A Ride in the Neighborhood (November 26, 2012)

 Some of the most interesting things to see in this area, can be found in my "Backyard." Concord, NC is a most interesting town with a lot to offer. I have a few more photos at my "Racing with the Wind" page where I visited Charlotte Motor Speedway. Being the Christmas season, I also made a stop at Pat Rogers Speedway Harley-Davidson, and being the Christmas season got a photo of both of the tree and the bikes there. I love to ride, and this was a fine day in North Carolina to do so with sunny skies and some warmer temperatures (around 60, but I will take that in late November) to roll around the area. I did not get in a lot of miles, but I did enjoy some remarkable weather. On this Monday I also enjoyed some light traffic having gotten out before the rush hour traffic rolled in. It made for a very good day on the motorcycle and it is nice to see some of the sights in the area of which this is one of the better areas to explore. Spending so much of my life in Richmond....explore is the right term.     

 Took this photo in the Bass Pro Shop at the massive Concord Mills Mall. Concord Mills is a huge (and still growing with a lot of construction going on nearby) mall in Concord...and is said to be the #1 tourist attraction in the state. This time of year it's good for that label - though was not bad on a Monday a few weeks before Christmas. You can see it is decked out for the holiday. Way off in the background of this photo is the big fish tank, and there are some impressive fish in there. Quite a place for the outdoorsman (or outdoorswoman) on your Christmas list, I liked visiting this store.  

 Made a stop at Roush-Fenway Racing, many of the race shops in Concord have a museum, and this one is no exception (most but not all are free admission - this one was free). Car in front is the prototype  GT-40 Ford, there is a cut away car in the background, and a crashed car way off in the photo as well. Has a nice gift shop, and a number of drivers cars for the team are also on display there. Roush-Fenway is located on the grounds of Concord Regional Airport, the airport is a big deal for the teams, who travel both via the roads, but also by air to the major races around the US.
There are a number of race teams located in Concord, and also in nearby Huntersville, NC in fact of the teams in NASCAR most of them are located right in this area. Charlotte Motor Speedway is considered to be the "home" track for the series, and it is one impressive place, hosting two races during the season and the NASCAR All-Star Race in the year as well.   

Mentioned the importance of the airport to the teams, this is one of the team planes of Joe Gibbs racing at the airport. I was told they are going to be flying to Las Vegas for the big award ceremony coming up soon, as the season is now over. However, they only get a short break, Daytona happens in February. Racing is a big deal in this part of the country, and it is not unusual to see a number of drivers and owners out and about in the area.
As I noted, this was a very good day, had a good time checking out some of the sights in what is one of the most fun times of the year. For my next post, will have some neat photos from Richmond, VA

Preview of Christmas, Concord, NC (November 24, 2012)

 Back in Carolina, and an early look at the season. Patty and I took a post Thanksgiving Day drive on Saturday November 24 to see some of the lights in the city. Spent the day decorating the outside of the house, and then went out to see the lights in the area. At left is the Concord Christmas tree, which is downtown and was lit quite a few days ago in what is shaping up to be an early Christmas season both here and in Richmond. A few houses have already been decorated, and in fact we plan to get back out tonight to see some. Patty and I get some coffee, and ride around a bit in the car to see the lights. Certainly, Concord and the Charlotte area as well have some interesting things to see (such as the lights at the Speedway, and of course McAdenville is remarkable) but as I have noted (and as will be shown here) few places do as much as does Richmond with the remarkable Tacky Lights Tour, and of course downtown Richmond is something to see as well.  

Still, something familiar here with the city light displays, such as seen here at left. Having spent so many years here now, many of them are like "old friends" and remind me both of Christmas past, and of those to come. Of course over the years in my journeys I have lived in three places and this year will bring some sights from Louisville, KY, Charlotte, NC and also Richmond, VA. It does tend to make Christmas time both very interesting and fun. I will be bringing more photos from all of those cities in the days and weeks to come, in what is always one of my favorite times of the year!

Preview of Christmas, RVA (November 17, 2012)

 Let it be known, I love the Christmas holiday (I am also a huge fan of Thanksgiving, just a few days from now) and the fact that the stores are having an early start is fine with me. After all I have Christmas in two states to check out, and there will be a lot of great sounds and sights to experience both in North Carolina and in Virginia. Started with Virginia, at the Short Pump Town Center this tree was lit up just the day before, and I went out to see it, as in this case...I never had. West Broad Street is a very busy road, and very retail with a number of strip malls, and of course the massive complex that is Short Pump Town Center. A big mall should have a big tree and this was the largest one that I got out to see today. Wandered around for a little bit there, but for me at least it is too early to do any real shopping. Nonetheless, got a feeling that just about anything you could want, need, or think you need could be found at Short Pump Town Center. As malls go, it was pretty impressive. 

From West Broad Street, drove back to the Midlothian area. Checked out the tree at Westchester Commons, and also one at Chesterfield Towne Center (the latter has the tree inside). Also at Chesterfield I got to talk to Santa for a little bit (which was kind of cool), and wandered around for a short while at Garden Ridge. In between those two places is this dentist office at left. It seems to be one of the first places to light up in the area, and is usually one of the last to turn the lights off after Christmas. This, to me, is not a bad thing at all. I tend to go by there quite a bit. Also worth a lot, are the bears in the dentist chairs in the three lower front windows. I always enjoy seeing this.       

Ended my night at Stony Point Fashion Park, which is certainly a cool mall. For one thing its outdoor, and for another it is the most (hands down) dog friendly mall in Richmond (and Richmond is a very dog friendly town). As for the tree, it was lit up November 10, and this tree is really cool. Had a really good sound system, and the lights dance to the music (which happens in regular intervals) during the course of the night. I also enjoyed some Christmas music by a solo electric guitarist. It was a good day for that, also two other good guitarists performed (but not Christmas music) at the South of the James Market today in Forest Hill Park.
The holiday season is off to a really good start, and there is a lot more to come! Of course have to give a word to the "less than a week away" Thanksgiving holiday - while not as colorful as Christmas, it is certainly the most tasty holiday, and I am looking very forward to that.    

Driving to Short Pump (November 17, 2012)

 Amazingly, got out to see some of the Christmas sights in Richmond (yeah, its rapidly getting to be that time of year) which will be the subject of my next post. Along the way, got some interesting sights. Got a photo of Monroe Park, which is Richmond's oldest park (established in 1851). The park was also used as a training center and campground for Confederate troops during the Civil War. As can be seen in the center, still a good place to catch some rest. There is always a lot going on there, and there are a number of historic markers at the park, which is located on Main Street. 

The Science Museum of Virginia resides in the former Broad Street Station which was built in 1919 according to Wikipedia. I have been in there a couple of times, nice museum with some interesting exhibits. I like the Aluminaut, which is the world's first aluminum submarine. It was also a very deep diving submarine. There is an IMAX theater in there, and a number of interesting exhibits. It is a really kid friendly museum, in fact it is mostly geared for kids. Has a nice train exhibit there, and the tracks and the boarding areas from the station still remain in the back of the museum.  

 I have passed this quite a few times, and have wanted to get a photo of it, now I have and know that it is called the "Enterprise Center". Wonder if that is due to it's purpose, or that it looks somewhat like the saucer section of the starship USS Enterprise from Star Trek. At any case, quite a different sort of building, and I enjoyed seeing it at last. Wanted to get a good photo of it, well pleased with this one. Richmond has a lot of old and historic buildings, but in all sorts of neighborhoods you often come across some more modern and different ones such as this one. They have been, and will be, some neat neighborhoods to explore here.

I took this photo on West Broad Street, thought it was a scenic sunset. I went out close to night, wanting to check out some of the Christmas trees at the local malls. I rode to Short Pump,Westchester Commons, Chesterfield Towne Center, and Stony Point Fashion Park to see some of the sights and sounds of the season. Being Richmond, I was not disappointed  at all, even saw some extra sights along the way. Few cities do Christmas with as much color as Richmond does, and it creates some magical sights and memories. Looking forward to the upcoming year, and will bring the first of those sights with my next post!

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.