Big Hawk and the Great Wolf (September 11, 2010)

Went to Pat Rogers Harley Davidson to see the Cannonball Motorcycle Race which made a stop there, which I have on my motorcycle page (and photos on the Photo Page) but got a real kick out of this hawk which was on the sign there. I took two photos of him, he really did not seem to mind, though I believe he was watching me. Loved the bird on the sign, and thought it was really cool. He was a neat bird and later saw him fly off.
Had a great day on the 11th, the air show earlier was remarkable, and the motorcycle event was something I had never seen before. The bikes were also at Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC, and I had never been in it, but had wanted to see it; so Patty and I wandered in there, and got the photos below. Got the outside, the main lobby and the water park. An expensive place to stay but a lot to do there. Was fun checking it out and liked the things that I saw in there, looks like a very fun place to stay and enjoy. Might be worth a future weekend with the wife!

Winston-Salem Air Show (September 11, 2010

After a hard night at work, and very little sleep (but enough) headed back to Concord, NC. On the way though, as I did last year, made a stop at the Winston-Salem Air Show in Winston-Salem, NC. It is what I hope will be one of two air shows (hope to go to the Virginia Beach Air Show next weekend) this month. I had hoped to see a Mig-21 fly which was scheduled for the show. It was NOT there, but that happens with old and unique aircraft (hard to just go to the repair shop for Russian made aircraft, but some good stuff on the ground and in the air made it very worthwhile. I love aviation, and had a fun time wandering the grounds and looking up.
There were four Harriers, flown by the USMC (and famous in British aviation...being a British design), with one seen here. The Harrier can fly straight up (vertical take off and landing) also can make regular takeoffs. A very unique and noisy aircraft, they also did overflights of the nearby Wake Forest Football game. That made for difficult traffic conditions getting in as the stadium was one exit from the air show. It was the same case last year, but I expected it; which is why I got rolling from Richmond at 6am!Nice to get to see these and a number of other military aircraft on display, some remarkable planes took to the air.

It was not just about military aircraft. I did also see a number of civilian planes including this DC-3 which is part of the collection of planes from the Carolina Aviation Museum in Charlotte, NC. Many of their planes fly, and this one is a past award winner at the big Oshkosh air show in Wisconsin (one of the largest air shows in the world). The DC-3 also served in WWII as a very important military transport; the C-47. There were a number of civilian planes of many types at the air show. There was also a Mustang car show, and a really neat police dog display which is also seen here. The guy (with a padded arm by the way) played the part of a bank robber, he ran and the dog did what police dogs do as seen in the photo.
Quite a few planes took to the air such as this C-17 Globemaster air force transport. I also got to see some other military aircraft and also a civilian display team before the rains came. It began to rain about an hour into the show, and wanted to get back to Concord anyhow (where my family is!) so left during that time. I do have a number of photos on my Flickr site, which I have a link to. I will also have photos there of the Cannonball Motorcycle Race; some really unique Pre-1916 motorcycles racing from Kitty Hawk, NC to California. They made a stop in Concord overnight, and that was a very fun event as well. It was a really fun and remarkable Saturday, which I enjoyed a great deal!

Huntersville and Beyond (September 6, 2010)

This post and the previous two posts document a motorcycle ride on September 6 in an area along NC-115 which is known collectively as "North Meck" and includes the towns of Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson, NC. I enjoy visiting this area, and one of the sights of the ride can be seen at left. I like that old store just across the railroad tracks. The railroad was an early engine of growth for the town which grew from the cotton and brick making industries. Early the town was the site of The Battle of Cowan's Ford on February 1, 1781 during the Revolutionary War. Of the three towns in the area Huntersville is the largest both in population of 24,960 (2000 census) and in area of 31.2 square miles.
This house is one of those in Huntersville, NC, and is home to a guitar school (being a fan of the instrument, I liked this photo). As with Davidson and Cornelius being close to Lake Norman has fueled growth. It has a number of shopping centers as well as many fine local businesses. Among the businesses that call Huntersville home is the NASCAR racing team of Joe Gibbs Racing which is located in Huntersville. In fact nearby Mooresville, and especially Concord which is also not far away are the homes to most of the race teams in the NASCAR circuit. The sport is a big deal in the region; three races are hosted yearly at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Due to the town being relatively small, and being close to both Lake Norman and Charlotte NC (with easy highway access) the town has been a popular "bedroom community" for county residents. Many new buildings (which the one at left would be one of) have gone up in the last few years. There are also a number of large businesses along NC-115 which provide jobs to some of the local residents.
I enjoy riding in this area with its interesting towns, the nearby lake (which I have been to in previous posts to this blog if you care to see some of the sights there), but I also enjoy the ride along NC-115. A nice mix of small towns, farms, and growing developments, North Meck (named for the county it and Charlotte are part of) is a very nice and interesting area to explore; a nice mix of the past and changes over a short period of time.

Cornelius, NC (September 6, 2010)

As with the previous post, took a motorcycle ride up NC-115, a favorite road and area in the Charlotte area. Also some 30 miles from Charlotte, and next to the college town of Davidson, NC (previous post) is Cornelius, NC. Like Davidson, Cornelius is an old town dating to 1893. It was founded around the industries of mills and farming. What has really moved the town forward is the Lake Norman area which has made the region a popular engine of growth. The town is a mix of the old and the new with older businesses and also a number of large shopping centers. In the 2000 census the population was listed as 11,969. The Town Hall is at right.
Cornelius has some very nice streets, is also home to one of my favorite motorcycle dealerships (Interstate Cycle) though I did not visit that on my Labor Day ride but can be reached via the street seen at left. Nice houses on that street, plus a number of small businesses. Being Labor Day many of them were closed, and the roads were not as busy, a perfect day to be out exploring on a motorcycle! Though I live in this area, with the house in North Carolina and the apartment (and job) in Virginia I have of late been enjoying a chance to re-discover the area that I have lived in since 1991. It was a real fast changing and growing area, though that has slowed some of late due to the economy.
However, thanks to Lake Norman, many new developments and apartments have gone up in the Cornelius area. The town (as is Charlotte) is located in Mecklenburg County, which with a total of close to 1,000,000 residents is the second largest county in North Carolina. Many areas such as Cornelius with smaller populations, but much to offer are getting very popular in the region as places to live. It is a beautiful and interesting town to explore and to visit. Photo ar left is a mixed use development with apartments and businesses. Those type of developments are getting very popular in the region; some of them are on a much larger scale.
The ride went on...and I have one more section to share!

Davidson and Davidson College (September 6,2010)

Part of a perfect motorcycle ride on a wonderful late summer day, was my visit to Davidson on September 6. Davidson is some 30 miles from Charlotte and is just off NC-73/NC-115 with access also from I-85 (but I did not go via the highway). The college was founded in 1837 as Presbyterian Davidson College (the town the same year). Davidson itself is a small college town with a population of around 7,188 according to the last census and covers 5.1 square miles in area. Above is one of the campus buildings; while there watched the border collie which can be seen laying in the shade at far right catching a ball in true border collie fashion!

Building at left is Philanthropic Hall which was built in 1850. Davidson has under 2,000 students, but a long distinguished history having graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars. A private liberal arts school, it does compete in Division I athletics and has some notable successes to its credit in sports. The "Wildcats" play in the Southern Conference; the school has the second smallest enrollment of any Division I school. Among its notable students was Woodrow Wilson, a former President of the United States. As a private school, costs are high to attend, but some of the graduates and their history make the school costs worthwhile.
Davidson is a small college town. The town works hard to manage growth, and while filled with some beautiful houses both old and new also works to provide lower cost housing as well. I read that former Chesterfield resident and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin is a resident of the town. It is a town where you often see joggers and bicyclists. For a town of its size, it has a number of parks and greenways. The local town square is also the site of a number of musical events during the year, and also various festivals. Many local businesses line Main Street, and there is also a Ben and Jerry's on the street. As would be expected of a college town there is also a very fine local coffee shop, and a very nice bookstore (side by side in fact). It is a beautiful and fun place to visit, and I have in the past brought visitors to the area there to walk around as I did during this visit, and to check out the local area. Davidson is near Lake Norman, another very popular spot in the area.
I had a great visit to the town and the school...but the ride went on; and I will be sharing some more posts on it in my next update to this blog.

The Durham Bulls (September 3, 2010)

Thought this was a cool stop. On the way to North Carolina from Richmond on September 3, 2010, stopped at Durham, NC. Saw the sign for the "Historic Baseball Field" and came to the home of the "Durham Bulls" and as we remember that was the field where the movie "Bull Durham" was filmed. Course I am told that field was torn down some years ago, but I think this was the bull from that field (and that movie) which is the batter hit he got a free steak!!! Nice to check out that ball park, I like baseball, and thought this was a really nice field. That was also a great movie (Bull Durham) which along with "Field of Dreams", and "For the Love of the Game" are some of the best baseball movies out there.
This is the view of the field from the upper section looking down. Not sure when the built this, but a fine looking ball park. I am a big fan of minor league baseball, as it tends to be a really good value, and a good time. Richmond has a new minor league team, which unfortunately I have missed this year, but will check out next year. Was not a great time to do that work wise, and also was a brutally hot summer in 2010. Hopefully, it will be better in 2011 as far as the weather. Photo at bottom is "American Tobacco" which I assume was once a tobacco factory, but is now a collection of stores and shops. I liked my very short visit to Durham, NC...told it is a very fun and interesting city, and from what I saw during my short stop certainly deserves a closer look in future visits to the area.

The Roads

It has certainly been (and will be for quite a while yet) an interesting experience living in two places. I find both areas to be amazing places; just about (with just a few exceptions over the years) everyplace has interesting and fun things to offer, and certainly Virginia and North Carolina/South Carolina are no exceptions. Been lucky in my life to have lived in some eight states (living I define as periods of at least a month and usually longer, and some six foreign countries).
On a regular basis I drive the roads of Virginia and North Carolina (less to South Carolina, but at times there as well) and we who have come here have noted a few things. For sure, even my neighbor last night of all things was talking about the roads (he came from Carolina too, but not with my company). Virginia residents have also mentioned it in the past. So here is a bit on travel and...The Roads.
Virginia probably wonders "Are our roads as bad as other states?"and I would answer "Yes and no". Not as bad as some, but pretty bad in comparison with others. For sure the roads are recovering from the massive snow storms of last winter, but even with that, they are rough to say the least. I have been here some two years, and during my drives around town and on the highway I have quite a few places in the road and potholes that I actually know to look for and avoid..sort of like old reliable friends in the pavement. As my neighbor said last night, "was thinking about getting rims for my car, but figure they would get torn up" and its been popular at work to discuss them. I remember driving I-85 and dodging virtual craters in a highway moonscape. Bone shaking, teeth shattering, car repair inducing potholes are hardly uncommon just about anyplace outside or in the city.
I have noticed that cars stick to speed limits much better in Virginia than in Carolina (more on that shortly) partly due to the speed limit enforcement, but also likely due to the roads. You do see a lot of cars pulled over in Virginia and police enforcement is heavy. I also am happy that they have a much longer zone of 70 mph sections than in Carolina (though they have a few). Especially between Petersburg and close to Durham, NC on I-85 there are a lot of places where police can pull off and hide..and they like to do that. So far no tickets, and happy about that.
Much of the roads in Virginia have not been so much repaired as patched. Potholes are filled and bigger sections are repaired in like manor. Once you reach the VA/NC state line the situation changes. I have often said it is like crossing two worlds. North Carolina used to call itself "The Good Roads State" and for sure they seem to try to live up to that. I-85 is smooth and nice from the border onward. Perhaps due to the road conditions or distance you do notice that speeding increases. The average Carolina driver seems to think of the speed limits as suggestions, the tickets (police as in Carolina work the roads in a number of vehicles marked and unmarked) as a "cost of driving", and that they are rolling down the race track. Usually they are chatting on the cell phones as they roll along at 10-20 mph over the limit. It can (and does) get quite interesting at times. The only things that really slow down a Carolina driver is police, traffic, and road construction (the last being the price paid for those good roads).
However its a good road system there, and even the side roads are better. Is every road perfect...no. However in Carolina the bad roads stand out, in Virginia the good ones do. As I mentioned police like to watch for speeders. Radar detectors are illegal in Virginia, legal in North Carolina. Police tend to stop a lot of cars along the entire length but tend to be especially bad in Virginia between Petersburg and the VA state line. All those pull offs in that wooded divider down I-85 make great hiding places. In Carolina police tend to get a great many cars at city limits such as Hendersonville, Durham, Salisbury but can be anyplace and can drive anything. You see a lot of unmarked SUV's in North Carolina and they often are police vehicles. In both states watch out for Dodge Chargers!
Finally a quick note on the roads of South Carolina. They are even better (as a rule) then the ones in North Carolina; driven on some amazing South Carolina roads. Mentioned weather at the start and that may be a big factor, as South Carolina gets even less winter than North Carolina does, and in the winter they use very little salt on the roads in both states.
Finally, be careful on the roads, but enjoy the ride. All lives have a few potholes, some more than others.