NC road trip...kind of

It had been sooo loooong since I had a break, I was really looking forward to taking the last week off before the long Labor Day weekend. I decided I would to outside my comfort zone and rent a car for a road trip to see some of North Carolina. 

I’ve lived in Charlotte for almost 9 months and really haven’t seen anything else of the state. I decided I would go to Asheville and then drive across the state to Wilmington. Unfortunately it didn’t turn out the way I planned.

After a shaky start learning to drive a car again…I took off for Asheville, Located in the blue ridge mountains, the drive from Charlotte was really pretty and reminded me of my youth in Colorado for our family treks through the Rocky Mountains. Although not nearly as high as the Rockies, the Blue Ridge is quite lovely. I was hoping for cooler weather, but it was still very hot!

Asheville

I stayed in downtown Asheville, a mixture of art community with college town feel. UNC Asheville is very close to downtown. In between the college town bars are quaint bistros and shops, there are several art galleries, circling down to the French Broad River to the River Arts district, filled with small artist studios. 

Momentum Gallery

Many buildings had murals

Even the city hall buildings had a very artsy feel

River Arts District

There are several sections in the district combining studios and galleries; from Riverside Studios to Urban Art, Wedge and Roberts Studios closer to town, next to the Depot Studios followed around to Riverview Station on the way to the famous Biltmore Village.

After several hours of walking I was glad to get back to the hotel and relax. I started watching the news and realized Wilmington was being hit with a storm and then the hurricane from Florida was going to hit during my stay. At that point I decided to cancel Wilmington leg of the trip. Needless to say, I was disappointed, but didn’t want to get caught in bad weather, so back to Charlotte the following day.

River rafting on the French Broad

Rosie's Garden

Great place to have an ice tea or glass of wine

I’d heard about Rosie's Garden and wanted to check it out, so here are some photos of this beautiful place in the heart of Charlotte. Not Wilmington and the beach, but I’ll get there someday.

 

NoDa area of Charlotte, NC, the Queen City

 NoDa (North Davidson)

After spending several months traveling and living abroad, I’ve settled (at least for six months) in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Charlotte is named “The Queen City” after Queen Charlotte, King George III wife, English ruler during the Revolution. 

I decided to live in the NoDa (North Davidson) area, an artist community in Charlotte between Uptown and UNCC (University North Carolina Charlotte). I'm about 1.5 miles from N. Davidson and E. 36th.

NoDa is a thriving art community and North Davidson has several shops and restaurants.

Several coffee houses line the streets but the coffee isn't all that great and prices are high. A small latte at the Smelly Cat is $6!

NoDa is one of the areas of the city where older buildings and houses haven’t all been torn down showing the old Sourthern charm.

Many of the nice old houses are being side stepped for more modern apartments.

I live on the second floor of a court yard surrounded by lots of trees. It is very nice and the aprartment is about double the size of the apartment I had in Boston.

NoDa is way out of the way from other areas of the city. Charlotte's transportation system isn’t what i’m used to (over an hour wait for a bus) so lots of Lyfts rides to get where I need to go.

I’m looking forward to seeing more the city over the next couple of months so look for most posts.