Three Days in Concord (Jan 16-18)

Got out a bit on the motorcycle today; after all the cold for the last month both in Carolina and in Virginia felt like t-shirt weather when it got up to 60 today. Under blue Carolina skies, went for a ride on the motorcycle. Actually ended up at Lowe's Motor Speedway which is seen here at the left. A very impressive track, and interesting to see when its all quiet and nothing much is going on. It is a huge powerful thing, but will be very busy very soon; NASCAR will be cranking back up in in a very few weeks. In fact the Daytona 500 is February 14, 2010 this year. Looking forward to that, and should be a great race. NASCAR will be at Lowe's three times this year.

Also while out on the bike (though earlier) went to Kannapolis, NC, Landis, NC and China Grove (China Grove is the city in this photo at left). Landis and China Grove are very small towns outside of Kannapolis, NC. Like Kannapolis, they were mill towns and have fallen on some hard times, but are still hanging in there. Was nice to get out today. Before coming back, a few former co-workers (and in two cases motorcycle riding buddies ) gathered to see Steve who learned this week that he is facing a very serious battle with Cancer. Where there is life, there is hope, but will be a tough struggle for him.
Had relatively good weather for this trip though like Virginia got some rain on Saturday and a bit Sunday morning before it cleared Saturday afternoon. Had a great time with my wife Patty, son Robby, and the dogs Cassie and Mollie. As with all my time home, too short; but will be back soon. In the morning its back on the road for the long drive to Richmond and the adventures that await there!

Avatar and a (last?) look at the snow

Today, got up early to see Avatar. I like sci-fi movies a great deal, but was a little wary of this film as it is three hours long. Last movie I saw that long (Titanic) by the same director was a bit draggy in spots (though a good movie overall) and three hours is a long movie in my book. However, got to say it does fairly clip along, seemed much shorter than its running time. I enjoyed it a great deal, thought the special effects (by all means, pay the extra to see it in 3-D; this movie shows what 3-D in a film can really do) were awesome. I not only would go see it again, but I will go see it again in a few weeks (and judging by the crowds there, I think its going to have a long run.
Speaking of long runs, though these were not the most impressive at the mall by far, here you can see the snow piles that were all over the area. Amazing in number and some remarkable in size, it is staggering when we consider that the snow fell on December 18+19. This speaks both to the amount of the snow, and the cold it has been since those two days of so called "white wonder". Many here love snow, but I am sure looking forward to spring, summer and fall. Course, winter days spent as I did today are almost enough to make me appreciate the cold weather. All this should be gone by the end of the week, when we will again see some 50s according to the forecasters.

Driving Up Commerce Road (January 9,2010)

A friend at work suggested a visit to Legend Brewing Company on 7th Street in Richmond, Va. I got directions from him via Commerce Road, which was a very interesting drive past a number of industrial sites, plus the big Philip Morris factory. It is a pretty rugged road which is probably due to heavy truck traffic. On the way to Legends went by the old Stockton Street tobacco factory which is now converted to condos, and got to the bar a little after noon. Nice place, and checked out a pint from their selection of Richmond made beers. As you can see, a nice view from the deck. Thought it was a very nice place, will be worth a return visit in the future.
Not really much to look at on the outside, but inside was nice with an English pub sort of look. Crowd was pretty friendly and the bartender was nice as well. When I left, walked over to "Scoot Richmond". They have motor scooters from 50-300 cc's, looked to be some nice bikes. I have a larger motorcycle, but always interested in the world of two-wheels. Did like the shop, again very friendly bunch in there, and a great pit bull which was very friendly as well. Seem to know their product line, and not a real high pressure place which is refreshing. Scooters have come a long way over the years, and some of them are real advanced.

I wandered around Richmond a bit, making a final stop at Village Cafe. I had seen that a few days ago on an episode of "Diners, Drive-in's and Dives" and thought it would be fun to visit. It was packed on the inside, both a reflection of the prices of the food, and the quality...both were very pleasing! That would be the second great discovery from the tv show (the other is The Penguin in Charlotte, NC) that has turned out to be a worthwhile trip. Like with Legends (and who knows maybe even Scoot Richmond) I will be back to check that out.
Nice day of exploring; like Richmond on a Saturday as the traffic is really light. Saw some more new sites, and took a different route (including a drive along the James River) back to the apartment. Good first exploration for the first real drive of the new year for me. Though I have been here for a few days, have not been out far. Tomorrow, going to see "Avatar" which even non-scifi fans have been raving about, which has me thinking this might be well worth the trip as well. Will be writing on what I find from that in my next post.

Sunday in Concord, NC (January 3, 2009)

Back to Richmond in the morning, photo at left is (Thankfully!) not me; but will be time once again to run the gauntlet between here and Richmond, VA. Police tend to be heavy it seems around Salisbury, NC, Durham, NC and also in that great void between Durham and Richmond, VA. Especially love that one section just outside of Petersburg where the 70 mph speed limit winds down in 3 quick stages; tends to be a popular speed trap. Thankfully no tickets in 2009, hope to maintain that pattern in 2010. The problem is really in North Carolina, while I have been impressed with the Virginia drivers, on the highways of NC its turn one at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Can make for some gripping driving; tend to keep a firm hand on the wheel.
Last week did get out to Concord Mills. Entrance to the Bass Pro Shop (one of the most popular stores in the mall) is seen at left. Concord Mills is largely an outlet mall, and a very popular one. Patty and I wandered around with the "after Christmas shoppers"; and they did have a lot of really good values. Sometimes think that be best to give rain checks for Christmas, and do the shopping after the holiday. At any case, was fun to wander around. It is a huge mall with different "sectors" following different design themes, and laid out like a race track (oval). I should also mention that it is North Carolina's #1 tourist attraction which is sort of sad in a way.

Photo at left is the food court; got quite a selection of places to eat, sort of like the Chesterfield Towne Center in Richmond, though on a much larger scale (and has a Merry Go Round in the center...it works by the way). A great many smaller malls have opened by Concord Mills; gets to be quite the traffic jam around the Christmas holidays backing I-85 up for miles.
As for me, have had a great visit here. Will roll back into Richmond in the morning. Have enjoyed a great break from work, but will be good to get back into the routine. Besides its too cold to ride the motorcycle. However on that note do have to mention that went to the Vulcan Riders Association meeting (Charlotte chapter) yesterday, temperature was a balmy 22 degrees and roughly 2/3s of those attending rode their motorcycles in. As for me...I passed on that (though did get some good rides in this week and last). Looking forward to new explorations of Richmond and the surrounding area in 2010!

Concord....So Far

Got out this morning a bit before noon, taking the motorcycle for a ride. Been a great visit so far, even the bike seemed happy to see me (started right up) on Thursday, and again today. Went for a good long ride on a chilly North Carolina day under blue skies with light white clouds. Photo at left is Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Nice race shop, kind of shoots down the image of these little shops building race cars (instead they are multi-million dollar operations). DEI was closed today, but it was fun to ride by there. The road its on (believe it or not, its NC-3...and yeah got that number for Dale Sr.) is a very nice road out of Kannapolis, NC.
I rode on into Huntersville, NC on NC-115, another nice Carolina rode. Huntersville, like Concord is home to quite a few race teams, as well as this Christmas tree display downtown. Many of the houses in the area spent the weekend taking their Christmas lights down, but still a lot of displays (and quite a few houses...including mine) with the lights still on, and the Christmas trees still up. Christmas, and in fact the entire visit so far with family and friends has been fantastic. Having a very good time to this point so far. Everything has been going well, and looking forward to the next few days.
Have been following the news from Richmond while I have been here. Seems to have been a pretty good holiday in Richmond for most people and over the weekend. I assume (due to lack of mention) that the remains of the great snowfall are gone at last. Will be back there in a few days, but in the meantime, nothing could be finer, than to be in Carolina (as the song goes).

Slipping in the Snow

Having come from Carolina where a fraction of this amount of snow is enough to shut down the region (and start a mad dash to the grocery for those staples of life: Milk and Bread) this December 18 and 19 storm really brought some adventure into my life. Some eleven years ago I was living in Louisville, Kentucky where snow like this was common, so I do enjoy it. However, as I saw on the drive home from work Friday night, it will be a big month for area body shops. For them, this will be a real Christmas gift! Driving from work down VA-150 took well over an hour to cover the 10 mile distance. I was impressed that people were not going fast (not that it would have done much good to do so) but kept a slow steady pace largely single file. Got the car back to the apartment complex in one piece, where it sits awaiting the thaw. Took this photo today during a walk to see what it looks like. Winter is a beautiful time, and I have seen some very fine looking photos. I guess the timing could not better in some cases, though I am sure this will put a crimp on some late Christmas shopping. Traffic (took this around 2pm) was almost nothing. This will be a good night to enjoy the Christmas tree, a good movie and a hot bowl or two of homemade chili. Enjoy the snow, above all be safe!

A December Night of Tacky Lights

Armed with printed directions, and with a general knowledge of where I was going, took to the streets of Richmond in search of the Tacky Light Tour. It is a bit of an adventure in the dark, but was able to find what I was looking for. Actually the first place I went to was not lit and I thought "this is off to a rousing start" but I continued on. Came to Asbury Ct where two adjoining houses were lit to a degree that could probably be seen from space. I actually knew I was close as I could see the houses from some distance away. It was a remarkable sight to behold. I am told the two houses have a total of some 4,000,000 lights; and I can believe that!
These are the two Asbury Ct houses from a distance. One has to wonder how they got the lights in the trees like that, pretty tall order and a whole lot of lights around them. It was also fun to see all the displays around the yard, I had parked up the street and walked around to the houses, and was glad I did that. Lots of eye candy around the yard; everwhere you looked there was something amazing to see. There were also some limos there, some tour buses, and a lot of cars. Those houses alone were worth going out for tonight. However, found a few more to check out in the course of the drive. Back to the car and back on the road...I came across more!
A little out of order, before coming to Asbury Ct, came across this house on a creek (or river...whatever) and took this photo from the bridge. Again a really impressive bit of work went into this house, and liked the way it was reflected on the water. I had actually seen a few other places; Richmond really does a fine job of lighting up the city. Passed quite a few places on the road and had many oh wow moments driving around. Not quite as great as it would have been if Patty was there, but will get her up here before Christmas is over. In fact we did see some of the Tour last year when we came down to check out work and some of the city.

When I left Asbury Ct, followed one of the tour buses, and came across this house just a few blocks away. Again, another impressive display of lights! Lost the bus, but rolled on in what I thought was the general direction of Richmond. Luckily, I was right and via I-64 and I-95 got to The Boulevard and rolled on to Cary Street. Last stop of the night was The James Center which had a nice display. I also enjoyed the way the skyscrapers were lined out in lights, and there was a small band playing Christmas music. From, there it was back to the apartment. Got to say though, my two experiences checking out the Tacky Light Tour were really remarkable. You guys really put on quite a Christmas light show!