Fall on the Blue Ridge Parkway (October 23, 2016)

Traveled on a cool (lets just say cold) Sunday morning to The Blue Ridge Parkway to see some fall color. Route started up 60 aka the Midlothian Turnpike. Fun road with a lot of interesting sights (once you get out of the traffic in Richmond). Made a stop here where the bike can be seen. I like cannon what can I say? There is a study going on (from a sign near it) to see if this courthouse was designed by Thomas Jefferson.  

Went past the Parkway and made a stop in Lexington, Virginia. Very interesting town and well worth a stop. This was my second visit there and was shorter than the previous one. Still did a quick walking tour from the Visitor Center (which is very nice) to William and Mary College. Very nice school and enjoyed seeing it again.
Much of it was not open and besides had seen the museums on my last visit.

Did make it to the Parkway. Always a fun and great ride with amazing views. Riding it is fun and even sort of feels like flying. You look out from much of the road and seems like you can see forever. Lots of very nice curves along the way as well but they have a 45 mph speed limit which the park rangers are happy to enforce and I am told that is a pretty hefty ticket. Was quite a crowd there to see the leaves, some of the lookouts were pretty crowded.  

In fact did not get to go to the Farm near Humpback Rocks...it was packed. The roads though were not bad (have been on it in North Carolina where it was bumper to bumper...none of that in Virginia so far).
Color was ok....mostly yellow and orange and a lot of green with very little red. Not sure this will be a big color year. Seeing much the same early on in Richmond. Made this trip though every fall (and a few other times during the year) and plan to do it again next year. I have also posted a few photos on my "Racing with the Wind" motorcycle page about this ride. Covered just short (as in less than 1 mile) of 300 miles during the course of the day. Was smiling from ear to ear during every single one of them.    

Skydog at Music in the Park (October 2, 2016)

Quite a crowd for the last "Music in the Park" for 2016. This free series of shows has been held for the past few years in Forest Hill Park in Richmond, and I am happy to say as it was announced from the stage, that it will be returning for 2017.
I have been to most of them this year and always have a good time. Never any problems there and almost as much fun as the music is seeing all the people and their dogs (cause this is Richmond after all.  

The band tonight was "Skydog" which was an Allman Brothers cover band, and I have to say a very good one. Lots of people know this band, and it is quite popular. Usually a really good turnout but this was a especially large one.
It was a nice sendoff to this years series and the music sounded great. I am looking forward to doing this again next year...of course though there are a lot of exciting things coming up for the months ahead here in Richmond.

Hogtober (October 1, 2016)

 A favorite event held each year is Hogtober in Libby Hill Park (which is in the Church Hill section of Richmond). I have gone the last few years though not last year as it was rained out. With all the rain of the past week (over seven inches) it was iffy...but they held it and further rain held off. There was a lot of craft beer and some really good bands. The band at left was a David Bowie cover band, and they were really good.

In addition to the bands (there were four during the day) and the craft beer there was food. Many of the local BBQ restaurants and a few others were on hand. No admission charge (though food and beer cost of course) and a whole lot of people in what is one of the most interesting and historic neighborhoods in Richmond. Libby Hill Park is cool when nothing is going on and features some great views of the city. I have in past posts quite a few photos of those. It was a very good day and I had a wonderful time.

George Thorogood and the Destroyers (September 25, 2016)

Went on Sunday September 25 to Pocahontas State Park to see George Thorogood and the Destroyers. I had seen him and the band many years ago at City Fest in Charlotte, NC. Have been a big fan of his music for a long time and have enjoyed his music for many years. So hearing that he was playing in Virginia was a real thrill.
The show was an outdoor show and  it was a very nice venue. Had never been to the event site there and it was really nice! I brought my own chair as I had a lawn seat.

Lots of refreshments on site (food, cokes, water and of course beer) and for a change at a concert prices were reasonable. Often times its a real gouge but did not feel like I was getting robbed at the vendors.
Virginia people are wonderful in my experience and fun was had talking to some of the people. It was a very behaved crowd and mostly to be honest an older bunch though there was a good number of younger people there as well. The band was very tight which is to be expected as they have played together for a very long time.

As for the band he did pretty much all of his old favorites with Bad to the Bone played as the last song of the regular set. Funny thing he said during "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" as people sang along was..."oh have you heard this before? Well you are going to hear it again". It was a real fun show. Encore was very good. The man has not lost a step over the years...the songs were good and he certainly has a lot of energy.
Enjoyed the band, the venue and the trip there and back was an easy drive. Was not hard to get in or out of there. I look forward to seeing them again, or for that matter, other concerts at the Park.  

Forest Hill Art Festival/Kings Dominion (September 17, 2016)

 I love some aviation items (as the previous post will show) and this guy is just amazing. Have seen his work at the Art in the Park event (held in the Spring in Byrd Park) but he was there today. Just some amazing items. It is all a bit outside of my pocket book, but I am always smiling after visiting his creations.
One of the biggest and most fun events in this neighborhod is the Art Festival which brings some of the most creative people in Richmond to show off their creations and to hopefully sell them. And yes, I did buy something while there!

The Festival was held close to Forest Hill Park, right off Forest Hill Avenue. This is one line of booths but the event covered a number of streets and being early in the morning it was not too bad. By late afternoon it gets slammed with people. I know this cause I have been to it late in the afternoon, and had to go near this to my next event of the day.
Always held in the very late Summer (Fall is coming up officially just a few days from now) and a very worthwhile event to check out if you are in the area this time of year.

There were a lot of events going on this weekend. My work though rented Kings Dominion and I always enjoy a good ride. That is one I went on....Intimidator 305 as taken from the Kings Dominion "Eiffel Tower". That tower is a 1/3 size replica of the more famous one in Paris, and there is also a replica at Kings Island in Ohio.
Nice view up there and a great time to be had at the amusement park.  

Lots of good rides, but like Intimidator 305 (which is 305 feet tall with a 90 mph top speed) I like the roller coasters old and new. The one at right is Rebel Yell which is a sort of Hall of Fame Coaster. A wooden out and back roller coaster it was featured in the movie "Rollercoaster" and was one of the first coasters used to set a consecutive ride record.
It is a nice ride, quite a difference between the modern steel ones and the old type such as Rebel Yell. Still, I like them both for different reasons and had a great time.
There are quite a few other types of rides and this was a very fun time. It was a bit toasty this Saturday after a bit of some "pre-fall" temperatures and weather (which was wonderful). However that is just around the corner and really enjoyed these events. Always something good to do here in Richmond, and this was one of those days when deciding what to pick was the difficult choice.    

Steven F. Udvaz-Hazy Center (September 10, 2016)

 Drove the car early on Saturday to the Center, which is also known as the National Air and Space Museum - unofficially as "The Annex". There is another museum in downtown Washington, DC but that one ran out of room. Both have a remarkable collection of historic aircraft, spacecraft and aviation items. Some such as the Enola Gay which dropped the first Atomic bomb are controversial to say the least. Still, its history and they are the aircraft that made that history happen. It is truly a remarkable place and one of my two favorite museums.  

A highlight for me is the Space Shuttle Discovery...one of the three remaining from the Shuttle program (four of you count the Enterprise test vehicle that never flew in space but did fly in aerial testing). Two of course were lost in flight along with their crews, but it was a remarkable achievement and accomplished great things in its long history.
Aviation has successes and failures in its long history and there are some amazing things to learn about in the museum. Of note are the many items that are on display that are not aircraft.  

 The Langley Aerodrome is front and center in this display. Another plane that caused problems because the museum said it was the first plane to fly (it really did not in two failed test flights) and kept the Wright Brothers from giving the museum the Wright Flyer for a number of years. That legendary plane is now on display at the Museum downtown in DC.
Here you can also see a number of World War I aircraft and even some pre-World War I types. The museum displays even go back to pre-aircraft with early hot air balloon items.  

The museum is easy to get to from Richmond with just the typical DC area traffic (though you get to go around most of it) as it is near Dulles International Airport. Admission is free, though parking is $15 (per car, not per person). While there went to see "Sully" in the IMAX Theater and that was pretty remarkable (also pretty cool. There is a McDonalds restaurant there, and prices for that were not out of line for the ones in town.
I was last at this museum four years ago, and enjoyed this visit as much as the last time. In fact I was there at opening yesterday and stayed till the closing announcement (current hours are 10-5). I highly suggest a visit if you are interested in flight, history or  just like to spend a day seeing some remarkable and amazing things.

Fredericksburg Ride (September 5, 2016)

Got this new motorcycle (Triumph Speedmaster) last Friday and finally got some miles in on it after the rains of Saturday and Sunday from the hurricane. Rains were not much thankfully - have had thunderstorms worse this year - but enough. Still, got to Fredericksburg where I visited the battlefield again. This house was in the battle and was one of the few remaining after. Part of the stone wall which made such a formidable defense can also be seen. This was my second visit to the battlefield.  

Made time to wander some in Fredericksburg's old town section. Very interesting with a lot of things to see. Fredericksburg has a very good Visitor Center which can give you a map to some of the sights.
There is a lot to see there, and a lot of history in that town. Not just Civil War either, being Virginia it also has a Revolutionary War history as well. Plus to be honest some good places to eat and shop if you are so inclined to do either.  

I went on the grounds of the Old Plantation named "Chatham". Owned by a hard core successionist and slave owner, the estate was seized during the battle. Was a headquarters for the Union Army and also due to its commanding position was used as a point to shell the town. Later it was a hospital and even as stables (in the rooms) for horses. The owner was ruined but sold the house and the next owners restored it to its former glory.  

I also mentioned in my Racing with the Wind post on this same topic finding The Confederate Cemetery. They are not buried on the battlefield (those are all union troops) but are in this cemetery called "The Confederate Cemetery" in town. Long and tragic war but to me a very necessary one to end slavery and in some respects to bring us together as a nation.
The ride was a lot of fun and was a good cap to what I consider one of the best Labor Day weekends ever in my case. Had a great time here in Virginia over the holiday.