A Wonderful Weekend in Concord (April 25-27)

Headed out from Richmond on Saturday Morning April 25, down I-95 to I-85 and into Concord in the early afternoon. Nice to be home with my wife, son, and dogs.....a great visit. Lunch was at the Little Dooey near the giant Concord Mill shopping center; good BBQ and blues music in there. It is a limited chain based out of Mississippi, not really NC BBQ (no slaw on the food) but good stuff and the music is great. Spent the weekend with family and friends, what you see of the skies is the photo was how it was there, with highs in the upper 80s. Got to do some work around the house, cleaned up the cars (and happily the Neon did just fine on the road up and back), and got in a fine motorcycle ride during my visit.
Will be going back on this upcoming Friday, this time for four days! On the way down Friday plan to check out Old downtown Petersburg, VA as I will have time. Will be a leasurely trip down as Patty works till 6pm; so no huge rush to get there, and plan to take advantage with a bit of Virginia sightseeing.

GIve me the lunch, with a side order of towing...

Know how when a airliner lands on the runway, and the thrust reversers kick in and you feel like you are going backwards? Well, sort of had that feeling on I-95 this weekend.

In the context of the start of this post, lunch is of interest on Sunday April 19 which started out better than it ended. Noted in a previous visit that there was quite a crowd at the Chesterfield County Airport for the buffet. I was also told during a haircut while talking about the area that a great place to eat was at the Chesterfield County Airport. So I went back on Sunday April 19 and checked it out. Got a lot of good food for $9.75, all you can eat and beverages included. They had salads, breakfast or lunch type food (chicken, North Carolina and Virginia style BBQ) on the buffet, and it was really good. I enjoyed a few plates, also the view. I am an aircraft fan (which is how I ended up at the airport in the first place a few weeks ago) and enjoyed watching the planes land and take off. I will be coming back there again. Also enjoyed the people, was an older church sort of crowd but a lot of fun and very nice to the guy from North Carolina in the motorcycle shirt with shorts on.
After lunch headed to Chester, NC. I was headed to the City Point Unit site (was a Union supply depot in the Civil War, and General Grants HQ during the Petersburg campaign) when all hell broke loose just short of Exit 61A. All of a sudden a very loud BOOM, check engine light and it felt like that airliner landing as power dropped off. Also of concern was the continuing noise. I got the car into a nearby hotel lot on 10, and raised the hood. The spark plug wire and plug was attached still to the motor. Problem was it was on top of the motor. I attemped to repair the car, but could tell it was stripped out. Got plugs changed over a year ago, but apparently it had blown out. Found out this week again from friends at work, that this is relatively common and has happened to a few people.
Anyhow AAA towed me to a shop near my apartment, at the Firestone Auto Center at 7303 Midlothian Turnpike. Talked to Store Manager John Tate, and they got started on repairs. Required some major work to the engine, the head had to be taken off and a helicoil put in. They also did some work to the engine while the head was off. It was an expensive repair, but have to say I am well pleased with how the car runs. While wish this had not happened, the work was first rate, and the car felt like it had a new motor in it (John said they cleaned off all the 100,000 mile gunk). Sort of like lunch, would use these guys again, and appreciate the fine service given to a guy from "out of town". Got the car back on Tuesday.
Will be giving it a good test this weekend, driving back to Carolina for the weekend. Still plan to make it out to see the HQ of General Grant in a few days. Have really enjoyed exploring the sights and history of Richmond, VA over the last couple of months. I am always impressed with the people I have met amid my travels and problems here in my "part time" city.

The Horror of Comcast...Part II

Nothing to set the morning off like the monthly Comcast bill. Mentioned the saga in a couple of previous posts. Well, got my bill today, and once again it is a mess. Basically, I had gotten the service which was on a COD basis on February 16 (all new installations are that way, fine with me). Got a bill about a month later for the installation. Told them it was COD, had the service, must have paid. Checedk with bank...no payment on it. So I stop the check, and write a new one. Problem solved right? No. First check posts on 3/10, the February 16 check posts on 3/11. In a communication thought I was getting a credit for my stop check fee, turns out it was for their returned check fee, which was caused because they lost the first one (taking a total of 23 days to post a check and sending a bill prior to that counts as "lost" to me).
As a friend suggested, who has also had problems with them (third friend did finally get his worked out after "a few" phonecalls) wrote the corporate site. Dealing with the local office he told me was like slamming your head into the wall. I see his point. Looking forward to the perfect business relationship; I send them a check each month, and they provide a service. Actually, the service itself (knock on wood) has so far been pretty good.
Anyhow, while in Louisville, came back to find that two people died in my apartment complex while I was gone of apparent drug overdoses. News said they were dead in the apartment for some 36 hours. I guess considering that, things could be worse. Checked out some local blogs today, some good stuff out there in the Richmond area. I do enjoy reading them, and they have been pretty informative on the local things of note in the area.
Getting in some overtime this weekend on Saturday, will be doing a bit of exploring this Sunday. Still an interesting place to check out, and get a lot of goodsuggestions of things around town to see. Do need to check on some good local places to eat; like when in an area to get outside of the chains and get to some places with "local flavor". Not a food critic at all and will not be doing reviews of food places, but interested in what people find good in the town. One place I am going to check out this weekend is the food at the Chesterfield County Airport. At a previous visit to the airport (just to see it while out exploring) saw that was packed on a sunday. My barber in talking about the town, also said it was a good place to eat. Will have to see what its all about. Nice place though....a buffet with planes to view; think that would be right up my alley.

Louisville Over Easter

Visited my home town of Louisville, Kentucky over the Easter holiday, photo at right is of Louisville, Kentucky taken from the Indiana side of the river. The two states of Indiana and Kentucky are divided by the Ohio River. I lived there for many years and still have family and friends there that I miss a great deal. Visits home are very special.
Louisville is a city much like Richmond in many ways. The Ohio River is one such thing in common; both being river cities. Louisville is a mix of older buildings and newer ones. I think that size wise they are close in area (though I have not checked to be exact) and also in population. Louisville is also a minor league sports town, though they have built the baseball stadium downtown that is being discussed in Shockoe Bottom (its a first rate ball park) and still have the AAA team "The Louisville Bats". Like with Richmond, they have had mixed success with hockey teams over the years. College sports (U of L) dominate the scene there.
Like Richmond (and unlike Charlotte) the city likes to re-use old buildings. For instance the old Reynolds Aluminum factory is now condos, and many old warehouses and stores are put to other uses. Many of the buildings in Louisville are very old but are still used today.
Louisville also shares a road....to get there from Richmond I got on I-64 West which runs (though some amazing sights in Virginia and West Virginia) straight into Louisville, Kentucky. This weekend is the kickoff to the Kentucky Derby Festival with "Thunder Over Louisville" being held this weekend. That is a huge air show and fireworks display held on the banks (both sides) of the Ohio River. It is always one of my favorite events though I don't get to go every year including this one. There are a host of events (many if not most such as Thunder...free) held up to the running of the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. If there is ever a good time to visit the city, that period would be among the best.
It was great to be back, but also good to be back in Richmond again. Looking forward to checking out more of the sights of this fine city as well over the next three years. Richmond is a very interesting place as well. Have seen much of note here, and have only scratched the surface of this city.

Carolina Weekend/Next Up Louisville

Great weekend visit in Concord, NC with my family. Drove out Saturday morning on a beautiful day. Took a breakfast stop at Ft. Lee, nice town from the quick look I had of it. Smooth ride down the road though was tired from an extra long night at work (almost 11 hours). Got to Concord around 11am. Did make a short stop before getting home at RideNow; a big motorcycle dealer in Concord (its where I purchased my bike in 2005, though under different ownership). Saw a riding buddy there, and they were having Victory Motorcycle demo rides. If I was not so worn out, might have taken one.
Great weekend with Patty, my son Robby and the dogs. Dogs were really happy to see me, played frisbee with them a lot; they love that. 70s and sunny all day. Not a real active day though; watched "Marley and Me" Saturday night.
Sunday nice. The typical morning routine; Charlotte Observer, a dog walk, breakfast, and the Sunday morning motorcycle ride. Was a great ride, was warming (got up to 77 during the day) and nice to be out in the country for a while. Patty and I went out during the day to Memorial Gardens, to the grocery, and also did some yard work. Nice to have a yard to work in, don't do yard work at the apartment.
Got back to Richmond Sunday night around 1am. Again another nice drive in the night, with no problems. Interesting drive coming up, four day trip to Louisville this weekend. Dad, my brother, my son, his wife and the grandkids are all there. Also good to be back in Louisville; grew up there. Like Richmond a river city (the Ohio instead of the James), mix of old and new buildings; quite a few interesting things to see and do. Patty coming here Thursday night (will see her after work) and we are leaving for The Ville Friday morning. One thing about this Richmond transfer; getting in a lot of highway miles.

Midlothian and Chesterfield (March 28 and 29)

An amazing thing happened this weekend in Richmond; it did not rain the whole weekend. First weekend I was here it rained with snow, then the next weekend went to North Carolina...sunny both days. Following weekend, it rained all weekend here. Last weekend in North Carolina...picture perfect weather for three days (took a vacation day on Monday). This weekend here in the Richmond area.....a day of rain, but a remarkable Sunday.

Saturday, drove out on Hull Street. Very interesting road with a lot of stores and sights to see. Actually got out to the Metro Richmond Zoo which is out in the country. Did not tour it, but it looks like it would be worth a visit in the future on a better day. I did get to the Midlothian Mines. Its a small park on the Midlothian Turnpike. From the information there, it was the first coal mining site in North America. As with all mining, a very dangerous and sometimes deadly job; many people died down in those deep coal mining shafts . This is a photo of the remains of the only surviving building (such as it is) from the company. Park is also very nice and will be really nice when the trees are all in bloom (not far away I believe). Rains picked up in the late afternoon, and I cut the exploring off early. I did note that the Chesterfield Towne Center was packed; though the economy may be a bit rough, America (or at least Richmond) apparently still shops with gusto!

Sunday was a much more beautiful day. Have had good days in Richmond during the week days that I am here, but finally one on the weekend. I took some time and went to Chesterfield to see some of the sights there. Chesterfield was a very impressive town; nice buildings both old and new and a lot of history there as well. I liked the old town hall which is the building below. The museum there was closed on Sunday, and the old jail is being restored, but it is still neat. Drove out to the state park there, and enjoyed that as well.

I also rode out to the Chesterfield County Airport, which was really impressive in the sunlight. Apparently it is also a great place to eat, a buffet was going on in there, and they were lined up for it (and families not all pilot types at all). Got a feeling that will be worth checking out in the future. Looking forward to checking out the food at a future visit.
I liked my visit to the Chesterfield area; a very modern area with a lot of links to the past. Over the next three years will be an area which I return to in my explorations around the Richmond area.
I actually started my day fairly early in the morning, with a trip out to Drewry's Bluff (aka Ft. Darling) which is the first of the Civil War sites that I have seen. The area around here is full of them, and wanted to see one since I have been here. Finally the weather and time allowed it to happen. I was very pleased at my first selection. One because it was close to home (as is Chesterfield) but also was the site of a Naval battle (and I served in the Navy a few years ago.

The battle happened on May 15, 1862 when five Union gunboats sailed up the James River intending to shell Richmond. The Confederates up on this high ground, with the added firepower of sharpshooters, shelled and shot at the ships (one of which was the ironclad USS Monitor) from the heights. The Union ships could not elevate their shipboard guns up to hit the fort, and were driven off. While not much of the Fort remains, again it was a good walk in the country and a great view of the James River from its height.
I have posted some more photos from the visits on my Flickr page. Covered some 108 miles of driving on the two days of trips, and enjoyed them greatly. Next weekend will be in North Carolina, the following weekend will be in Louisville, Kentucky visiting family and friends there. Louisville shares a lot in common in many ways (in my opinion) with the Richmond area, but that will be the subject of a future post.
In the meantime, enjoyed a very pleasant weekend exploring some of the outlying areas of the region this weekend, and look forward to future tours of the area.

Home to Carolina/Back to Richmond

Had a great visit in Concord, NC (where my home is) from March 21-23. Nice to be back with Patty, my son Robby, and the two very cheerful border collies Cassie and Mollie. The weather was wonderful, and we all had a great time. I got the Vulcan out for a couple of good motorcycle rides. One was to downtown Concord on a Sunday morning (which is where I took this photo of the Old Courthouse...which is now used as an art museum) and one with a friend to High Rock Lake via some very fine backroads on Monday. Patty and I spent a lot of happy hours together, Robby and I discussed sports, and the dogs bounded around the yard chasing tennis balls. It all ended too soon; headed back late Monday night. I rolled into Richmond about 1am early Tuesday morning. Found my apartment the same as I left it, and had a pleasant sleep.
Since then have been posting some photos to Flickr, and planning the weekend coming up. This next weekend I will be in Richmond, and am looking forward to some new explorations of this fine city. Once again though and for the third weekend in a row, looks like exploring will be in the rain. Still, have seen many interesting sights so far, and am looking forward to some new discoveries here. After all here I don't have a motorcycle...I do have a car and a umbrella.
On Comcast, I have not heard anything new; don't know if the billing issues have been solved or not. I was told though from a friend (also having problems with Comcast) that miracles sometimes happen when you click on the corporate link on the Comcast site and complain there. Have not done that yet, but nice to know its there.