Concord Motorcycle Race Road Trip (July 30-31, 2016)

I enjoy Richmond a great deal, but lived in Concord, NC for 14 years. I also love Flat Track motorcycle racing so getting to see both at once was a no brainer. Up at 3AM on Saturday the 30th and down the road I went. Went in the car due to the rain forecast (mostly in Richmond) and the heat. It was toasty wandering around town. This is the Veterans Park Memorial in Kannapolis. I wandered around Kannapolis for a while, good to be back and to see the sights there in "formerly" Cannon Village. Said hello to the Dale Earnhardt Statue as well.  

 Went by RideNow Powersports. They had a number of the new motorcycles out in 2016. Nice place with a wide selection. They have Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, Triumph, Victory and Indian. Of all the bikes the one I took most note of is this Kawasaki H2. It is a hell of a thing, and being the first in many years to be turbo charged. There is even a hotter non-street legal version to be had (limited quantities and something like 100k). Would of loved to take a quick test ride on this. Apparently they do have test rides there; some of the people were taking them on other motorcycles.    

Went to downtown Concord and visited the Memorial Garden there. Beautiful cemetery there with some amazing flowers. I saw it last spring as I remember, with the lilly's They had a lot of work done during the last few months, was more beautiful then I can ever remember.
It was very warm and humid and I also made a stop downtown to Cabarrus Creamery. It is an old (though in a new location in its 80 years) but some damn fine ice cream. I have to say love my ice cream and this stuff is probably #1 on the list of the greats. Downtown has a lot of interesting stores and enjoyed wandering around the streets.  

Anyhow, cooled off and with a bottle of water wandered around Concord and checked out some of the big houses there. Many of them are very old and on the national historic list.
This house was once owned by Mr. Cannon who founded Cannon Mills. He employed thousands of people and in fact that company was once one of the largest employers in the state. It later became Pillowtex and went out of business some years ago. People still speak fondly of working there.  

On  my "Racing with the Wind" page I posted some photos of the race, but here is another one. I just had a fantastic time there. Love this sort of racing and it was very exciting to watch.
I was grinning all day long but this really got me excited. Flat Track motorcycle racing is some of my favorite and certainly my favorite motorcycle racing. The races were quick and hats off to the people who made this happen.  

This is a shot of the crowd and of the track. While cloudy never got a drop of rain all day (all weekend in fact) and frankly I thought the sunset was pretty impressive. Very nice bunch of people.  I enjoyed talking with, laughing with, and just having fun there. The race signed a multi-year deal and will be back next year. I will also be back next year.
Getting out of the track was no problem, and traffic in the area (it was a bit after 10) was light. Made a quick stop to downtown Concord to see the lights, and got back to the hotel room for a good nights sleep.    

 Sunday went to the big Concord Mill Mall. When I say big, I mean big. It is laid out like a racetrack. As it was another hot day on Sunday, I was partial to air conditioning. They are remaking this huge outlet mall, but there are a number of stores and restaurants. Kind of sad in a way but Concord Mills I have read is the #1 tourist attraction in North Carolina. Whatever, it was fun to walk around.
Heading out saw that stores have expanded beyond it and I mean way beyond it. If you like shopping this is your place. Went to the nearby airport and that amazed me. There is a lot of building going on there, many new buildings and parking lots thanks to the non-stop Florida flights .

Brewing like in Richmond is getting big in Charlotte. Concord is also getting in on it. Went again to Cabarrus Brewing Company and enjoyed a couple of beers. They are good! There is another in Concord as well (right next door, will check it out next visit) and a number in Charlotte. That is new pretty much in both cases. After that, visited with a friend and then rolled for an early dinner at El Amigo in Kannapolis. After that, gas and go back to Richmond.
The drive back was pretty good. Did have to take a detour near the NC border which was either a crash or road construction. I got home during a raging thunderstorm right around 10PM. This was a fantastic trip and I enjoyed it a great deal. Most fun I have had in Concord in quite some time. Looking forward to the next visit and the next motorcycle race at the track.

Wandering The Boulevard (July 29, 2016)

 Big rains last night in an area that is dealing with big heat and humidity as well. Speaking of big though, the Washington Redskins are having their training camp once again here in Richmond, VA. Good crowd on hand on this second day of camp. I enjoyed the practice though to be honest was not there very long, as it was warm to say the least. Not my favorite team either but enjoyed seeing some football again.  

Headed around the area to get something to eat (and a cold drink sounded good too!) but passed the Science Center of Virginia. Way back when was the old train station, and it is an impressive building which I am sure there is a photo of here on this site.
There is an area which past says "Admission required beyond this point" but just past it saw this old favorite of mine. Used to be outside at the now closed Virginia Aviation Museum (on the grounds of the Richmond airport) but moved some time ago. This is an actual SR-71 Blackbird which is one amazing aircraft still - and is now part of the museum collection. Very cool and a nice addition to the museum. Did not tour it today but have in the past, and will in the future.

What I did do was stop at my favorite BBQ place in Richmond, Buz and Ned's. Like eating there, and it has a great outside area. Not today though...that just did not seem like a good idea. Did enjoy my dinner there and the walk around. Was a good walk to the car. Instead of paying the $10 to park near the Practice complex, I walked from the old (and now closed) Velocity Motorcycle. Due to all the rain last night  did not get the motorcycle out today. That said though still  had a fantastic day. In fact for the next two days, though motorcycles will be a big part of my weekend, I will not be riding them. That will be the subject of my next post. Going down the road for a little adventure and will be sharing that here in the next few days.

To the Mountains...and someplace new up there (July 23, 2016)

 Not sure what came over me, with heat close to 100 and a heat factor of over 100-105 but rode today to Lexington, VA. I had never been there, though had been close. Went to see the grave of Robert E. Lee (which this is NOT) its a statue in the Lee Chapel though his grave with his wife and family members is in the basement. Even his horse Traveller has a grave...outside the chapel.
After the surrender he became President of the school, and is honor of him they added his name. George Washington also donated some money (earlier) and so it was named for him (also earlier. Very beautiful old school, was fun walking around there.

While in Lexington, saw the grave of General Stonewall Jackson, Very strange guy, if you haven't already check out his history. The man was a born killer, but had some strange ideas.
I also toured the George Marshall Museum at VMI. Saw my first Nobel Peace Prize. That and some other photos from this visit will be on my "Racing with the Wind Page". I really enjoyed the ride and as I noted this was my first visit to this town.
Had a lot of old buildings and enjoyed staggering around in the heat. You can also take a tour in a horse drawn carriage. If I had it to do over, would certainly have done that. Nice places to eat and some friendly people.
Highly suggest you make your first stop the Visitor Center. Very nice people there and they had all sorts of maps and info which came in handy. I was able to find everything I was looking for, and being a history buff enjoyed seeing the sites where some of these people worked. Stonewall Jackson had a house there.  

In fact Jackson and Marshall (Marshall you have heard of as he created the post WWII Marshall Plan which basically rebuilt Europe after the War) both were associated with VMI. Very old and interesting school. Has a long history, and is a National Historic Site.  

No trip there would be complete without a ride on my favorite road. I took this photo while STOPPED...so don't freak out....but sure enjoyed it. Went about 70 miles, and enjoyed it a great deal. I also passed a park officer who was clocking riders. Came across one guy (not me thank God) who got a ticket for speeding. Speed limit is 45 on the roads. Good thing though cause for one the turns can be tight in spots and also that remarkable view can be distracting.
Lexington is about 138 miles (from my house) from Richmond...counting the whole days riding (up Midlothian Turnpike, on the Parkway, and back via I-64 covered a total of 289 miles. It was a fantastic day exploring in Virginia. As I noted more photos can be seen on my Racing with the Wind blog page.  

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden (July 10, 2016)

 Interesting part of a Sunday morning motorcycle ride, while enjoying a cold beverage in Short Pump at The Carolina Ale House, I checked Facebook and saw that The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden had free admission. In fact Sunday was the last day.
It had always been my plan to go there, and was on the list but I have never seen it in all the years I have been here.
Told it is really something to see over the Christmas holiday when they go all out with Christmas lights and decorations, but this was my first visit ever...and I was impressed.

Lots of cool and amazing flowers and some neat displays as well. They had a lot of Lego creations which included the butterfly at left.
The place was a really good size and it was a good walk to see the flowers and plants on the grounds.
They had a really nice Japanese garden which I thought was really good. There is also a restaurant (which I did not go into this visit) on the site and an impressive gift shop.
Normal admission I think is $13 though they do have different rates and if you are a member then admission is free.  

There was something neat to see all over the place and I was amazed at some of the plants. Building in the top photo had some really huge and interesting plants to see.
Looked to be a really popular place though not sure if it was the free admission or the typical crowd on a Sunday.
It was free due to the shootings in Minnesota, Louisiana and Dallas over the weekend. For healing they said. Good place to do so I think.  

For more information on the Garden you can go to http://www,lewisginter.org. Not too long ago while visiting Hollywood Cemetery I saw the grave of Lewis Ginter, who apparently left a lot of good things for the people of Richmond. These grounds are certainly one of them.
If you are in the Richmond area for a visit, add this Garden to your list of things to see. I for sure will be returning later this year to see some of the Christmas display they offer. I also have another photo from the visit on my "Racing with the Wind " blog.

The Ride to Richmond (July 8, 2016)

Made a detour to see a Navy buddy (female) in Indiana for a few days at Rising Star. We had a great time and that is a very nice town. Casino there, I had no luck but it was fun nonetheless. Indiana is full of nice and fun people.
All good things end though and headed back to Richmond on Friday morning. Good thing was the weather was good, much better than the trip up there. Did have some rain but not the constant and heavy rain of the trip to Louisville.
Took this photo at the West Virginia State Capital building. Interesting statues there....there is this one of Abe Lincoln and also one of Stonewall Jackson. To be fair though, Jackson is a native son. West Virginia split from the state during the Civil War deciding to go with the Union. Considering how it turned out, that was a good call. State is pretty neat, saw a lot of coal there of course, and really nice towns along the way.
I like going that way. When I lived in Carolina would go up through Tennessee most of the time, though did have West Virginia as an option.West Virginia and Virginia are fun roads to travel.    

Top photo is either Virginia or West Virginia. Nice roads in both places. I did make a stop at The Blue Ridge Parkway on the way back. Funny thing is that I was just there, on my motorcycle, Father's Day. On my motorcycle page is pretty much that same photo, though with two wheels instead of four. Considering the weather during the trip, good transportation choice this trip. It was a lot of fun, and nice to get out. Ready to enjoy the second half of the year and to see what comes my way in the course of it.

July 4th in Louisville, Ky (July 4, 2016)

 As noted in last post, weather was bad. It did not just rain, most of the time it flat poured. I got the photo at left passing by...it is Slugger Field which is the home of the Louisville Knights AAA baseball team. Nice field and the team is pretty good. Its a brand new place in downtown Louisville (well, a few years old now) but a much better ballpark then what they had which was a combined football/baseball field.

Above is the new bridge, still under construction. Will be great when its done but that looks to be awhile. As noted in previous post, took a long time to build the two new bridges, but will be a great improvement.
At left is Yum Arena which is the new home for the Louisville Cardinals Basketball team. They also hold a lot of concerts there. Freedom Hall was the old arena and it was nice, but this is nicer. It is also huge.
Usually I would have made a tour of the area and seen some sights, have done that in previous posts here when I visit. This trip though just did not get to get out much. Mainly due to the weather, partly due to the time. Been some serious rain the last few weeks. Did enjoy spending time with family and friends. We do what we can.

July 3 - On the Road. (July 3, 2016)

Hit the road over the 4th of July holiday...made a trip to my home town of Louisville, Kentucky. It was a wet trip for the most part, except for the very last day. Very powerful rain and so did not get to take a lot of photos as usual of places there, but did get a photo or two here and there.
This was at Tamarack in West Virginia. I usually stop there as it is a good break from the long drive and they have cool things inside. Well worth a visit. I also usually stop at the State Capital and I did...on the way back. Was a nice place to explore as always.

Road construction in Louisville has been taking forever but its a major re-work of the old city transportation system. This is the Abe Lincoln Bridge and this was my first drive over this new modern marvel. They have another bridge they are working on building (photos of that tomorrow) and both are badly needed. The plan to build these were discussed back when I was a boy...and that was a long time ago. Still nice to see that.
Roads are quite a mess right now. I think these projects have been underway for over 10 years.

This is out on Bardtown Road. One of my favorite areas of the city and a big fan of the city motto "Keeping Louisville Weird". Many cool stores and restaurants.
This was a walk I took with my family, to see my son's new apartment. Oldest had been living there, the youngest just moved there days ago from North Carolina. It is a fun city with a lot to see and do. My seeing was limited due to weather but will have a few more things tomorrow to show you here.