After being out of town on a rainy trip to Louisville, Kentucky for a few days, and after a day of rest took the motorcycle out on a Sunday ride. First stop was the Short Pump Town Center in Short Pump. Nice ride out there, and it was a great day for it. Humidity has been a bear the last week (both in Louisville and here) and that makes it not a great deal of fun riding.
This morning though it was nice and I enjoyed the ride out. Wandered around the mall for a bit which was not yet open as it was before noon, but a nice place to walk. In the Richmond area that is the big dog of shopping malls. Fun to look around and see what there was to see.
Stopped in to the Carolina Ale House which is in West Broad Village. That is just up the street from Short Pump Town Center. West Broad Village is a neat mix of retail and residential. They have places like it in other cities, both in Virginia and North Carolina. Sure there are others in many states.
Used to go to Carolina Ale House when I lived in Concord, NC and nice to see it here in Richmond. This opened up just a few months ago. Has an impressive beer selection, good food from what I have had so far, and nice people. I enjoy going there and getting a little taste of where I lived for 14 years before coming to Richmond.
A really good surprise while at the ale house was finding that Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden has free admission via a Facebook post. I have always wanted to see it but figured this is my chance. So rode out that (thanks to GPS on the phone) and wandered around for an hour. It was really, really impressive and I enjoyed seeing all the things they had to offer. Told it is really impressive around Christmas time and will be going back. In fact, sure I will be going back to see the flowers and plants. It was just a beautiful place to wander around for awhile. I have some more photos posted on my Richmond and Me blog...this place deserved its own post.
After a short visit at home following the three previous spots I visited, got back on the motorcycle for a little evening riding.
First stop was to Forest Hill Park for a David Bowie tribute band. Crowd there (large as usual) seemed to really enjoy it and I thought they were very good. Love going to Forest Hill Park for this monthly free event. They are doing cover bands this year and have some good shows coming up.
There was the Intergalactic Taco truck there, and I purchased some taco's before heading back out.
Thought a night ride was in order, so I took the motorcycle to Riverside Drive. Nice to see the area as the sun went down. Traffic was much lighter than usual and as I have come to know from past dusk/dark rides various animals tend to come out. On a previous visit there were deer, but on this one it was rabbits. Like deer they tend to freeze in the headlight. I thought that was pretty cool. I also really like this photo at left as I was heading back to the house.
Did not cover a lot of miles on the two rides, just under 60. Do have to say though, as was the last ride that I really enjoyed being out on a wonderful Sunday and I had a fantastic time.
No comments:
Post a Comment