Ride to Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville (April 27, 2014)

 Beautiful day on April 27...took the motorcycle some 60 miles North of Richmond (via highway, the only part of the trip I did not like...prefer twisty backroads on the motorcycle) to Fredericksburg battlefield (one of two I saw that day). Got more photos on my "Racing With the Wind" Blog, and also on my photo page. Had never been to this place (though had been past it twice on my way to Washington, DC). Seen here is the Union cemetery which is located on the battlefield. Most of the graves (seen by the small square stones) are unknown...and come from 4 area battles.  

 Lots of monuments there, this one struck me to Richard Kirkland, as I read was put up by soldiers of both sides. He got water during the battle for both sides soldiers. Read on the back that he died in a latter Civil War battle.
It was a most remarkable place, nice battlefield with a lot of items and places from the day (the wall is mostly replica, but a portion of it remains and is preserved).
I enjoyed the visit there, and give a real shout out to the Visitor Center, where you can get a lot of good information on the battle, and others in the area. From that headed to the next one...

Which was Cancellorsville...another Confederate victory but came at the cost of General Stonewall Jackson, one of R.E. Lee's top generals, being shot by friendly fire. The wound caused him to lose his left arm.
Alot has changed in the area over time, in 150 years the battlefields see a lot of development, and a lot of the cities and many houses have come closer to where these men fought and died.
On the bright side, the US and Virginia has done a great job of preserving the history that is what makes these sights so remarkable.    

This is the bed that General Jackson died in. In fact the building he died in has also been preserved...part of a plantation he was taken too. His loss was a major blow to the Confederacy's slim hopes of defeating the Union.
Got to see two of the four battlefields in the area, though they are scattered over a fairly wide area. I salute the brave men of both sides, hard to believe that all this happened...but it did, and good for us to look back at what the war cost in human lives. Still, the good it did lives on today, and is a important part of US history. 

Walking the RVA, April 21, 2014

 It is a long walk, but went to get the motorcycle on April 21, it was done at Velocity Motorcycles...and I am very happy with the price and the service on the motorcycle. To get there I walked from my apartment to the shop. I like the neighborhoods in the area, and in fact this is almost like Part 2 of an earlier post. Lots of neat houses turned into apartments (big area for college students) and like seeing all this on foot. I still think the best way to see an area is on foot, though a motorcycle is also a good way to do it, and I love to do that too. Was a beautiful day for a walk though.

 Have some motorcycle photos on my Racing with the Wing blog, but this is at Quaker Steak and Lube in Short Pump. I did get here via motorcycle, and a very neat restaurant and a fun place to visit as well. Lots of cool race type cars, and also motorcycles (they have a great bike night, and I plan to be there on Wednesday as now being on day work  I can go.)
Was not only a nice day for a walk, it was also a great day for a ride. Looking forward to some great places, for this is really a fun place to ride (or to walk) and to see what this very fine state has to offer.

Last stop before home was the Virginia War Museum, has a fine collection of military items and history, but love the memorial itself seen here at left. They added an american flag (made of common items) which was created in a Japanese prison camp in World War II just a few days ago, and I got to see that while I was there, It was added to the collection just a few days ago. If you have not been here during a visit to Richmond, add this place to your list.
Still smiling from this walk and ride on what was a very, very fine day!  

Visit to Louisville (April 18-20)

 Made a trip to Kentucky over the Easter holiday, and that was a wonderful time. Good to be back to what was my hometown, which looks especially good at night. I have some more photos posted on my Photo Page, interesting city for sure. Went to see my oldest son and his family, and had a great time with them. Means a lot that despite all that has happened, they still have time for me. We had a really great visit. Fun to see the city as in this photo, which was taken from the Indiana side of the Ohio River. Its a great town and a most interesting place to visit if you ever find yourself in the area.  

This is in Indiana, Schimpff's Candy Store, which is very, very old. They make the candy with old equipment (which dates to the turn of the century..that century being the 20th)  but some very good stuff (known for their Turtles and especially the Red Hots). Jeffersonville is a very neat town, with a lot of very cool things to see and do.
Whole area is going though some changes, and yet through all of it, the more things change the more they stay the same. Like Richmond rather than tear down things they reuse them. In that regard they are much like Richmond, and less like Charlotte, NC which tends to just tear down and rebuild. Both ideas are neat, Charlotte looks pretty different at each visit, while Richmond and Louisville go though changes but keep a sense of what they had in the past.  

This is the Indiana walkway to the Big Four Bridge. Not open yet, but supposed to be in May. As I said they resuse things, this is an old railroad bridge which they have walkways to (the Kentucky side has been built and open for a few months) The old "Big Four"Railway Bridge. I have some older photos being on that on these pages from a few visits ago, very cool (and free for that matter) thing to do. At any case, its a neat thing to enjoy.

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.