"Gypsy" Race Shop Tour (April 5, 2010)

Finally the planets aligned, and got out on the motorcycle this fine day (as can be seen by the photo at left) in Concord, NC and visited some of the local race shops in Concord, NC. At left is the first of the bunch; Hendrick Motorsports. Actually much to see in a collection of buildings you can see people building the cars, the cars, awards, and all sorts of items. Many such as Hendrick show in detail items that go into the cars, how they are assembled, and tell the stories of many of them on display. Most are right off the race track; damage, rubber and dirt included. They also have gift shops where you can purchase items, but admission (at least to these three is free to everyone.
The second photo was taken at Roush Racing. Roush has a very interesting shop, and this shop also has a small movie theater in addition to all the features of the other shops which shows a history of the racing team. Great variety of items including some aircraft parts from Jack Roush's 2002 plane crash are on display. As with Hendrick race teams at work can be seen, and as with Hendrick its a massive collection of buildings. The race teams have certainly gone a long way from the old "Garage teams of old" but are now multi-million dollar operations employing hundreds of employees per race team. They are something to see.
The last photo is the race shop where the cars are built at Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing. It is a big area and many of the teams cars are assembled here. As you will note, they build a number of cars to meet different needs, replace crashed cars, and for other uses for each driver. I have put a number of photos on my Flickr page from today's ride, and I hope you enjoy those. If you want to see these shops in Concord, all can be found within a mile or so of each other at the Concord Regional Airport in Concord, NC. All are also very close to Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's) which is actually located in Concord, NC as well.

Uptown Charlotte, April 3, 2010

Back in NC over Easter weekend (hope you all had a happy one) and yesterday took the motorcycle "uptown" as they call it here into Charlotte. I put a few more photos on my flickr photo page (there is a link to it on this page) but wanted to share a few here. Like getting into Charlotte, it is a fun town, and has a lot of sights to explore. I covered a lot of ground in a few hours. There are of course a lot of tall buildings in fact this monument is right in front of one of them. The Bank of America Building (and this statue) sits at "Founders Square"; and that is the BOA building right behind the Mother and Child. There are four statues in the square.
This second photo is the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum, which (if the newspaper is right) is due to open on May 11 of this year. Looks to be pretty close to done (at least on the outside). There are quite a few museums in Charlotte, including a really good science museum, quite a few history museums, a not too far away (at the airport) aviation museum and the new Bechtler Museum of Modern Art which is the photo directly below. Quite a lot to see and do downtown; Time Warner Cable Arena has Charlotte Bobcat basketball, Charlotte Checker hockey and during the year quite a few concerts of notes. There are some nice parks uptown, and nightclubs on College Street.
I enjoyed a great ride; ran all over downtown, went out to Myers Park to see the big houses and trees, wandered around one of the light rail stops to watch the train run, and made a stop at Mac's Speed Shop for some North Carolina style BBQ, and a visit with my fellow motorcyclists (its a popular motorcycle stop in Charlotte, NC). Always nice to be back, a nice time on a beautiful spring day. One of the best times of the year other than the green pollen which coats the cars literally overnight, but its a sign of good things to come in the Carolinas. Looking forward to a spring of great adventures both here and in Richmond, VA.

Revisiting Old Petersburg, VA

On Friday April 2 made a stop in the Old Petersburg section of Petersburg, Va. It is always a very interesting town, saw it a while back, and had enjoyed it greatly, so thought it was well worth a second visit. There is a lot to see there. For instance, this photo at left was in a section of old buildings converted to apartments, and is a collection of old industrial equipment. I would imagine that this stuff was used in the old buildings I saw. All of Old Petersburg is old buildings, many with a lot of history. The remains of the train yards are ruins dating to the end of the Civil War when Union troops captured them.
The second photo is the (what I believe was) the newer train depot, and the white building used to be the Visitor Center. Now the Visitor Center is just up the street in an old bank building. That is worth a tour for sure, and I took one (but not any photos...not allowed). Like the old cobblestone streets too down there.
As I noted, a lot of very old buildings, restored (for the most part...in fact one was undergoing restoration near this area) and reused for a number of uses such as restaurants, stores and apartments. It has a variety of places to check out, plus a number of museums in the area, and a lot of history to explore. As I noted has been my second trip to Old Petersburg, I also on a previous visit went to the Petersburg National Battlefield, which was one of the best Civil War sites that I have seen just about anyplace. There you can get a real idea of what the Civil War siege of Richmond and Petersburg was like for the troops of both sides who fought the battle.

Back in the Saddle Again (March 27, 2010)

Hard to believe that it has been since January 18 when I last rode the motorcycle thanks to a dead battery (almost five years old...rest in peace), snow, rain, bitter cold, and a little bit of forced overtime in Virginia. However, all that ended actually yesterday when the battery I ordered earlier in the week came in, I put it in the bike, and today rode out. A beautiful Carolina day, if a bit on the chilly (around 60) side, but it was time to ride. Covered a fair amount of ground in a 3.5 hour ride; here the bike (and I) are at Dale Earnhardt, Inc just outside of Mooresville, NC. DEI was closed, but still nice to see the outside of the complex located on (natch) NC 3.
I rode into downtown Mooresville, NC. Got of the bike for a bit and walked around awhile. Always liked this old sign, and always enjoy the old buildings there. As I have often noted, Charlotte is not much for old buildings, but many of the outlying cities do have an appreciation of history. Some of the buildings in Mooresville are over 100 years old (and have the plaques to prove it). I liked walking around a bit, and enjoyed watching some kids having an easter egg hunt by the old train depot (now an art museum). They seemed to be having a great time and I enjoyed watching them have one. There are a few empty stores there, but also a number of new ones opening.
This is a photo at left of the downtown in Mooresville. After a bit of time well spent there, rode on down NC-115 to the college town of Davidson, NC. Nice town there as well, with a lot of old buildings. I did not stop, as I was meeting a friend from work (and a former riding buddy) for a short while in Concord, NC. We met and talked for a while, was good to see him (also not bad to warm up inside the restaurant). Back to my driveway at 1pm to my wife, son and dogs. All of us have had a fine time today. Have to say on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the best today was a definite 11, perhaps even a 12.

March in Louisville, KY

Back from a visit to see family and friends in Louisville, KY and also have a few photos here of the "other" river city. Photo at left is of Louisville from the Indiana side of the Ohio River. Louisville is where this journey started from; a road that took me from Kentucky (actually Indiana right across the river) to North Carolina, and now to Richmond, VA. Louisville reminds me a great deal of Richmond...one reason being that it is a river town (nickname "The River City"). Home of the Kentucky Derby, in a few weeks the Kentucky Derby Festival will be in full swing. On these shores Thunder Over Louisville will happen; a massive air show and fireworks display.
Louisville is a big sports town; featuring mostly minor league sports and the University of Louisville. The building under construction at left is the new arena for U of L which will replace Freedom Hall (which was in use since 1956) at the Fairgrounds. The new Arena will be state of the art and is one massive building. Sure it will also have other uses such as concerts and other events, and I am looking forward to seeing the inside when it is completed sometime later this year (at least that is the plan). It is right at the foot of the Second Street Bridge, one of three that span the Ohio River from Indiana to Kentucky. More are planned, but still in the works.
Louisville like Richmond likes to rework buildings. Many buildings are put to other uses and these I believe are an example of that (though also could be planning to tear these down). Former warehouses, they were mostly restaurants and nightclubs. Spent many hours listening to music in The Soundstage, Eddie Donaldson's, and City Lights in these buildings which are also very old by the way. Unlike Charlotte, Louisville is a city which recycles the past, and that makes for a very interesting town.
I like how it has a history beyond a few years ago.

This ballpark is the home of the Louisville Bats, the AAA team. Some years ago they set a minor league attendance record with over a million when they were at the old ballpark at the fairground. Using the old front of the building that was there, they built a ballpark downtown, and this is a really nice place to catch a game in the spring or summer.

As I mentioned, Louisville recycles. This is the Humana office building, which was formerly the Belknap Hardware building (Belknap went out of business a few years ago) and Humana took it over. You see a lot of that as I have noted, many old buildings are converted to such uses as condos and new businesses. It is usually a fun town, with a lot of things going on both on the river, and downtown. I also enjoyed this trip visiting sights on the Indiana side, right across the Ohio River. Like with Louisville, Indiana is a good mix of old and new, with a lot of things to see and explore. It is a fun place to visit, a not bad place to live, and a great American town. I had a fantastic four days there, and am looking forward to my next visit.

Feeling Like Spring

Enjoying a fantastic day in Richmond, spring is just a few days away, and it was a good day to get out, get off the computer and take a walk. Walk...because I just got the heating bill from last month; and might be a good idea to save a little fuel cost. Sure the people at Columbia Gas are planning to take the boat out on the James this weekend...they are swimming in cash (ours!). Was a cold winter, and apartment living is more of a "shared heating" sort of thing; apartments are not real big on insulation. Much bigger house in North Carolina (my other place to live from time to time) was much cheaper this winter utility wise. Anyhow, back to happier things, did get out and saw this Super Bee on Midlothian Turnpike. A nice classic car and in pretty good shape. Never know what you will come across during a walk.
I also stopped into Ultimate Cycle on Midlothian Turnpike, kind of a motorcycle person (ride a Vulcan 1500...which like my family and house is also in North Carolina) but big on Vulcans. Got to think Kawasaki is kind of on a Star Trek roll; not just Vulcan line, but also has a big touring bike called the Voyager. At any case, liked this bike which I think is probably a 900 (but would not swear its not bigger...sometimes its hard to tell). Nice to get out and enjoy the day, great to get out and get moving a bit after being largely cooped up this winter. Spring officially starts this upcoming Saturday, but I think this "preview" has been super, and just what we all need. Looking forward to some fantastic spring weekends in both Richmond and Charlotte in the upcoming days and weeks. Get out and enjoy it!

Harrisburg, NC, Mid-March 2010

Another good long weekend to Concord and the local area is winding down. On Sunday March 14, 2010 visited the Harrisburg, NC area. Photo at left is of the Harrisburg Town Hall, and some of the shops in the Town Center. Kind of a neat thing in the region are these sort of developments with government services, shops and housing all in one area. There are a few of these in the local areas, and they make it real easy for a lot of people to get what they need in one local area. That is also the case in Huntersville, Davidson, and in Charlotte where these have become increasingly popular. I will show some more in future posts to this blog.
Went by Three Monkeys (also in the Harrisburg Town Center) where I watched Kentucky win the SEC (boo!) and Duke win the ACC (no comment). Nice place for a cold refreshing beverage of your choice, and some really good food. I like friendly comfortable places and in Harrisburg, NC you can not do a lot better than this one. For a long time, you could not find places like this as Harrisburg was "dry" when I first came there some 11 years ago. Of course, not only were there no bars, there was also no Harrisburg Town Center. It is amazing how fast this area has popped up over the years. As I remember this was a field, and you saw that happen a great deal around here.
Last photo is a Shelby Mustang, which is here just because...it is a Shelby Mustang. Not unusual here to see some really great cars and thought this one rated a place on my blog this week. Nearby Concord is one of the centers of the NASCAR universe, and it is fun to see some high performance vehicles racing around nearby Charlotte (formerly Lowe's) Motor Speedway. It is less than two months before the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600; be looking for some visits to the local race shops here in upcoming blog posts. Lots of interest to see in the local area, and I plan to bring as much of it as I can to you!