Morning Putt (July 16,2016)

It's that typical Summer weather: hazy, hot and humid. So got up early this Saturday morning and got the bike out for a while. First stop was the nearby Farmer's Market at Forest Hill Park. I try to make that on most Saturday's. Unlike my last visit got there early before the massive crowds hit. It is a lot of fun, and I got a little breakfast there and wandered around for a short while.
Was not too bad, as the rains which are due today held off, though it was not a sunny day. Rode around a bit, and decided to head for Riverside Drive.
While on the way there, saw this Sunflower which was on a sidestreet off of Westover Hills Boulevard.
Had to make a stop, as I think these are pretty cool. Impressive if strange flowers. Got this photo and then headed on down Forest Hill Avenue to the Pony Pasture area.      

Know I make a lot of stops here, but it is such as beautiful place and a really nice ride. Especially fun early in the morning as it tends not to be real busy. Thankfully, most people seem to sleep in and so on early Saturday's or for that matter Sunday's the roads are largely mine.

Ditto for Stony Point Fashion Park which was pretty much deserted. This is a photo of the P.F. Chang Restaurant there. It was nice to wander around and this remains one of my favorite malls. This is coming from someone who really does not like malls but they are fun to wander around especially when the stores are not open yet. That was going to happen at 11AM, and still a little early here.  

Stopped in Church Hill to see the old Civil War Hospital. These are some of the uniforms, weapons and especially the medical kits they used. In the park there is this small museum, All of the medical buildings of what was one of the best hospitals for injured soldiers in the Civil War (North or South) are long gone. Still a lot of items from that terrible period remain.
I am a big fan of history, and also of the Civil War (no leanings for the Confederacy, but that is what is featured here in Richmond being the former capital and site of a number of battles) so do enjoy seeing these places and many of the battlefields here.  

Finally, made a stop at Stone Brewing which was a nice stop. While there started to notice a few rain drops and finished my small beverage. This brewery is one of the newer ones and one of the biggest in the area. It is a branch of this company which has operations also someplace else. Nice building though and a lot of cool things inside. What it coolest is that the beer is pretty good. It is my second visit, and I will be back again.
Anyhow rode home on this sort of ride, walk around, repeat ride. Nice though and even though the mileage was not very far (just under 50 miles) the places were fun and the ride was wonderful. Not long after I got home, showers happened, so was a good ride.