Trip to Concord, NC (June 11, 2017)

If there is the Dale Earnhardt statue (which is at left) then it must be Kannapolis, NC. Went there on Sunday, June 11 sadly for a funeral for a friend. Not the best occasion, and was rather sudden to go. Headed out early Sunday morning down I-95 to I-85. Lots of road work both in the Charlotte area (going into Concord/Kannapolis) and as I had read for a good distance from the North Carolina border to the Virginia state line. That work was not bad going down to NC, but was a bit slower (though not terrible) from NC back to Virginia.    

Had a few hours though and wandered to some familiar places. After visiting some sights in Kannapolis, I went to Concord. This house was once owned by James W. Cannon, founder of Cannon Mills. Kannapolis once was the largest unincorporated town in the US.  The Cannon Mills factories were huge when I first came to live in the area. Now, they are all gone - torn down and replaced with the North Carolina Research Center. In Concord on Union Street there are many fine old houses which make for some interesting exploring.    

This is a big part of what people know about Concord, which is where it is actually located. It is the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is home during the year to two Nascar races and the Nascar All-Star race. The first of the two big races is the Coca-Cola 600 which is (by a 100 miles) Nascar's longest race. Other events are also held at the racetrack and there is even a chance thanks to various businesses to ride on the track in a race car. I have done that thanks to the Richard Petty Experience. You get to both go on a Ride Alongs and/or to drive them yourself.  

My final stop was to visit Cabarrus Brewing which just opened up a few years ago. In fact it was not open when I lived there. I do like the Craft Beer to be had in the Richmond area, and Concord now has Cabarrus Brewing. Nice place with some tasty beer.
I saw some other sights in a whirlwind tour as well as made it to the funeral home, plus saw a few friends while there. Had a quick dinner in Kannapolis and then headed back to Richmond via the highway. It was a nice drive on a hot day. Weather was good though and rain was never an issue. It was great to be back at one of my favorite places to visit. It was a real good time in the 14 years that I lived there.

Richmond Greek Festival and Broad Appetit (June 4-5, 2017)

 Always one of my favorite weekends in Richmond, because nothing like a good food festival. The only thing that beats that...is two. First off was The Richmond Greek Festival. Just amazing food and beverages (those beverages come from Greece). I went early and there were still amazing crowds. The event runs for four days and draws huge numbers of people. There is good reason for that, as it is some of the best food I have at any event.    

In addition to the food there is dancing (seen here at left),  music and a marketplace. They also have tours of the very beautiful Greek Orthodox Church which is the host of the event. Wonderful people there put on one of the most anticipated events in the city. I look very forward to its return in 2018!

On Sunday only in this case, is the "Broad Appetit" festival which celebrated its 10th year this year. Once again, it is a event that I do not miss and offers a great deal of food.
In this case of this event some 50 restaurants have samples of their food, served on small plates for small prices ranging from $3-5. It is a remarkable variety and chance to explore the wide range of choices to be found in what is the Richmond food scene.

In addition to the food there are bands playing on two stages. I think there were some 13 this year if I read right. I got to see a few while I was there. I tend to go early as the crowds get pretty massive later in the day.
Like with the Greek Festival I look forward to once again visiting this event in 2018.
While you do have to pay for food and drink there is no admission charge to either event.  

National Museum of the United States Air Force (May 26. 2017)

 Got out of town for a few days, and got to travel by air to Dayton, Ohio to visit with my girlfriend for a few days. It was a remarkable visit. That is a fun area with a lot of things to see. Course those of you who know me know I love aviation and this museum located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a national treasure. It has an amazing collection of air and spacecraft which includes the B-36 at left here. One of the biggest bombers I have ever seen in fact, and it is just one of the over 360 aviation items to be seen in the museum.  

The museum has aircraft from all periods. I have to say I think that if the Air Force flew it, looked into researching it, or thought of buying it, it can be found at the museum. Some of the amazing planes include the B-2 Spirit Stealth bomber which is seen at the left. The WW1 collection is also amazing as are some of the early aircraft between the WW1/WW2 period.
There are in addition to the planes, many items worn or owned by pilots. The plane that dropped the second atomic bomb is also on display as well as replicas of the first two atomic bombs.

Many research planes can be found there. In this photo there is the XB-70 (which is the only one left), an X-15 and the Command module "Endeavour" from the Apollo 15 moon mission are just some of the items in this photo at left.
The museum is open from 9am-5pm almost daily and the admission and parking cost are free. I have been to many aviation museums and have to say this is one of the best, if not the best that I have had the pleasure to tour. If you are ever in the Dayton, Ohio area and have the time be sure to make a stop here during your visit.  

Art in the Park (May 6, 2017)

 Revisited one of my favorite events which is Art in the Park which is held around this time every year in beautiful Byrd Park in Richmond. Always a great time there with some amazing arts and crafts of all types. I have seen many remarkable works there....there are some talented people in this region. I say region because people come from all over. There were over 400 booths and you can without a whole lot of effort find some things that get your attention. I am a big aviation fan and these creations to the left certainly got my attention.

I read somewhere that this is one of the largest art shows in the country. Certainly it is fun to walk around and see things, plus enjoy the people and dogs which also attend. No admission charge (just have to pay for food and whatever art you choose to purchase if any). I have gotten a few things there over the years. Had a great time and planning to make another visit to the 2018 show next year.  

Easter Sunday Ride (April 16, 2017)

I like Easter Day rides and at least for the second time in the last couple of years it was a good day to ride. Certainly it was breezy but it was fun,.traffic was light and the ride was very warm with temperatures in the upper 80's. There was also a zero percent chance of rain.
All those factors make for a remarkable day. I went to South Park Mall. Went to see something in a store but the store was closed as was around half of them.    

Went to West Broad Village (near the mall) and stopped at Carolina Ale House. I had lunch earlier at Zaxby's but did stop in for some refreshment. Cruised around a bit and also made a stop at the Anchor Bar. The original store is supposed to be where Buffalo Wings were invented. Tried some and liked them.
Got home around 4;30 pm, Mileage was not real big around 46 I think but it was a very nice ride on a very fine day.

Hampton Air Park (April 14, 2017)

While on a Good Friday motorcycle ride (more photos on my "Racing with the Wind Page" to the Hampton Roads area saw many things. Stopped by the Hampton Air Park where I saw this F-105 Thunderchief. It was a Vietnam era fighter-bomber flown by the US Air Force. The museum is one of my favorites.    

I have been here many times and enjoy the collection of aircraft, rockets and spacecraft found there. It is on "Mercury Boulevard" right off a I-64. Found it once a few years ago and have been there a few times.
This place at left is an F-100 Super Sabre which also saw action in the Vietnam War. I think it was the first US fighter that could go supersonic in a straight line (if not in a climb). I always thought this a very beautiful aircraft.  

This is an old air defense missile which was designed to shoot down Russian bombers. Like many of the weapons there, it never (thankfully) did that role. I could see that many of the weapons have been repainted and cleaned up, and there is still some work to do as can be seen at left. Still it is a very cool to see all the items in the park and you can't beat the price which is free. There is also a small museum inside a building there but it was closed for the holiday.    

Photo here is of a T-33 trainer. It was based on the P-80 Shooting Star which was the first real US Air Force jet. The P-59 Airacomet  was the first plane with a jet engine but was not put into production. The P-80 (later F-80)  and both were developed in World War II. Neither flew in the war. The F-80 did see action in the Korean War. The T-33 was the most widely produced version and was in use for over 20 years. It was considered the best jet trainer in the world.
I had a great time (as always at this museum) Wikipediia has some more information on this museum (just punch up "Hampton Air Park") and usually make it a regular stop when I am in the Hampton area. It is a great area to see aviation items with another museum - The Virginia Air and Space Center - which is the official site for the NASA Langley Center which is local to Hampton. Langley Air Force Base is also in the area and usually (but not this year) puts on a really good air show. I have some photos in a previous post from last years show. Fun city for an aviation fan, as is nearby Oceana Naval Air Station. Oceana will be putting on it's air show this year and look for photos of that (weather permitting) in a future post this September 16-17.    

Visit to Charleston, SC (March 30-April 1, 2017)

 Great time during my visit to Charleston, South Carolina with my girlfriend Debbie during my vacation. We did not pick the best time to go, as there was a huge flower show in Summerville, South Carolina and also the Saturday morning bridge run which brought a great number of people there. We had to stay in nearby Moncks Corner at the Moncks Corner Inn. Great thing was that turned out to be a really good hotel and enjoyed it.
We did get out to the South Carolina Aquarium which is (as it has been been in past visits) nothing short of remarkable. It remains my favorite one to visit and we enjoyed it a great deal. The visit to the aquarium lasted almost three hours. It is a can't miss stop if you go to Charleston.
We attempted to go into Charleston to see some of the sights. Never have I seen the city so packed with people and cars. There was literally no places to park and just a huge mass of people there, We did drive around to see a few things and had hoped to take a carriage ride around town but the long lines made that something to do for another time in the future.

We did get out on the bridge which is a remarkable thing. Have ridden on it before but as always impressed and a huge change from what was there a few years prior. It is a beautiful bridge.

We did make a lunch trip to Shem Creek. Stopped at RB's which is a favorite stop of mine. Good fish and the service is really good as well as the view there. No dolphins were playing in the water this time, but a number of pelicans were and enjoyed watching them. While it was really busy there, it was not too awfully bad and after a short 25 minute wait we were able to get a table and enjoy some fish.
After that, headed back to Moncks Corner and visited with Debbie's Cousin and her family there. It was a wonderful time.

While the drive to Charleston was gray and gloomy the ride back was very nice. Made a stop at a Harley-Davidson dealer (Debbie was looking for some t-shirts) and as for myself really enjoyed the visit to North Carolina. Stopped at this rest area and checked out the art work there. It is called "Dive Bomber Duck" and was made by the late Vollis Simpson. Mr. Simpson is the official Folk Artist of North Carolina.
Trip was without problems on the road and we got back right around midnight of what I guess would be April 2. Looking forward to my next visit to this great city.