Florida-The other visits (Feb 17-21)

 Besides Disney while in Florida, made some other visits, such as to this Fort in Saint Augustine Florida. It dates to the 1600's and was built by the Spanish. I liked touring that, have been to it before in previous visits, but liked taking Kaye, her son and grandson there to see it.
Amazing piece of history and a fun place to wander around as is St Augustine, Florida. Sadly time was not on our side we had some other things to do, but those were also cool..and just up the road from St. Augustine. We visited the fort on Feb 18.   

 Went to Marineland to feed and pet the dolphins. I had been to Marineland, but had never done that and it was a great time. Those are wonderful and amazing creatures and it was a real joy to do that. The staff there made it a real experience and was glad do it it. I had seen them before, and has been to shows where they perform before, but getting up close and personal was an amazing thing. They are wonderful creatures and amazingly smart.  We also did this on February 18.

Had to see the Atlantic, being based in Orlando that is not nearby but also on Feb 18 we got to see the ocean. In fact headed back toward Daytona onA1A which was a wonderful drive. The ocean is a remarkable thing as well, though got to see quite a few back in the 70's in the USN, but I never tire of visiting it...sort of like an old friend to me. We had a great time checking out St. Augustine, Marineland, and driving (and stopping) on A1A.

Finally on the 20th we went to Daytona for the Budweiser Duels...and that was a great time. Have been to the track and all, but had never seen a race there. While it was a qualifying race, was still cool, and the second one ended with a crash. The Budsweiser Clydesdales were there, and of course all the stars of Nascar.
Dale Jr by the way won the race a few days later which I watched from the comfort of my living room in Richmond, VA. That was delayed by rain, we on the other hand only saw a little bit of rain the day we left Florida. Great weather, but Richmond is planning for some more winter surprises in the next few days!

Florida-The Disney Visits (Feb 17-21)

 Nice winter days in Florida, did some very fun things over the week of Feb 17-21 including three days at Disney. The first place I had been to before, the Magic Kingdom which is where the photo of the famous castle was taken on Feb 17. Had a good time there, course you get to do a lot of walking, but it is a beautiful place to do so. There are a lot of employees there, and they are great a helping. For the first time was able to use the "Fastpass" system including a ride on Space Mountain. Nice to not having to stand in line. 

 On Feb 19, went to Epcot, which was also pretty cool Had never been there before, and enjoyed the sights and the rides. Was like taking a trip around the world, and liked especially Test Track, Soaring and (as seen below) Mission Space. Had a very great time there. There are two versions of the Mission Space ride, and we rode the tougher one. It was pretty physical and a lot of fun...think it was about as real as it gets.

Tree is from Animal Kingdom, the first part of the final visits on Feb 21, very cool park. Some good rides, but a big part of it was all the animals you can see..very nice zoo. I really liked that, and had a great time. They are all in different settings, and was fun to explore it.
One thing I also liked there was Rainforest Cafe, which to be honest had some of the best food that I had in Florida during the visit. Was a good time, and really enjoyed this park.
Following half a day there, we headed to our final destination.   

Disney Hollywood Studios was the last park we went to. It was pretty neat, and the Star Wars Ride was amazing...had a great time on that. Park was pretty neat, but being that it was a long day (and for the first time in the trip rain started) we had the shortest day there.
All in all, it was a very good and amazing time.I have a few photos posted on my Photo Page from the parks, and also some other photos..for we did some other things while we were in Florida and those will be the subject of the next post here.

Snow II (January 27, 2014)

 A couple of photos from the snowstorm on January 27 - was a pretty good second snowfall, which was pretty neat; course I like snow. Was pretty uneventful in that it was maybe two inches, though was major in Atlanta and on the coasts (plus a few other places.

Got a kick out of seeing it again, and enjoyed it. Though this happened on Monday, pretty much by Friday was just a memory (with a few places here and there) and with a rise in temperatures coming up this weekend, will be totally gone by Saturday, Sunday at the latest. Still, it was cool to see it...love all the seasons, and this was pretty nice in late January.

Virginia Aviation Museum (January 25, 2014)

 Made a return visit to the Virginia Aviation Museum which is on the grounds of the Richmond International Airport on January 25, 2014. I have bee there before, but I really enjoy visits to this very fine museum. They have a really good collection of aircraft, including the first plane to land near the South Pole (flown by Admiral Richard E. Byrd who was from Richmond, VA) and a number of planes from the Golden Age of Aviation. I always have had a very good time at this museum, which is one of my favorites in Richmond, and this visit was no exception.

This is a Spad VII, built in 1917, and is not a replica, its the real deal. Pretty cool to see one of these French designed aircraft. Though America made the airplane, aircraft manufacture was slow to develop partly due to the battles between the Wright Brothers and Glenn Curtiss. Strangely, in the end, both companies ended up merging.
The SPAD series though was one of the most produced fighters of World War 1, and was flown by many successful French and for that matter American fighter pilots in that war. 

 This is the inside of a 1935 Waco Model YOC, first time I got to see this. Got to see some extra stuff thanks to a member of the cleaning staff who flat out loves the museum (she was really excited about people being there, and loves her job..which was a real cool thing). This is a very cool aircraft, and I found it was once owned by Walter Matthew Jefferies. Mr. Jefferies was from Richmond, VA and was also the designer of the Starship Enterprise in the tv series Star Trek. I have seen the model of his design which can be seen at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. That model was surprisingly big by the way.  

 The engine seen here is one of the engines of the SR-71 Blackbird. Still an amazing aircraft, the SR-71 could fly at over Mach 3, and at such a high altitude that some of the pilots got astronaut wings.
The Blackbird was never shot down, and set a number of aviation records that still stand to this day. Not sure if there is anything faster or that can fly higher with jet engines, but this plane would still be a world class reconnaissance aircraft. Its slower brother, the U-2 is still in use today, but spacecraft replaced the SR-71 a few years ago. Richmond having one of them is a real treat.

Finally this is an overview of the museum. It does charge a small admission charge; though you can see the SR-71, the F-14 and an A-7 outside for free, but there is a lot to see inside (and I have a few more photos on my photo page. For more information, you can check the museum out on its web page (just punch in Virginia Aviation Museum into your favorite web search engine).
It is, in my opinion,  well worth a visit while in the Richmond area, the airport is just outside of town and in fact takes only a few minutes to get there from the downtown area.   

The Snow (January 22, 2014)

 So...after a very mild winter, which is the exception in this region, Richmond got some real snow on January 21....as seen here on Forest Hill Avenue. It will be here awhile, we are going to be in an extended cold spell (at least to the weekend). Strange when I think about it, snowed on Tuesday the 21st, on the 20th it was 61 and I went on a motorcycle ride (photos of that are on my Racing with the Wind page) around town. Still, this is quite beautiful and I like seeing the snow. Unlike a few people, its fun to get a little variety in life. Virginia has that.  

 This is the Stone House in Forest Hill Park, very pretty with the snow. As I had noted we had no snow this winter (which includes last year, the winter part at least.
Enjoyed taking my dog out on the first walk, and then I took another walk without her, and going to have one more before the day is over and I have to get to work. Speaking of work the roads are in good shape it seems, lots of trucks have been rolling around dumping various things (and a car wash is in my future after all this; salt can do amazing things to metal) on the roads. They are in good shape, in fact the top photo is no longer the case. 

One thing cool about the snow is all the people it brought out to the hill in Forest Hill Park, had quite a crowd there, and this photo is part of that. Was fun to see all the people having fun...almost wish I had a sled (though back in the day...I used to).
Cold to be sure, but not too bad if you dress for it. Being a "wintertime motorcyclist" have some good warm stuff, and that has come in handy this winter day. Looking forward to seeing even more of it over the next few days.
I did post a few more photos on my Flickr photo page, and sure to add a few more over the next few days.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (January 12, 2014)

 Sunny day in Richmond, warm too...but a good Sunday to drive to downtown to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Open at 10am, went with my girlfriend (who had never been there) to see some of the art.
Interesting place in that it covers a lot of periods, types and even in some cases can push what you might think art is. There is a lot here, and pretty sure there is something for everyone.
This is some items from Egypt, these dating to a few thousand years before Christ - a time when the people of the Nile were the great nation of the world.

This is also in the museum, here is a room that was in a building in New York, again pretty old (but not nearly as old as the top photo). It was preserved and moved to the museum.
While some of the exhibitions can cost, general admission is free. Read on the web site that it is open 365 days a year, usually open at 10am, closing time can vary. It is located on the Boulevard in Richmond, which is one of my favorite streets, and in fact I have a few photos from there on my photo page (including one taken today). 

 Love the Art Deco section of the museum, as I said, painting, sculpture, photos, and even furniture can be found there. Lots of very interesting things to see, and we had a great time in a quick exploration of the museum.
Will be back soon, though if you have visited here before you would note this is a favorite place of mine.
Did a quick 90 minute tour and then my lady made a suggestion for lunch. Sounded like a very good idea and so we headed too....  

...Buz and Ned's Real Barbecue, which is a few blocks up the street from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Very good BBQ, in fact I consider it the best that I have ever had (and I am from Carolina) and had a real good meal there.
They even have a Carolina favorite-fried pickles. Not on the menu, but do ask for them. They have two locations, this one and another in Short Pump.
At any case, it was a very good morning, and enjoyed it a great deal.   

So ends Christmas (January 5, 2014)

 My girlfriend and I found it was the last day for the Christmas decorations at the Maymont Mansion, and having been before (and she having not been there in quite some years) thought it would be cool to see. House is amazing, built by the Dooley family at the turn of the century, 98% of the items in it came from them. Its like a time capsule and amazing to see how Christmas was held back in the day. House was one of the first in Richmond to have electricity, though the Christmas trees in the house were lit with candles. The house was donated to the City of Richmond with the death of the wife. 

These are mote of the buildings, Maymont is a real treasure and one of my favorite places to visit. In addition to the house, there is a collection of vehicles (one of which is below, some others at the photo page on this blog) a really neat zoo and in the spring and summer wonderful Italian and Japanese gardens to explore. Not only that as it is sort of hilly, its a great place to walk around. Even some music events are held there. Most every thing is either no cost or low cost (it was $5 a piece to tour the house, and in my opinion well worth it). The Maymont Foundation takes care of the house and the grounds. 

This is a sled in the Carriage House, as I noted the Christmas displays ended on Sunday January 5. I have to say this year in Richmond (and also some other places during the Christmas season) have been wonderful...I had a great time and will have some fine memories.
This will end Christmas 2013 for me, but I will sure be smiling with the memories that I have for this year. Looking forward to Christmas 2014, it is always one of my favorite times of year and think that one will also have me smiling. Hope all of you had a great time, thanks so much for visiting my page and will be bringing you more in 2014!