Richmond Filipino Festival ( August 12, 2017)

Went to the festial which has been held the past few years (thinking this was the 12th). I enjoy it a lot because I spent some time in the country during my Navy days and it was just a wonderful place to be.
Good to get out to see some familiar sights, taste some very good beer and amazing food It was pretty neat and has been my practice the past few years went there really early. It is a good idea because this event really brings out the people.  

There was some dancing there, and some booths to explore. The big draw for me was the meal and having a bottle (or in the case of me two) of San Miguel Beer. Really brought back some memories. As for the food different than my usual breakfast but very good and I enjoyed it a great deal.
Fun event if you are in the Richmond area around mid-August and some really fine people put it on.

Maymont Revisited (August 6, 2017)

 Went to Maymont, taking Debbie for the first time to see the whole thing  and had a great time there as always. It is one of my favorite places to go, and a real treasure in Richmond.
Maymont is very old and has a number of things to see. There is a zoo there, plus a nature center which I did not see today, but there were a number of animals out. Here are a pair of the Bald Eagles. I have seen them here in the wild. There are a lot of birds to see, and other things.  

 This is the house at Maymont. It was started by the Dooley family. He served in the Civil War, then got into railroads (I think it was railroads) and got the land and the house.
After he died Mrs. Dooley lived there and at her death willed the property and land to Richmond who has kept it up. Lots of things to see in the house as it has some of the original furnishings. I love to tour the house at Christmas when you can see how they did it back in the day.  

This is the Italian Gardens. There are two actual Gardens there, this one and the Japanese Garden. Did not tour the Japanese Garden this time..as the place is rather huge and we covered a lot of ground on this hot and humid sunny day, but love this one a bunch.
It is really something to see in the Spring but also impressive in the summer. Lots of butterflies where making visits there as well. Just fun to wander around and see the plants.  

Earlier post at Virginia Safari Park had one of these stick it's head in the car (that was a moment) but this one in the park behind the fence. There are three Bison at Maymont in a very large enclosure. Got to see one run for the first time..and that was something to see.
While there, also did the tour of the carriages..they have some very old ones to see. There were a lot of people there, and that made it fun too. Got of couple of cool treats from King of Pops and just enjoyed a wonderful time at this magical place. We spent over two and a half hours there just looking at all the many sights of which this is just a few quick looks.

RVA Tour with Debbie (August 5, 2017)

 Debbie and I explored some sights in Richmond for seven hours on August 5. We stopped at some of the forts along Highway five....which there are a number of. This photo of her was taken at Fort Gilmer. We also toured Fort Harrison, Fort Hoke and viewed a number of the others. They made up part of the defense line for Richmond during what turned out to be the closing days, and closing battles of the Civil War for the Army of Northern Virginia.

We also went to Malvern Hill which was part of the Seven Days Battles, This was a series of battles to capture Richmond. This failed though the Union had many successful engagements such as this one.  

We also went to see Agecroft, which is located in a neighborhood in Richmond. It was brought over from England and reassembled, The manor was originally built in the 1500's. Next door to it is the almost as old (1600's) Virginia House, also brought over from England.
This is not all we saw but just a sample. All of this she had never seen as well as many other sights to be explored in this most amazing city and surrounding area.

Dragon Boat Races (July 29, 2017)

On a rainy day in the RVA, went to Rocketts Landing to watch the Dragon Boat Races held on the James River every years. Many local teams plus teams from around the US come to compete. It is a fun event and even with the rain which was substantial at times there were a lot of teams which showed up, as well as a very large crowd. The last sort of surprised me but then again Richmond does tend to come out for the outdoor events.

This is one of the races. Usually in teams of three or four and went on early in the morning and into the afternoon. I have been going the past few years and always enjoy the event...like the crowd on hand regardless of the weather.
Looking forward to making this event again in 2018

Charleston, SC Trip (July 21-23, 2017)

Drove the car to Charleston, SC with Debbie to visit family (her's) and see one of my favorite places. Charleston is a fantastic city and has much to see and do. Course this time of year its also blazing hot and humid (so though is about the whole Eastern side of the US right now). This photo was taken at the Isle of Palms and that is the Atlantic. England, where my Triumph motorcycle was designed is a few thousand miles across the water.

Ft Moultrie is seen here. An old fort which started construction during the Revolutionary War was also added to during the Civil War and later during World War II. A lot of history in the Charleston area and it was fun to explore some of the sights of this structure there.
It is a one of my favorite places in the area as I do love to explore history.  

Zoomed in on this out at the harbor...this is Fort Sumter. It can honestly be said that the actual war part of the Civil War started here. The fort was shot at by massed Confederate cannon and surrendered the next day.
Did not on this trip but have taken the boat ride out to see it. It is something to tour. During the Civil War and the siege of Charleston by the Union Navy the Fort was held until the city surrendered.  

This is the Arthur Ravenel Suspension Bridge which was built in 2005 to replace an older (and very hair raising to drive) bridge. It is built with towers 575 feet high. In fact the bridge is high as Charleston is one of the busiest ports on the East Coast and some of the ships that pass under it are...pretty damn huge. Fun to drive over and a vast improvement over what was there before. Did much more while we were there but had a fantastic time in Charleston, SC.

Photos from a Motorcycle Ride in the RVA (July 9, 2017)

 From the motorcycle ride on Sunday July 9. Made a few stops along the way. Took this photo from the Canal Walk area of Richmond. The old Canals were part of a transportation system used just after the Revolutionary War and have been restored in the recent years. There is a lot to see and do on them with many restaurants as well as art...even a sort of Canalboat rides. It is a fun place to explore, especially on a quiet Sunday. Usually a packed and popular place.

 This is Richmond seen from Rocketts Landing. Once again a nice place to visit with a lot of Restaurants and as you can see, some really great views from the shores of the James River. In that area is a bike trail (paved) which runs from that area all the way to Williamsburg, VA and is very popular. I take a different sort of bike ride

 On I went to a series of old Confederate forts (that is Fort Hoke with my motorcycle beside it) just off of VA5. Nice place to visit especially on a quiet Sunday. There is a whole series of forts along that road as well as the interconnected earthworks.

This is Fort Johnson. These were all part of the Richmond defense line. One of the larger ones is Fort Harrison which was captured by the Union during the Civil War. It was a wild time in the history of this country. Not too far up the road from these forts is the Malvern Hill Battlefield which I also enjoy visiting.
It was a wonderful day for the motorcycle ride with low heat and humidity. Fun to visit some of my favorite places in the city and to just get out in the breeze. I have a few more photos on my "Racing with the Wind" blog page from this ride. Thanks for visiting!

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!