Belle Isle, Tredegar, Brown Island (April 13, 2014)

 On a very nice Sunday, went to the James River, one of my favorite places in Richmond , Belle Isle, was first on my list. I put a number of photos on the Photo Page (and you can see them via a link on this page) and this page at left is one of them, this being the old power plant that used to provide electricity for the Richmond trolley system. It was also a site for a number of factories, an old Civil War prison, a  rock quarry, and was once a campsite for Indians. Has some great trails, access to the river and the bridge to get to it is frankly cool as hell. I have been there many, many times, and can expect to get there many, many more. No visit to Richmond, in my opinion, is complete without a visit to see it.
One of the neat things about it is the places near it, within walking distance in fact, and I took advantage of that as well. A good time to see it is early on a Sunday, as it does tend to get really crowded very soon.   

 These are the buildings at Tredegar. This is a very historic site in this very historic city...this being one of the major (if not THE major) confederate armory during the Civil War. Here many of the guns (and plates for the first Confederate Ironclad which was called the CSS Virginia and later met the USS Monitor at Hampton Roads, VA) were made. Many of the buildings and the ruins date to that period, though the factory survived the war, and in fact produced steel and other items for many years after. Good Civil War museum there (one free, the other has a small cost) but well worth a visit.  

As with Tredegar, also a very short walk is Brown Island. Popular with Richmond as a gathering place for a number of events, and also is a site for concerts (I hope to go to one of the Friday night ones during an upcoming Friday night) as well as a beautiful place to wander.
This was a very good day in what was a very interesting weekend. Between this and the previous post, I got in a lot of walking. Sure sights I have seen, but always good to see the great ones again. This is a very interesting city, I have been here over three years now, and still yet to be bored with it. 

Walking The Boulevard (April 12, 2014)

 Put the motorcycle (mine) in the shop...getting it ready for a big riding season. Could have taken the bus (Richmond has great bus service) but decided on a beautiful day to walk back to my apartment....a little over a three mile hike. I made that a bit longer with a few side visits.
This statue is pretty neat in front of the Virginia History Museum it is to the "1.5 million" horses North and South that lost their lives in the Civil War. Lot of monuments to the war, but few to the animals and I thought this was pretty cool when I first saw it, and still do now. 

Likewise, this is the Daughters of the Confederacy building, and a nice cannon (there is another on the other side). If you like Civil War history, few places can match up to Richmond, from battlefields, to cemeteries, to factories (much of the arms for the rebels was made here in Richmond); just a lot of history. There is also a lot of Revolutionary War history here, this place goes back a long way in American history.
Many of the houses you walk by on this street are also very old and very historic in a lot of places. Fun place to check out.

This is The  Byrd in Carytown, which is the big shopping part of Richmond (least the interesting park if you are a big fan of shopping...the big malls are in Short Pump) but Carytown has a lot of interesting things. The Byrd is an old theater which shows new movies, and is a very popular place to check out films. I have to say I have never been in this place, but will be this year for sure. I love this sort of thing and am a big fan of movies.
Carytown also has a lot of places to eat, I had brunch at Galaxy Diner..I have eaten there before. I got the bike in the shop early, and frankly a lot of places were not yet open. Galaxy fit the bill!

Finally, the Italian Garden at Maymont. Love that place, especially this time of year (also awesome at Christmas) and love to see the flowers blooming. It was between this and the Japanese Garden; but have photos of that on my Photo Page which is cool. So take a look, at that, and a number of other places I got to see. Have heard that the best way to see a city is on foot, and I have to say I did see a lot of interesting things today. Looking forward to more of the same tomorrow in another favorite place!

Back in Carolina (April 5-6,2014)

 Enjoy Richmond a great deal, but wanted to go back to Concord, NC for a visit and did so early Saturday morning April 5. One of my first stops there was at Memorial Gardens which is in downtown Concord, a very old Cemetery. I was hoping the tulips were blooming (they are close, but not yet at Maymont in Richmond at the Italian Garden) but they were in North Carolina and this is some of them. I am going to post a few more photos on my Photo Page, just a very beautiful and interesting place and fun to visit especially this time of year.  

This is the old City Hall in Downtown Concord, now is used as an Art Gallery (they have a new building, but not as interesting as this one was). Like to wander downtown, some interesting stores and places to visit. Did not have much time on a one day visit (I also did a motorcycle test ride at RideNow Powersports in Concord...have that on my Racing with the Wind Motorcycle page) and also visited some friends and one of my sons (the other lives in Louisville, Kentucky) but sure enjoyed being there. Felt like home to me, lived in the area for 14 years!    

This is Veterans Park in Kannapolis, NC...a nice monument to the various military services, and think that is a very nice thing (I served in the US Navy). Kannapolis is a very cool town, was once the home to Cannon Mills, the big textile factory...but is no longer there. There are a lot of old textile mills in the area, most have been converted to offices or apartments.
Nice place to visit though and sure is a lot of things to see there. I always enjoyed that city, they also have a big car "Cruise In" monthly there, and that is a lot of fun (though have not made one in a while).    

This is the main building of the NC Research Center, which was designed to do bio-tech research. It has not been the huge job creator that everyone hoped, but I still think (and hope) that it has great potential.
It was just a wonderful visit, I have many more photos on my photo page from the trip, has been too long but have a big upcoming trip coming up and looking forward to being back here in the very near future.
I miss it a lot sometimes, though have a great time in Richmond, VA and a lot of good adventures to come.

Church Hill Irish Festival (March 23, 2014)

Except for this one, put a few photos up that I didnt on my Flickr Photo Page (there is a link to that on this page) from the festival. Yesterday, took a very fun motorcycle ride under sunny skies and a temperature of 77 degrees....it was a lot (and I mean a lot) colder on this Sunday for the second day of the festival (and though I left before it happened, the promised rains also came.
Still, these are very cool (literally) events, and this is one of my favorite festivals. Good food and cold beer; Guinness and Harp among others. Those are some tasty brew.    

Course there was Irish music along with the food and beer, and there were also men in kilts. Had to admire them, cause whatever the high was, it was not warm enough for that (though did see a few people...very, very few wearing short pants too).
Had a good time though had some Irish Chili which was good and different, and always fun to be in Church Hill.
Of areas in Richmond, Church Hill is certainly one of the most historic and one of the most interesting parts of the city. There is a lot to see and do there, and they have a lot of events during the year.   

As you can see from this photo its called "Church Hill" for a reason, walked up this street to get to the festival, down it to the car was a lot better. Looking down this road is Shockoe Bottom, also a notable section of the city with a lot of history.
The city is planning to build a new baseball stadium there, though it is far from a done deal, but has been a big story here.
Will be interesting to see what the year brings to this area, and I am looking forward to some more great times in this part of the City of Richmond.  

First visit to Charlottesville, VA (March 15, 2014)

 Took a quick ride on the motorcycle on a beautiful day in mid-March (apparently just before another damn snow storm) but enjoyed the 70s once again (and did so earlier this week before it turned colder) and the ride. Might have a problem with the motorcycle, though happened after I got fuel so will see after I burn that off. Anyhow, made it there and back. While there had lunch at Michie Tavern which dates to 1784 (and has good food) but this is a mill. Like the tavern, it was also moved piece by piece to the new location not far from Monticello. Yeah, Jefferson's house is there, and no I did not get to see it.   

This is Charlottesville, up in the mountains, or at least real near it. Did not make it up there either, but they were my favorite place to ride in North Carolina, and can't wait to do so here. Nice town, and the home to the University of Virginia. Lots of old stuff there to see including some amazing old buildings, two President's houses (Jefferson as mentioned, and Monroe) and a really great outdoor mall in the historic downtown. I tried to see as much as I could in the time I had to do it, but the one thing I learned today was that I have to go back. Very cool place to visit, and I had a great ride and time there.  

This is the statue of Lewis and Clark: George Rogers Clark was from there. Means a lot to me because I am from Clarksville, Indiana and George Rogers Clark was the founder of that city. He got that as a reward for military action and was also famous as the second part of the Lewis and Clark expedition. If you don't know about him, look him up...you will find out about an amazing man.
Nice city, and a beautiful place to be; ride was somewhat windy (a very breezy day) but was not only fun but was the longest ride of the year for me. Sure am ready for Spring which is just a few days away, but winter does not want to let go.
I have more photos on my Racing with the Wind page, and also on my Flickr photo page, and both of them have links on this page. Thanks for visiting, hope to bring you some more interesting Virginia things over the next year. Looking forward to some great adventures in 2014 both from the motorcycle seat and also from the car.  

Shockoe Hill Cemetery..and other stuff (March 9, 2014)

Made an early morning visit to Shockoe Hill Cemetery in Richmond on Sunday morning, first time to see this-found out about it from a friend from work. Amazing place, with a lot of history, it  was established in 1822 when St. John's Church Cemetery was filled up. Lots of history there, the third Chief Justice is buried there, a famous Union spy, the great great grandfather of George Patton, and a girlfriend of Edgar Allen Poe are all buried there as well as a number of soldiers -Revolutionary, War of 1812, and many from the Civil War both North and South. 

 This is the area where John Marshall (the Chief Justice) is buried. Just a peaceful place to explore with a lot of interesting grave sites. I was able to find a map near the entrance which gave the location of 18 of the notable graves.
As with many old cemetery sites, many of the stones have been worn off, and the names of those who were on them are long gone (though sure the city which owns the grounds has the records) and there is also some damage to the stones due to time and probably vandals.
On an early Sunday morning it was a very peaceful place.  

This is one of the older monuments. I have posted some of the more notable photos of the historic graves on my flickr page, and there is a link to that on this site. Enjoyed my visit here and look forward to a future return.
Had a good time there as I am a huge history fan, and for a great city to enjoy that, there are few places better than Richmond. Saturday during a motorcycle ride got to see the Lumpkin Slave Jail...photos from that are also at the site as well as a previous post here.
From there, went back to my apartment to find...the lights were all out. A car had taken out a telephone pole and the power company was working on the problem.
I went to Crossroads Coffee on Forest Hill Ave for lunch and a refreshing beverage. Then with border collie, took a walk to see some of the sights on the James River.     

 At the James, saw these guys on their Kayak's taking a "stroll" down the James River. That is a popular thing to do, and fun to see them rolling down the river.
Richmond is lucky with the James with has some rapids to run, and that is a popular pastime here. I like the river, reminds me of the days when I lived in Louisville, Kentucky..though there was a lot of bodies of water around Charlotte, NC that city is not on a river, so was a bit of change. Richmond has a lot to offer. 

Finally here is the view of the work crew working on the power outage. Had to replace the pole, and did take Dominion Power a long time to get the lights back on. From the morning accident it was late afternoon before we had lights again.
Was a very history filled weekend, with a very fine motorcycle ride and a good trip in the car...all within a few minutes of where I live.
There are a lot of fun things to see and do in this town, and I am looking forward to a fun filled Spring in the RVA this year.   

Richmond Motorcycle Ride (March 8, 2014)

 Got out for a bike ride on a very fine Saturday after all the winter weather. Went for the first time to "Lumpkins Slave Jail" which is in Shockoe Bottom right behind the train station. It was a very strange place, just felt like a lot of evil had happened there. Strange that it would be that way, but from reading about it in history it was a house of horrors. Next to it is the site of the Negro Burial Field (all the bodies have been moved I read) and was also the site of the gallows. If you are interested in Civil War/US history this is a must visit area...for this was the reason why the Civil War was fought.  

I also made a quick ride by Chimborazo Hospital, which back in the day was the best military hospital in the US North or South in the Civil War. It had the best success rate (though by current standards that is not saying much) in treating wounded soldiers. All the buildings were wood and they are all gone. The building seen here was a weather station (I believe) way after the war, but does have a nice museum in it where you can see some of the medical tools (mostly saws) used back then. The bullets used then would pretty much take arms and legs off, and doctors would finish the job. 

Finally, this view of Richmond from the beer deck of Legend Brewing Company. Richmond has some great places to enjoy beer, and Legend's in one of the best with good people, great beer, and this fine view. I like to come here often and never have a bad time there. From time to time they make some new beers, and have yet to find one that was not very good. Course there are a few really good brewpubs in the RVA and in the upcoming months will share a few more of those with you.
So glad to see Spring getting ever closer and looking forward to some great times in the RVA, as well as looking forward to saying good bye to winter.