The Slip and the Bottom (April 24, 2010)

An overcast Saturday in Richmond, problems with the internet (went down Friday night, fixed by Comcast on Sunday morning...thanks to the tech who came by early) gave me the inspiration to get out and do a little exploring. Had a great time, and put more photos on my photo page besides these. Got into Richmond via the Midlothian Turnpike...just roll up that and it goes straight into Shockoe Bottom. This is the view of the bridge which crosses the James River going in; also from what I saw it was a very popular fishing spot. I like rolling to town via the Midlothian Turnpike, its an interesting drive that way.
Took this photo at Shockoe Slip. Like to get out and walk, and there are many interesting things to see there. Good places to get a bite to eat, some liquid refreshment (think the famous blogger of "Jack Goes Forth" works there someplace) and a lot of history to check out. I liked the cobblestone streets in the Shockoe Slip section (which adjoins Shockoe Bottom) and also the old buildings which are there. Seemed on Saturday to be a lot of tourists around town, as many people were getting help with directions. I myself (though have only been here for a year and a couple of months) was able to help a runner find Canal Street...made me feel good!

Richbrau was a local brew pub, which from what I read had been open for some 17 years. Unfortunately I never got the chance to check out its beers, as it closed earlier this year.
In addition to the Shockoe Bottom/Shockoe Slip walk, got out and wandered around the Capital grounds, and the downtown area near there. Actually rolled in the car as far as The Boulevard making a stop at Velocity Motorcycles (if you are into motorcycles, that is a great shop to visit) and down always impressive Monument Avenue before heading back to the apartment. Everytime I go into Richmond I see something new and interesting, its a fun town to explore and to this date I have yet to be bored with it.

One more in Charlotte (April 17, 2010)

Saturday morning took a motorcycle ride with my friend Steve; he fired up the Ultra Classic, and I took my trusty Vulcan and we tackled the mean streets of Charlotte, NC. Took this photo at left on Tryon Street in what is known as Uptown Charlotte for my second visit in as many visits to the Queen City. Always nice to wander around there though, and a lot to see and do in the town. It was a really nice morning for a ride, a little overcast, but warm and mostly sunny. I like riding around Charlotte on Saturday, like with Richmond, traffic is generally a whole lot lighter, and that is a fine thing when traveling by motorcycle.
Steve and I went to lunch at Mac's Speed Shop (again my second visit since my last visit) but he had never been there and it is damn fine BBQ! These tanks (storing something I suppose) are across from Mac's....find them interesting for sure, and thought they were worth a photo. South Blvd is an intersting part of the city, goes a long way (in fact all the way if you follow it into nearby South Carolina) and is a really good ride. We did not have time for all that, but enjoyed a fine lunch with some good people. A C-130 flight crew also was having lunch there, and that was pretty neat. Today was the start of the Kentucky Derby Festival with Thunder Over Louisville...did not get to see the air show, but did get to eat with an air crew!
Rolling back toward Uptown in this last photo. I think (not positive) that the pink building houses condos, have been a lot of them going up in Charlotte. A few posts back I have some more photos of Charlotte and where I had lunch (two weeks ago, its a fun place) but one of many in the city. Like exploring Charlotte, though today was a relatively short visit. I will be posting these and some other photos on my photo page (have a link to that) if you are interested.
Next weekend will be doing some exploring in downtown Richmond, seeing some old and hopefully some new favorite places there.

Poker Runs and Westchester Commons

After a great day exploring parts of Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown (focus of the previous three posts), many hours of driving and walking though on a beautiful day) I turned it down a bit today...after all, a working week is coming up. Stumbled across a Poker Run on a web posting last night; though my motorcycle is waiting for me in North Carolina, like being around motorcycles and motorcyclists. So stopped by to check out some of the rides and riders of the Richmond Road Riders this morning. Hope you guys (and gals) had a nice ride on what was certainly a beautiful day for one. Nothing quite like a motorcycle in spring or fall especially.
Went out to Westchester Commons for dinner today. It is located out on Midlothian Turnpike and 288; big mall. It has some good places to eat, and felt like relaxing a bit at the Books a Million there. Did that prior to dinner, nothing like relaxing a bit with a good book or magazine (or in my case both). Did not find anything worth buying this trip. Actually feel sort of sad in those sort of places; got a feeling that bookstores, movie rentals, and a few other sort of places will soon be things of the past along the lines of drive-in theaters; as something quaint that people used to do for entertainment. Technology is rapidly changing how we get entertainment; books, movies, newspapers, news and its not at all a bad thing. Never has so much been so available to so many. Certainly has been a change for writers, musicians, and publishers, but then again it has opened up a lot of options for many people. I like the mall, have been to a few movies at the Regal there, and like the stores that are there, and the fact that it is not crowded.

Course there are a lot of empty stores there, passed Chesterfield Towne Center (which was packed) but maybe because Westchester Commons is so far out and in a relatively undeveloped area, it has never been very busy. That makes the service really quick, seating at movies very good, and the bookstore is generally library quiet. Course much of that is certainly due to the economy, but I think not all of it. This BBQ place is a prime example, which looks to be from the outside and the inside largely completed but it has never opened for business.
Enjoyed a nice day in Richmond, with much more spring like weather today and yesterday than the previous weekend was, and was nice to take it easy before cranking up again for the upcoming workweek. After the next few days, will be up again for some new adventures in North Carolina and in the Richmond area.

Jamestown, and Back to Richmond

Back on the remarkable Colonial Parkway for a second time from Yorktown, drove to nearby Jamestown. This was the site of the first English settlement in the New World. Think its kind of wild that it is so close to the battlefield that largely ended the British rule in nearby Yorktown, Va, but that would be a long time later. This monument was put up many years ago at the 300th anniversary of their landing at Jamestown under the leadership of John Smith. Jamestown was at a beautiful place, on the shore of the mighty York River, and on an island. The built a fort there, housing, government buildings, later a tavern (to me...a mark of civilization), and it eventually turned into a thriving community at least for a time. Certainly they had many difficult days. In a museum on the grounds are the remains of one colonist who was killed by a bullet to his leg (and the bullet is still lodged in his bone!). James town is interesting both for the recreations there, and the actual things that can be seen from the colony. It is both a historical site and a research facility used to study the past.
The church here is the fourth or fifth built here, and has some of the oldest remains building wise in Jamestown. There are a lot of above ground recreations of what has been found under the ground. I read that those were reburied after being dug up to preserve them; exposure to air would soon decompose the materials used back in the colony. In addition to those recreations, and the old buildings, a museum on the site shows many of the relics that have been found to date on the site. They have ranged from bodies, to weapon parts (metal as the wood of guns for instance is long gone), and many day to day items that have been found.
This is a photo of the recreated fort on the grounds of the original fort and an on-going excavation which has been underway. Jamestown still probably holds a lot of discoveries and that makes it all the more exciting. I really enjoyed the visit to Jamestown.
However, it was a very remarkable day with a visit though short to three fine places: Jamestown, Yorktown, and Colonial Williamsburg. I will certainly be returning to that area and ranging beyond, in addition to more exploring in the Richmond area. This region certainly has a great deal to offer!

Yorktown!

The second stop of my tour of the Williamsburg area was of Yorktown. A very remarkable battlefield, and very well preserved, I have a photo at left of the field where the British surrendered to the American forces. Cornwallis was trapped at the York River where his retreat was blocked, and with a combined American/French force surrounding his army. His surrender though not literally the end, was essentially the end of the war with England. The park charged a $10 admission, but it was also good to get into "not too far away Jamestown". I drove there from Williamsburg via the Colonial Parkway....a remarkable road!!!
You can see a lot at the battlefield. There is a walking tour (here by some of the guns used in the battle, a ranger gives a talk on the battle which happened there), as well as earthworks, and the house there the British and Americans met to write the terms of surrender. Unlike the Civil War, it was a more gentlemanly (if that is the correct term for such as thing) war with lots of rules (which Americans as well as the British often bent if not flat out broke). Weapons in the day were much more primitive than they would be around 1861-1865, but took quite a toll over the years of the Revolutionary War. Have been to some battlefields of the period in the Carolinas, this was easily the best I have seen from that war.
I also got out to see modern Yorktown. This is an overview of the Yorktown Riverwalk; which has a number of stores, a bridge, some interesting housing just a very, very nice town.
I could have spent many more hours in Yorktown, but this was a quick exploration of the area and what it had to offer...plus I had a ticket that would get me into Jamestown. So though it was getting late in the day, I got back on the remarkable Colonial Parkway, and headed toward Jamestown...the site of the first English colony in North America.

Colonial Williamsburg

Took my show on the road (as if I don't get in enough driving) but a worthwhile road trip in Virginia today. First stop was at Colonial Williamsburg which is just up I-64 from Richmond. Williamsburg was the original capital of Virginia, and the "Colonial" section of the town is a recreation of what life would have been like in Williamsburg of the period. The journey was suggested by a friend of mine at work, who knows I am a history buff and figured I would enjoy it a great deal. He was absolutely correct in that regard. Was a great day under blue skies and with 70 degree temperatures for a nice walk, and this was a nice place to walk around.
Photo at left is of the "Governors Palace" which is one of the larger buildings in the area. As I understand, many of the recreations are on the original foundations of what was there "back in the day". There is a lot of attention to detail, including many who portray from the era on the site , and that ads a nice touch. It was a very beautiful area to explore and I enjoyed the walk to see what they had to offer. It is certainly not perfect, and maybe a bit commercial in places, but it was a great deal of fun. It helped to make history come alive of an era that at least in my old part of the world gets short attention over more modern times in history.
This is one of the many houses, liked this photo both for the house and the look of spring. While in the area also took a walk around nearby William and Mary College. Very pretty campus, and I believe that it is a the second oldest college in North America, which is pretty cool. Only got a quick look at Williamsburg outside of the Colonial Williamsburg part, but it had a great deal to offer. I will be putting more photos on my photo page from this visit, and you can see more of the area there.
While it was a great visit to this area, the day was not over yet...I had more to see!

"Gypsy" Race Shop Tour (April 5, 2010)

Finally the planets aligned, and got out on the motorcycle this fine day (as can be seen by the photo at left) in Concord, NC and visited some of the local race shops in Concord, NC. At left is the first of the bunch; Hendrick Motorsports. Actually much to see in a collection of buildings you can see people building the cars, the cars, awards, and all sorts of items. Many such as Hendrick show in detail items that go into the cars, how they are assembled, and tell the stories of many of them on display. Most are right off the race track; damage, rubber and dirt included. They also have gift shops where you can purchase items, but admission (at least to these three is free to everyone.
The second photo was taken at Roush Racing. Roush has a very interesting shop, and this shop also has a small movie theater in addition to all the features of the other shops which shows a history of the racing team. Great variety of items including some aircraft parts from Jack Roush's 2002 plane crash are on display. As with Hendrick race teams at work can be seen, and as with Hendrick its a massive collection of buildings. The race teams have certainly gone a long way from the old "Garage teams of old" but are now multi-million dollar operations employing hundreds of employees per race team. They are something to see.
The last photo is the race shop where the cars are built at Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing. It is a big area and many of the teams cars are assembled here. As you will note, they build a number of cars to meet different needs, replace crashed cars, and for other uses for each driver. I have put a number of photos on my Flickr page from today's ride, and I hope you enjoy those. If you want to see these shops in Concord, all can be found within a mile or so of each other at the Concord Regional Airport in Concord, NC. All are also very close to Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's) which is actually located in Concord, NC as well.