Tour De France

Well went out for a first ride on my bike for over a month is morning. Met up with Ian and a very easy 20 mile ride through some Kent villages ending up at a pub in Sissinghurst. Spent a few hours here waiting for the tour to come through and then it was all over in a matter of seconds when the first 4 came through and then 5 minutes later the main peloton flew past.

Nice day though and lots and lots of people out there to watch the race. Pressed the wrong button on this little clip so it’s a bit quick !!

Washington DC

A little bit late for this update but I had so much to see and no Internet access so am now writing this having arrived back home.

Well, I had 4 nights here and saw a lot of things but there was still a lot I didn’t get to see. Being the capital there is obviously a lot of tourist places here and also lots and lots of people.

Went to look at the major places such as The State Capitol, White House, Washington Monument and the Lincoln memorial.

You can’t go round all of these because of security and the others always have very long queues. So lots and lots of walking and also visited some of the museums there. The Air and Space museum was especially good.

On the 4th July I started out by visiting Arlington Cemetery where there are 300,00 graves of US Servicemen and also where JFK is buried. Having seen this and also the memorials for WW2, Korea and Vietnam is really brings home the enormity of all the terrible wars.

Later in the day I ended up getting Shepperd into the Holocaust museum to shelter from a potential tornado heading our way and the police cleared everybody. Eventually got out and then watched the 20 minute firework display although I think the one in London on News Year Eve was much better.

It was a really enjoyable visit here and I would recommend it to anybody but maybe either late Spring or late Summer when it’s a little cooler and maybe a few less people about. And be prepaid to walk miles and miles and miles

Sun Trust Indy 250

Well, watched the last of my 4 motor races last night at Richmond International Speedway. Had a pit pass this time and also a paddock zone pass so got to see more of the cars and also some interviews with some of the drivers.

This race took place in the evening under the lights and as won again by Dario Francitti.

So just packing my bags for the drive up to Washington DC and then dropping the car off. Then I have a final few days in the capital before I head home.

Richmond, Virginia

Well, I didn’t know anything about this place before arriving here but I do now. It’s was right at the centre of The American Civil War and was the Capital City of The Confederate United States. There are many things to see here and I’m now fully aware of all things related to The Civil War.

Plenty to visit downtown and also on small drives as well as there are many battlegrounds around the state.

The picture is of The Virginia Capitol and apparently the Queen was here earlier in the year to mark some celebrations nearby at Jamestown the first permanent English settlement 400 years ago.