Christmas Tree Lighting at Stony Point Fashion Park (November 12, 2016)

 Last night they lit up the trees at Short Pump Mall...did not go to that, but did go tonight to Stony Point Fashion Park. I try to go to that last year, and most years I do. Had a great time. The mall has had a big facelift and they have added a number of things. They have better seating, a dog play area (is hands down the most dog friendly mall in Richmond) and this new ice rink. With the one not being downtown this year got a feeling this one will be a hit. Later in the night it got quite busy. Always a popular event, this year seemed like a lot more people came out. Before the tree was lit at 6PM everyone enjoyed the band the Kings of Swing. They play there every year and are something to listen to. Got a great horn section and in addition to Christmas music they played a lot of hits from the 60s to today,
The tree is amazing, like going to this event because it is close to the house but also in that this is my favorite mall and also my favorite mall Christmas tree.
See, this one has programs that go with the music being played....a light show to go along with the lights. I think that is cool and really enjoy just sitting and watching. They have a lot of great stores and even two that are dog related. One with a lot of dog items and gifts, the other is a dog cookie store. Mollie my Border Collie loved going out there, walking around to check out the other dogs and to get a treat!
Really nice and a great time on a very cold night. Not as cold as it will get but cold enough. Had a cold February for sure as I remember but this was the coldest night in some months. There again though did not keep the crowd away. It was fun to see people react and due to snow machines on the roofs there was snow even!    

This was a welcome sight. There are now fire pits there and those were a nice touch tonight. Stayed for quite awhile and even got dinner there while I was at the Mall. Some new places have opened and some more are due to open in a few weeks.
I am sure to be back over the holidays as it is a favorite stop of mine during the Christmas season as well as other times of the year.
On the way to the house stopped for a Christmas coffee at Starbucks. Earlier put up my Christmas tree at my house. Ready to get this holiday, a favorite of mine....underway.  

Louisville/UVA Football Game (October 29, 2016)

Last did this two years ago....but today went to the University of Louisville vs the University of Virginia football game. That last here was won on a cloudy, cold and rainy day by UVA. On this day it was in the upper 70's and very sunny with not a drop of rain.
Tailgated with some friends from work. Charlottesville is a beautiful city and a fun place to go to. I often ride there on the motorcycle as there is a lot to see. UVA is a beautiful, historic and amazing campus.
This is a photo of the field at left.      

The game was great. Louisville has been (with the exception of a close game with Duke and of course a loss to Clemson) beating opponents with abandon. The Cardinals are currently (as I write this ranked as the #5 best team in the country.
However, this game was very close wire to wire. In fact at half time Louisville was behind and it was a interesting first half to be sure.
I like a good close game even when my team is having a hard time. We are blessed though with one of the nations best quarterbacks.    

This is the band (University of Virginia Marching Band) seen at left. They put on a very good halftime show..I was impressed.
The game came down to the last minute..in fact the last seconds. Virginia scored with a bit over a minute left and then made a two point conversion. Louisville responded in a bit over a minute with a touchdown and also a two point conversion to win the game by a score of 32-25. I had a great time there. Ride up and back (went via car) was very good...traffic was not too bad and the weather was wonderful. Looking forward to doing this again the next time they are in town.  

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.