From the Motorcycle Ride (September 7, 2013)

 Made a ride with Kaye on a beautiful Saturday in the RVA. Finally think that the oil leak on the bike has been fixed (thanks Ultimate Cycle, RVA) and we made a stop at Steel Horse Harley Davidson. Lots of cool bikes on display there plus food and a band....nice thing to check out. Used to love to visit those events in Carolina, fun to go to one here in the Richmond area. Steel Horse is located on Hull Street and had a good time checking out the sounds and the sights there. Soon we were riding again down 288 toward Short Pump - had a good place in mind to eat.  

Stopped at Buz and Ned's Real BBQ for lunch, one of my favorite places to eat on The Boulevard they opened this new and much bigger place just a while back. Had a great lunch there, though there is a lot of good BBQ in this city, I prefer Buz and Ned's. Wild riding in Short Pump as it is a huge shopping area and one of the busiest roads in the Richmond area, but sure a lot of things to see there. Some of the largest malls in Richmond can be found there, and its a good area to pay real close attention to your driving. Those we got there via 288 you can also get to Short Pump via Broad Street which runs though downtown Richmond.  

Went to a car show at Quaker Steak and Lube. Neat place in that I used to be at the one (its a chain) in Concord, NC - they had some of the most amazing Bike Nights I have ever been too. Told they are also pretty good here in Richmond (though have not made one...yet). We saw they had a car show and we turned out (were heading out of the area following lunch and rode back). I have some more photos on my "Racing with the Wind" page, but liked the doors on this car. Remarkable what people can do to their automobiles and just thought this was worth a photo.   

They also had some classic older cars, it was a pretty good car show. Had a good crowd there, and also a number of very interesting motorcycles on display as well. It was a very good ride and had a great time.
For the day, covered on the order of 100 miles and we had a great time on the bikes. Been awhile since I have been able to do that, and sure enjoyed being out on my bike (and having Kaye on hers) and looking very forward to the next ride in the area. Fall is coming and that means some of the best motorcycling of the year is not very far away! 

National Air and Space Museum (August 31, 2013)

 Was a remarkable time at the National Air and Space Museum on the last day of August....my first time to check out this remarkable place (though had been to the museum at Dulles Airport a few years ago, which is the other part of it. An amazing collection of historic air and spacecraft including these two: a left SpaceShipOne and at right the Bell X-1. SpaceShipOne was the first private spacecraft (and it won the X-Prize) and the X-1 was the first plane to fly supersonic. Two remarkable sights of many to be seen in the museum. It was a wonderful thing to be here.   

Plane at left is the Spirit of St. Louis which was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20-21, 1927 from New York to Paris. It was the first non-stop flight, and was one of the most amazing achievements in aviation in my opinion. A long solo flight in a plane with limited visibility ( he could not see from the front of the plane) and during a time when navigation by air in a plane was very, very basic. The place was custom built, had a top speed of around 130 and cruised around 100-110. Very cool that this aircraft can still be seen today, and enjoyed seeing it. 

Even more amazing is the Wright Flyer which flew from the sands of Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks of North Carolina on December 17, 1903 making the first four flights by a manned and controlled powered aircraft. Damaged  by winds at the end of the day, the plane was stored by the Wrights for 9 years, and then restored by Orville (Wilbur had died before it was displayed). The plane due to a dispute over the museum over who was first was displayed in England, but then when that was resolved was brought to the museum in 1948 and has been on display ever since.   

 Some of the older planes that lead to the planes of today are seen in the photo at left. One of my favorite scenes in the museum were the planes seen here. Most of the planes were grouped into eras or themes such as WWI planes, WWII, and different eras of spacecraft (the space craft went back to designs by Robert Goddard and also such spacecraft as the V-2 and Russian Rockets. There was even a Soyuz spacecraft (which was flown manned in space) which was cool because the Russians still fly that old design to this day.   

THIS was pretty cool, speaking of spacecraft an actual Lunar Lander. The Apollo test program went well during the on-orbit tests and this one was not needed so is in the museum, but it was a fully flight capable Lunar Lander. I had seen reproductions of the spacecraft, but never the real thing. A number of them, at least the lower (golden covered) sections are still sitting on the moon to this day. Those were the landing stages, the two crew men rode back to Apollo Command Modules in orbit (with the third crewman) after landing on the moon. A number of other spacecraft can been seen above the LM.    

Finally, here is yours truly standing in front of the Apollo 11 Command Module "Columbia" (the LM was "Eagle") which flew Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Mike Collins to the moon and back. Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969. Launched on the giant Saturn V rocket, this was the only portion to return to Earth. The US space program is planning to go back into space using spacecraft much along the lines of Apollo after a long period using the Space Shuttle with a number of designs undergoing design and development. All in all a most remarkable place to visit.

Washington, DC (August 30-September 1)

Made a trip with Kaye to Washington, DC on August 30, big goal (and subject of the next post) was to see the National Air and Space Museum in Washington (I had been to the part at Dulles Airport a few years ago)  but also made a stop at The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA. That is now an art gallery...but as seen at left was a torpedo factory back in WW2. Interesting place as was the city...lots of shops, places to eat and drink with very old buildings and even some cobblestone streets. A quick ride from the hotel via the Metro....very cool below and above ground subway.     

 As I noted, on August 31 went to the National Air and Space Museum; spent some remarkable time there. We also got  in a fine walk around DC starting with the nearby (from the museum) US Capital. Had the big MLK anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech a few days ago, so lots of barricades (which they were in the process of taking down) around the Capital, as well as a big stage. It was a very cool thing to actually see the Capital, and a very interesting building. In fact walking around Washington was a lot of fun even on a very hot and humid day, as there are a lot of really remarkable buildings. Glad to have the new camera as I zoomed in on some things I wanted to see, and also on some of the things that I normally could not see (like that statue on top of the Capital for instance, got a great shot of that). It was also handy for the White House and the Jefferson Memorial, as I could not get close to those due to the heat and distance. Had to pick and choose.  

Did go to see the WW2 Memorial, which was really something to see. It has two sides:  Atlantic and Pacific. Beautiful monument and got some good photos. Which reminds me, some photos besides these can be found on my Flickr Photo Page, took quite a few, including the air museum.
My grandfather went ashore on D-Day, and often talked of it. I think that he would have found this amazing, I certainly did. It is a huge debt that we owe the brave men and women who fought this war- and can be said that they literally saved the world from a remarkable and terrible horror.   

This is The Wall, the Vietnam Memorial. Very sad with all the names of those who died during this war. Vietnam happened just before my time, was over when I went into the military in  1975-1979 but think of all the people who gave all they had during this period.
A somber place, also had a monument to women soldiers and the men as well at the wall site, will get those on the photo page as well.
Spent a lot of time here just thinking and remembering..and giving silent thanks to those who are remembered on the Wall.    

Went to the Lincoln Memorial (remarkable) and also past the Washington Monument  (and as noted saw the White House and Jefferson Memorial from a distance) but really was impressed by the Korean War Memorial, which is certainly one of the most different and certainly striking of the ones out there. This is it at right, but also had a very neat reflecting pool with a wall that said "Freedom is not Free". Also the wall with this monument had no name but etched photos from the period. It was really a remarkable place to visit.
Of course, so was DC, and we had a great time here!    

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!