A Warm Day in Charlotte (November 11, 2012)

November 11,  took a ride out to Charlotte on the motorcycle. I also got in some county roads...took a sort of backroads route on a beautiful day with 70 degree temps. Can't beat weather like this in near Mid-November. First stop was Eastland Mall, which closed a few years ago. Charlotte purchased the property in August this year for a reported $13.2 million. Much like the Cloverleaf Mall on Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield, Eastland was once a premier mall which fell on hard times as the neighborhood changed. There are plans to re-develop it - will revisit this in the near future.   

Out on Central Avenue, wandered around there a bit. This is one of many "Fuel Pizza" which are usually found in old gas stations, there are a few of them around Charlotte, and the surrounding areas. Pizza is pretty good (I have had better, have also had much, much worse) did not stop into this one, but have been to the one at Davidson, NC. Lots of neat stores there, many good places to eat (a number of Vietnamese restaurants can be found on Central Ave), and a number of the restaurants were packed both inside and outside. Great weather will do that for you. Well, that and the fact that the Carolina Panthers were in town playing a game.  

Speaking of town, this is a view of "Uptown Charlotte" basically from the Fuel Pizza location seen above. I rode into Charlotte, always fun to ride around there. Game was underway when I got there, so traffic was not bad (it was I am sure when the game is over). Have been to a number of games at Bank of America Stadium, nice place to see football (even if the Panthers are not all that good this year). On the way back made a short stop in NoDa at Revolution Pizza and Ale (not for the pizza there either though) and then got back home after a 2.5 hour ride. Had a great time, and always fun to explore the city. After that ride, chilled out a bit at the house (watching the Panthers game with Denver) before taking a drive this time back to the RVA where I will be spending the next few days, and a weekend here. Looking forward to some adventures in this very fun town!

Beer Fest at 17th Street Farmers Mkt (November 4, 2012)

 Went to the beer festival at the 17th Street Farmers Market today. I enjoy those sort of events, for one thing the market is a cool place to be with a number of events occurring outside there, and usually some really good bands during the year so far. The neighborhood is also pretty cool, a lot of history there (not far from there is a very old train buried in a train tunnel collapse many years ago)  I thought this building with the art on the side was neat. You see a lot of that in the Shockoe Slip/Shockoe Bottom part of Richmond, and I like that. One thing you can say for Richmond, it is certainly unique.
  

 As for the festival, it was pretty good. Good celebration of beer (at $6 a pop) but have come to expect that here. Beer and food tends to be really pricy here, though in general its just expensive to live here in comparison to a lot of other places. Band seen at top was really good, and got to enjoy some craft beers from Virginia. Nice crowd and some friendly people, which made for a good day in the RVA. 

Wall at left is a favorite of mine, another example of the wall art common here. I also like the cobblestone streets of the alley here, you see a lot of that in this area.
I have been to Shockoe Bottom quite a few times, and I always find it interesting to be there.Along with nearby Church Hill, the area offers a lot of interesting and fun events to enjoy year round.  
As weekends go this was a really good one - visited some favorite places and had a blast doing it. Looking forward to the next weekend in the RVA.
  

November 3 in the RVA (November 3, 2012)

 Nice day in the city of Richmond, started it off with a visit to the South of the James Market. Not sure how long it runs (will check on that) but it was up and running today. Lots of food booths and other items for sale, live music of course, and a big crowd bundled up in the morning chill. Of course there were a number of good food trucks. Food trucks are a big thing in Richmond (in a lot of places around the US as well, but just seem to be even more popular here) and I have had some really amazing food from a number of them. I liked this one, as it was pretty colorful. 

Later in the afternoon, made a drive to Maymont Park. I love going there, in fact just wish I could go even more than I do. Always lots to see there, such as the Japanese Gardens seen at left. Lots of animals to see there as well, and many interesting types; wild animals, farm animals, and speaking of wild animals they even have at least three Bison. The old house there is something to see over the holidays, it is also a great site for a number of special events during the year, and can't beat it as a great place to see the end of Fall. Colors are certainly past peak in the Richmond area, but there is still a lot of beauty out there right now.   
I also made a stop at Byrd Park, is seen here, it is a WWI memorial and has a number of bells in its tower. Byrd Park is real close to Maymont, and it has a number of lakes there in addition to this tower. Like with Maymont, there are a number of events held there throughout the year.  

At the end of the day went to Carytown to Galaxy Diner. I had read some reviews of the place, and a friend of mine told me it was just ok. Just ok hardly, really enjoyed the food there, and was real happy with $1.50 PBR drafts. Both the servers and the customers are real interesting, seems to be a popular place with VCU students, and locals, plus a number of interesting people there. Seems to be a great place to go when you have tattoos...which I don't, but think they can be pretty neat. Carytown is an interesting place, I am not much of a shopper, and certainly no foodie, but like those "Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives" sort of places, and this one would be a real pick for that show in my opinion. Enjoyed my visit there, enjoyed the food, and I will be back.
While this was a sunny cold day, with another to come tomorrow, I really enjoyed it, and am looking forward to a fun day tomorrow as we celebrate Beer Week in Richmond at the 17th Street Farmers Market.

 

Fall at Morrow Mountain (October 28, 2012)

Took a motorcycle ride to Morrow Mountain on a beautiful Sunday October 28 where I saw this view at the park which is just outside of Albemarle,NC (which is the home by the way of Kellie Pickler). Figured that it was a beautiful day, and probably my last chance to see the colors as the next time I will be home will be later in November. I was really lucky in that there was a lot of color, and also it was a warm day for late October, I was very comfortable on the motorcycle without needing my "heavy" motorcycle gear.  Quite a few other bikers as well as some leaf fans in cars were there. 

From the overlook (a few of those at the top of the mountain) Got this photo of one of the lakes in the area. The region is a popular fishing area with Baden and High Rock Lakes all nearby. There are some great roads in the area as well, while I enjoy city rides to Charlotte and other NC cities, country rides are also nearby. Get to see a number of farms and a lot of wildlife as well during those rides. I have a few more photos on my Racing with the Wind Page, and also some photos on my Flickr Photo Page. It was a good few weeks for seeing some Fall color, thanks to this ride and the previous weeks ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway which is featured on the previous post.
On my return to Richmond, Hurricane Sandy was coming in which is resulting in both high winds and heavy rain (which could really impact leaves in the RVA) as well as the first snows of the year in the NC and VA mountain ranges. I got in before the storm hit its full fury in the Richmond area (impact was really light in the Charlotte area.

Around Town (October 20, 2012)

After yesterdays mountain adventure, a much more quiet and short ride around the Concord area, rode down some back roads, and enjoyed some of what is another beautiful day. Nice to get out and get on some roads in the area, and also took a quick ride past Charlotte Motor Speedway. Around 70 degrees and very sunny, part of what makes this time of year so wonderful. Rode out to RideNow Power Sports for a while, and also got out to visit a friend. As this vacation week in North Carolina winds down, enjoying some great times with my family, also out in the breeze on the motorcycle. Have had some great riding this week for sure! 

A ride to the Blue Ridge Parkway (October 19, 2012)

 Friday October 19 was a great day for a motorcycle ride, and enjoyed the time spent at Blowing Rock, NC and on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Blowing Rock is found right up NC-321 and is a great little mountain town. Kind of "touristy" and some places have prices to match, but there are also some good deals. I always like to make a stop at The Canyons (right at the top of 321) which I have found has some great food and drink prices (and a very friendly staff as well as some great mountain views. Blowing Rock is a great town to stroll the streets and check out some sights. This time of year though parking is a real adventure.   

 The Cone House seen here was a stop I visited on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is now home to a Craft Center of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, and there was a big crowd and some neat crafts to see inside the house. The house was built by the Cone Family and construction started in 1899. The house has 23 rooms and 13,000 feet of living space. Known as Flattop Mannor  it was donated to the Blue Ridge Parkway in 1949. It is an impressive house and the view from the front porch is remarkable. Of course the word remarkable does not cover all the sights I saw during this ride.  

Seen here is the road itself, one of the great roads of America. The Parkway runs some 469 (I think that is right) from North Carolina through Virginia. It has a low speed limit which is great for seeing the sights. There are a number of overlooks to stop and see the views and a number of interesting places to stop and check out. I have ridden (and for that matter driven) some big sections of the road over the years. It is a place and area that I have (and will) come to again and again, and is easily one of my favorite places in North Carolina. I have posted some more photos to my Flickr page, and also have some on my Racing with the Wind Motorcycle Page, links to both can be found above. Fall is one of my favorite times of year, and I was very happy with the sights, smells, and feel of this fine fall day in the Blue Ridge Parkway! 

 Took a ride on an overcast Sunday to Charlotte, NC....was dry the whole ride though, and warm on a mid-October fall day. Rode out by Bank of America stadium (seen at left) in Uptown, home of the Carolina Panthers. Enjoy going by the stadium (its a bye week for the team, which is not off to a great start being 1-4 at this point) but a neat place where I have spent some very happy (and some not so happy if you count losses) with my son. Still, its a first rate stadium, and the team has had some really good seasons. Fun to see NFL football and nice to not to have to make a long drive to do so.   

 View here is near the stadium, and will be the home of "BB+T" ballpark, soon to be the home of the Charlotte Knights, the AAA baseball team, which actually has been playing in South Carolina (which is right across the border). Soon they will play in Uptown Charlotte, work has started on the stadium, and it will be up and running next season (I believe). Took a lot to get this going, there was a lawsuit by a local lawyer who wanted Charlotte to get a major league team instead. Nice to dream big, but think this is a very good start, and love AAA baseball, so it should be a good match for the city and looking forward to them playing uptown. 

Liked this, saw a number of horse driven carriages running around Uptown, and nice on a Sunday to take a ride in them. Course my horse is 1500cc's and two wheels, but still enjoyed being in Charlotte on a Sunday afternoon. Lots of people were wandering around, people eating inside and outside (at tables) in restaurants and visiting the museums. Charlotte is a fun city and I enjoy exploring it - quite a few people live Uptown as well. Got the name "Uptown" I read the other day due to the elevation of the area. At any case, it was a very good time, and I enjoyed my visit to the Queen City.