From the History Ride (March 17, 2016)

Again, this is the Thursday motorcycle ride. Yesterday went to The Blue Ridge Parkway this time a little closer to home. This photo was taken at City Point which is now part of the city of Hopewell, VA.
This was an old plantation when the Union Army set up shop and turned it into one of the great seaports of the world (in its day) during the Civil War. There is a lot to see there, including fortifications, period buildings and preserved by historians of the day the cabin used by General US Grant. There is also a very nice National Cemetery nearby...saw that for the first time this trip.  

Stopped in Old Town Petersburg, which like City Point has a long history. Lots of very interesting buildings, cobblestone streets and good places to eat.
Not a foodie by any means but did enjoy the lunch I had at The Brickhouse Run in Old Town Petersburg. Good food and very nice people and I had a very good time there.
Spent some time wandering around the area, if you like history this is a very good place to go to. Though I did not go today I have in the past had a great time at the Petersburg National Battlefield which is nearby. Exploring Petersburg takes a lot of trips for there is a lot there to see.    

Finally made a stop at Drewry's Bluff which was the sight of a major battle. Here in 1862 the Confederate Fort here repelled a Union fleet coming down the James River to shell Richmond, VA. The earthworks remain (the wood and other parts are long gone) but in the day it was a major fortification. Union ships never attempted shell Richmond from the river again. The USS Monitor also took part in the battle.
I am not sure if that is a gun used in the battle, but it is a period piece. That is yours truly sitting by the cannon. As was the case yesterday had a very enjoyable day on the motorcycle. More photos can be found on my Racing with the Wind blog page. Thanks for visiting my page!

From the Motorcycle Ride (March 16, 2016)

 Great time on a wonderful day to ride to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is a good ride and I have a few more photos on my "Racing with the Wind" page, but these are some different ones.
This was the site of an old farm, not the original buildings but they are not replicas either but rather of the period. Big building is a barn and the smaller building to its right is a "Bear proof pigpen".
Being early March the Visitor Center was closed but the farm was still open and I enjoyed exploring it and seeing what life was like back in the day!

 Course the wonder of the Parkway is the amazing views. Sure not the color of fall, but nice to see the mountains again. It was an 80 degree day and best of all was the fact that only a few cars and motorcycles were there. I pretty much had the mountains to myself...though did get to enjoy it with the handful of people there.
The road goes way far...close to 500 miles if you want to ride the whole thing, and it runs into North Carolina. It was in that state that I first discovered the joy of riding the Parkway. Glad to say the Virginia section of it is also remarkable. I do hope one day to ride the whole thing, as there are still many sections I have not seen in both states.  

Made a stop and wandered around after taking to the roads again to the University of Virginia. A beautiful school (and had been there before in a previous visit). This is the Rotunda which was designed by Thomas Jefferson and is undergoing repairs (which is a good idea considering it is almost as old as the US itself).
The school is well worth a visit, as the campus is old and just amazing to check out. Following my visit I wandered around a bit more on the motorcycle finally deciding to stop and get a little lunch before riding back to Richmond.

Had lunch at the Downtown Mall, and some of the thing I like are the non chain restaurants to be found there, and the fact that there is a lot of seating outside. Being a college town the fact that prices are not too high is also a big plus.
After the lunch and a bit of exploring (saw that the Drive by Truckers were playing at the Jefferson there that very night...wish I had known that earlier) headed back toward Richmond.
From Richmond, The Blue Ridge Parkway is right at 100 miles, so it was a long ride there and back.  I rode the parkway a bit and of course put a few miles on the bike wandering around Charlottesville which is right on the highway (in my case) on the way back.
80 degrees though on what was the warmest day of the year so far...even made a little night ride after a break around Richmond. Just a wonderful day of exploring some old and new favorites in the area of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  

New Sights in Richmond (March 12, 2016)

 Cool thing to do on a cloudy Saturday in Richmond, was that some various sights in Richmond offered free admission to some of their attractions. Though I had been by the Confederate White House a number of times, got to tour it for the first time since I have been here. I was very impressed...while much of the house has been remade, there were quite a few items which were in the house during the Civil War. Tour guide was very good, and really brought the history of the place alive. The Civil War was a dark period in our nations history but is a big part of living here due to this being the capital of the rebel states.
I also toured this house below, which was the home of     Supreme Court Justice John Marshall. Once again, many of the items inside there were in the house during the period he lived there. A very important Chief Justice (I believe he was the 4th in the history of the Nation) he also served the longest. Many places in Richmond are named for the man, and he had a great influence on the laws of this country. He is also buried in Richmond.

Final stop unlike the other two was a place I have been before. The Poe Museum has a number of items in the life of the noted author who did live in Richmond for a time. He however did NOT live in the house where the museum is which also happens to be the oldest surviving house in Richmond. His mother is buried not far from this museum in another historic Richmond place (St. John's Church where Patrick Henry gave his "Give me Liberty, or Give me Death" speech) .
In addition to these I also made an earlier visit to Maymont on what was a full day (have been to Maymont many times before). This day was the start of what turned out to be a very fine and fun weekend in Richmond, and the last weekend of Winter.

Walking down Riverside Drive (February 28, 2016)

Rains of the past few weeks have made my yard a bog,,,and could not take the motorcycle out for a ride. I did get it out a few days later and that can be found on my latest post of my "Racing with the Wind" blog. On that Tuesday I rode down further on this very road....Riverside Drive.
I love the mix of houses on this road, in fact could easily make the point that they are mansions. Love the many beautiful modern designs such as the house at left seen here. It is a nice rode to ride or to walk; especially on an almost 70 degree day.
I had a great time exploring this favorite road on foot.
  

Below is the James River and way off in the background at upper right is Richmond. Though winter still a beautiful view and this is what everyone pays for living here.
Good time to actually see the river, as soon the trees will bloom and the green canopy will cover much of this. It is also beautiful in the fall and even (as I take this) in the Winter.
There were a good number of people walking, jogging, driving and yes...riding motorcycles. Yet it never seems overly crowded, and there is a lot to see there. One of my favorite sights in the ACL (or as it is now the CCX) bridge. Built around 1900 it is quite a sight.      

Of course many of the houses have an older design such as this one, which is also really impressive to look at. It was a nice stroll and had a great time getting out.
Looking forward to the end of winter, it is that time of year when you have a few cool, if not cold, days followed by warmer days.
This was a Sunday and since this walk we have had a mixture of both with even a chance of snow on Thursday and Friday (though not much is expected and it is not expected to last though the day if it does happen). Looking forward to getting out and seeing some more sights in this city and some of the upcoming events.

Visit to Yorktown and beyond (February 20, 2016)

 Beautiful day finally after all the snow, rain and cold of the past few weeks...we got upper 60s. I checked out the motorcycle and took it down the road...that road being VA 5 which is one of my favorites. That took me to The Colonial Parkway which is also a fun road to ride and that took me to Yorktown, VA.
Love going to Yorktown, which was in its off season. Was not real crowded (but a lot of motorcycles...go figure) and had a great time there.
Took this photo of the Yorktown Victory Monument, which Congress funded not long after the great battle. At this site (or right near it, the battlefield is preserved and well worth seeing) The Revolutionary War basically ended with the surrender of General Cornwallis to General George Washington. The monument is pretty impressive and is a favorite stop. The motorcycle seen in the photo is of course...mine!

 This is Grace Church which is very old dating back to before the war. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence is buried there. I enjoyed wandering the city, visited a favorite pub, saw some of the old buildings, and of course wandered along the beach.
I like to take this ride and to visit this place. It is easier and closer than Virginia Beach (which is also very cool) and usually show up there at least twice a year.
Being the off season it was not very crowded but most of the businesses were open and there was a lot to see.  

This was perhaps my favorite photo of the day. I asked permission to get this photo, the lady was very nice but I was most impressed with the dog in the hoodie which I thought was cool. The beach is actually located on the York River which is a big river. Heck, back in the 1700's at the Battle of Yorktown the French Navy was shooting at the British army from that river.
Left around mid afternoon and headed down the road toward Hampton. Another favorite place to visit in the area, which has a lot of aviation history and also some cool Civil War history. Like with Yorktown it is also one of my favorite stops.  

 Does not look like much, but this is NASA Langley. One of the oldest of the NASA research centers, and was a big player in the Mercury spacecraft program which first put American men into space. Being a government facility I did not want to try to get on it.
As it was getting late in the day I did not spend a lot of time in Hampton, but instead headed back toward Richmond via I-64.
The highway was very heavy with a lot of traffic and also some road construction. I think they are going to widen it. Overdue as I noted that traffic heading for Virginia Beach was basically parked.

Heading down the road I stopped in a small town (didnt get the name) for food and fuel. Heading on toward Richmond I stopped at the Virginia Aviation Museum. A favorite place to visit, it was closed when I got there a bit after 5PM but do have two planes outside..an A-7 and this F-14 seen at left. The F-14 is the same type of plane (this is not the one) that was featured in the movie "Top Gun".
After that rolled back onto I-64 and back into Richmond. Wandered around Church Hill section of Richmond and stopped in at a friends house who lives in that very interesting part of Richmond.
 

Went out in the Shockoe Bottom area of Richmond with him, his wife, and some friends of ours for a few hours. Nice walking trip to see some places and share some laughs. I also got to walk a few places.
After that, headed out to the bike and back on it stopped to get this photo from Church Hill of the city of Richmond and got back home right around midnight. Put the bike to bed, and then myself shortly after.
It was a wonderful and amazing day in which I covered right around 180 miles and enjoyed myself from beginning to end.  

Visiting Richmond Museums (February 13, 2016)

 Been a cold few days...very cold in fact. On Valentines Day in fact it snowed and the city dealt with that on Monday morning. Anyhow on Saturday before I went to the Virginia Historical Society. Richmond has a lot of museums, this one covers the wide range of Virginia history.
It has been reworked and in fact was closed for a year. I like what they have done with it though and remains one of my favorite museums in the city. A perfect place to spend a few hours on a bone chilling Richmond day.  

This Statue outside the museum is called War Horse. It was dedicated to the 1.5 million horses killed during the Civil War.
I have posted photos of the museum in other blogs here but there is a lot to see from the very early history of Virginia to modern. Always something new to see...I noticed Patrick Henry's eyeglasses and a life mask of George Washington during this visit. Of course there is a lot of Civil War items and many of them are very interesting. Admission is free still and if you are in the area it is well worth a visit.

Right next door is the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Like the Virginia Historical Society admission is free though some special events can draw an admission charge. There was a special display of art works by Rodin which brought in a huge crowd to the museum, but the rest of the galleries (and there are many on three levels) are free. It is a very fine museum and once again is one of my favorite museums in the area. The fact that two very good ones are side by side is a huge plus.  

Many displays there including this mummy mask which is the big item and jars which were used to hold internal organs prior to making a mummy. Got a kick out of that cause jars such as that were a big part of the movie "The Mummy" which I saw on Sunday night.
Anyhow a great time. Though the last few weeks have been sort of nasty here (we had one remarkable snow storm a few weeks ago) starting to get signs of Spring. Spring is a fantastic time here in Richmond, and it is just a few days away. Hopefully winter is winding down at last !

Christmas and the New Year (January 3, 2016)

 I have never enjoyed a Christmas time as much as I enjoy Christmas in Richmond, VA. The famous "Tacky Light Tour" as they call it brings out people in cars, buses, touring limos and even one night for me, on my motorcycle! Some of the houses are just nothing short of remarkable and I have four examples here for your viewing pleasure. Take this one at left for example.....  

This is on a small creek, and is always (or at least has been for the time I have been here in Richmond) a very beautiful sight.  

These houses are owned by two related families, and is one of the most popular stops on the tour. Just an amazing sight and one that I have been a few times during the holiday. There is just so much to see that it is hard to take it all in on one stop. I cant imagine what the electric bill is on these houses.  

Finally there is this house near me in the Oregon Hill section of Richmond. If you get the chance say in December (many of them do not light up till early December though some are as early as Thanksgiving) I can really recommend you check some of these out. You can find a list at the Richmond.com website under the "Tacky Light Tour".
I do hope that everyone visiting these pages had a very good New Year and that 2016 is a wonderful time for you and yours.
Looking forward to bringing you some good photos of this very interesting city in the year to come.