With Fifi, and at Speed Street (May 27, 2012)

Very nice day in Charlotte (via Motorcycle and have some more photos on my Racing with the Wind page) to go out to Charlotte Douglas International Airport and see Fifi. Fifi is the only flying B-29 (saw the Enola Gay, the most famous version of this plane at the Air and Space Museum in Chantilly a few weeks ago) in the world today. The big Boeing aircraft not only was a main weapon during the War with Japan, but also served in the Korean War. The Russians took some that had flown to Russia and copied them, and flew those for a number of years.   

Speed Street is seen here. It got real busy real fast, but this was at opening for the day. Fun event with a lot of neat things to see and do, all with a race theme around the Coca-Cola 600. It has grown to be one of the largest events in Charlotte-when the bands start up it is pretty much wall to wall people. Good place to get a lot of free stuff and to see some interesting things For instance I saw a Chevy Volt up close and personal along with a number of other Chevrolet vehicles. Of course there were a number of things to eat and drink. Charlotte does not have the wide beer selection at events that is common (and fun) in Richmond-but still tasty!

 On the motorcycle page I showed an 1850 stagecoach (the real deal too!) but here is the inside of St. Peter's Catholic Church. Happens to be the oldest Catholic church in Charlotte and was established in 1851. While there is not a lot old in Charlotte, NC (as I have often noted, they tend to replace the old with the new) there is some here and there, and what is there is quite interesting. Most of the Catholic churches I have seen tend to be fairly modern, but this one was really cool, and I enjoyed seeing it. Had a lot of Catholic friends growing up in Southern Indiana, so this was a real treat for me, and it was open for Speed Street. 

Course you get to see a whole lot of cars including a number of race cars. The Coca-Cola 600 is a big event in the area, and is run on May 27 (though this post is about the 26th ride, I am writing this as the race is going on. It is the longest race in NASCAR...600 miles which takes 400 laps on the 1.5 mile track. A bit too long for me, though I do like to go to the (earlier) NASCAR All-Star Race, and the GM/UAW 500 which is held in the fall. Certainly NASCAR being here sure adds to the population of the area, and makes for some interesting driving both on the track, and on local roads. Always some interesting people come to town though and it is a great deal of fun. Looking forward to seeing how the race comes out later tonight! As for the Saturday ride, it was a wonderful time, on a beautiful day, and a great time to be in Charlotte, NC!

Statue, Art, Food Trucks, and Fords (May 20, 2012)

 Went downtown on May 20, wandered a bit around the Capital. Richmond is the Capital of Virginia and has been for a long time. Like this old statue, that is George Washington at the top, as is typical of Richmond, its a big damn thing. Both here and at Monument Avenue you can see a lot of huge statues, for this is a city that embraces its history. I do enjoy that part of Richmond. The Capital itself was designed by none other than Thomas Jefferson, and the Governors Mansion is also found there. The current Governor is a Republican, and therefore pretty much an idiot, though he seems to be a nice enough guy despite that massive handicap. Along with the General Assembly they have been taking Virginia on a hard turn to the right, passing some really nutty legislation in the last session. Course I can not say much, North Carolina has also been on sort of a right wing path, but the governor there, who is a Democrat has been working to keep it as sane as she can.    

 Shockoe Bottom is certainly interesting, good place for wall art such as this, and this is certainly different. I like wandering around there, some interesting things to see and do, though it can get a bit wild at times. Good places to eat, and a lot of history there. For instance, the tunnel is there where many, many years ago a train was buried with a number of workers. That tunnel was closed, and the train is still there waiting for someone down the road to dig it out along with the bodies buried with it. Lots of good places to hear some music, and usually something interesting is going on there- and this weekend was no exception.  

Went to the Food Truck Festival at the 17th Street Farmers Market in Shockoe Bottom. Along with a slew of food trucks (with some massive lines), there was a fine selection of Virginia craft beers. I do have to say this state has some really fine beer, and some of them are really interesting. Nice to have some different alternatives to check out when out for a "barley pop". Music was also very good, enjoyed that a great deal-Richmond is a great place if you like good food, beer and music, so we got along just fine this weekend. Crowd was pretty massive for this event-I was impressed.      

Heading back to the apartment, saw this Ford's near the Stone House at Forest Hill Park, and had to get a photo. Really nice job on these three old classics, and I tend to like historic things, and these certainly fill the bill.
Good times (to say the least) in Richmond this weekend.  Saturday and Sunday were a great deal of fun, and got to see some interesting things both new and old to me here in the city. Trick with any place is to get out and see what it has to offer, and Richmond certainly has a lot of that. Not hard to have a good time in the RVA if you get out and see what it has to offer.

Forest Hill Farmers Mkt/Twisted Kilt (May 19, 2012)

Sort of getting back in touch with my "inner Richmond" this weekend-have not been doing stuff in the city of late, but plan to make up for that. Got out this morning to one of my favorite things- The Forest Hill Farmers Market which you can see at left. Fine day being both sunny and not too warm, and enjoy wandering around there. That is a great park (my favorite in the RVA) and as you can see a lot of people had the same idea. I do want to mention that on my "Racing with the Wind" page I also made a stop at Colonial Harley-Davidson, and Commonwealth Power Sports, had a great time there as well. 
   

 One of the many things I like at the Farmers Market is that it is very dog friendly. You see a lot of people with dogs, and that is very, very cool. I also enjoyed some great music -there were three guitarists, and all of them were worth kicking back and listening to. Crowd is also fun to check out and the food is really good to check out as well.

 While out, went to a place near Commonwealth Power Sports called "The Twisted Kilt". Enjoyed a Legend Brown Ale there, and they have a fine beer selection, as well as ( I am told) some really good (but rather expensive) food. The bar is located right next to Commonwealth Power Sports, and I went by there with one of my bosses at work (he met me there, not being a real motorcycle person). Lots of televisions and some good stuff to see on them- it has a real sports bar theme. Typically Richmond friendly and though a chain (talked  to a Navy buddy, they are in Atlanta) very nice indeed. 

They just opened on Tuesday, and got this photo (another person was taking this picture next to me, could not resist) but a really good time. Richmond is a very fun place, and looking forward to tomorrow, cause I am going to the Food Truck event at the 17th Street Farmers Market and will be bringing some of that here in tomorrow's post.
Work has been pretty wild of late, a lot of long hours, and some tough days, so nice to have a weekend such as this to get out and enjoy some of the good things that Richmond has to offer. This is a very interesting and fun town, if you get out and experience it!

NC Transportation Museum, Spencer NC (May 12, 2012)

 On the way home from Richmond, VA, made a stop at the NC Transportation Museum. Went there to see the Carolina Classic Motorcycle Show (a photo from that can be seen on my "Racing with the Wind" blog) but it also happens to be one of my favorite museums in North Carolina. The Museum was once a working train yard which was donated to the state, and has a number of interesting planes (such as this replica of the Wright Flyer which was once displayed at Kitty Hawk), a fine car collection, some cars, and a fine collection of trains. The museum charges $5 admission, $10 if you want to ride the train.

 This photo was taken in the Roundhouse, which happens to be one of the oldest and largest. Like many of the trains, it is operational. You see trains in the museum from all sorts of time periods, and there are also a number of train cars to check out. One really notable one was owned by The Duke Family which was famous in NC for founding a tobacco empire and also Duke University. Many of the trains and cars you can tour inside, and as I have noted there is a train you can ride (which changes every few weeks). The museum holds a number of special events covering all sorts of methods of transport. 

Once working shops, trains are still maintained and restored by volunteers in the actual shops they used when it was a working rail yard. They are constantly changing and updating the exhibits and the museum. I am looking forward to the upgrades planned in the future, which will include the restoration of a DC-3 that has been going on for quite a while.
The museum is located on I-85 near Spencer, NC and also has a very fine web site if you need more information. It is well worth a visit if you are in the area, and pretty much offers something for everyone no matter what your interest.

National Air and Space Museum, Chantilly, VA

On Saturday April 28, got in the car and went rolling up I-95 to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, National Air and Space Museum at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va. I was inspired by seeing film of the landing of the Space Shuttle Discovery (and that is yours truly next to the shuttle at left). I have been close to them before-saw Atlantis a few years ago from a couple of miles away on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida (but did not get to see the launch a few days later). I am a huge fan of aviation, and this was like a journey to Mecca for me-just a remarkable and amazing collection of air and spacecraft in this center. Many places make history come alive, but this was a place where these items made history-some of them were the only one of their kinds, and many of them took actual parts in the wars, or set the records that made them famous. Military craft, civilian craft and in some cases just some unusual craft were a part of what I saw.     

 Take this place for instance. Its the Aichi M6A Seiran, and the last remainder of a wild story. Near the end of World War II these planes were built. They could be folded up, and were carried on giant Japanese submarines. Near the Panama Canal, they were to be launched and the plan was they would bomb the locks of the canal, and shut it down. Later they changed the target to an American Pacific base to attack carriers of the US fleet. However, on the way to do that, they got word the war ended (partly due to the action of the B-29 Enola Gay which dropped the first atomic bomb, and that plane is also on display at the center). 

Or take this plane..the Me-163 Komet. You are looking at the only rocket powered fighter aircraft ever used in war. Not a very good fighter (it shot down a total of nine-sixteen aircraft aircraft) though some 300 were built, but it did have a top speed of around 698 mph. There was nothing else that could catch it. Very few remain, and this is the only one I have ever seen in person. A difficult plane to fly, it only had power for some seven minutes, and then would glide to a landing.  In the photo you can see the plane and the engine. The wheels dropped off at launch, and it landed on its belly skid (just above the wheels.  

The museum is not all military aircraft..for instance there is the Concorde airliner (this one was donated by Air France). It was also flown by the British and was for a long time the fastest way to cross the oceans with a top speed of 1,350 mph. The Russians built a SST, the TU-144, but it was not nearly as successful. One major crash in Paris, France (at takeoff) doomed the plane though, which was retired in 2003. One of the routes it flew was to Dulles International Airport which is where the museum is located. I liked the photo at left as you can see how many of the planes are shown. It is on three levels, and you can easily get a very good look at everything. Getting there is easy from Richmond, and the only cost is a $15 parking fee (there is no admission charge). There is an excellent web site with more information, and also information on the other part of the museum which is located at the National Mall in Washington, DC and that is where I will be heading in the very near future. I had a remarkable time at this amazing museum-and am sure while I am in Richmond I will be making a return visit to this one as well.  

To the Mountains (April 19-20, 2012)

Patty and I took a nice trip to the mountains starting on April 19. We made a stop to Lake Lure, NC, which is a beautiful place. There you can see amazing Lake Lure (which also has a beach) and Chimney Rock State Park. The area has been the site for filming a couple of very good movies-Dirty Dancing and The Last of the Mohicans. We have had some great times there, this visit was short as our ultimate destination was the Asheville, NC area, but great to stop in. Often have ridden my motorcycle to the area, noted that they are now enforcing sound laws on motorcycles-going to see more of that coming to more areas.  

Had a great time (as always) in Asheville, NC. This is a sight of some of this very interesting city. One of ours (and a favorite city for many)  it offers great food, interesting people, some fun sights and some outstanding music. If you like history, this town has it as well. Visited The Grove Arcade downtown (also the amazing Grove Park Inn, though we did not stay there), wandered downtown. Want to give a shout out to the Moose Cafe, which is part of the WNC Farmers Market-enjoyed a pair of outstanding meals there. Just a fun city to explore and to be in, and of course its the home of America's largest house, the epic Biltmore estate.

What we really came to see though are those remarkable mountain views and to drive my favorite road in North Carolina-The Blue Ridge Parkway. Did not go as far along it this trip (last trip we drove it from Asheville, NC to Blowing Rock, NC) but we marveled at the sights along its length. The road offers a lot of beauty, the chance to see all sorts of nature and wildlife, and some remarkable scenery at every twist and turn.
I always thought living in North Carolina and being a big fan of the sea (being a former employee of the US Navy some years ago) but its the mountains that have really captured my interest over the years here. There are few places in my opinion to visit with as much to offer as Asheville, NC has, though Chimney Rock and for the matter Blowing Rock, NC (which is still undergoing some serious road construction so we avoided that area for this trip) are also remarkable places to visit. More photos from the trip can be found on my Flickr Photo page. This trip made for the highlight of my vacation this week!    

Exploring "The Carolinas" (April 15-16, 2012)

Wanted to toss this in, you see things like this in the Concord area often thanks to the racetrack, in this case the DirecTV Blimp which was covering the drag races at Z-Max Dragway over the weekend. It was the Four Wide Nationals and while I did not go to the race, did enjoy the sound of it (awesome, even from a distance) and the sight of this air ship in the skies of Concord. There are three racetracks within walking distance of each other: Z-Max, The Dirt Track, and Charlotte Motor Speedway. Seems always to be something exciting going on at one of them at any given time.    

Made a motorcycle ride to Kings Mountain Battlefield Park which is just across the border in South Carolina off of I-85 at Exit 2. The battle was held on October 9, 1780 and was a big victory over British forces (actually a lot of Tories if you are a student of history) lead by a British commander. This monument was put up by the local area. Each side had around 1,000 troops with the US forces coming from many places but especially Tennessee, Virginia and "Carolina". It was fought on the mountain with some very wooded, rugged and steep terrain, and was a very difficult battle for both sides.
The British forces had to face well protected forces which mainly shot behind trees.  
This monument was put up by local cities in the area, I believe if I remember right around 1890. Thought it was very cool, and that is my riding buddy Phil sitting on the base of it there. It was a hot day. 

 This is the US monument to Kings Mountain, kind of a small version of the Washington Monument. As I noted, though a paved trail runs around the battlefield, it is some rugged ground, with a lot of up and down hill sections.
Herbert Hoover was there for the dedication of the battlefield, and it brought a pretty massive crowd.
There is also a small museum there at the Visitor Center, which also has some weapons from the era, and even some uniforms (uniforms are replicas).
I like the ride there, also the fact it is free is pretty cool. Nice to have historic sites such as this, and especially going so far back o the early days of the US. Like Virginia, North and South Carolina have a long history.  

Finally, this is the gravesite of the British commander Col. Patrick Ferguson, who was killed during the battle on October 7, 1780 and is buried at this spot. He was wearing a bright red and white shirt and made a rather easy target according to accounts of the day.
South Carolina is a fun place to visit, and I enjoy my trips there. I don't get there as often as I would like due to my current living situation, but never have a bad time in that state.
South Carolina also has some of the lowest gasoline prices in the US. That is worth noting as well!