Nascar All Star Race, Concord, NC (May 16, 2015)

Went to Concord, NC to see the Nascar All-Star Race with my son who still lives there (I used to back with my then wife and still current son). We got there in the early afternoon and toured some of the booths and sights around the track. Took this during qualifying; drivers did a couple of laps, had a four tire change and then a final lap. I had some great seats for this race...some of the  best ever for any race.  

This is some of the race action. There were four 25 lap segments and then a final 10 lap shootout. There were no crashes and the only real problem happened to Danica Patrick who had some mechanical issues. She came back out but was dead last and many laps behind. Of note, all the seats on the back side of the track are gone...it is now a half circle seating wise. Was told they did that around a month ago. It was a great night weather wise, a little humid but not blazing hot. I like that its a night race...cars look a lot neater.    

At the end of the race it was Denny Hamlin who won the race. His win was the first All Star win for Joe Gibbs and also Denny's first win. Neat thing is that Denny is from Chesterfield, VA which made it neat for me. This was Jeff Gordon's last All Star Race.
Getting out of the track is always fun but I got us back to my son's apartment around 1:00 AM. We made a late dinner stop at Cookout which is pretty good food. The one we ate at is in Kannapolis, there is also one here in Richmond which opened up last year.  

Sights in Richmond and Beyond (May 2,3 and 9, 2015)

 One of my favorite places to visit, which I did on May 2,  is the Malvern Hill Battlefield. Was the ending action of the effort of the Union Army to capture Richmond. Troops under Robert E. Lee (in the command of the army he called "The Army of Northern Virginia)  engaged the Union Army a number of times. General McClellan as retreating while Lee wanted to finish off the Union Army at this site. On July 1, 1862 the armies met here. Union forces had a large number of cannon and drove off the Confederate troops. Killed and wounded were some 5,650 for the rebels, some 3000 for the Union.  

 Made a visit to the Virginia Aviation Museum where among other aircraft I saw this F-14 Tomcat on display. The Tomcat was the plane made famous in the movie TopGun (though not this one) but was a famous aircraft in US Navy service.
The F-14 was a supersonic swingwing interceptor designed to protect the fleet from aerial attack. A very heavy aircraft it carried a variety of missiles and also packed a cannon.
Later in its history the F-14 was given a ground attack capacity and got the nickname "Bombcat" Still a very beautiful aircraft and flew with a crew of two.

On Sunday May 3 went to  Art in the Park in Byrd Park in Richmond. The event is held yearly and had some 400 booths with a variety of art in one of the best parks in Richmond. Byrd Park and nearby Maymont is a real treasure. Art in the Park brings artists from all over the country and presenting a variety of art.
I don't miss this event and really enjoyed it this year. In fact looking forward to seeing it again next year. Art in the Park is in my opinion one of the best festival events in the city of Richmond, and is well worth a visit.  Malvern Hill and the aviation museum were parts of motorcycle rides, took another one on May 9 and for the first time visited the city of Hanover. There I saw this colonial tavern; George Washington and Patrick Henry (among many others) has dined here. It has been added to over the years but remains one of the few surviing Colonial taverns in the US. Hanover was a lot of fun and very interesting. I will have some more photos from the rides in my Racing with the Wind Blog. A very good two weekends in the RVA.

The Battlefield and the Day in the Park (April 18-19, 2015

 On April 18, the warmest day of the year so far, took a motorcycle ride to Petersburg National Battlefield. I have been there before but just an amazing place. There is a lot of history in Richmond, especially dealing with the Civil War. This battlefield was basically where it ended. Once Richmond fell the war was over a week later.
From this site the mortar "Dictator (one of the most famous cannon of the war) shelled Petersburg. This is not it, but it is of the same type and size. This is also the exact location where it fired from.

Blandford Cemetery is very old with graves from the Revolutionary war. The church there dates to 1735 and is still standing. It played a big roll in the war and a lot of Confederates were buried there. In fact, it is just a massive place.
I really like visiting Petersburg, both the battlefield and the city itself. Have been there a few times, and it is around some 30 miles from Richmond. Back then they were both tied together and the fall of Petersburg lead to the end of Richmond as the Confederate Capital. Lee's Army met its end a few miles up the road with the surrender to General Grant.      

On Sunday, went on foot to Forest Hill Park to the Day in the Park which is a annual event. The Stone House seen here is one of the younger things I saw, dating to the 1800's They had a lot of cool things on display, lots of vendors, bands, and even a police K-9 demo. I really love this park. My dog and me spend a lot of time there walking around it, going to the Farmers Market on Saturday and exploring the lake there.
This was a very good weekend in what is a very interesting area. .

Visit to Virginia Beach (April 4, 2015)

Though I have been here a few years, and have been there before (many, many years ago back in my Navy Days) have not visited Virginia Beach. For one thing, it can be quite difficult to get to via the tunnel just outside of Hampton, VA which gets pretty backed up especially in the summer. I had been by there during the airshow at NAS Oceana (which is fantastic by the way) a couple of years ago, but that was an all day event and by the time it was over it was pretty late -as the crowd is huge with one way out of the Naval base. I really do recommend that event though which is held yearly.

Anyhow got up early today and by 6am I was on my way to Virginia Beach. It is a 90 minute drive to the beach from Richmond via I-64 and that early was very light traffic wise. I did pick a rainy day: the rains had stopped in Richmond, but it was a day for a few showers while I was there. However..I was impressed with the area, and enjoyed seeing the places there, There are a lot of places to stay which includes hotels, vacation rentals, and even a campground very close to the beach. There are a lot of places to eat, and a number of things to do. I really enjoyed the visit there, and plan to come back.  

Virginia Beach has a lot of things to offer, Of course if you live in Virginia there is nothing really closer (well, Yorktown Beach is also really cool, and have been there a few times) but it is very neat.
Lots of things to see in that area, Hampton has Fort Monroe (a very worthwhile and historic place to visit, and was the subject of a previous post) as was this Air Park which is also in Hampton. A favorite place of mine, I stopped in on the way back. Both the fort and the air park are free, for a small fee you can visit the Air and Space Center in Hampton which is also a favorite place of mine to visit.
There is a lot of fun things to see and do in the Virginia Beach area and it is for the most part a pleasant drive. I have been told there is also a real good alternate route to the area and I plan to check that out this summer on one of my motorcycle rides to the area...as I will be coming back very soon!

Spring at long last (March 22, 2015)

Actually the second full day of Spring, Sunday March 22 I headed out to the Church Hill Irish Festival. Sure St. Patrick's Day was a few days ago, but still this was a great festival. There was a lot of food, bands and of course beer.
I rode there on my motorcycle and as you can see in the photo at left there was a "number" of people there. Among the people I saw was Carrie Rose, the weather person for channel WTVR. Up at 5am that is the weather I watch...so got to tell her I am up with her every morning. She liked that and we had a nice talk. Very cool to see someone famous enjoying the events.  

There were a number of bands there of all types and all kinds of music. This was one of the Irish bands, and they were quite good, as were the dancers in this number....no Riverdance but was fun to watch.
I like this event, have been to it over the last few years that I have been here. Always a lot of fun, and for some strange reason has been blessed with good weather.
At any case was there around 90 minutes and had a very good time. Came to see the band "The Tators" and did...and they were really good. Played mostly rock and roll music that was fun.

Before I left the area, stopped at St. John's Church. In a city of old things, this is one of the oldest, was the very church where Patrick Henry gave his "Give me Liberty, or give me Death" speech. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence is buried there, as is the mother of Edgar Allen Poe. In all the times I have been there (and have been a few) had never been inside. This photo at left, is of the inside. While parts of it have bee modernized much of it looks as it did back in Colonial Days. It was very neat to stand where so many famous Americans stood before. It was a very fun day...and the motorcycle ride was wonderful as well.

What a Winter Day (February 8, 2015)

 This is a companion piece to my "Racing with the Wind" blog....more photos and information from a remarkable winter day. Feb 8 and temperatures in the low 70's...a good day for a ride ...and a lot of motorcyclists had the same idea.
Rode the famous "Five and Dime Ride". That starts at VA5 which is a beautiful road, to the Colonial Parkway (even more beautiful) that runs from Yorktown to Williamsburg to Jamestown. I rode it all on February 8.
This is the Yorktown Victory Monument which celebrates the end of the Revolutionary War with the victory of the Colonial Army ...with a big assist from the French Navy...over British Forces under Lord Cornwallis. I have been on that battlefield, and it is well worth seeing. It also has a civil war history.
The monument was raised shortly after the war, and it is a cool thing to see and check out. My goal though was Yorktown beach.      

 While there though saw a number of the Colonial Era houses, such as this one. Yorktown  existed before America was America, but has a number of modern things. Lots of cool shops, restaurants (I ate at the Yorktown Pub), and just a lot of things to see and do.
Yorktown Beach is really nice...plus its the closest beach to Richmond, Va. I had a great ride there and a great time walking about and checking out the sights, eating the food and visiting with some of the people there.

This is the grave of General Thomas Nelson who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. His grave can be found in the graveyard of the still standing Grace Church which was founded in 1697. Though have been to Yorktown a few times this was the first time I had seen this.
After a couple of hours there, headed back down the Colonial Parkway through Williamsburg and through Jamestown. It was a beautiful ride and I really enjoyed it.
Williamsburg has a replica Colonial Town which is really cool to explore though I did not see it this day, but had during other trips.
Jamestown, which I have also explored in the past, was the site of the original English settlement in the New World.
You can get a pass to see both Yorktown Battlefield and Jamestown which is really reasonable. Both have a lot of things to see and a lot of history can be seen in just a few hours. I did not get to do that this trip, but have in the past and will again in the future.  


This is Yorktown beach...well another view of it. I have a few other photos on my Racing with the Wind Page from the trip.

Finally this is my motorcycle on the Jamestown Ferry. I crossed the river via the ferry to VA10 which I took back to Richmond, Va. That again is a really nice road. I will tell you to make sure you are good on fuel, there is a gas station at Surry, Va which I passed...the next one is just outside of Hopewell. I got there but just barely, the low fuel light had been shining awhile when I found that gas station.
It was just an amazing ride, and I had a remarkable time. Had not done this ride for some time...too long in fact, and can not wait to do it once again.  

January in the RVA (January 25, 2015)

 Been an interesting month. Course this time of year not a lot going on as far as festivals or any type of event...for many its the post Christmas "hangover". We did get a trace of snow this month early....but it was gone by 9am. In that we have been lucky...not a lot of places can say that this far north....has been some good snows all around us. January 26-27 the luck "may" run out (the weather people are not real sure yet) but looks like we will at least get a little.As winters go though...so far so good.  

 Took this at the Poe Museum in Richmond. For a long time he lived here...it was late in his life he died in Baltimore, MD. The museum does not have a whole lot of Poe items (he died not having a lot) but was very neat..and is said to be the largest collection of his Items. Was neat to see some things he had written in his own hands, and quite a few things about him.
Not the house he lived in, but is located on Main Street in the oldest surviving house in Richmond which is in and of itself pretty cool. If you are in the RVA it is well worth a stop and a look.

This is the New Kent Winery, which I went to on a warm (upper 50's temperature wise) day. Got there on the motorcycle....January has been nice in that there have been a few riding days to get my knees in the breeze. Course requires some bundling up but has been fun to get out.
As for the winery, very neat. Got a few (but not too many) glasses of wine, and had a wine and cheese plate.
New Kent is pretty neat, the former horse race track Colonial Downs is out there, and some really neat houses. Not really developed from what I could see, but said to be a fast growing area.

This is the Halfway House, which dates to 1760. Neat to eat there as so did over the years: Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, George Washington, US Grant, Robert E. Lee, and the Marquis deLafayette...just to name a few.
The Halfway House is located on Jefferson Davis Highway and the food and service were fantastic. I really enjoyed my dinner there, and plan to come back when I have someone special to take there.
It has not been a very exciting month, in fact sort of laid back, but that is certainly not a bad thing...nice to have those sort of days from time to time.