Bears/Panthers in Charlotte, NC (October 10, 2010)

Game day was hot and sunny, though happy for the carolina blue skies for the game in the open air of Bank of America stadium. Parked at the usual place we found a few games ago, and Robby and I took a walk toward the arena. Took a few photos of Charlotte. I really enjoy that city, its a fun and interesting place with a lot to do (such as football games for instance) . I have been there a number of times, and enjoyed the walk on Sunday. Had a "country" sort of day on Saturday, nice to have a "urban" one on Sunday. Cities are special places and usually packed with many things of interest.

Did a number of pre-game things, we got some free nachos at one booth, checked out the music all over the place, people partying, and had fun amid all the sights and sounds. Near Bank of America Stadium, Mike Rucker was signing autographs. My son Robby posed for a photo with him, and I thought that was pretty cool. We like to get to the game early; we rolled into our parking space earlier around 11am. Don't do the whole tailgate thing (though we have in the past, and may again in the future) but did enjoy a few frosty adult beverages (as well as some cola drinks later on) . Did notice a large number of Chicago Bears fans were on hand.
The game started at 1pm with the kickoff seen here. I had hoped for a flyby (kind of fond of aircraft, especially loud and pointy nose jets) but no such luck. The Chicago Bears came out swinging and scored with just under two minutes in the game; and it was downhill for the Panthers after that. Cutler was out for the Bears, Todd Collins was the QB for Chicago and despite throwing four interceptions, the Panthers could do nothing with it, scoring all of their six points with field goals. Chicago mixed it up more, for their twenty-three game winning points. Carolina went to 0-5 in what is looking to be a dismal season. Fan reaction from the stands was understandably negative (except from the Chicago group which was loud and happy) , but it was great watching the game with my son, and we had a great if hot time. Did not have a hat unfortunately, did drape a handkerchief on my head to shelter it from the 90+ degree heat. May have looked silly, but there was a lot of silly looking going on at the game along with the colored hair and face paint. Football games bring out all the interesting people.
At any case, we left a bit before the end, as had most of the people though in the photo at left from our lofty seats, there was still hope alive when I took this photo (and a neat view of Charlotte above the crowd). Enjoyed a nice walk back to the car; a few blocks in which we also saw a Bear fan arrested for something during the post-game fun. Had a nice ride back in the car, checking out the post game show, and enjoying seeing the city. Lots of routes out of Charlotte, and having been there a few times, was easy getting home. Sure beat years ago when games in Indianapolis, and Cincinnati took a major road trip to get in. It was a very fun time even with the loss spent with one of my favorite and most loved people.

Exploring the Carolinas (October 9, 2010)

After almost a month away, was great to be back home. Spent a fine Friday night with my family, and then did a little sightseeing on my favorite mode of transportation. Took the motorcycle down NC-49 heading for Asheboro, NC. Made a stop (seen at left) at Tuckertown Lake, part of the lake system in the area near Rockwell, NC. Beautiful peaceful lake, and a nice place to stop along the way. The ride took me past lakes, farms, small towns, horses, cows, and was a very nice ride on a fall day. The leaves are just starting to turn, and though clear was a cool day at the start, but quickly turned unseasonably warm as the day went on.
Being an aircraft buff, I stopped at the Asheboro Airport. The NC Aviation Museum is there, but time not being on my side, I did not tour it this trip. It is a very fine museum. The airport is a small general aviation airport, but I did enjoy seeing this old Beechcraft parked on the ramp. I really enjoy old and classic aircraft, and this one was a real restored beauty. Nice twin engined plane with the twin tails, would have loved to see this bird in the air. It has been a good month for aviation events both in Virginia and in North Carolina, and best of all, there are some more events coming up soon. Enjoy seeing planes on the ground and in the skies!
A surprise along the way; in Asheboro, they had a free farm equipment show. A number of very fine tractors such as these, plus some really neat old trucks were on display. I like the ride to Asheboro both for the very nice ride, as well as the town itself. It is a nice area, is a nice distance to get to it, and fun to check out the sights there. There was quite a bit to see at the show (which I did not know about in advance) and was fun to wander around off the bike. Just outside of the town is the national forest with some great roads to ride on, and it was very peaceful early on a Saturday morning. Other than the sound of my bike, it was quiet when I headed back out.
Riding down the backroads, I headed out to the Piscah Covered Bridge. This bridge is actually a replica of the very old bridge (the original was washed out during a flood a few years ago) but is a very popular stop. Riding on an NC Scenic Route is also a very nice treat. I came across some vultures enjoying a roadside feast (they all took off in a group as I rode up) and enjoyed the twists and turns of the road. I believe I was passed by one truck along my route, and that was a wonderful thing indeed to have so few to spoil my ride. I ended up back on NC-49, and turned back toward Concord. I made a stop at the R/C field near Mt. Pleasant, NC and enjoyed some radio controlled planes flying...been to some good airshows in the last few weeks, but really remarkable what those planes can do. Chilled out there for a while and talked to the "pilots"...my late Dad used to fly those type of planes, and they bring back happy memories of those days gone by. I got back on the bike after a time, and rode on to NC-73 for the last bit toward home.

Before going back, stopped at my friend Steve's house, and checked out his new (well 1996) Harley Wide Glide. Invited to take it out for a spin, got a short ride on the bike (seen here from the seat) and enjoyed that. Love riding my Kawasaki Vulcan, but a Harley is certainly a classic and unique experience.
I got back to the house a little after 1pm, having been riding some four hours and covered some 131 miles in total. Spent the rest of the day with my fine family, and on Sunday headed to Charlotte, NC for the Chicago Bears/Carolina Panthers game. That I will be covering, and sharing photos of, in my next post!

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!