Jamestown, and Back to Richmond

Back on the remarkable Colonial Parkway for a second time from Yorktown, drove to nearby Jamestown. This was the site of the first English settlement in the New World. Think its kind of wild that it is so close to the battlefield that largely ended the British rule in nearby Yorktown, Va, but that would be a long time later. This monument was put up many years ago at the 300th anniversary of their landing at Jamestown under the leadership of John Smith. Jamestown was at a beautiful place, on the shore of the mighty York River, and on an island. The built a fort there, housing, government buildings, later a tavern (to me...a mark of civilization), and it eventually turned into a thriving community at least for a time. Certainly they had many difficult days. In a museum on the grounds are the remains of one colonist who was killed by a bullet to his leg (and the bullet is still lodged in his bone!). James town is interesting both for the recreations there, and the actual things that can be seen from the colony. It is both a historical site and a research facility used to study the past.
The church here is the fourth or fifth built here, and has some of the oldest remains building wise in Jamestown. There are a lot of above ground recreations of what has been found under the ground. I read that those were reburied after being dug up to preserve them; exposure to air would soon decompose the materials used back in the colony. In addition to those recreations, and the old buildings, a museum on the site shows many of the relics that have been found to date on the site. They have ranged from bodies, to weapon parts (metal as the wood of guns for instance is long gone), and many day to day items that have been found.
This is a photo of the recreated fort on the grounds of the original fort and an on-going excavation which has been underway. Jamestown still probably holds a lot of discoveries and that makes it all the more exciting. I really enjoyed the visit to Jamestown.
However, it was a very remarkable day with a visit though short to three fine places: Jamestown, Yorktown, and Colonial Williamsburg. I will certainly be returning to that area and ranging beyond, in addition to more exploring in the Richmond area. This region certainly has a great deal to offer!

Yorktown!

The second stop of my tour of the Williamsburg area was of Yorktown. A very remarkable battlefield, and very well preserved, I have a photo at left of the field where the British surrendered to the American forces. Cornwallis was trapped at the York River where his retreat was blocked, and with a combined American/French force surrounding his army. His surrender though not literally the end, was essentially the end of the war with England. The park charged a $10 admission, but it was also good to get into "not too far away Jamestown". I drove there from Williamsburg via the Colonial Parkway....a remarkable road!!!
You can see a lot at the battlefield. There is a walking tour (here by some of the guns used in the battle, a ranger gives a talk on the battle which happened there), as well as earthworks, and the house there the British and Americans met to write the terms of surrender. Unlike the Civil War, it was a more gentlemanly (if that is the correct term for such as thing) war with lots of rules (which Americans as well as the British often bent if not flat out broke). Weapons in the day were much more primitive than they would be around 1861-1865, but took quite a toll over the years of the Revolutionary War. Have been to some battlefields of the period in the Carolinas, this was easily the best I have seen from that war.
I also got out to see modern Yorktown. This is an overview of the Yorktown Riverwalk; which has a number of stores, a bridge, some interesting housing just a very, very nice town.
I could have spent many more hours in Yorktown, but this was a quick exploration of the area and what it had to offer...plus I had a ticket that would get me into Jamestown. So though it was getting late in the day, I got back on the remarkable Colonial Parkway, and headed toward Jamestown...the site of the first English colony in North America.

Colonial Williamsburg

Took my show on the road (as if I don't get in enough driving) but a worthwhile road trip in Virginia today. First stop was at Colonial Williamsburg which is just up I-64 from Richmond. Williamsburg was the original capital of Virginia, and the "Colonial" section of the town is a recreation of what life would have been like in Williamsburg of the period. The journey was suggested by a friend of mine at work, who knows I am a history buff and figured I would enjoy it a great deal. He was absolutely correct in that regard. Was a great day under blue skies and with 70 degree temperatures for a nice walk, and this was a nice place to walk around.
Photo at left is of the "Governors Palace" which is one of the larger buildings in the area. As I understand, many of the recreations are on the original foundations of what was there "back in the day". There is a lot of attention to detail, including many who portray from the era on the site , and that ads a nice touch. It was a very beautiful area to explore and I enjoyed the walk to see what they had to offer. It is certainly not perfect, and maybe a bit commercial in places, but it was a great deal of fun. It helped to make history come alive of an era that at least in my old part of the world gets short attention over more modern times in history.
This is one of the many houses, liked this photo both for the house and the look of spring. While in the area also took a walk around nearby William and Mary College. Very pretty campus, and I believe that it is a the second oldest college in North America, which is pretty cool. Only got a quick look at Williamsburg outside of the Colonial Williamsburg part, but it had a great deal to offer. I will be putting more photos on my photo page from this visit, and you can see more of the area there.
While it was a great visit to this area, the day was not over yet...I had more to see!

"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.