Parks of Charlotte

The Green is a charming park in the midst of busy Uptown Charlotte, NC. Above are mosaic chairs for visitors to relax on.

The main vibe of the park is world literature. I may be too old to understand the walkway. It must have to do with the works of Dr. Seuss.

Large sculptured fish are working fountains in the warm months.

Flowers are still blooming in October.

Street signs of places across the globe form names of writers like Lewis (New York) Carroll (Iowa) below. Towns that exist in the world with the first and last names are listed as well as their distance from Charlotte. So unique and fun!

Pearl (Mississippi) Buck (Indiana).

This collection of signs below is towns named Charlotte within the US and their distance.

Charm is everywhere you look.

This park was being enjoyed as a lunch spot for a wide variety of workers when we visited.

I would have thought an artist came up with the concept and design for this park but it was designed by Wagner Murray Architects of Charlotte.

Contrast in the park with an old Catholic church rebuilt in 1893 after being damaged during the Civil War.

There are 2 large bronze sculptures of classic literature including works like Roots and Wuthering Heights.

There are sheets of poetry and literature throughout like this poem Dreaming About Dancing by Anne Kantsios.

So visitors should look down to take in all the details.

Romare Bearden Park has beautiful vistas of the cityscape. It is named after the Charlotte born artist of the same name.

We will have to come back in the evening to see it lit up. The fountain feature is long and changes colors at night from photos I have seen. Beautiful!

The trees frame the buildings with that beautiful contrast of man made and nature.

This stunning sculpture titled Spiral Odyssey was created by artist Richard Hunt

A beautifully designed park!

Have a marvelous day/evening (wherever you are on the clock)! ~Val

Halloween Fun

We witnessed a skeleton fraternity party along a local river walk. 

They were having a great time!

I don't know what these are below but they are dressed to trick or treat.

Our neighbors like to get in on the action too.

Some displays are quite elaborate!

Skeletons walk spiders on a leashes here.

The eyeball below is animated moving back and forth. 

This guy is placed perfectly to show a fantastic, creepy shadow on the house.

 A gigantic spider is attacking a skeleton here.

Cemetery scenes are an important element to Halloween decor.

Below didn't photograph well but there is an animated spider in the foreground that moves and makes creepy, creeky door noises that you hear in horror films.

Have a marvelous day/evening (wherever you are on the clock)! ~Val

Icehouse Amphitheater Fun

The Icehouse Amphitheater is located in our hometown. A wide variety of events happen here each year so Jim and I make it a point to attend as many as we can.

We saw a performance of the musical Rock of Ages. Having been a teenager in the 1980s who loved hair bands, this show was totally up my alley.

After we found the movie streaming free with fun actors like Alex Baldwin, Tom Cruise and Russell Brand. Great entertainment for the 80s lover!

This clip is at the end of a Scorpions' song.

We saw the blue grass band, Coddle Creek.

These guys were fun!

The Embers have been around for decades. They knew how to put on a show!

These guys had a beach vibe. This tune was written and is sung by the drummer.

The Hitmen are a great local cover band. They played a super variety!

The musicians and singers were very talented. Here is this amazing voice singing Proud Mary.

Lastly is a completely different venue. Oktoberfest celebrations are big in our region since many German settlers ended up here. 

This was my first time seeing a live polka band. They are the Mountain Top Polka Band of Asheville, NC. The drinking songs are a blast!

Who doesn't love hearing their name in a song? I am used to hearing Amy Whinehouse's Valerie covered by local singers but I completely forgot about Valerie Valera and these guys covered it well!

I feel spoiled with the diversity of music and all the free opportunities to enjoy it in our area.

Have a marvelous day/evening (wherever you are on the clock)! ~Val

Charlotte Breweries

There are 9 micro breweries that I want to visit in the South End. We only made it to 3 so we definitely have to go back!

Wooden Robot Brewery is a 15 barrel brewhouse with a variety to please all tastebuds. They also have a coffee bar so it opens early in the morning. An extensive food menu is offered in the evenings. What's not to love?

Here I loved Aggressive Compassion which is a blueberry, blood orange and coconut sour ale. Unique! These guys are very creative with the brew names!

The Hi Wire Brewing opened its South End location recently in July 2022.

This fun spot has plenty of seating inside and out. There are 20 taps to suit all patrons. Here we were loving the pink lemonade session sour ale.

Inside there are games for visitors including soccer pool, table tennis, foosball, shuffleboard and connect four.

We also checked out Trolley Barn Fermentory & Food Hall which was built out in the old Atherton Mill and opened in 2018. Here there are 6 taps. We both loved the fruit sour named LJ's Peach Tea which I enjoyed with an amazing turkey sandwich.

The atmosphere pays homage to the electric trolley barns that existed in the late 1800s to the early 1900s.

The distinctive spot offers 3 individual menus from Greenworks, Daily Shift Food and Brand & Steel.

Charlotte appears to be a city with a growing presence of breweries for beer and ale tasters like us! Being only a 1.5 hour drive from the middle of South Carolina, I suspect we will be back to this city at least annually.

Have a marvelous day/evening (wherever you are on the clock)! ~Val