A Blast from the Past...Two Weeks in Norfolk, VA

My first, no make that my only previous time spent in Virginia has been a two week period around 1983. I got into the Naval Reserve to make some extra money. Having spent four years in the Navy back in the late 70's, it was a job that I could do, and I had some fun experiences from those days. I had somewhat forgotten what it was like to actually be back in the Navy....in fact shortly after the trip to Virginia I resigned from the reserves (could do that as I had filled all of my Naval service requirements prior to that period. Virginia though was not the problem at all. In fact, overall (other than the military part of it) I had a very good time there. I took the photo at left at the Naval Base. As I remember it was April and the weather was wild. I can remember it being very cold some days and wore heavy coats, I also had a few days with t-shirts and shorts. The base was remarkable, easily the largest Naval base I had ever been on. The "pier" seemed to go on forever, and there were ships of all types along its huge length. Massive buildings (I worked in the Naval Supply Center which was also huge) and a great area from the pier to the main gate. It was a very cool place.

I made some good friends there, had a buddy named "Converse" and another named Jim (thats Jim in the photo below). Jim was from of all places, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He thought it was a great place to live and work. I on the other hand worked in Louisville, Kentucky, and at the time....well, lets just say the part time job in the Reserve was not out of a sense of fun. Anyhow, we went to Virginia Beach (where the second photo was taken) and had a good time there. It was an interesting town, very crowded on the main streets, but we liked the beaches. Due to the weather that day there were very few in the water.
I also remember going to (what I believe was called) the Azalia Festival. That was cool, had a German Naval Ship there, a Renaissance Festival, and they had a huge airshow (on a hot day) at the Naval Air Station. The planes put on a remarkable display, and could really do some flying over the Atlantic Ocean. We also (being sailors of a sort) some exploring of the local nightlife. I remember a few places we went to, but they were largely the normal rock and roll dives of the period. Listened to some music, and enjoyed some of the local beverages that the locals offered to sell us (for a nominal fee). As far as fun things to do, I think we got in more than our share.

My early impressions of Virginia were that it was a fun and interesting place. I did not return for a long time; really until I came back here. When going to Louisville via Charlotte there are two routes; one is through Tennessee, the other is via Virginia and West Virginia to Louisville. I can go up I-77 into West Virginia and pick up I-64 which runs into Louisville, Kentucky. It is a little longer than the I-40 route, requires the payment of tolls, but is a easier drive. Funny thing about I-64, not only does it run into Louisville, Kentucky, but taken in the other direction it runs straight into....Richmond, VA.

Some notes on Richmond, VA

A very productive day yesterday, in that I got my actual address of the apartment which will be home for the next three years. With that,

will be able to get the power changed over (though not yet, people living there now) and also was able to find what internet providers provide service as an exact address is needed. Much like the Charlotte move, the internet has been a real good tool. I have been able to get a great deal of information on many necessary things from the web. Great sources of information are the local newspapers (always good for many points of information), various web sites (some good and some not so good) and for this transfer bloggers. I have gotten a real feel for parts of the city by reading blogs. Of course some are shall we say "artistic" to a point that its difficult to figure out what they are actually about, but even some of those are pretty informative. The web is a great tool though once again as it has been in the past. Back in the Navy days, different places were learned about via asking people who had been there, and of course books. All those are still important, and have been lucky to get information from those sources as well.

Of course, while all that is good, nothing beats actually being there. This photo above was another taken during the November 8-9 trip, and is of downtown Richmond. It was interesting to me in that the two large buildings are Bank of America in the center, and Wachovia to its left. Funny, in that the two largest buildings (or at least Bank of America is) are those same banks.

Charlotte is a town I have really enjoyed exploring....one which calls itself the city of the "New South." Constantly growing and adding to itself, the skyline of Charlotte is dotted with overhead cranes and new construction. Charlotte looks at an old building and sees a condo, or a NASCAR Hall of Fame (opening soon) or a new arena. Going to Charlotte after a few weeks, one is struck with the changes you discover. Charlotte is like a thing alive, constantly changing.

Richmond on the other hand, seems to change much slower. Both Charlotte and Richmond are older cities; both have history dating back to the American Revolution (though Richmond is much older I believe). Richmond though uses its old buildings in new ways. There are few old things in Charlotte that one can point too, but Richmond has a great many old buildings. That gives the city a certain charm I am used to. Louisville, Kentucky where I am from has a lot of older buildings as well. I often visit Louisville, and am sure to have some photos of that city on my Flickr page. You can also see some photos of Charlotte there as well on my page, in addition to many of the Richmond photos.

My next visit to Richmond will be the first weekend in February. That is also when I will be moving into the apartment; before that have to get some items for "the second household" and also of course will be doing more research. More on that in an upcoming post.

Countdown To Richmond (January 1,2009)

Took this photo in McAdenville, NC; have been in Concord for ten years but have never driven to see the lights in "Christmas Town, USA". Got to say it was well worth the ride. Have had (still a few more days off) a very fine break from work over the holidays; got in some good motorcycling, had a nice Christmas with my wife, son and two border collies, and have been able to do some serious research on the upcoming move.

I spend a bit of time every day reading The Richmond-Times Dispatch on line....getting as much of a feel for the local Richmond region as possible. I have been getting some information on a small truck to move the things I will be taking there, and also have been looking some at things I will need to get to make life better there. Having just made a move from Louisville, KY to Concord, NC 10 years ago, I do have some idea of what all will be involved in the move. Doing this is never easy.....a great deal of unknowns will happen along the way. I did enjoy the trip there in mid-December, and the company gave me a good book full of information on the job which will be a huge help while I am there. Got to say, they are doing a much better job than they did 10 years ago. That move really was a mystery.

Richmond looks to be a really interesting place. I did read this week that parts of an old hotel downtown fell onto the street (just a few bricks). A blogger noted that the hotel was built in 1929, and was one of downtown's "newer" hotels. For sure to be the age of the city is certainly part of its charm. I do like older towns; spent some time on the motorcycle this week in Salisbury, NC an old town in North Carolina (dating back to the 1700's, heavily damaged in the Civil War) and fun to see the older areas. I like to explore and am looking forward to doing some of that in Richmond, which appears to have a lot to see.

I will be there in six weeks from today. There is a lot to do in that time, and will be working to get things ready for the transfer. Will be more difficult this time as my family is staying here, and I will be doing this solo....but will be home on (hopefully most) weekends. Patty and I though do have plans for her to make some trips there, and together we will also do some exploring of the Richmond area. It ought to be a lot of fun, hopefully the three years I will be spending there will be just that!

Visit Two and the Tacky Lights Tour

Made my second trip to Richmond, VA on December 13+14. The company put together a bus trip with a tour of the factory. This factory is older than where we currently work, was a bit more crowded, and has a mix of older equipment with new machinery. They are planning to combine production at the older plant; but it looked real nice, and certainly will be interesting working there. We were (some 140 of us) all greeted by employees holding signs, and they did a good job of answering questions and making us feel welcome. Got a nice tour of the plant.

They also put us up at the Embassy Suites on Broad Street, which is a nice hotel, and had a reception for us. We went back on the busses at 8pm for "The Tacky Lights Tour" which is a Richmond tradition and has sights such as the photo you see here. Really enjoyed that a great deal, and found the lights tour to be a great deal of fun. It also was neat to get another look at some of the neighborhoods in Richmond, which was a side benefit to the lights.

Following breakfast at the hotel, we rolled out around 9am. As I found before, it was a relaxed sort of trip via bus, and Sunday morning traffic was not bad as we rolled down I-95. Like a great puzzle, got a few more pieces to put together, as the move to Richmond in February gets closer. Enjoyed the second visit to the city though, and will have a few weeks before I return again; next time to be there with the items I will need to live there in early February.

To all of you, I wish you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

Richmond, Part II (The November 8-9 trip)

I have been thinking all week about the trip to Richmond. I took these two photos downtown of the city. As I noted, really reminds me a great deal of my home town of Louisville. Much different then Charlotte which has a very new feel and look. In Charlotte they don't reuse old things; they knock them down and build new things on top of the old. Charlotte is also a much larger city in area. However, it does remind me a great deal of the Derby City as I noted. Louisville does mix the new with the old, it is also located on a river, and uses the river a great deal. In the case of the Ohio River, that is a transportation link, as well as a entertainment center. I am hearing that the James River has much the same function in Richmond.

I am an avid motorcyclist, and among the many things I will miss will be my motorcycle. I liked this photo of the bike rolling down the street between the old buildings. It was fun walking about the town, though I did notice in the area there were police warnings that the area was being "patrolled" and that people should lock cars and keep items out of view (which is always a good idea no matter what city you find yourself in). However I do need to note that a lot of people were wandering around, and I never felt in danger. Patty was also very comfortable in Richmond. I think it will be a fun city to explore, having three years to check it out will be a lot of fun.

Found a very inexpensive apartment. Not looking forward to apartment living, having been in a house for the last 15 years or so. I did enjoy them when I was younger, but you can deal with a lot when you are in your 20s and early 30s. Still I have mostly happy memories. As for my place, will be stocking it with an old tv, a boom box, some old furniture and a day bed. I also have an old chair and ottoman. I will need to get a few things, but mostly will be using stuff from here (older stuff). Least it will be items that should something happen, will be no big loss (and will be sure to have renters insurance). So that at least will be of little concern. In fact while I will need a truck to take it there, plan to bring little if any back. I also have an old computer that I will be taking along.

Car is somewhat of a concern, being 9 years old (but ok on miles) with the definite plus that the drive is flat as a pancake. I expected some hills or mountains, but none going there at all. Traffic is also not too bad (least not so far). I was told I-95 is a real nightmare, but did not see it; yet anyhow.

Next few weeks will be getting the few things I need together, and getting things ready for the February move. Sure will be interesting. Know I can do it, was a regular thing in the Navy, and with my company this will be my third factory in 17 years. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

Richmond: Visit One (November 8-9,2008)

My wife Patty and I made the first ride to Richmond from Concord, NC on the morning of November 8. It was a pleasant drive, traffic was not bad, road construction on I-85 was minimal. It was a beautiful drive in that the trees were in full color. The route is flat which was also a surprise, no mountains to cross and covered the distance in slightly under four hours.
First project was to find where I was going to be working (which was easy, its right on I-95) and then looked for an apartment as close to the factory as I could find. I looked at four apartments, two were nothing to bother with, but two were really nice. I ended up with an apartment in Midlothian. Its a nice area, though feel like it has seen better days. There is an abandoned mall nearby, but its being re-developed (which seems to be a hallmark of Richmond, a city which recycles its old buildings and puts them to other uses), and a lot of new businesses in that area. Overall it looked like a good area to live. I also liked the condition of the roads, and the fact that its less than 10 miles from work. Looks to be an easy commute, though that remains to be seen when I actually start working in February.
Having located the apartment, rode downtown. Noted that a big difference between the Charlotte area and Richmond is that Richmond is much more compact. Charlotte covers a lot more area than Richmond, so driving distances are shorter. The roads were in very good shape, and signs make it real easy to get where you are going (in Charlotte, its best to have a good idea where you are headed...signage is not very good in much of the city). I rode through Richmond a couple of times, also got out and walked in the area of the train station downtown. There was also a very nice farmers market there, as well as some clubs and restaurants. As noted many were in older buildings which once had other uses, many area warehouses were also converted into apartments. I got a good first impression of the city from the short visit there. Richmond had a lot in common with Louisville, which is my hometown area (moved to Concord, NC from there 10 years ago) which does many of the same things. Louisville is (though today mostly was) like Richmond a "factory town". A lot of industry is located on the outskirts of Richmond, many of those are major city employers.
We had a hotel in Chester. Stayed at the Comfort Inn at Exit 61A, I enjoyed the time spent there. Very nice hotel, very friendly staff. I would for sure give it two thumbs up, and would stay there again. We were pretty tired from the driving and the walking so though a city with great places to eat (we are told anyhow) settled for a Chili's in Chester. However, got to say again that it was great with very good service, and was a good lucky choice for some tired travelers.
My first impressions of the city are very positive, and a lot of things that I have been told did not seem to be true. Though my first visit in what will be a three year adventure, it is certainly off to a good start.
As for the photo above, took that downtown. I have seen that view before in some web searches, and was good to see it live. I hope to have some more photos here from my visit, and also of more to come as I check out the city that will be my "part time" home for the the next three years starting in mid-February of 2009.

Getting the Call

Its been a difficult year and a half. When the company announced the closing of the factory (which will put some 1500 out of work sometime next year) they also announced transfers to Richmond VA. I have already been through one which happened some 10 years ago and brought me to North Carolina with my family. It has been a very interesting time, and we have enjoyed the area, and put down roots here.

The photo at left is of Grandfather Mountain, taken from the Blue Ridge Parkway where I took my motorcycle on the day that I got the word that my number had come up, and I would be going to Richmond, VA starting on February 16. We plan to stay here, so my wife son, and dogs (as well as the motorcycle) will remain here. I will be getting an apartment in Richmond, and commuting back to North Carolina on (most hopefully) weekends. This will go on for three years when I will be eligible for early retirement. The job has great benefits, and has been a good place to work; though it has come at a pretty good cost at times for sure.

I am looking at this as an adventure; a chance to explore a new area. Amazingly I have not been to Richmond, so will be going pretty much sight unseen (except for the wonders of the internet). I hope to share what its like to do something like this (again in my case, and many times in my life...did spend four years in the US Navy, so did some moving then).

Patty and I are planning a scouting trip to the city to see where the factory is, and also to check out some apartments. That will happen November 7-9 if all goes well. Will be back here with a report then!