Greg's Charlotte tour

Associate blogger Greg reporting tonight. I have a few notes about my time wandering around in Charlotte.
On Friday, after dropping Sarah off at the convention center, I took a short walk near the visitor center on Tryon St. I went into the Latta Arcade. The second floor appeared to be offices, while the first floor held retail establishments.


I only paid for an hour at the parking meter, so I did not have time to look around much. Next I drove to the US National Whitewater Center located outside of town. The Center has a closed loop whitewater course -- they pump the water from the bottom back up to the top!

There are two routes down. To my untrained eye, this first one appears to be the gentler of the two. It's certainly not calm water, though!



This raft is going down the other side.


This is the end of the course, and the bottom of the pump house. You can also see the "escalator" for the return trip up to the top.


Saturday I returned to exploring Charlotte. I walked a few blocks from the hotel to the Levine Museum of the New South, featuring history of the Charlotte area from post civil war through today. These buildings are some of the recent history.



I thought this fountain looked like a pair of lava lamps. The one on the bottom is upside down.


Charlotte is home to many financial institutions. Even this cafe observes bank holidays!


Sarah and I met for lunch on Saturday – in my photo she told me to look thoughtful.


I think she was inspired by this display in the park outside the restaurant. Several light posts were decorated with author's names like this one.


In the center of the park was a signpost for various Charlotte's around the world.


And a trip to Charlotte would not be complete without something related to racing. We passed Earnhardt Blvd on the way out of Charlotte to see Jen and Elliott.