Sweeter Charlotte

Couldn't get a good shot of the Charlotte skyline, so here's a silver and gold eagle statue thing.

Almost two weeks have expired out of my planned three during the southern expedition, and I'm not even to New Orleans yet. I do think my pace will speed up though. Major remaining cities are Charleston, Savannah, Atlanta, and New Orleans, then I follow the mountains back to NJ. To save time, I don't think I'll write my politics post until I get to NJ, at which point I will take a few days to relax before starting on my northeastern loop.

After my overnight hospital stay at Winston-Salem, I set off for a nationally ranked barbecue joint part way to Charlotte, one of two specific restaurant recommendations I received from Zach, called Lexington BBQ. I thought about how I need to get used to sitting at restaurants' bars, because that's where loners sit, and then cheaply order only water from the bartender. But on the plus side, I get some human interaction if the bar is crowded, chatting with my neighbors. And Lexington BBQ is always crowded. I got there at a lunch off-hour and the parking lot was jammed. My bar neighbors were chatty Kathys, as was the bartender, who happened to be the owner. I got recommendations for more BBQ on my trip from a veritable BBQ expert. Lexington BBQ was very good, but it isn't my favorite BBQ ever; that honor belongs to Peg Leg Porker in Nashville, TN. Probably just a preference for Tennessee BBQ over North Carolina BBQ. Every region has its own brand. Moreover I was in the mood for ribs, which Lexington BBQ surprisingly didn't offer.

Failing to get a good picture of the buildings.

Arriving in downtown Charlotte (oh, sorry, it's called uptown here), I'm hit with vertigo. Charlotte is an extremely tall city, with the Bank of America Corporate Center standing above all the other high-rises. I could never get to a good position within the city to snap a picture due to the height. There are tons of places to eat, organized into fun little markets around downtown, like the Latta Arcade and the Epicenter. Best of all, there are Halal food carts that I thought only existed in the Big Apple. I can down their preparation of lamb over rice every day.

Epicenter setting up for a night of music

The closest I've come to a hole-in-one,
hitting the cup but not going in.
You can see the hole a little uphill through the trees.

I partook in Bojangles fast food restaurant while here. By no means was this a dinner destination for me until I saw sign after sign after sign for Bojangles travelling the state's highways. Never having had it before, I thought I could use something cheap and quick. I learned the original one is just outside of uptown Charlotte. Zach advised me on what to order and warned me the original location is in a bad neighborhood; if that area is Charlotte's bad neighborhood, even more reason to move to Charlotte.

Charlotte has a Freedom Park too!

Charlotte's neighborhoods are all-around pristine. I really enjoyed my stay here. Charlotte has about a bazillion disc golf courses, and I played on two of them, including site of the 2015 US Masters. BOTH top my list of disc golf courses - challenging and well-maintained. The only disappointing neighborhood was NoDa (North Davidson). I guess I'm just not hipster enough to fit in there.

I owe the comfort of my stay again to Zach who got me set up at his mom's house. Big thanks to Bonnie and Chuck!

Captured all the buildings in frame, but still not happy with the shot.

Wrap Up

Charlotte is my favorite city so far, in my favorite state so far, becoming Louisville's rival. Not sure what can top this, though I hear Charleston and Savannah might.

Root Beers

In my internet search of Charlotte root beer, I found Uncle Scott's produced a half hour north of Charlotte. I ventured into a Whole Foods to purchase it, and grabbed Whole Foods' generic root beer and the well known Virgil's too.

Uncle Scott's (Mooresville, NC): I found this one to be extra sharp, which is a good thing. Like when I ask for something to be spicy, I want it as spicy as can be. Same with my root beer sharpness. Knocks Barq's socks off. Has a minty flavor. 8 stars.

365 Whole Foods (Austin, TX): This is fine for a generic brand. Like Mug but with more extraordinary flavor that may or may not suit your taste. Felt like drinking wintergreen with a tiny bit of licorice flavor. 4 stars.

NASCAR Hall of Fame from the outside

Virgil's (Los Angeles, CA): Really good, deserving of its wide distribution for coming out of a small brewery. There is a reason apparently for being famous among root beer drinkers. Tingles your throat, fruity like the previously reviewed Bundaberg. Tempered by molasses. Also gets an 8, though I give it a tiny tiny edge over Uncle Scott's if I must. Not enough to put it at 9 on par with the Bundaberg. I wonder if I will ever find that 10.

On Repeat

Album: Bronze Radio Return - Shake! Shake! Shake!

Song: Mt. Joy - Astrovan, recommended to me by Zach, got really into it

Both of these recommendations to you are folksy.

Up next: Columbia, Charleston, Hilton Head
On deck: Savannah, Athens, Atlanta

Good luck to the Raytheon Dota team! They have their first elimination playoff match tonight against Google. It will be a hard match, as Google hires based on how good of a Dota player you are.

Isn't Zach adorable?