Charlotte NC was not what I expected. Similar to how some non Californians think that San Francisco is all gay, I thought of the south as quaint little towns, lamp posts, pedestrian friendly streets, flowers in hanging pots and history all around me, a Paula Dean kind of town. Then I realized she is from Savannah Georgia and I was thinking of South Carolina. I'll only truly know what either of those places are like once I visit them because maybe I still have it wrong. I won't judge the entire state by the two we visited because just like CA is not SF and SF is not all the Castro and in fact the Castro is not all the Castro. You really need to keep an open mind, take it all in and learn from your personal experiences vs. making assumptions from what you hear or read about. If someone has never been to CA and they land in Antioch, San Ramon or Dublin they wouldn’t be too excited either. You need to go to places like San Francisco, Napa Valley, or Yosemite in order to get that great CA vacation experience.
So about Charlotte (Uptown), it was a city, not large like SF or NY but bigger than I expected. It is a banking city, dominated by Bank of America so you do have the skyscrapers and men in suits. You also have people just hanging on the streets, they didn't seem like our SF homeless but I wasn't sure of their purpose, where they unemployed, taking the week off or simply hanging out, enjoying the benches that lined S.Tryon St. We found the pedestrian crossing signal quite amusing, it gave you a minute to cross the street. Was this a sign of the slower south? We could be in the middle of the block and still make the cross walk. There was a lot of jay walking so the locals have sped it up since the timing of the signals were set. There was also visible police presence this week maybe because the 10th anniversary of 9/11 was right around the corner. I didn't feel unsafe, I'm just not use to such a strong police presence.
Uptown was full of bars and restaurants. If I lived in the area it would be our Friday date night spot and Saturday lunch hangout. When I travel across country however I need more from a vacation than food and drink. Don't get me wrong that is a huge part but there is only so much of that one can do. I want to get out and about and explore the area. We were there four days but a couple of days would have been enough. I think the best trip would be a driving vacation to hit multiple places in the South. That way when you are done seeing what there is to see you can move on.
The first day I was on my own without a car so I packed up my camera and headed out to explore the city. I visited a cemetery, a small sculpture park with the coolest skull mosaic and the 4th Ward with beautiful Victorians.
On day two I decided I needed to keep the car because I saw what was to be seen in walking distance. On this day I visited the Botanical Garden which although not at its peak was still very beautiful. It was about an hour outside of town, next a Plantation which was only 3 miles outside of town and restored back to its former glory with many original pieces. Here the tour guide told stories of the home that came directly from the previous owners who had only relinquished the home about 10 years ago. It is hard to imagine that slavery was not so long ago.
On day three I had company so we did the main attraction, The NASCAR Hall of Fame. The movie at the beginning gave you the history of NASCAR and how it all began so if you don't know much about NASCAR you get a good feel for how it all started. One thing I didn't know was it started with those men making moonshine. They needed faster cars to outrun the police when they were delivering the shine. Cool fact. After the movie you go up to the track level, a two car wide track full of cars from past races, even giving you the banking experience. I was surprised to learn how steep the track can be. The track level was an opportunity for me to get some great, up close shots. Next up another level to museum pieces like race gear, trophies, more cars and finally your NASCAR experience if you’re up for it. I was a bit burned out by then, there is only so many plaques I can read before I'm over it. I was also starving by that point so eat before you go because you will spend at least a couple of hours, longer if you’re a big fan. The NASCAR experience let you try working on a pit crew, get in a race car for a simulation and drive a video car race.
On day four it was time to venture out of Charlotte so we headed out to Childress Winery in Lexington, NC. It was a lovely large stone building surrounded by vines. Coming from Napa Valley, CA I have specific expectations when it comes to wine. I like a bold, spicy red and some areas just can’t produce what I like. I found one I liked enough to purchase and it was only $17 (score), the Cabernet was good but I didn't think it was $50 worth of good, the rest not so much. The tastings at Childress were $15 which I thought was pricey for NC, those are Napa Valley prices, where I was expecting more of Livermore Valley prices of Free to $5. We shared a tasting since it was over an hour drive back to Charlotte. We also took the tour, since it was free it was worth it but not very exciting. Again I'm looking at it through my Napa Valley filters and the many wineries I have visited. Next off to Salisbury, finally a quaint little town. We walked Main street, stopped at a local bar for a drink, bought a Southern Cookbook and visited the Hall Mansion. The Hall mansion hit my expectations, it was a cross between Gone with the Wind and New Orleans. It was full of the original furnishings and perfectly restored down to the reproduction wall paper. A must see if you are in the area. I could have spent a bit more time in Salisbury but not more than a day or 1 night. This being the small quaint town didn’t have the bars and restaurants I would have wanted.
To end on a positive note I did like both places I just would have preferred to spend less time in one place and do more scouting about in different areas. I’m not one to kick back and relax on vacation and that is a problem I have. I wish I was able to relax a bit more but hanging out in my hotel room is not an option.
My one regret is that I didn’t have a traditional Southern meal. The humidity affected my appetite and big hot meals didn’t sound appealing.
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