful street. Some say it is one of the most beautiful roads in the US; I would be hard pressed to name many if any that could top it (and I have been a few places over the years).
Due to the race traffic I took a few detours and ended up in Shockoe Slip and Shockoe Bottom (thanks to previous visits). I made a quick visit to Buffalo Wild Wings there. The place was filled with Virginia Tech fans watching the game, and that was fun. I got out for a bit, taking a walk around the area. Liked this photo of Canal Walk that I took with a hint of fall color still. I have been on Canal Walk down near Belle Isle, but had not seen much of this end of it. Due to the weather it was pretty quiet (though normally seems to be that way in visits I have made to the other end) but nice to walk around. The water is really brown due to all the rain of late around here. That has really had a big impact on water levels.
Nothing much shows that more than the last photo here. I took this from a very neat old bridge near Shockoe Slip (the name escapes me) that I walked to. That is the James River, and it is well up over normal. Tried to get to it from some other vantage points that I knew, but many of the roads were closed due to the river level. It was nice today to see the winds less, and the rain reduced to a drizzle, but still a gray day. The last time I have seen the sun at all, was last Monday morning before the motorcycle ride in North Carolina. However, while heading out tonight for a quick dinner and a visit to Barnes and Noble saw something else I have not seen in some time....stars in the sky. That goes to show, that sometimes it pays to look up! Hopefully, that is a positive sign for the upcoming Sunday. It would be nice if the day lives up to its name!

Science Museum of Virginia

After days of rain, and an overcast Saturday, had to get out for a while. Where I work, I get free admission to the Science Museum of Virginia and considering it was a really dank and dark day weather wise again, seemed like a good idea. The museum is at 2500 West Broad Street; had been past it before but this time took a walk around the displays. The museum was the former Broad Street Train Station (and is on the National Register of Historic Places). This photo at left is of the Christmas tree in the main lobby. Above that is a very impressive dome. There are actually displays on four levels, and an IMAX theater inside the museum.
They had a nice display of space items. Most of the museum was geared toward children, but did like seeing the small sliver of moon rock (top part of photo at left) and the small Virginia flag both of which were brought back from the moon by Apollo 17 (least I believe it was Apollo 17). There were many interesting items. The museum had a nice shark display of small tiger sharks and I got to touch one of them in the water which is unique to me anyhow. Liked the people in the museum, they liked to show off what they had on display. Had a few nice dinosaur bones as well; found enough to keep me interested, and was fun to walk around and see what they had.

I really liked the Aluminaut; this ship was used by both the US Navy and Jacques Cousteau in research. Read that it could go down to 17,000 feet; was built in 1964 and retired in 1970. It was once used to find an atomic bomb lost off the coast of Spain in 1966 when a B-52 and a KC-135 collided while refueling. I spent some time in the Navy hunting Russian submarines from a P-3 Orion, nice to find this one so easily. I was also impressed with a locomotive on display outside, they have kept a lot of the train station items (the passenger loading area and tracks are still on the site).It was a nice place to visit on a very gloomy day in Richmond. I also got to spend a bit more time in Richmond this afternoon doing some exploring; will save that for my next post here.

Aerial Visits in VA and NC

On the way back to Carolina on November 7, being an aviation fan (former Navy squadron service) and being that many of the rest stops are closed in Virginia, stopped at the Dinwiddie County Airport. The terminal is seen to the left. Nice and relatively new airport with a C-130 to view in the area (though from behind a fence). Did some checking, found it was built in 1943 as a Navy aircraft ferry airport (built in three months
with barracks, fuel storage and trucks, maintenance, restrooms and a Red Cross canteen. Nice modern airport and was nice to look around. Had some old hangars on the site, and a lot of aircraft parked in the area.

Went by Concord Regional Airport during my visit home on a motorcycle ride in Concord, NC. The terminal there is all decked out for the upcoming Christmas holiday. Concord Regional is the home to many NASCAR teams aircraft (Hendrick has a big hanger there) and is constantly expanding. It is either the fourth or fifth (not sure exact number) busiest airport in North Carolina, and is located just a few minutes from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Fun to be there, can see a lot of planes takeoff and land from that airport. Day I was there the parking lot was packed, took a bit to find a place to park the motorcycle.

Speaking of flying, this is Mollie waiting for me to fly the frisee in front of a fall colored bush. Was a nice visit, had a birthday this trip. Last birthday dinner was held on November 8 during Patty and my first visit to Richmond (at the Chili's in Chester, VA) , this year was at Chili's in Concord, NC (no real reason, just worked out that way). Enjoyed great weather there with blue skies and 70s all weekend (Richmond also had a fine weekend as well I heard). Patty, Robby, Cassie, Mollie and a couple of great motorcycle rides; can't ask for anything better. Looking forward to a couple of interesting weekends in Richmond, VA next, and some exploring around the area.

Gaines Mill/Cold Harbor (October 31, 2009)

On a gray Richmond weekend with drizzle, went on a drive to check out a little more Civil War history. Near Mechanicsville, VA are two battlefields of note. The first is seen to the left; Gaines Mill. Part of the 1862 Campaign to defend/capture Richmond (depending on your point of view) the battle here was part of the Seven Days Campaign. The battles were the first in which General Robert E. Lee commanded the Confederate Army in a series of battles with the Union Army under General George B. McClellan. Gaines Mill was fought on June 27, 1862 about one mile from the Mill.


The house seen here was the headquarters of one of the Union commanders at the battle (General Fitz John Porter). It was built in 1820 and was a plantation house for the Watt family. The battle at this site was the heaviest of the Seven Days; by nightfall of June 27, some 15,000 soldiers of both sides were killed or wounded. The defeat of the Union Army here soon lead to the retreat of the Union Army north, and the Confederate invasion of Maryland later in the war. General Lee lead the Army of Northern Virginia to the end of the war. The battlefield had a nice trail, and covered a relatively small area but with a lot of information signs.
Second site I visited was Cold Harbor, just up the road a short distance (1-2 miles) from Gaines Mill. The cannon seen here is part of the Confederate lines. Cold Harbor was a series of battles from June 1-3, 1864 against entrenched Confederate defenses. General Grant said after the battle that he regretted the attacks at Cold Harbor. It was a different period in the war, as the Confederates were behind defensive positions some six miles long. Few of the trees seen in the photo were there in 1864, the Union Army attacked across open fields. Some 16,000 soldiers of both sides were killed or wounded in the battles there June 1-3, 1864.

The defenses at Cold Harbor some 140 years later do not look like much seen here. They did though to the Union troops told they would be attacking them; they pinned their names to their shirts so they could be identified when killed. On June 3, they went against the Confederate lines at 4:30 am, and an hour later some 6,000 were dead or dying in front of them. Something like 1,000 Confederate soldiers were killed or wounded in the fighting. The war around Petersburg and Richmond turned into virtual siege warfare from that point on. Eventually the Union forces broke the lines that defended the two cities, and the war came to an end.
It is amazing how much history there is to be seen in this area, the Civil War being just a part (though a big part) of what happened in the region. This being the Confederate capital city, much of the war both early on and especially later was centered around Richmond. It is amazing to see places that I just read about in the history books in school many years ago. It is great to see the respect and preservation that exists for these places, which were a part of a dark and bloody period in US history. The visits today were interesting and informative, and it was sobering to walk where so many brave men on both sides fought and died.

Three Days in Carolina, with Mountain Views and Detours

A great weekend in Carolina, started with a driving rain most of the trip home, but a smooth drive. Did skip the Lexington Barbecue Festival; finding that plans tend to be difficult to pull off so far from home. One plan that did not was the Monday motorcycle ride to the mountains. Patty was at work, and five of us planned to ride to check out the views. A rather cool and overcast day (but a great forecast from WSOC Channel 9 that was dead on) got Steve and me to ride. Left at 10am from Concord, rode up NC115 through Wilkesboro, NC and up NC 421 to Blowing Rock. Finding the Daniel Boone Inn packed, we stopped at The Canyons for lunch. Great food and reasonable prices (always surprising in the mountains) and a view to die for from the deck. On the way in we also rode through Boone, NC and past the campus of ASU; beautiful school and a really good football team (usually anyhow).
I was a sailor years ago, and always thought when we came to Carolina that the beach would be the main spot to visit. For sure, have made a few trips there. However, it has been the mountains that I most look forward to. Maybe its the people, or the views, or the great roads (such as this photo taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway; which is a national treasure) but there is something compelling about being in the high country. Even without the amazing fall colors, there is just a huge number of "oh wow, look at that" moments. A strangely peaceful place which you can't wait to get to, and find hard to leave. Great part of a Monday visit, is that the crowds are a whole lot less than you find on the weekends. I have found that to be true often, and that is when we head for the hills!

The Grandview Overlook is a favorite spot to just stand, pause and reflect. Due to time, did not get to ride as much as usual on The Parkway, but it was sure good to be back there. A person could spend years exploring that road. In fact it runs into Virginia, and a dream some day would be to go to the beginning (hopefully on the bike) and ride it to the very end. As for us, our ride ended at 5pm back in Concord. We rode back via the same route. Often like to take NC-321, but its under heavy construction; often (usually Tuesday and Thursday) its closed for blasting in one of those long time on going projects. Thankfully North Carolina is full of great alternative routes.
The many alternative routes really paid off Tuesday on the way back to Richmond. Started in Concord at Exit 58, where a cattle truck had turned over. Sadly the driver was killed, and a number of cows got out having survived the crash. In fact rounding them up took all of the day, and some of the night. A detour to Copperfield Road was backed up for miles; so I rode up Old Concord/Salisbury Road to Lane Street where I easily got on I-85. So far so good; I'm rolling, and work is a few hours away. Along comes Exit 113; a gas truck had crashed and I-85 was CLOSED. Detour to NC-64 and NC-220 (220 was actually a pretty nice road) to Greensboro. Always wondered what would happen in this "long distance commute" if I came across problems on the road; found I could handle two in one day. Made it in time to have a few minutes before heading to work from 3-11pm.
So....back in the apartment waiting to see what adventures await me over the next few days in Richmond, VA.