Patty's Richmond II (October 2-4, 2010)

Very exciting weekend, with a visit by my wonderful wife Patty to Richmond, VA. Usually I just go home, so this was just the second visit here by her since I made the move. We hit her favorite quilt shop, Quilters Corner on Saturday, and also went to Carytown (one of my favorite places in Richmond) where we had lunch and took a short walking tour of the very interesting shops and restaurants. We had lunch at "Nacho Mama's" which was ok; not a bad meal, but sort of on the pricey side in my opinion. It was not bad, but I have had better. Still the waitress did a very fine job, and enjoyed it, especially due to the company I was with! That is Patty in Nacho Mama's at left, which is in a converted house. Carytown is very funky with a lot of interesting things to see and do; enjoyed a walk with her to my favorite stores, and to check out the Byrd Theater near the end of Carytown. In fact this trip, exploring with her saw a number of new things and places that I have not seen. Took her down some new roads in the area and saw many new sights. Considering I have been here almost two years, that is pretty cool!
One new sight was the Bell Tower in Byrd Park. That is a very neat place; have been to Maymont Park, but had not been into Byrd Park. More nice lakes, lots of peaceful areas, and this very cool tower. It was a WWI War Memorial judging from the dates near the top of the staircase at the tower. Thought it was a very beautiful construction. So much of Richmond is filled with such neat things to check out.
We did some relaxing after a few hours of touring (and Patty had been on a long drive from NC to get here) on a very nice weekend. Saturday was cool; starting to feel like fall, and a very beautiful day. Went to dinner at Chicken Fiesta; I HAVE eaten there before, and like that very much. It is both a very good value, and really fine food!
Enjoyed relaxing with Patty and watched some of our favorite shows on tv for the rest of the night. Enjoyed the cool evening and the great company I was blessed to have in my apartment! We enjoyed a fine evening in Richmond, VA and planned the next day.

Next day was a trip to Shockoe Bottom. Got there via some new roads; fun to explore this very interesting town. Rains held off till later Sunday night, but was an overcast day. Enjoyed lunch at Bottom's Up; which is a very good pizza place. We wandered around the area, went up around the 17th Street Farmers Market, and drove around the area a bit, checking out some of the new stuff I have found since her last visit here. Last photo I took was of this art at the James Center, she really liked this, so got a photo of it before we left the area. Cooked dinner in the apartment, and made breakfast this morning before she left. It was a fantastic visit, and I enjoyed it a great deal. I am very lucky to have such a wonderful wife, and she really made this weekend in Richmond special.

Legend Brewing Company/Belle Isle Walk

After a night at work, and following a few hours in dreamland, got in the car for a little tour in Richmond. Both are places I have been, but not for a while. Although the first I visit from time to time in a different sort of way; Legend Beer which is brewed in Richmond, VA is fast becoming a favorite of mine. Today went to the brewery itself, which is just off Commerce Road with a quick turn down Porter Avenue, which is just outside of Downtown Richmond. Enjoyed a single beer, but it was (as always) very good. Took this photo outside of the deck at Legend Brewing Company. Has a view of the city, though somewhat tree obscured; but still nice.
Being a rare less than 95 degree even this point into fall, next stop was Belle Isle. I went there last year, and enjoyed a great time with my wife Patty checking out the sights of this very interesting place. It has a long history with Richmond, being used by Indians, business, farmers, as a Civil War prison, quarried, fortified, and now as a major park for the Richmond area. Crosses the James River by a walkway which is suspended under the highway, and gives some good views of the James as well as the city of Richmond. Wanted to see the river and the effect of the drought on it. Depth was from a sign "less than five feet" though looked to be much less.
As I have noted, a great variety of things to see in there; great nature scenery as well as a number of old firms. This wall is what remains of a very old nail factory on the island. The quarry where much rock was mined, an old power plant, a dam, plus some of the old prison remains as well as a few other structures still exist on the island. It is a very popular place, good crowd there, but still peaceful. It is a popular place to get into the river to swim, especially from the rocks just off shore and easily accessed. Certainly picked a good day to walk around it, and it was good to be back. As with so many great Richmond places, there is absolutely no admission or parking charge. Said I would be back, and will be again in the near future to this great Richmond treasure!

Forest Hill Park Farmers Market/43rd Street Art Fair

Due to my employer giving me a "special" invite , am having unexpected weekend in Richmond, VA. However, off to a nice start, as I was told by a friend about the 43rd Street Art Festival in Richmond, VA. Forest Hill Park is one of my favorite places to wander in the city. It is easy to enjoy the lake, the trails, and the views of this very old park. In fact, this house was once part of the estate that was located on the grounds, and was built back in 1843 out of stone mined at the site. Though Fall happened last Wednesday night at 11:09PM, this is my first photo of Fall 2010, and will be looking forward to some cooler temperatures and rain.
In Forest Hill Park, this is the Farmers Market, which I was told is a weekly Saturday event. Enjoyed wandering around, checking out a lot of interesting booths (where else can you find a place selling boat or kayak "do it yourself" kits?). One thing that I noticed at this event, the Art Festival, and just about any event I have visited in the town is the fact that Richmond is a dog loving town. Dogs are common at a lot of places (also welcome at a lot of malls) and they are brought along and welcomed at most events. I think that is very cool...dogs are great companions, a lot of fun, and they seem to enjoy these sort of things as much as people do!

Photo at left is a shot of the 43rd Street Art Festival. Drew a huge crowd with a lot of cars parked both in the nearby Forest Hill Park, and also on the neighborhood streets. Festival covered around a four block area, with a lot of booths such as seen here with some very interesting art. Nice to check out what people can do with their hands, and create....always some really creative people out there. Crowd was really nice, and kids were in the street with chalk making art of their own. Like the Farmers Market above, lots of dogs checking out the people, booths and each other. For the third day of Fall, was hot, and once again very dry.
Not only was the day hot, but the music was also, enjoyed checking out this band in the church parking lot. There were a number of musicians at both events, and that gave it all a very nice vibe. Under a tent right across the band a lot of people were sitting and checking out the band. This was a very nice and free (both of them were) pair of events to do. Where the band played was the "food court" sort of area; food prices were very reasonable, and cold cokes and water was just $1 which was welcome on a hot day in the RVA.
So...a pleasant surprise this morning; nice way to spend a couple of hours before work, and a festival that I will be sure to check out again next year. No longer surprised at the fine things I come across in the area, and glad that I was able to see this today. Fall is a great time for festivals in most cities, and looking like Richmond is no exception to that.

Kings Dominion (September 19, 2010)

Yesterday I experienced some great flying, today I got to experience some altitude and the sensation of flying at Kings Dominion, just up I-95 some 20 miles North of Richmond, VA. My first trip there, but sort of a sense of "been there/done that" with the fact that I have been to the sister parks of Kings Island in Ohio, and Carowinds in North Carolina. Of course some new things there this year, now that the parks are no longer owned by Paramount (though have lost all the cool Star Trek and Top Gun ride names) they have made up for it with some really neat new rides. This photo at left is not really a ride, it is the Eiffel Tower replica at the park (also have the same replica in Ohio) but a great view of the area. The tower is a 1/3 replica of the real deal in Paris, France and is somewhat over 300 feet. The observation deck is just a bit under 300 feet (according to the elevator guy, who gave us some neat information on the tower) which I believe was built back in 1975 after being constructed in Austria, shipped here and put together on the site.
Nothing like seeing a coaster as the birds see it. They had a lot of really good coasters at the park, including some really good wooden ones. No real lines, so getting on was pretty easy today..heck, getting another ride was really no problem either. I rode a few of them of a few times in a row. I like coaster and have always been a big fan of them. The steel coasters tend to be really smooth and really big, but wooden coasters tend to be really interesting too. I love the sound and the feel of a wooden roller coaster, the speed and the fury and the effects of a steel one. Along with motorcycling, I think few things give the effects of flying like a good steel roller coaster.
Course this bad boy at left is the biggest and baddest in the park, the Intimidator 305. This also gives a good idea of where the park is, out in the distance you can see...pretty much nothing. No cities were in view; pretty much just open countryside. Course its not just coasters there, there were rides for all people. In fact one ride I enjoyed a lot was a rather mild ride called "Flying Ace, which elevated to some 80 feet, and circled around a pole. Flew along pretty good, and I thought it was fun. Nice stores there to wander around (though pricey like the food, though the food was good) and just a neat place to be on a pleasant Virginia Sunday.
When it comes to big coasters though; this is the mack daddy at Kings Dominion. This is the view walking up to the big ride. It is relatively long but the ride up the big hill is quick as is the drop. Told it was 90 mph near the bottom of the 305 foot drop (I figure the reason you can look down at this ride from the Eiffel Tower replica which is either slightly shorter or a hair taller..not sure for sure...is an elevation difference in the land) but this is a big roller coaster. Thing that is remarkable is that there are bigger ones out there. Main park of the company that owns the three parks has some coasters at Cedar Point near Sandusky, Ohio that are staggering indeed. I am also aware that there are some even bigger coasters around the world (Japan seems to be in real competition in that regard).
At any case, a great ending to a really action packed weekend. Always fun to do some new things, and Richmond and the surrounding region still has after a year and a half a great many things to offer, and more to come.

To and from the Air Show (September 18, 2010)

As I noted in my previous post, visited Naval Air Station Oceana to see the 2010 Air Show held there (and can see some photos in my previous post). I enjoyed a most remarkable time at the event. This was my first visit to the area, and I liked it a great deal. It is always nice to be surrounded by heroes in the sky and on the ground of the US Navy, Marines, and the US Air Force of which I was once proud to be a member. Being by the sea, and unfortunately after getting out of the show short of daylight, I did stop off the highway and took this photo of sunset at a nearby beach near the tunnel just outside of Virginia Beach.
Photo at left is of two Navy aircraft carriers, and really put the "snap" in snapshot...took it real quick with my camera as I drove by what I believe was the Norfolk Navy base. I have been on that base (also on Oceana) "some years ago", and Norfolk Naval Station is still (I am pretty sure) the largest Navy base in the world. Navy pilots land multi-million dollar high performance aircraft on the ships pitching decks manned by thousands of US sailors and Marines who spend long periods of time working long hours far from home and family. It is a tough job, but they are the best in the world in what they do. They are a remarkable group of men and women!
One more quick shot from my dirty windshield. The tunnel on the way to Virginia Beach was a remarkable thing. For one thing, it was very long, and for under it went under the water. I was told to go early before the traffic got bad as it could back up (and as you can see, I took that advice). On the way back though, the tunnel was packed though moving heading toward Richmond. Heading back toward Virginia Beach, the tunnel traffic was at a virtual standstill for miles!!! Talk about a piece of luck, if I was heading in the other direction, I would probably not be writing this now, I would be trying to get back home to Richmond.
Certainly a very interesting area, I look forward to checking out Virginia Beach proper when I have more time in the very near future. As with the Carolina and their love of "The Beach" (usually, but not always they are talking about Myrtle Beach...though Folly Beach in Charleston, and Carolina Beach near Wilmington, NC are also visited often) Richmond likes to go to Virginia Beach. There is nothing like being near the ocean, and I enjoyed my time in the area today!

NAS Oceana Air Show (September 18, 2010)

Been a while since I have had a "Virginia" post on this site (which is entitled "Richmond and Me") but I had a really remarkable day today. Went this morning to the Air Show at Naval Air Station Oceana. The Navy (and an aviation squadron) was a former employer a while back, and it was good to be on a Navy base again. Especially exciting was the Blue Angels flight demo, seen here at left; which I took during the show. I have seen them fly a few times before (like air shows and in fact this was my second one this month) but this one was one of the best I have ever seen, and the Blue Angels flying was the best I have seen from them hands down.
The show also had some other unique flights, such as matching planes from different eras (such as this F-16 Falcon currently flown by the Air Force with a pair of P-51 Mustangs from WWII. There were also other military planes such as the F-18 and the F-22 (the F-22 got to make only one pass before mechanical problems forced it to cut short its display) and some great civilian pilots doing some remarkable aerobatics. There were also a number of skydivers. There was something going on every second of the show from 10am-4pm when the Blue Angels parked their six blue and gold F-18's. The best part of the day was seeing the planes in the skies.
However, a number of planes were also on display. I picked this C-2 Grayhound (used to bring cargo and people to carriers at sea) because it is a plane we civilians do not often get to see. There was a great variety of aircraft up close and in the air, some interesting pilots to talk to and learn from, and lots of things both aviation related and not to entertain everyone. Speaking of everyone, it was a massive crowd on hand at the air show, and in fact it may have been a record for this event. The NAS Oceana Air Show was one of the best air shows I have ever attended, and that is saying a lot, as I have been to a great many air shows.
I have posted many more photos on my Photo Page, which you can see via the link to it on my page here. This was (after a year and a half in Richmond) my first visit to the Virginia Beach/Hampton area, but will certainly not be my last. Getting out of the show due to the crowd took a lot of time, but I spent it checking out the air park on the base. I doubt that can be accessed at any other time due to normal security levels at the base, but I might be mistaken. I do know that the camera got quite a workout during the event, and the grin on my face was day long!

Mt. Pleasant, NC (September 13, 2010)

Beautiful day in the Carolinas...enjoyed the late summer weather and the beautiful conditions there. Got in some nice motorcycling today, but enjoyed this visit to Mt. Pleasant, NC. Nice small community just down the road on NC-49 it is a nice area, and a typical small town in the Carolinas. This old mill is still in use, and a good friend of mine painted a very nice picture of it a few years ago. There are a number of old houses in the area many of which date to the 1800s and earlier. It is a quite small town, but also has a lot of newer developments. Like many of the towns in the area, the growth of Charlotte, NC has fueled much of its growth.
The buildings at right are currently the site of the Eastern Cabarrus Historical Society. The larger building was built in 1854-55, the smaller one in 1858-60. Once the North Carolina College, it suspended operation during the start of the Civil War. In fact, a number of students formed a unit there (according to the plaque at the site), which served in (among other places) the Richmond, Virginia area.
The photo at bottom is What-A-Burger #13 in Mt. Pleasant, NC. Sort of a local institution, those places are very popular throughout the region. I have noted that "What A Burger" is also in the Richmond area, but not sure if it is the same chain of restaurants, or just shares a common name. I have eaten at those stores though a number of times, like the local food where ever I am (when in Rome, do as the Romans do) and they have some very interesting and tasty burgers.
Had a very fine motorcycling day, and even got out later for a little night riding which was pretty cool. It has been a most wonderful weekend in the Carolinas, but some interesting days in Richmond are coming up in my next post. Looking forward to some great adventures there.