Lights in the RVA (December 2,2016)

The Jefferson Hotel is just a beautiful place and I enjoy coming out here every year to see what they have done for the holidays. A very old hotel and I believe the only 5 star hotel in Richmond, it has a very neat history.
There was a rumor (which unfortunately is not true) that the staircase was the inspiration for the movie "Gone with the Wind" but it is beautiful and the hotel is certainly impressive.
They lit up the tree at left earlier last week and I picked Friday night to come out and take a look at it.
Very impressive and beautiful there, the tree will be the site for many parties and gatherings at the hotel. In addition to that they have a lot of other decorations in the hotel and it is just a joy to see it looking like this for the holidays.
I spent a lot of time just wandering around and checking out the various sites. Be sure to see the decorated alligator in the parking area which came from the fact that Richmond people used to leave alligators (baby ones) they brought back from Florida during vacations at a small pond once there.          

Real fond at The Jefferson of seeing what they do with gingerbread. Have seen trains, houses (and no tiny things but big enough to take a nice walk though).
The Sleigh is this years creation and as always a beautiful sight it is.
Not sure how many pounds this is, or how many hours it took to make but impressed with the fine craftsmanship that went into it.
Never disappointed at what I see there, and it is a magical addition to the Christmas season in Richmond. Photo below was taken from Legends Brewing of the city all lit up for the holiday. 

Lewis Ginter Gardenfest of Lights (November 27, 2016)

Went with a friend to Lewis Ginter last night. I have been there before to see all the plants. It is quite a place but in all these years I have never been to see the Christmas displays. It is a shame because they were utterly fantastic.
Was not very expensive to tour the grounds and considering that we spent a couple of hours there it was money well spent.
In addition to the fantastic light displays there was a lot more to see. There were some remarkable doll houses and got to say the coffee they had was fantastic too!  

This is one of my favorite displays...this peacock on the water. There was a whole bunch of things to see, pretty much all of the gardens have been decorated.
Had to be a lot of work, and it was very well thought out.
I liked my visit there and will for sure add this to my yearly Christmas events.
If you decide to go, this can be found in the Lakeside section of Richmond, but was a very short drive via I-95 which for a change was not too bad to drive on. Told to avoid Friday and Saturday unless you like big crowds.

Since Thanksgiving (November 26, 2016)

 Since Thanksgiving night, many of the houses in Richmond have been lighting up, and its an amazing sight to see. These are just some of the houses in the area that light up for the holiday. Richmond at Christmastime is one of the most amazing cites I have seen, and have been blessed with a lot of cities to check out over the years both here in the US and while in the USN around the world. I have a great time here and am looking forward this time of year to sharing some of the sights with you. I hope you enjoy these photos and the ones to come.

This is one of the houses. I like the lights and the figures here. Just a magical time of the year.

This is the house above from a distance.

 This is one of the (if not the best) of the Richmond displays. Two houses and they have been doing this for something over 40 years. You could spend hours exploring all the sights here. As with the house above, the trees are really remarkable. In fact the whole thing is. The houses below I saw tonight while I was out exploring. Have seen these houses over the past three days since Thanksgiving, and there are many many more houses and other sites to share in the days and weeks to come. Enjoy, and looking forward to my next post for you!

Christmas Tree at Short Pump Mall (November 13, 2016)

Nice Sunday in Richmond, after a very cold Saturday it was much warmer on Sunday, and wanted to see the tree at Short Pump in Richmond. Nice big mall, in fact think its the biggest in Richmond. So I got out the motorcycle and headed out. Was light when I did but dark was just a couple of hours away. Stopped at Mom's Siam for dinner and then rode out to the mall. This was well worth the ride, a very nice sight indeed! Love Christmas time and love seeing these sights here.
 
After that, headed back up West Broad Street. Fun to ride at night, and have not done that much on the motorcycle so far, but have not had it all that long. Was fun though as night riding changes the whole thing. Got to be up on your game. Before getting home, stopped at The Stone House at Forest Hill Park and got this photo of the house and the bike. Was a very fun thing to do on a Sunday night.  

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.