Back To Carolina (August 3-4, 2013)

 My girlfriend, dog and I all went to Carolina to see my son. I used to live there (and Richmond) now its Richmond only, but still good to be home. Had not been there in a few months. Saw some new stuff such as photo at left...Veterans Park in Kannapolis, NC. I also saw the Dale Earnhardt Statue there and even met his Mom who was there (and that was pretty cool). There are photos of that in other posts, but a nice thing to see, as was this fairly new park. I think it was dedicated around a year ago. Always some interesting stuff to see there, area tends to go through some changes pretty often.

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 Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC is many times the center of the universe in the region and the area is a hub of the motorsports industry...at least when that is NASCAR. Not just race shops but also NASCAR facilities and of course a lot of places selling race items. I don't think any of the shops are open on weekends - least some of them might be but none we went by, but as noted earlier some older posts have views inside those race shops. In addition to this track there is the Dirt Track and the 4-Wide Dragstrip. Racing is popular in Concord, NC.  

 This was inside the Yankee Candle Shop which was having a Halloween theme for Saturday inside the giant Concord Mills complex. My girl really enjoyed that, and I have to say it is a hell of a thing. Kind of a sad thing in that Concord Mills is the #1 Tourist Attraction in the state, but it is...and is a remarkable thing. This was a no tax weekend so it was even more packed to the gills than usual. Nice place to walk on a very hot day though - is air conditioned after all, and indoors. There are some interesting shops, and it is over a mile walk around its trace track like shape. As noted at left, you do see some interesting things there.   

Headed back to Virginia on August 4 but did make a stop in Durham, NC...a very cool city. This is the bull from the movie Bull Durham. Though they have changed the ballpark to a newer one, they kept the bull, and neat to see that. There is a lot of interesting things to see in that area, both the ballpark, and the old American Tobacco building. They have some really interesting sights there as well.
It was great to be "home" again, nice to visit and see all the sights I remember, the food I used to enjoy and also to see my son. We had a great time during the short visit, and I am looking forward to returning again in the next few weeks!

Appomattox and Lynchburg, VA (July 20, 2013)

 Took a ride to the Lynchburg area with Kaye (who rode her Harley) on a nice but very warm and humid Saturday. Took this photo at Appomattox, this is the very house where the surrender was signed. I actually later took a nice photo of the people in this photo (from Canada) and they took a nice photo of Kaye and me in front of the house. Amazing that these sights are still here, glad that Virginia has done so well keeping this and many other Civil War sites up...it is remarkable to see the places where history happened and to see largely what they saw when all this was going on.  

 This is the room where General Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General Grant. The tale of the surrender was amazing, General Grant gave Lee some very generous terms which later on always stuck with Lee. In fact he would tolerate no negative terms of Grant in his presence.
I have seen paintings of this room but it is remarkable to stand in the very place. Not sure the furniture is the actual furniture....as with all armies after the surrender much of the furnishings were taken as trophies of the event. It was a monumental event in the history of the US ending a very terrible war.   

Speaking of war, this is the War Memorial in Lynchburg, VA. Went there to see this (which started out as a WW1 Memorial and then was added too) but a bit different. We spent some time walking around, stopped into a restaurant on the shores of the James River.
Lynchburg is a very cool town, I have been there a long time ago (well a few years) but nice to be back though the visit was short. Due to the heat we did not stay standing real long...felt better to have the breeze and be moving on the bikes. It was cool though and had a good time on the ride which covered some 260 miles in all. Great company was also a wonderful thing!
Love this part of Virginia and will be back again. I think  it will be remarkable in the fall, and really looking forward to that...both the fantastic colors and the cooler temperatures.
Hope you enjoy these photos though, and look forward to my next adventure in the RVA.

Ride to Yorktown (July 6, 2013)

 Rode with a female friend (who rode her Harley Heritage) to Yorktown. Went via Highway 5, very scenic and went past a number of plantations. It sure beat my previous two trips via I-64. Also of note, this time it was both warmer (in fact it was very hot and humid) and there was a crowd there on the beach and in town (last trip earlier this year was almost empty). Neat having a beach this close and of course in one of the most historic places in America. This is the city where the Revolutionary War ended. They also have some very old buildings dating to the 1700's...a cool place to explore and not far from RVA.  

 Second photo is on the Jamestown Ferry, we left Yorktown on the bikes, rode the Colonial Parkway (just an amazing road) to Jamestown and got on the ferry.
The ferry is free and crosses the water (not sure what water, but it took about 20 minutes to do so) to the other side. Was cool getting loaded on there and enjoyed the view as we went.
As I noted was my first time to do this, had a great time on board. Nice views and even got to go past Jamestown (which you can see in the last photo below. 

Jamestown is a very historic place, and I have been there before as well, and it is seen at left. As for me, we rode back via Highway 10 which again was a very scenic route past a lot of farms, more plantations, and light traffic.
Spent a lot of time there, did not bring stuff to get wet in the York River (damn the bad luck!) but sure was nice there. Looking forward to the next visit there, it was a great deal of fun.
 

Visit to the Ville II (June 29-July 3)

 End of June to early July took a road trip to Louisville, Kentucky. Made a visit to the State Capital there in West Virginia, a very cool place with a lot to see. Dog needed a walk and I thought that would be a good place to do it as I love that golden dome. They have a museum there which I have also seen in the past, but made a short visit this time to the grounds. Traffic was bad there due to road construction but trip overall was very good and did not take long to get to Louisville which is some 550 miles from Richmond.
Weather was really good though it was hot and humid. Strange week weather wise during the entire trip, had a lot of big storms and some high heat and humidity as the nation was in a wild sort of weather pattern (temperatures over 100-120's out in the West) but did have a few sunny periods and in fact even a couple of rain free days.
Good time on the road trip with my traveling companion, Mollie the Border Collie!  

This is Louisville from the Indiana side....only a short distance across the Ohio River divides the two places. They have a lot of things in common though, and the interests of Louisville are certainly tied into those of Southern Indiana.
Things have been slow in the area and still looks as though the economy has not taken off, though it is showing signs from the things I saw of starting to really improve.
A number of cool things continue to happen. Many places have opened up, and a number of new things are happening. They are finally starting construction on the bridges across the river!

 This is one old bridge....it was an old railroad bridge which was known as the "Bridge to Nowhere" for a number of years. Now they have lined it with concrete and have a walkway to get up on it...where you get a nice walk and a fantastic view of the Ohio River. Soon it will go all the way to the Indiana side where you can walk across it, but right now that work is not yet done, but here on the Kentucky side the bridge is up and running.
I went there twice once alone and once with the grandkids, and had a great time both times. Glad to finally see this project done!

 Very old airport here is Bowman Field, and it goes way back. It is the smaller of the Louisville airports and is not far from the massive Standiford Field which is Louisville's main airport (and I believe the largest in Kentucky).
A lot of history in Bowman Field...plus I remember my father taking me here years ago. Always have been a big fan of aviation and it is good to see this place again. Second visit to the city this year, and this also is my second visit to the airport.
Not just the terminal but many of the buildings around it are historic...you get a good look at the early days of aviation here.   

Finally, got this photo of the Shenendoah Valley in Virginia on the way back to Richmond. Took this from one of the lookouts on I-64. Though it has a small section of road that turns into I-77 (which of course has toll booths...as you could figure) I-64 links both Richmond and Louisville. Both being river towns and big on reusing older buildings, they have a lot in common.
At any case, back now and will have a lot of great memories after seeing  family and friends during this visit. Looking forward to my next time there, and hope it is soon!

Petersburg, Va (June 16, 2013)

 Another Fathers Day, another motorcycle ride, this time to Petersburg, VA. Went to a few other places, but really enjoyed the ride here. This place has a lot of history, and have been there a few times before though not for awhile and certainly not this year. This church for instance dates to the Civil War and Confederate troops used the clocks on top to keep track of time in the trenches. There is a lot of stuff from that period and some really cool houses as well around downtown. Rode around a bit before heading back and enjoyed the visit.
Much of the movie "Lincoln" was shot there, saw that from some signs in some of the buildings in the Old Petersburg section. Also has what look to be some good places to eat and its just an interesting place to spend a little time exploring.
Petersburg is either the last exit before you get to I-85 or virtually the first exit on I-95, depending on your direction.    

This was also downtown...a very old and restored steam engine, though not used for a train (I think). There are also a number of battlefields in Petersburg from the Civil (and for that matter Revolutionary) War. It is a well worth a visit or two - just a fun place to check out.
On the way back, instead of taking I-95 went on the Jefferson Davis Highway; I have ridden a lot of that road (runs though Richmond and area) and rode a few days ago that road from Ashland, VA (in the North) to Richmond, but Petersburg to Richmond was a first. Got to see some more new sections of that very interesting road.

Walk in the Park and out on the Motorcycle (June 15)

Beautiful day in Richmond after some big storms last week, but did enjoy a morning visit to the South of the James Farmers Market in Forest Hill Park. This by the way is just part of the reason it has that name. Had a good time there, and there is always a lot of things to see there, and of course...buy there. Not just food either, but also food trucks on hand, live animals and all sorts of things for sale. It is one of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning and nice to have a walk nearby and so much to see and check out. I really look forward to this event and enjoy my visits there.  

 Took my dog with me, dogs are often seen at the Market. Funny in that she is not good with people or other dogs for some reason, but has a good time at this event. So take it from her, a great place to visit. Here you can see some of the booths there, it covers a pretty wide area and also has a number of people playing music and that is also very cool. It has a really  good web site if you need more information.
The Park itself is also pretty remarkable, has a big lake down the hill with "Catch and Release" fishing, and dates from many years ago. A favorite place I have a number of photos on this site and you can see a number of photos of it there.
As noted in previous posts, they also often have free music on Sundays...some of the bands have been really, really good, and draw some really nice crowds. I have also taken the dog to some of those, and like the South of the James Farmers Market she liked that too!  

 Got out on the motorcycle on this very beautiful day, spent some time in Carytown...where I got this photo of Cary Court. Nice place to visit with a bunch of interesting shops and restaurants. I made a return visit to Mellow Mushroom Pizza, have been a big fan of that since my days in Asheville, NC (we also had one in Charlotte) and there are now two in Louisville, Ky (and will be visiting that in a few weeks). Good pizza and a great beer selection as well. Carytown is a fun place to visit as well, and often go by there when I am out on the motorcycle...though doing that to a lot of places. 

Petty Driving Experience was at Richmond International Raceway today...I have done it before in Charlotte (where I did the Ride along as well as actually driving one of the cars). Today was mostly just to watch....had not been to the track since a visit a few weeks ago for some outside photos during a concert...but today I went in to watch them run and to smell the burning rubber. It was a really nice day in the RVA.
This is the last actual weekend of Spring, Summer officially starts on June 21. Actually has gotten here earlier as we have had some hot and humid days this month, but not today...was very pleasant..and fun!

Bacon and Taters (June 9, 2013)

Thought I would just post these today, for info on the motorcycle ride that was part of this, see my "Racing with the Wind" page. This was at the 1st Annual Bacon Festival in Shockoe Bottom. I read that the size of the crowd surprised the organizers, surprised me and others too. Lines, at least early on went on and on. I did not get to sample any of the treats on sale, nor any of the beer (damn the luck, though did get to Legend Brewing Company later on for a Golden Ale, so that worked out) but it was one impressive event. People not lined up were shoulder to shoulder..I guess its true, "Everyone loves bacon." 

Later in the evening, went over to Forest Hill Park to see local RVA band "The Taters" and enjoyed them a lot. Went with my dog who is usually not very good at such events (being a hell of a music critic, she tends to bark) but she was very good at this show. They do a good mix of songs, though mostly older type rock and roll. Course, I like older type rock and roll, so I had a good time. There was also a very good crowd there for this show (larger than usual, and usual is usually pretty good) . I enjoy the musical events held in the park (usually on Sunday's) and was also glad that it both cooled down a little bit from the heat of the day, and the storms in the area avoided the park during the show. Was a dry weekend (except Saturday morning here) but really hot and humid. Rains are on the way back in here as I write this on Sunday night.