100+ in Charlotte, NC (June 30, 2012)

 Nice ride on the motorcycle, which I got on early on this Saturday morning, expecting temperatures to reach over 100 degrees and the heat index to beat those numbers (and as I write this, they did just that). Took this photo of Uptown Charlotte on Caldwell Street while I was out riding around the town. Like those early rides as a rule from a traffic standpoint, but on a blazing hot day such as today it was even more important. Even out in the breeze on a motorcycle, a hot breeze is a hot breeze. Had a warm engine between my legs and every so often the fan (its watercooled) would give me a hot blast.  

Still, it was nice to be out. I also made a stop to North Davidson, which is part of Charlotte, and a former mill town. I have a few more photos on my "Racing with the Wind" blog page. I like to stop at Growlers Pourhouse in Davidson, NC, but it was not yet open when I was in town, prior to 11am, and as the temperature rose to triple digits. I did get off the bike and wander around for a bit in this very interesting place and one of my favorite stops whenever I ride out near Charlotte, NC. It is a fun place to be and I had a great ride.
Read a while ago about the big storms that rolled through Richmond last night (my other home) and hope everyone there is doing ok...some 100,000 people in the Richmond area (650,000 total in VA) lost power from the storms, and are dealing with the same heat.
Off tomorrow on what will be a very interesting road trip, and look forward to sharing some photos and stories from that here.  

Gold Hill and Huntersville (June 23-24, 2012)

 Gold Hill, NC....interesting town which is a recreation of one of the first gold boom towns in the US. Gold was found in Cabarrus County in 1799, and this was another site where the metal was dug from the ground. You can see one of the old mine shafts there, plus some of the mining equipment. I went there for the classic motorcycle show, it is a favorite event of mine. I also went by a nearby R/C airfield, find motorcycles and aviation interesting, and enjoyed the visit to the town. There are also some neat shops and a nice place to eat to be found in Gold Hill, it is a nice place to take people when they come to the area.    

 These are just some of the Metrolina Greenhouses which is located on Concord-Huntersville Road. Think this is always a neat sight, and love riding my motorcycle on this road. It is amazing how the area has changed over the years, there is a lot of development in what was a nice backroad area to ride over the last few years. Still, its a fun area to ride, and Sunday was good time to do that.
Nice to get out in the early days of summer. Rather warm over the weekend, but still felt good when moving. Been a few hot days already, and a lot of warmer days coming up.  

Took this photo in Huntersville, NC. Nice town, which again has been growing by leaps and bounds. Quite an area of retail, but there is some interesting things to see too. I did enjoy the sculptures I saw (a metal working place) of some interesting items...I have some of those on my "Racing with the Wind" page, and also on the Flickr photo page.

Nice to be out and enjoyed riding in the country for a change (at least most of the time). Always get a kick out of how much this place changes in even a short time. Always something new to see when you get out in the region.

By the Water in the RVA (June 16, 2012)

 As is typical on a Saturday (well, most of them anyhow) went to Forest Hill Park to the Farmers Market there. Its a fun thing with food (including a lot of food truck and booths to purchase things to sample), but the park is also very nice. This is a view of the lake there; it was cleared off and basically re-done a few years ago. Nice place to relax and enjoy what was a very fine late June day in Richmond. Just a few days before the official start of Summer (which is Wednesday June 20) Richmond enjoyed low humidity and temperatures in the low 80's. That was a beautiful thing as well. 

I also drove out to the Pony Pasture, which is also off of Forest Hill Drive. This is one of Richmond's most popular parks with some nature trails, and of course one of the most remarkable views of the James River as seen at left. Being as there are rapids there, it is also where kayak's and big rubber rafts are launched for trips downriver (or upriver, not quite sure). There were quite a few there getting ready to go out. Sure was a peaceful place, no one was really making any noise and was certainly comfortable and content under the trees at this point. Lots of good places to sit, and sure enjoyed being there. Nice to have a nice quiet and peaceful weekend in Richmond-always something to do here (as there is in Charlotte) but its fun to just relax sometimes and just enjoy some of nature; and to slow down and take it all in.   

Taste of Charlotte (June 10, 2012)

 Sunday on June 10 was a good day for a motorcycle ride, especially for another Uptown Charlotte event. This one was Taste of Charlotte, especially good since just the week before I went to Broad Appetit in Richmond, VA. Parked the motorcycle uptown, and walked up to the event. I did see these horse and carriages (though you just see part of the other) and this old church with dates to the 1800's. Not nearly as much as Richmond, but there are some old things in Charlotte to see, and always some interesting ones. It is a fun town, and I have a good time there.   

Taste of Charlotte has been held since 1982. The event had a lot of neat things, kids play areas, bands, giveaways (you could even get a free haircut there), all sorts of beverages (including adult ones) bands, and some great good food from both national and local places to eat. As it was with Speed Street a few weeks ago, the crowd got real big real fast. It was easy to get up the street at first, harder to walk back when I left. Checked out a few things from the local restaurants and enjoyed the sights and the sounds to be found in the area. Some of the sounds were quite different. 

 Sure there was rock and roll, and country, but also music such as this Choral group which was doing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in period costume. In fact checked out a few tunes from this group, really something different. Fun of these events is to eat things you don't get every day, and to see some interesting things. This certainly fit the bill. Both the event in Richmond and here in Charlotte were a lot of fun. Good food is a wonderful thing, and its fun to explore some different things. One thing I liked for sure about the Charlotte event...the beer lines were a lot shorter, due to there being more places to get it.

Charlotte is an NBA town, had a big basketball display (where I got to measure up my size 11 against Kevin Durant's size 18). Had a lot of hoops set up, and quite a lot of basketballs in the air. Sure the Bobcats may not be very good, but they bring a lot of talented teams to town.
It was a good day, and I had a great time. Looking forward to the next event there, and also to what Richmond has to offer in the next few days.
Thanks for visiting this page. I have a few more photos on the "Racing with the Wind" page...always fun to share interesting things of note in both of my two cities!     

Farmers Mkt, Broad Appetit, and Columbus Ships (June 2-3, 2012

 Took this photo at Forest Hill Farmers Market, on June 2, 2012. I like this event,and have a great time there when ever I go. Its a neat thing, and draws quite a crowd every Saturday. If you like food, they have it. If you like music, they have that too. If you like just some completely different things that will catch your eye, open your wallet, and bring a big huge smile to your face this will do it. Just an amazing thing to experience. 

Likewise, on Sunday June 3, went to Broad Appetit which was held in downtown Richmond. Like the above, enjoyed that with a few thousand friends in Richmond. Again there were bands, and food, this time from some 60 restaurants, as well as bands, along with beer and wine (both from Virginia and very good if I do say so myself.
Did not just greatly enjoy the event itself, but also was fun to wander a bit around downtown Richmond, which is a place which has a great deal of history, and some interesting buildings to wander past, and to check out. This is a great and fun town to walk.

Liked this a great deal at Rocket's Landing in Richmond. So it goes like this..."in 1492, Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue", and these are replica ships of two of the fleet Columbus sailed to the new world..the Nina and the Pinta. Said to be exact copies and built as the Spanish built them this was very cool to see on the James River.
We had a good time there, went to Conch Republic and had a good dinner, and enjoyed happy hour as well (which they have after four PM on Sunday). Food is pretty good and like being out near the river with a great view of the city. Nice thing was it was not hot or humid on this day. I have to say, this was a very, very fine weekend in the RVA. 

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.