Redskins Training Camp (August 2, 2015)

 Not a fan of the Washington Redskins ...my two favorites are the Chicago Bears (grew up with them) and from my time in Carolina the Carolina Panthers. Still though, a chance to see football again which is my favorite sport and to check out training camp is a great thing indeed.
These are the Washington Redskins which practiced in what is known as a "Walkthrough" which was kind of neat. Not a lot of action, though later this week in a practice with the Houston Texans there was a fight that broke out. This was a nice day for football though and the practice was really good.

This is RG III, the quarterback for the Washington Redskins. As I said it was a pretty laid back practice, but did enjoy it. Parking has gone up to $10 so I parked the motorcycle (and enjoyed the ride) on a side street just a short distance away.
I also got a good brunch at a booth by Croakers Spot which to me is some of the finest fish in the RVA. The crowd for this was really light and had no problem getting good food or getting close to the team.
It was a really good time, and being early in the morning (well, around 10 or so) it was not yet hot and humid.
Last year when I went to this, it was wet day with drizzle so this was much better. I do plan to follow the team, as well as the NFL. I am also looking forward to college football which will also be starting up very soon. Will be glad to see Fall which is one of the best seasons of the year.  

At the Dragon Boat Races (August 1, 2015)

 Went to the Dragon Boat Races held at Rockett's Landing in Richmond, Virginia on August 1. Event has been held for six years, this is my second to go. Had a very good crowd at the event as you can see in the photo I took at left, and there was a lot of things to see and do. In addition to the races there was food, beverages, dancing, and some really good music on some very loud sound systems.
It was a hot day but not real humid and this event is held at a very beautiful place. I was very glad I went and actually think this will be an annual event for me.  

The racing is of a type that I used to see when I was in the Navy and stationed in Thailand. It is sort of a cross between olympic boat races and the movie Ben Hur in that there is a drummer at the front to keep time.
There were a lot of teams there and they were really excited. It does look like a lot of fun and teams were made up of both men and women which I thought was cool.
This was part of a motorcycle ride today (as it turned out a big part) and I have some more photos on my Racing with the Wind blog.  

Richmond Railway Museum (July 18, 2015)

 Interesting Saturday during the motorcycle ride, as I went to some local places. One of note was the Richmond Railway Museum.
The museum used to be an active train station. I believe it was replaced for the most part by the one now in Shockoe Bottom (the Main Street Station) though I did overhear that the station was in use until around 1955.
One thing of note in there was they had a very large model train layout and it was very cool. This is just a very small portion, as it was an open house was very hard to get around it but I did get to see a lot of it, was cool.    

They dont have a huge collection of rolling freight but did have this steam engine and a few other cars.
My favorite train museum is the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina..that is one amazing place. I am sure there are better ones than that, but not that I have ever seen. If you are ever in the area that is worth a stop. That museum also has a lot of cars, other transportation items and even some aircraft. Another big plus in Spencer is that they have train rides there which is a lot of fun.  

However I enjoyed the visit to the Richmond Railway Museum which is located on Hull Street very close to downtown (in the Manchester area of Richmond). . If you are in the area it is well worth a stop, I enjoy visiting the Manchester area and this was a very worthwhile and for that matter new addition for me.  

Visit to Yorktown Beach (July 7, 2015)

 I love this motorcycle ride, and have a few photos of the beach at my Racing with the Wind blog page. This is a great ride; went via Route 5 which is a fun ride, then on the Colonial Parkway and wandered around the beach, the town and the old sections of town where among other sights saw this building from 1720.
There is a lot to see and do in Yorktown, plus the entire area. Williamsburg and Jamestown plus the Yorktown Battlefield (which is basically where the Revolutionary War ended) are all within a stones throw of each other. I would also add the Colonial Parkway is one amazing road.

While on the Colonial Parkway went past this Navy ship near the US Navy's place there (something annex). Though I served in the Navy this ship and type escapes me (I was in a Patrol Squadron and did not serve on ships as the planes were too large to land on them) but thought this was too cool not to share.  

Road back was again via Route 5 after a long ride on the Colonial Parkway and went back through downtown Williamsburg. I made a stop at the College of William and Mary...one of the oldest colleges in the US. This is the Christopher Wren building which was built in 1695 and the oldest college building in the US. I walked though it and it was amazing. This building is also currently used which is very cool also.
Left Richmond early to avoid the heat which was expected to get into the 90s...was largely successful. It was in the 90's when I got back after five hours of exploring and a distance on the road of 158 miles. It was a very fun day!

Broad Appetit (Sunday June 7, 2015)

One of (if not the) most popular food event in Richmond is Broad Appetit which was held on Sunday June 7 this year. A large section of Broad Street is blocked off and there was quite a crowd there as usual.
This is a relatively new event....less than 10 years I believe, but gets bigger every year and is one event I don's miss. Many fine restaurants offer $3 sample plates, there are craft beers as well as wine, and also some very interesting bands that played on multiple stages.

 These are also some of the booths that were there. I sure enjoyed the food and checking out all the people there.
It was a fantastic day there, the weather was just remarkable (which as I write this and we are pushing 100 degrees a couple of weeks later I really, really really miss).

Finally this is the Voodoo Dolls, which is one of my favorite local bands. I enjoy them, and they are one of the most popular bands at the event. The fact that these ladies can really play is a big plus as well.
Usually the event happens around June (early part) and this is a really good time if you are in the area and want to check out some of the things to eat in what is becoming one of the nation's top foodie towns.

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.