Appomattox Court House (June 27, 2010)

Today went on a road trip to Lynchburg, Va where my wife Patty was on a Quilt Retreat with the Cabarrus Quilt Guild from Concord, NC. Seeing as I have never been there, and its really close to Richmond, took the trip there. Nice drive (though watch for deer at the side of and on the road at night) but a surprise was the route took me right to Appomattox Court House. Did not expect to ever see it cause it is, after all, 105 miles from Richmond. I also did not expect it to be part of the route. What you are looking at on the left is the McLean House where on April 9, 1865 General Lee surrendered his army to General U.S. Grant.

This is the Parlor where the surrender was signed. Marble table is where General Lee sat, General Grant at the small wooden table at right. Lee's forces after the retreat from Petersburg and Richmond were chased by the Union Army which eventually got behind and in front of the Confederate forces. Unable to break out from the vise, Lee met with General Grant. Grant's terms were very generous, so much so that it was reported that General Lee would never allow anyone to speak ill of General Grant in his presence. The surrender was only of the Army of Northern Virginia, though other forces (most notably those in Carolina, soon followed.
This house is notable in that on this site during a battle the Army of Northern Virginia fired its cannon for the last time. Apparently after doing some research, all the buildings at the site date to the period. It was a remarkable stop on the days events, and a worthwhile place to visit when in the area. The drive to Lynchburg is very scenic; though the wildlife mentioned earlier adds a bit of excitement to the journey at night. I had a great time, will post more photos of the visit there to my Photo Page, and be looking for some photos of very interesting Lynchburg, Va in my next post.

Government Operations You May Not Know AboutY

Taking a break from the endless debate on the "Socialist take over of President Obama" which is being lead by the party of big business.....The GOP, aka The Gulf Oil Party?...could be, who else would tell BP they are sorry).
As a pause/break/relief from the mindless ranting in the political world , was thinking about the trip back to Richmond last weekend. On the North Carolina side, I drove past oceans of flowers planted in the medians, along the side of the road, a number of colorful island amid the miles of boredom on I-85. I believe the government planted the flowers there; sure it cost some money, but sure brightened the trip both there and back. I took this at an I-85 rest stop. I like rest stops, as they make those necessary "nature calls" fast....being right off the road. Course, its nice from time to time to stop and smell the flowers.
However, at the state line is the big Virginia rest stop (also one much like it at the North Carolina line). Hot tip in case you did not know; these are a great place to get information on what the state of Virginia (and North Carolina in the other direction) have to offer. Sure you can punch up info on the internet (and I do) but nice sometimes to have a hard copy of places both for the information but to also know they exist. Have found a lot of "did not know that place was here" things to check out at the information centers at this location. Another good place at times are some of the blogs in RVA blogs (yeah, a plug for some of the sites, but what the heck). Today for instance found that the Science Museum of Virginia is going to offer $5 Sunday movies at the IMAX there. Big fan of the IMAX at Discovery Place in Charlotte (one very fine science museum in Charlotte which is re-opening after a multi-million dollar remake...its free to enter this Sunday June 27 by the way) and look forward to checking some movies out this Summer (offer at Science Museum of Virginia goes on till September 5, 2010).
Know I am rambling a bit here, but its what I do...and tomorrow have an interesting road trip planned in the Virginia area. More on that in the next post!

Harrisburg SummerFest, June 19, 2010

Good time at the SummerFest in Harrisburg, NC. Held on the grounds of the town hall, Harrisburg is one of the bedroom communities of Charlotte, NC. The town hall area is pretty interesting; around is government offices (as seen in the photo at left) apartments, and a number of businesses such as restaurants, child care, grocery stores, coffee shops, bars, medical offices, etc. Those are getting pretty common in the region, and have proven to be interesting places to live, and to visit as well. The band that played yesterday was pretty good; enjoyed them a great deal. Was a good crowd on hand though many were wandering around the booths on the site, and seeking what shade there was on a hot and humid Carolina June day.

Course as with any event, there was a car show. I think that in Carolina, most events are an excuse to show off the cars that people have restored. That said, they do have some remarkable restorations and some amazing cars from the past have been known to come back to life. Due to the fact that winters tend to be mild, and the use of salt on the roads is light (along with snowfalls as a rule) you don't see the damage from that on many of the cars here. There may also be the fact that there are some really good mechanics in this area, and when you combine all that, you get some pretty good rides to check out at these events.
This is a view of some of the booths that were there,also games for the kids, and you can also see some of the apartments I mentioned in the earlier paragraph. My wife Patty was working one of the booths, so I came out to be with her, but had a really good time. Events such as these are common in the area, and tend to be a pretty good time. Other than the heat and humidity, it was a really good day for it, at least the rains held off, and made for a nice day out in Harrisburg, NC.

Salisbury and Area (June 19, 2010)

Back in the Carolinas after a few weeks in Richmond, and have been enjoying it a great deal. Rode the motorcycle today to check out Salisbury, NC, a favorite town with some real fine roads and interesting sights. Checked out the Confederate Monument, and the old Courthouse. The Courthouse survived the occupation of the city by Union Forces during the late days of the Civil War. They came to free Union Prisoners held at the Confederate Prison there. Many thousands of those who died there are buried in the nearby National Cemetery. They also have cemeteries, including some holding troops which served with British General Cornwallis in the city.

I also made a stop at Dan Nicholas Park, where I visited some of the sights there, which included this Merry Go Round, and the zoo there with a number of interesting animals and birds. I have some of those photos on my Photo Page which you can check out. Though a hot and humid day, had a great time on the motorcycle, and enjoyed the sights, the wind in my face, and being out on the bike today. I will have more photos from the visit home on my next post here.

Chester, VA

Not a huge day of exploring; had been to lunch a while back in Chester, VA with a group of us from work, and got sort of lost and came across some sights. Thought it would be fun to go back, so I give it a quick visit today. It is down on I-95 at Exit 61 (A+B). During my first visit to the Richmond area we stayed at a hotel there, and ate at a local Chili's. Seemed like a nice town, with quite a few stores and strip malls; a bedroom community for Richmond, VA. Came across what I believe was Chester Village Green, a mixed used community which is where I took the photo at left. Got quite a few of those in the Charlotte area, so I stopped to check it out.

This is another view of the Chester Village Green, which is a mix of retail, a library, and apartments. Often go to Huntersville, NC when I am home and visit Birkdale Village there; which is also a mix of apartments, business, and other services (though Birkdale also has a movie theater) and is a nice place to wander and hang out. Charlotte is also making the light rain a sort of giant mixed used development of sorts with the train being the access to the housing and places along the line. Would be nice I would think to not need to travel further then a short walk to get all the things, or most of them at least, that you would need.

While in Chester, visited a Civil War site I had not seen; Battery Dantzer. It was part of the Richmond defenses during the War. Typical of most of the "forts" it was largely an earth work fortress. Both sides in siege warfare used the main material at hand...which was dirt. The battery had a number of troops there, and a number of large guns, and traded fire with nearby Union forces and forts across the James River. It played a role in protecting Confederate Naval Forces after an unsuccessful attack on the Union Supply base at City Point. Many bases such as this running from Richmond to Petersburg and beyond held off the Union Army.
Below is Ft. Drewry/Ft. Darling (called by different names) which is located just off the Jefferson Davis Highway. There on May 15, 1862 guns from the heights there (such as the one seen at left) drove off a fleet of Union gunboats which included the ironclad USS Monitor. The US Navy plan was to shell Richmond from the sea. I have been there before, noticed since the last visit that the gun platform had been painted. It is a good half mile walk to the earthworks which make up the fort, and I could not hardly have picked a hotter or more humid day to visit, but enjoyed my return to it nonetheless. Richmond certainly has a lot of history in the region. I should also note while out in the car today, a blue bird flew real close to the windshield. Apparently, this scared him a great deal, as he left a white gift on the hood of my car! I am told that this is good luck, though a bucket of water removed that lucky sign from the car when I got back to the apartment.

Chesterfield Airport

Another working Saturday, but before work went out to the Chesterfield Airport to see the planes fly for a while. Used to fly in the Navy (aircrew not as a pilot) and it was wonderful. In fact, at a small airport like this once did a "Discovery Flight", and thought it was a remarkable experience. The world is a different place from up in the clouds, and its fun to see the world as the birds see it. It is fun to check out the different planes; small planes such as this one, business jets, and even occasionally military planes. As to that last saw a C-130 (now moved to one of the local military basis for training a while back) at the Dinwiddie County Airport. In fact at their web site, they have a lot of interesting photos (including the C-130 I mentioned, plus some blimps that visited there). I am a big fan of air shows and know the Chesterfield airport has held them in the past; hopefully in the not too distant future they will again. Airports are good for recreational fliers, for business (and in fact there is a large industrial park nearby...fairly common feature to many small airports) and occasionally they also offer some other treats. In the case of the Chesterfield Airport, there is a rather good restaurant there. I on a previous visit noticed a large line, dropped in, and enjoyed a very good buffet meal there. At any case for me, it was a nice way to spend a little time before work on a very hot and humid June day.

Child Savers Ride/Greek Festival (June 5, 2010)

To be honest, had planned to be riding my motorcycle today to Lincolnton, NC to a big bike, bbq and band festival held there called "Hog Happenin"; but work had other plans. Yeah grateful to have a job, lucky (blah, blah, blah) but at any case made the best of it. For work is later in the day, right now there is a lot going on in Richmond. For instance, note the sign at right. It is at the old abandoned (mostly abandoned as there is a Bank of America branch and a Firestone still there) mall known as Cloverleaf Mall. Told that back in the day it was really something, but now is mostly closed. Yesterday though it was given this new sign...will soon be Stonebridge and a Kroger is coming in 2011. Will keep an eye on this in the months to come as I go by it about every day on the Midlothian Turnpike. This was the site where the Child Savers Charity Ride was going to leave from. Expected were some 500+ motorcycles and of course their riders and some passengers as well. If I can't get out and ride my motorcycle, its always fun to hang out for a while with some bikers and to check out their rides.
Here you see part of the group which was due to head out at 9:30 am. The ride is sponsored and put together by The Tuskegee Airman Motorcycle Club of Virginia. Not a gang, the Tuskegee Airmen ride for the fun of it, and do this as well as other charity rides and events during the year. The group is named in honor of the famous Tuskegee Airmen of WWII who broke racial barriers flying P-51 Mustang fighters in bomber escort missions over Germany. They were one of the most effective escort groups of the war, and proved that black pilots were fully the equal of white ones. Many bomber pilots owed their lives to those brave men. As for me, checked out the fine motorcycles and enjoyed talking with some of the riders.

I left from there, and went to the Greek Festival. I got there early (as noted, don't have a lot of time today) and checked out some of the great food, enjoyed some of the music, and noted that the lines got long early. There was a lot to see and do there. I also enjoyed a pre-event walk down Grove Street, which is a very nice street with some interesting houses and condos. The event (which runs through Sunday June 6) was a lot of fun; and the food is remarkable.
Having to work kind of spoils a day, but Richmond sure takes a lot of the depression out of spending a Saturday inside with much going on. Even more happening tomorrow, and looking forward to a great Sunday in the city. Certainly there is a lot going on in town, and that is a beautiful thing indeed!