Riding Carolina on a Sunday in July (July 11, 2010)

Actually the morning photo seen here was taken at Punchy's Diner in Concord, NC. Patty and I drove there in her car for breakfast. Great place to eat and has a real 50's theme; even has cars and motorcycles in the restaurant. Prices are also very good and the food is also. We go there often for breakfast when I am in town. Did like this Harley Davidson with the ape hangers outside this morning...no its not mine, and it does belong to one of the customers who was also eating there. Nice looking bike, I do like the classic look of a Harley though not real fond of the price tags (and not real big on the air cooled engine). I prefer a water cooled V-Twin such as my Vulcan.
Speaking of the Vulcan; took it on the last "vacation ride"on a nice Sunday morning. Was not too hot and nice to get out for a last time before heading back to Richmond in the morning to get "back to the grind". I stopped at Wilgrove Airport after a pleasant country ride up Flowes Store Road and up 24/27. Nice cruising on a Sunday, traffic is light and its nice to enjoy the scenery. This photo was taken at South 21, which has been featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives". It was closed for vacation (and I was not hungry...see previous paragraph) but liked to check out the restaurant. I will be back in the weeks to come...always up for new places.

Rode around Uptown Charlotte for a while; made a few stops here and there and took a few photos. Feel sometimes like a tourist in my area, but that happens when you live in two places. I did wander a bit for the first time at the Epicenter which is a sort of entertainment district near the Time Warner Arena. Whiskey River is a bar there, and is notable in that it is owned by none other than Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Thought it was worth a photo, though like with South 21, was not open yet. Still, enjoyed a great ride around Charlotte, and on the way home went through North Davidson, in a sense going full circle from the first ride during my vacation a few days ago.
Got in some great times with my family, got a lot of projects done around the house (all of them in fact for a change) and some really nice rides. I keep the bike here for a reason, for though Richmond is an interesting city, if I have to have the motorcycle in one place, this is the place to have it for sure. I love riding in the Carolinas, and never get bored with the things that I see and do here. However, shortly (in the morning) it is back to Virginia, and back to exploring motorcycling there from "off the saddle."