Christmastime in Carolina (December 14-15,2013)

Went to Concord, NC over December 14-15 to see my son.  Had a great time there, as I also visited some friends, and went to the bike shop to see some of the new motorcycles (and some of those will be on my other blog "Racing with the Wind") while I was there.
Liked seeing some of the city displays, for instance this one in front of a bank just off NC29. Always enjoyed this one and its animated (well, the snowman moves his arm). There are a lot of these sort of things, and enjoyed seeing all of them. Kind of strange since the divorce last January, but getting better. 

 This is the Concord City Christmas Tree, always like seeing it. They have a big tree lighting in November with all sorts of food, music, and after its lit a fireworks display. Thought that was strange but have found a lot of places do it.

 Seen here at left is downtown Concord, they have changed the lights in the trees for the first time in a lot of years, and also have some hanging balls added. Those have gotten really popular...a house on Union Street (where downtown actually is) has added those and they have really caught on.
Due to the rain did not go to Speedway Christmas, but did enjoy the lights that I got to see. A lot of places due to the rain (it flat poured on Saturday which was expected being in the forecast for the last few days) did not light up, but still fun to see the many that did. 

This at left are the trees at what was formerly Cannon Village (is now part of the NC Research Center) but still very pretty. Village Park has a lot of light displays (both Cannon Village and Village Park are in Kannapolis, NC) but those at the park were turned off due to the weather. Shame, like to ride the little train that goes past them all, well maybe next year.
It was nice to be there, had a fine visit with my son, a great dinner at El Amigo (also in Kannapolis) and enjoyed the lights and the Starbucks Coffee. Will have more from the road this Christmas season.

Day after Thanksgiving, RVA (Nov 29, 2013)

 Was the day after Thanksgiving, and on that same night, some of the (what is known as ) Tacky Light Houses (you can find a whole massive list on Richmond.com-Facebook page or web site) lit up (with more to come over the next few days). Richmond is a remarkable place to see Christmas lights, and it is a popular thing for me and others to do this time of year. This one at left at 14309 Long Hill Road was a first time visit for me, but sure put a smile on my face, and also my girlfriend. You have to love this time of year, and sure is a lot of sights to see and do this December in the RVA. 

 Second house we saw was this one at 8009 Summerbrooke Ct, and it is really remarkable. One of the brightest houses you will find on the tour, and really a remarkable piece of work. I put my Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving, work on this sort of project takes place in June or July (and continues) It is a very cool thing to see. It is one of the most popular houses on the tour, there are quite a few of them all over the area. I have been going to see this, and other sights for the past few years I have been here, but still some new stuff to see. The tree at the right is not real clear, but is in my Flickr photos where I have more photos of these 3 houses.

Finally, the houses at 9604 and 9606 Asbury Court which are probably the most popular on the tour. Going early was nice, usually a mob scene here with tour busses, a line of cars and limos and tons of people. The fact that it was 29 degrees (below normal temps for this time of year) and a huge shopping day probably helped. I sure enjoyed seeing these two houses, to be honest in the area there is not much quite like it. Here you can see the sort of trees I mentioned above...but as also noted more photos on Flickr photos from my page. I will have more of these sort of photos coming up in the next few weeks, as well as like photos from other places over the Christmas holiday. Looking forward to a great number of weekends enjoying what Christmas has to offer...the sights and sounds of the holiday! 

Asheville and Beyond (November 8-10, 2013

 Back to Carolina and to one of my favorite places with my girlfriend and my dog. There is so much to see and to do here, and wanted to share some of the many sights with you. Main thing we wanted to see was the Candlelight Christmas Tour of the Biltmore Mansion, and we did that (and that will be the next post). Getting into town on the 8th we went downtown and took a walk through the old Grove Arcade which is seen at left. Lots of very cool old buildings and interesting sights in Asheville, and like exploring it though have been there many times. Lots of street musicians were playing, and as I have found in the past lots of good places to eat and drink there. Mountains all around you, it is just a remarkable place to spend the day or even a very good night checking out some of the music. We also went to the Grove Park Inn. I have photos of that and some other sights at my Flickr Photo Page, and there is a link to that on this page. I also have some motorcycle photos on my Racing with the Wind page. 

Kaye and I ate at the Moose Cafe, and my advice is to come hungry...you will need the room. Very good food, it is located off of a nearby Farmers Market, and the meals have never been anything short of outstanding.
As for the hotel we stayed at a Best Western on Tunnel Road in Asheville, it was a great place to spend a few nights; very clean and it has been updated. As I told the clerk on leaving, found it well deserved the hype. Really good breakfast also, and it was nearby a whole lot of things. I can recommend that hotel without reservation.          

 Took this photo on the Blue Ridge Parkway, had to take a drive on that great road. Though we did not take the motorcycles on this trip (my girl also rides, but my dog does not and both came with me) saw a lot of them riding it. Great roads and great views. I liked the visit there, which also included many roadside stops and also visits to the Visitor Center and the Folk Art Center.
The Parkway is one of the great American roads, and I never tire of it. I have ridden a lot of the Parkway in both Asheville and the Blowing Rock area, not so much in Virginia, but I will!

McDonalds near the Biltmore is one hell of a thing. I like this one, most of them are the usual thing, but some of them around the country are very unique. This one is near the top of the list with this scene at left, also a player piano and a fireplace.
Wandered around some of downtown in the Biltmore Village right across from the entrance. Then we went back for dinner, and came back to the hotel. Those photos can be found on the Flickr page, and I will be adding a few here very soon. It was a great time, and a nice look at a bygone era. Hard to believe it is all real to be honest, it is beyond belief. 

Finally on the way back to Richmond we stopped at Chimney Rock (seen at left) though did not go up to it this trip. That is a very interesting town, and we also took a walk around nearby Lake Lure which has a beach of all things (but a little chilly for that). A number of movies have been filmed there in whole or in part including part of Dirty Dancing.
It was a remarkable trip and I sure enjoyed it as did my girlfriend and even (I think) my dog who enjoyed the tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway with us.
There is no doubt in my mind, that once again down the road, I will be back!   

Urbanna Oyster Festival (November 2,2013)

 Had a great time at the Urbanna Oyster Festival in Urbanna, VA which is roughly an hour-and a very pleasant drive down some really nice roads-from Richmond, VA. My girlfriend was a big fan of this event, so we got in the car and rolled out. Parking on Saturday was $20 (read it was $10 on Friday) and then there was a short walk to the festival over this bridge which was also at the harbor. Lots of boats there, and was fun walking around the harbor. We even got to check out a condo that had an open house, sure would be remarkable to get up in the morning and see this for a view.     

There were lots of neat things on display, lots of booths selling products . Some of them, and for that matter other photos from the day can be seen on my Flickr photo site (there is a link to it on my page). Lots of fun events to go see, and enjoyed walking around with my lady. We even got to try some free samples of things (and some of those things...we purchased) and of course as mentioned was fun to walk around the shoreline of the harbor.
Town of Urbanna was founded in 1680 so there were a lot of old buildings to see, and fun to see all the people as well.   

Not just people-they had a very cool car show there with some remarkable automobiles and of course a few very cool motorcycles. Liked seeing some of them, and was fun to walk around.
There was a also a very cool "newish" Corvette, but not sure quite what it was. I have a photo of that on Flickr, but also enjoyed a great deal seeing the very old cars such as this one at left. Amazing that some of these cars look almost brand new, as if they had just come out of the factory. I was impressed with the cars there, and we had a great time.

 Of course the festival was about Oysters (hence the name) and got this photo of one of the types we had. There were raw, roasted (which is what these were) fried and even a few in sandwiches. Had something called an Oyster Fritter which was really good. There were booths all over the place, and few places had huge lines...and for those who wanted something else there was something else.
They had a lot of fair/carnival sort of food as well including things such as fried Oreo's, but we passed on those, but was fun to see all the things being offered.

Finally, one of the last things was the parade. Lots of cool things, event queens, stunt motorcycles, marching bands...and as in this photo very small trucks driven by a single Shriner. It was a very cool parade and was a nice event was we had done a lot of walking around and eating. Even met some friends at the parade that Kaye had ridden motorcycles with back in the not too distant past.
It was a very fun event, and I am planning to make a return visit in 2014, but can only hope for such a perfect weather day next year. It was a great time and hope you have enjoyed these photos!

The Ville in the Fall (October 13-17)

Took a trip to Louisville, Kentucky and my good dog Mollie from October 13-17 to see my brother and my family. It is also where my terrible X-wife lives with her cheating boyfriend, but I did not see them...did though get to see my son, his wife, and the grandkids. Mainly went to see my brother who is dealing with a terminal illness. He has declined a great deal, and I wanted to get out to see him before he takes that journey that we all must face. Photo at left is the state capital building in Charleston, WV. Interesting to note is the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the front of it.  

This once again is the famous "Bridge to Nowhere" as it was known...Louisville put a walkway and railing on it and you can walk up it and (soon, once the State of Indiana finishes it's side) across to Indiana. Get some great views there of the river and some of the cool things to see. Being Louisville there were some cool other things to see on the bridge such as the people, and of course some musicians playing guitar. Kaye had never been on it, so it was very cool to do that, as its a nice walk and something different in the River City. It was also a very good day to do this. 

 Night photo of Louisville from the Indiana side of the Ohio River. Beautiful city and one of my favorite to visit. Like the way it looks at night, very pretty. I grew up there, and while we were there stayed once again in Louisville (actually sort of outside of it, though it is now a big area since the City and Jefferson County have merged.
Did spend some time downtown checking out some of the places I know and love, there is a lot to see there and it is a lot of fun being on the streets. For the most part, the weather during the trip was good, though did get some rain. 

This is some of the Union graves at the very old and very large Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville. Some of my earliest family members (from the 1700's) are buried there, there are literally thousands of graves from the beginning of Louisville. Even Col Sanders is buried there. It is a beautiful place, and in the past I have spent many hours there. Kaye liked it a great deal.
Located in the section of Louisville known as The Highlands we took some time and saw a lot of the sights there. It is one of my favorite parts of the city and enjoyed the visit.  

Went to Huber Family Farm with the family, where we got a pair of pumpkins for Halloween. While they have the usual Orange (you can see one in the front), I thought the White Pumpkins were cool. We also visited the Winery (got some wine there, always very good, and brought some home) as well as some other stuff. Fed ducks and fish (of all things) got some items from the farm to eat later, and also we ate ourselves. My advice at the restaurant is to come very hungry as they give you a lot. Prices are also not bad at all for that they give you. It was a very fine day. 

 As noted, went to Louisville downtown which reminds me (and a number of other people) of Richmond. They are real good as reusing old buildings and there are a number of them there (while there are some in Charlotte, not nearly so many as the other two mentioned cities). Louisville is a good mix of the old and new. From Richmond it is around 560 miles...a long drive but very pretty going though the mountains. I enjoyed it, and had some good weather going up, though mostly rain on the way back. We extended the trip to take care of my brother, had some things to do for him. 

 On our last night we ate at Joe's Crab Shack on the river, though a chain the food is (and always was) outstanding. We also had good service.
The Belle of Louisville is very cool, it is a very real (not a replica) Steamboat, in fact next year it celebrates 100 years. I used to ride on it from time to time, used to have some great rock and roll and dance cruises back in the day. Still does some remarkable stuff, and there is even a steamboat "race" during the Kentucky Derby.
If you get the chance during a visit, be sure to take a ride on this classic-it is something to see. 

Finally, came the trip back. Stopped again in West Virginia at Tamarack where I saw these quilts. It was a great time there, love visiting those sort of places and the ride back was wonderful (even with rain as I mentioned earlier). View from the mountains of Virginia was wonderful. Not quite peak fall color up there as I write this, but it is not far away. I hope to get the motorcycle back there in the near future...sure like to see that, and it is a great time to ride.
Lots of good memories even though this was a sad sort of visit, but sure glad I went on this journey. 

Hogtober! (October 5, 2013)

Just a few shots from Hogtober, a Fall event held each year in Libby Hill Park, in the Church Hill Neighborhood of Richmond, VA. Event features food (it is a BBQ flavored event ), music and cold beverages. Though a Fall event, this one featured high temps in the 90's, as Fall has been hiding for the past few days prior to this event. The food was great though, the beverages were cold, and the music was very good.
It is one of my favorite events and this year I enjoyed the event as usual though due to the heat, and commitments before and after had to make it a short visit. 

 Bands such as this one were very good though, and I had a great time checking out the music (though this is the only band I got to hear). Kaye went with me, nice to have a pretty companion to enjoy the event with me.
Have heard some really fine bands over the years and some of them have become favorites of mine here in the RVA. Some really good music can be found here, and I have a good time at events such as this, and others checking out the music.  
The event charged only for food and drink, there was no admission charge.  

This is the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Libby Hill Park, the park also offers a fine view of the James River (in fact there is a sign there explaining how Richmond was named for it.
The park and Church Hill is one of my favorite areas of Richmond, offering not only some really fun events, but also a lot of good places to eat, and a lot of neat things to see. Some of the houses there are very old, and in my book, that makes them very interesting.
I go to a lot of events in that area, especially in the Fall and will have a few more things to show you in the upcoming weeks.
On my page "Racing With the Wind" (which is my motorcycle blog) I have a few photos from the area..though mainly of some interesting motorcycles I saw there, have some areas as well which refer to what I have been talking about as far as interesting old things.

Fall Trip to Carolina (Sept 28-29, 2013)

 Had some last business to do in my former hometown, some furniture to move in storage. Rented a truck and drove down from Richmond. Saw something that I had seen just a couple of weeks ago, and in a previous photo here, The Memphis Belle (actually the one that was in the movie) was at Concord Regional Airport. Was good to see it again, and got a lot of good photos which I have on my photo page. There were also some neat older motorcycles which were not part of the planes arrival, but rather had just been ridden in by some bikers. Cool to see this plane...again!    

There are two race shops at the Concord Regional Airport, Roush Fenway and Richard Petty. Near to the airport is Earnhardt Ganassi and also Hendrick Motorsports. In fact most of the teams in NASCAR are either in the Concord area or very close (a number of them are also located in nearby Mooresville, NC) , Unfortunately, few of the teams shops are open on a weekend, though still was fun to go by and take photos such as the one at left. Think that the race shops can be one of the coolest things to see in the area, and some of them give some amazing access to the teams: what they do and how they do it. 

Took this photo while driving down Union  Street, and what you are looking at is Downtown Concord. Some really cool old buildings and some interesting houses are along Union Street. It was one of the favorite drives when I lived there, and like seeing the street. It was always a good time and the street is especially pretty at Christmas when the residents really light it up.
Spent some time with my youngest son staying in his place in Kannapolis, and went to dinner at El Amigo which is one of our favorite restaurants there. Had a really good time.    

On Sunday the 29th, got the truck loaded up, and headed out to breakfast at Punchy's Diner in Concord, NC. A former motorcycle riding buddy (still a buddy, though we just don't get to ride anymore due to distance) rode his Victory Motorcycle there) and we enjoyed a good breakfast at one of my favorite places for same. Always some interesting cars (such as this Cobra) drop by, and there are some trikes to be seen in the background (as there are always a number of bikes there).
Trip was a great time, had a good weekend in North Carolina and fantastic weather. I will be back in the near future for another visit.