Carolina On My Mind II

Previously on Tit & Tat....

Day 2 of my weekend trip to Charlotte began with a planned trip to Border's in the South Park district of Charlotte. Before heading there, I returned Frenchy's phone call from the night before. We had a pleasant chat with him telling me how much he enjoyed meeting me at the party. He mentioned that he looked forward to us being friends. I told him that was cool but something in his tone seemed to imply he wanted more. I didn't push it, though.

When I told Frenchy of my morning plans, he mentioned that South Park was nicely developed with a major mall and numerous other mini-mall establishments. I thanked him for the info and made my way to South Park.

As I neared the Border's, I realized that I hadn't eaten breakfast. There was a Burger King's a couple blocks from the Border's so I made my way there first. Near the Burger King's was an establishment called Carolina Smoothies. It had been a week or so since I had a smoothie so I decided after my trip to Border's, I'd go there to get one.

The morning was pretty uneventful so I won't bore you with much detail. The one interesting note was that it was hard finding books that focused exclusively on what Charlotte has to offer. The only books I found were ones that lumped the southern region into one or focused on sites all over the U.S., including a snippet of Charlotte.

Another interesting note, the few restaurants I found of interest were closed on Sunday. I assume it's a southern thing.

After killing three hours in Border's, I got my smoothie and then made my way to SouthPark mall. It was your typical mall. Nothing more, nothing less.

Later in the afternoon, I went back downtown to check out the area. I stopped at the Afro-American Cultural Center and learned the history of shotgun houses, which was basically one-story shacks that you can run in the front and out in the back in seconds flat. In theory, one could shoot a bullet through the front door and it'd pass out through the back. This style of home was prevalent in the South. The cultural center had two such houses preserved, one of which was on display for visitors to see.

I then drove to the heart of downtown in search of a place to eat. While walking I ran into a slightly deranged older black man who seemed to be looking at me with disdain. He rolled his eyes at me and said "England?". I was wearing a T-shirt with the word England displayed across my chest. I sorta laughed and sheepishly shrugged my shoulders as he walked by, still eyeing me. After he got a good distance from me, still looking at me nastily, I went "so what".

I guess t-shirts with country names on it seems to generate lots of attention. My Brazil futbol t-shirt also generates lots of interest when strangers see it. I actually wore that while on my flight to Charlotte and a couple started asking if I was from Brazil and then the conversation turned to Brazilian steak.

Hemingway I wound up going to RockBottom Brewery, which appeared to be the only restaurant open. I ordered some of their "home brewed" beer along with a New York Strip & mixed veggies. I took their dessert sampler to go and headed back to my hotel accomodations.
I pretty much didn't do much the rest of that evening, save some phone calls to Eugene and Frenchy, the latter actually asking me out on a date for the next night. I accepted.

Day 3 found me getting an uneventful workout on at a local Bally's, a sucky bowling session, and a tour of the real estate opportunities in the Charlotte area. When I got back to the room later that day, I prepared for my date. Since Frenchy didn't drive, the plan was to pick him up at his job & have dinner at an asian eatery called Mama Fu's and then catch X-Men 3.

So I did just that. I knew seconds into the date that I would only be interested in him as a friend. Whatever magic I may have felt the first time we met was gone. I think he lost me with his pastel green sweater & Queer Eye Carson ways. But I would like him as a friend and by the end of the evening, he came to that conclusion as well.

By the end of Day 3, I was having a serious head cold and while my flight back to Chicago was late the following evening, I decided I wanted an earlier flight. Clyde actually called me at some point Monday evening. That went straight to voicemail. I knew I didn't want to take him up on his offer and my head cold gave me a perfect excuse.

On Day 4 while preparing for my escape from the ghetto, I decided to call Clyde and tell him the news. I got his voicemail, which made it easier to leave. I was able to get on a 3PM flight.

So ended my adventures in Charlotte. Overall I enjoyed the trip and could see myself living there. I may make another trip in October, except RC wants me to visit Raliegh. That'll be cool....maybe I'll even see Ladynay.