Lexington....Day 2 (July 7, 2017)

 Second day of the Lexington, VA visit. Got to do a little looking around the city...there is a lot to see and do there.
I wanted to get a photo of this building which dates to 1790 and is one of the oldest remaining in Lexington. Many of the buildings were lost in a fire some years ago, but even those are from the early 1800's. This though was a law office. Different firm but still is today as well. I love exploring this city to see the many sights.

 Made a visit to Virginia Safari Park in nearby Natural Bridge VA. Amazing place. It is a drive through zoo. Had never done this, but Debbie thought it would be a good idea.
Turned out to be a great idea. The animals are mostly out in the open. Few exceptions such as Giraffe, Zebras, Hippos but a lot of interesting creatures.
I got to feed this fallow deer which as many did come right up to your car...

...or sometimes in it as was the case with this Bison. Glad I did'nt but the guide book said (as I noted later) in big letters "DO NOT FEED PET OR TOUCH ZEBRAS, BISON OR WATUSI CATTLE".
I have seen them in zoo's and even have some Bison here in Richmond at Maymont Park, but THIS is my closest encounter ever. Amazing creature and was a real thrill!

There was also this Elk which was beautiful and a bit on the huge side. I have to say this was a wonderful visit to this park and in a future visit (via car, doubt motorcycles are permitted..and you would have to be nuts to attempt it if you could) would make this a stop.
Very cool thing to have and like that most of the animals are wide open. Got a lot of land to roam and that is pretty neat.
Got back to Richmond later that day and have to say it was a wonderful trip!

Road Trip to Lexington (July 6, 2017)

 First day of a two day visit to Lexington, VA. I have been there before and enjoyed this very cool town. Lots of history there. Took the car (as well as my girlfriend) this trip which started with a drive (well to the Blue Ridge Parkway via I-64) followed by a drive on the amazing Blue Ridge Parkway. Always love the views from up there, and the sights you can see on the way (more on that directly below).
Have read that it is one of the favorite roads in America. Don't know about that but as for me...well hell yeah!

This was a first time for me, which surprises me considering how many times I have been on it both here in Virginia but in North Carolina too. Traffic stopped when this beat came into view. Did not get out to visit with him, but did get a couple of really good photos and this I would consider one. Have seen some amazing sights on the Parkway, and now a bear!

Made a first time stop to the VMI Museum. There is also a George Marshall Museum (which I visited on a previous visit) but this was my first visit to this one.
Had a lot of items related to Stonewall Jackson. As a history fanatic the Civil War is a favorite study of mine, and this man was certainly a big part of it. A bit on the nutty side but a fearsome killer. The Uniform is one of the few (in fact they said the only one remaining) which he wore. The gray coat was worn the day he was shot in the left arm...bullet hole in the upper left sleeve.

Regardless of what you think of guns they have certainly been a part of this country's history for good or bad. This collection at VMI traced the development of them over the years. Saw many unusual designs along the way to the current path of American weapons. Exhibit though also covered European weapons which makes sense as they are also the path many of us came from back in those days. Amazing museum and well worth a visit.
Course the visit was not all bears, dead Confederate generals (both Lee and Jackson are buried in Lexington, VA) and that will be covered in the next post.  

Pony Pasture (July 1, 2017)

Nice time today at one of my favorite places, and best of all its close to home. Pony Pasture is next to the James River, which is seen in the photo at left. Loved to take my dog Mollie here (and I firmly believe she loved it too!) and walk the trails and check out the river. It is a fantastic treasure in the Richmond area and one of the most popular parks. You can get out in the water or wander among the trails there. Fun to see all the people, all the dogs and to check out the beauty to be found here.

Flying Squirrels Game (June 24, 2017)

Last night went to The Diamond to see the Richmond Flying Squirrels play the Akron Rubberducks. Both are AA baseball teams. This was my first game of the year. I don't get to go as often as I would like but sure enjoy the games. The Diamond is an old facility and the team has been pushing for a new ballpark, but it seems to be taking a while. That said, it works and they draw a large crowd for each game that I have been go over the years  

Akron player at bat here. It was a neat night in that my employer had a suite there, and we also had a lot of food as well as air conditioning. I did go outside a few times but that air was nice. Last couple of weeks we got a dose of early summer which is continuing into actual official summer. In fact mentioned this on the two motorcycle rides I have taken around this game on my "Racing with the Wind" blog. This night was no exception with temps and heat index in the 90's.

As for the game was a great deal of fun to watch. Richmond lost though made a run at it. I like this game and hoping to go back this year.
Coming up on vacation soon and that will be fun if I can get some more of this in I will do so. The Squirrels are also known for some of the better firework displays in town. That is a good thing a Richmond is not having its big display this year on the river again for the second year in a row. Are some around though planned and hope to see a few sky displays this 4th of July.  

National Museum of the Marine Corps (June 17, 2017)

 I did not expect to do this, but as I was in the area due to traffic congestion on I-95 got off and visited the National Museum of the Marine Corps. I have been past it a few times and have always wanted to drop in but have not ever been able to.
I left the aviation museum early (which was the subject of my previous post) so had the time to visit the museum. It is located at 18900 Jefferson Davis Highway and admission is free.It is open every day except Christmas Day from 9:00 Am to 5Pm.

 There are a lot of amazing items to be seen in there. For instance this at left is the second flag raised at Iwo Jima during the second world war. This is the actual flag which was in the photo just to the left of the flag photo taken on February 23, 1945 on Mt. Suribachi.
There are a lot of amazing items from the history of the USMC to be seen in the museum. Items date from the earliest days of the Marines to current event items. It is a really good museum if you are interested in history or in the story of the US Marines.

I was especially interested in the Vietnam section and there were a number of items of interest to me there including this captured Russian made artillery piece which was the largest weapon captured during the war
As probably everyone has noticed who follows this blog I really enjoy aviation and aviation history and there are a number of interesting aircraft to see in the museum. I enjoyed those a great deal as well.
This was my first visit to the museum but it will certainly not be my last.

Innovations in Flight Day (June 17, 2017)

 Pretty neat event at the National Air and Space Museum annex, which is better known by the name Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Today was the Innovations in Flight Day and as promised it brought out a great crowd. I as always enjoyed the displays. There is the Enola Gay, many historic American aircraft dating to the dawn of aviation, as well as many aircraft that lead to its future such as the F-35. I of course always enjoy this photo which I took today again...which is two of my favorites. In the front an SR-71 Blackbird. Off in the distance is the Space Shuttle Discovery. Discovery was requested and delivered just like NASA got it on its last mission..of course without the dangerous chemicals inside the tanks.
What made today really special though was a fly in by a number of really interesting aircraft. Oh and there was one amazing fly by which is the photo at the very bottom of the page. We will get to that though. For a parking fee of $15 dollars (otherwise the museum is free) you got to see even more than usual and frankly that is a lot.

 

For me a real thrill was seeing the P-3 Orion. Thrill being for four years these are planes that were a part of my everyday life from 1975-1979 when I was in the US Navy. Certainly one of the most interesting periods and on these aircraft I got to see places I have only dreamed about. If it was in the Western Pacific the odds are I have been there, at least for a short while.  

 Not a pilot but this is the cockpit. The P-3 is based on an airliner called the Lockheed Electra and is a four engined turboprop. It fills a number of roles including search and rescue as well as hunting for submarines.
The P-3 is being replaced by the P-8 which like the Orion is based on an airliner. In the case of the P-8 though its the twin jet Boeing 737. I have never flown on the P-8 (and probably never will) but I have flown on the 737...in fact just a few weeks ago. That will be a more modern aircraft and looking forward to seeing one.  

The P-8 did not make it though it was scheduled. The C-17 seen at right did as well as a couple of F-18s, an F-16, an A-10 and an Osprey which is a really remarkable aircraft. They also have a number of interesting private planes, a small car show and some reenactors doing a WWII period camp. It was all really fantastic but they saved the best for last...
I really enjoyed the fly by of the B2 Spirit Stealth bomber. I have seen it before but it never fails to impress. I got this photo on the second of one of its two passes, and heard a lot of "Wows" from the large assembled crowd. When it comes to modern aviation technology the B2 has to be near the top of the list. It was a very pleasant day there, but turned out there was one more thing I did before heading back to Richmond. That will be the subject of my next post!  

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.