usa: north carolina: charlotte and the Biltmore

Getting back to Charlotte was easy, though didn't go quite as planned. My second flight was delayed a bit. It didn't make a huge difference though, I was still able to take an uber taxi to my host's flat.
That night we rode his motorcycle to dinner. Fun, but I had a hard time keeping my helmet from hitting his when we slowed down or sped up. Whoops! I love being on the back of a motorcycle.
The next couple days I didn't do anything new. I used the mini gym in the apartment complex and laid out at the pool in the afternoons. There is definitely something to be said for relaxing, and not getting stressed about seeing and doing anything.
Saturday morning I'd arranged for us to drive to the Biltmore House, near Asheville, North Carolina. I'd planned a meetup with my high school friend Nancye. Nancy and I have met up with each other in several places around the country over the years. 

We had to change the meetup time a couple times, but it finally happened. Nancye is as big a fan of postcards as I am, we exchanged envelopes of them when we saw each other. My host knew of my love of postcards, but was still surprised when he saw just how many I give/send to some people.
The Biltmore House was built by George Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895. It has 250 rooms, and is huge, which makes the 6 year build even more impressive. The home is still owned by Vanderbilt's descendants.
At the time it had all the latest gadgets, including dumbwaiters, electricity, multiple bathrooms, central heating, a pool and home gym, a bowling alley, etc... I loved the library the most. The ceilings also caught my eyes. (Ceilings always catch my eyes.)

When you go through you have the option of renting an audio guide, we declined. I love the information, but find it overwhelming when I'm walking through a place. Plus Nancye knew quite a bit about the house, since she has an annual pass and has visited several times previously.
We went through the house in about an hour. I don't need to stare at something foreva to appreciate it, and we didn't have audio guides slowing us down.
After walking out of the house Nancye suggested we get ice cream. This is one of many reasons she and I have remained friends over the years :) One of the little stores on the property sells scoops, and a 'single' size was actually two big scoops. Yum.

The gardens around the house are huge, and are another reason for visiting the property. The landscaping is redone each season, and for special holidays. During our visit there was a special exhibit, a whole bunch of Chihuly sculptures. I'd already seen some of them in Seattle, but was happy to see more. It started raining while we were in the gardens, but it didn't last for long, thank goodness.
Lastly we walked through part of the wine area. There was a small museum dedicated to the family and its history through generations. There was also a gift shop, all I bought was postcards.
I drove back to Charlotte, fun.
The next day we took it easy. My host played pickup basketball, and I managed to escape being bit by mozzies.

The next couple days were just like my first couple days in town. I went to the mini gym and the pool. I really need a sugar daddy who will let me live that kind of life in between exploring the world.
My last night in town we went to dinner at a place called Bucca di Beppo. I'd never heard of it before, apparently it is a national chain. It is known for huge servings, a couple can easily share a meal. We might have gone a wee bit over that, hee hee. We shared an appetizer, each had an entree, and had dessert. The dessert was actually four different desserts. (This is totally perfect for me.) I would've been happy if someone had rolled me out of there in a wheelbarrow.
The next morning I flew back to Chicago, it was a direct flight.

There is still heaps for me to see and do in Charlotte, I hope to go back someday. 

usa: north carolina: charlotte

Charlotte, North Carolina calls itself the Queen City, as it was named after royalty, though not the one you think. Charlotte was named after Princess Charlotte of Mecklenberg-Strelitz, when she was the Queen Consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Though not the state capital, (which is Raleigh,) it is the most populous city in North Carolina. It is a major metropolitan area, with professional sports teams, and big business.

Charlotte has around 2.5 million people, it is the 17^th most populous city in the country. It was mentioned in Spanish historical documents as having been settled in 1567. 

This is before the beginning of the United States, the citizens at the time were part of the Catawba tribe. The biggest population of Catawba in the area ended up being around 18000, but after Europeans arrived, the number fell all the way to just 110.

When settled by Europeans, the area was filled with Scottish and Irish folks. The city is now 40% white, 35% black, 13% Latino, with a whole bunch of others with smaller percentages.

I ended up spending two weeks in Charlotte, North Carolina. I took it pretty easy most days, not even going into the city center. 

On some days I laid out at one of the two pools in John's neighborhood. On some days I went to the gym in his neighborhood.

One day I went for a walk to 'the church that Jimmy built.' One of the founders of the Calvary Church was actually Frank Graham, the father of Jimmy Graham, a well known pastor. It's a big church, one that has a couple thousand people show up for a regular Sunday service. I just wanted to get close to the outside of the church, which is unique. The church is surrounded by a large flat lawn, with healthy green grass. I didn't go in, but I should have.

One day we walked around downtown Charlotte, which is a curious mix of older, smaller buildings, and tall and shiny skyscrapers. There are quite a few photogenic places in the city, I wanted to come back and wander more but it didn't happen during this visit.

John likes to play pick up basketball so I went with him a few times to watch while he played. One of those days I walked around the rest of the park while he played. Creativity did not extend to those who named the park, as it is named after the street on which it is located, called Park Road. So yes, the park is called Park Road Park. Sigh.

One day we went to a minor league baseball game in the city center, the Charlotte Knights are a 3A team, in the farm system of the White Sox. They were playing against the Indianapolis Indians that day, leading to divided loyalties for me and John. Both of us are from Indiana, so we wanted to support Indianapolis, but he now lives in Charlotte, so shouldn't he support the local team?

The stadium has a fantastic view of downtown, and good ticket prices. It's a great place to come with family and/or friends for an afternoon or evening.

I used a travel app one day to find a couple pieces of art worth seeing around the city. One was a head sculpture by David Czerny, the Czech artist. I have no idea why this sculpture is in Charlotte, it sits in a business complex near the edge of the city. This head looks just like the one in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

We also visited a bunch of bronze bulls laying around the lawn of another business area. 

It was a hot sunny day, so climbing on the bulls was out of the question, they'd soaked up the heat and were hot hot hot.

I'll definitely be coming back to Charlotte.

usa: north carolina: pilot mountain and fort dobbs

While I stayed in Charlotte, John and I decided to visit a couple places out of town, so they're getting their own post here.

The first place we visited was Pilot Mountain State Park. The state park is built around Pilot Mountain, which is what remains of a really really old mountain chain. It's quite a sight, one you see from far away; it sticks out over a thousand meters above the surrounding countryside.

It took us a couple hours to drive there, as traffic is always lousy on a weekend, and we started from the south side of Charlotte. We drove up to the parkplatz at the top of the mountain, though you can park at the bottom and hike all the way up, following a trail.

We only had to walk about twenty meters to get to a great viewpoint, yay! We weren't the only ones there of course, but the way it has been set up, you can look out over the area without having to look at everyone else who is visiting.

From there we walked to another viewpoint, on top of the so-called Little Pinnacle. It gives you a great view of Big Pinnacle, which is what people see from miles around as they're driving by.

Off to the side of this viewpoint is a trail that goes around Big Pinnacle, but not up to the tippy top. As far as I can tell, the only way to get to the top is by climbing, and this spot is closed to climbers. The trail that has been built gives you heaps of opportunities to see the layers of the rock, to see how it has shifted over hundreds and thousands of years. 

I loved the area, and would've been happy to wander for hours, or even all day.

At that point John said we were done, so we drove back to Charlotte, having dinner out somewhere.

The other place we visited out of Charlotte was a place I found on a travel app. Fort Dobbs is a historic sight near what is now Statesville, North Carolina. It was built in the mid 18^th century on orders from Governor Arthur Dobbs, and was to be used as protection as well as a trading post for the surrounding area.

During the French and Indian War it was used as frontier defense for the British civilians in the area. (Remember we weren't an organized country just yet, there were plenty of British soldiers all over the colonies.)

The area it protected was actually quite large, as it was the only fort on the frontier between Virginia and South Carolina.

The fort didn't have a long life, as it was abandoned in 1766. After being abandoned all the materials disappeared, as people came and took the wood and stones.

Archeological work in the 20^th century, and research in 2005 and 2006 led to the exact location of the fort, as well as what it probably looked like. Decisions were made to rebuild the fort to the way it used to be, and build it in the way it would've been built back then.

The fort is quite small, we actually drove past the area the first time we thought we were in the right place. There is a small parkplatz, and the whole thing is visible from the road.

After parking we walked onto the field, and were soon approached by someone wearing the clothes that would've been worn during the time the fort was 'alive.' He asked why we were there, where we were from, and other general conversation. He gave us the explanaton of what we could see, as well as the future plans for the fort. The powers that be hoped the reconstruction would be finished by April, which is the anniversary of a battle in which the fort was important.

We enjoyed learning a bit, then took a walk on the nature trail in the woods behind the fort. I'm pretty sure not many people go back there, as we had to fight through several spider webs across the trail. Still, it was nice to see the land as it would have looked in the 18^th century.

I'd definitely go back to Fort Dobbs, just to see how it will look when it is completed.

north carolina: asheville

The advantage to where Nancye lives (in Bristol, TN/VA,) is that it's close to a lot of other places worth visiting. A lot. One day we decided to do a day trip to Asheville, NC.
The drive to Asheville was only two hours or so. How awesome is that? We drove through the mountains, there were some wonderful views. So many places I would love to stop and hike for the day.
Since I was riding shotgun, I got to decide our itinerary for the day. My tripadvisor/triposo apps both suggested Asheville botanical gardens, which sounded nifty to us. The gardens are just outside the city, easy to get to. Follow the signs on the roads, don't rely on google maps directions, as those will take you to the wrong entrance.
We started in the visitors center to get maps and information about the gardens. There are some landscaped areas, and some wild areas. We also found a water fountain to fill up our water bottles. I wish water fountains with decent drinking water existed in more places. This area of the country in late July is already/hot and humid. You need a lot of liquid to stay properly hydrated.

We decided to stay with the landscaped areas, they were very nice. My favorite garden was probably the bonsai (pronounced bone-sai) garden. Quite a few of the trees were arranged in a small area, with descriptions of the trees as well as some history of this art.
We also saw a big model train, a garden arranged like a quilt, a quilt exhibit, and more. I bet the gardens are great in all four seasons. Nancye ended up buying a year long pass, I hope she gets to see the gardens in all the seasons. 
We drove into the city center and found parking, totally affordable :)
Nancye has been there before so she knew of a parking garage with a good location.
Our first stop in the city was called Lexington glassworks. We got to see guys blowing glass, making it into cups, vases, bowls, etc... Really pretty, I loved the bright colors. As the guys were working with the glass, they were also explaining what they were doing, and how it all works. They must've been so hot with the open furnace right there. I wish I had the money (and space to put things,) to buy pretty house stuff.
At that point we realized we were hungry. Asheville is full of restaurants. Heaps of them. It's a 'hippie' town, with a lot of focus on organic, healthy living. As we walked down the street there were cafes and restaurants everywhere, all of them independent.

A little further down the street we came to the park in the city center and found a festival of some kind in full swing. Yay for festivals and the food trucks that come with them. So many choices, we walked around all the trucks to see what was available. I ended up with a catfish sandwich and fried pickles. The sandwich was good, the pickles had too much breaking.
After people watching and eating, we continued walking. I wanted to find postcards, and ducked into a few stores, but totally struck out. Visiting a town like Asheville on a Sunday has one drawback: many stores and offices are closed. Oh well.
We did find a big church, but a mass was just starting so we didn't go in. It was pretty on the outside, I had to be satisfied with that. We also walked through a small park, it reminded me of people's park in Bloomington, IN. A bit on the sketchy side.

At that point we felt as though we had seen what we wanted to see, so we went back to the parking garage. On our way out of town we made two stops. One at Trader Joe's, because Nancye loves their sourdough bread. (And since I don't spend a lot of time in the states, I can always find something to eat/buy from that chain.)
The second stop was at a burrito shop. Neither one of us was hungry, as we had eaten just a couple hours ago, but one of nancye's friends said we had to try this place, so we got our burritos to go. BIG BURRITOS.
A couple hours later we were back in Bristol. I love day trips :)