I had a great time with my family in North Carolina over Thanksgiving; a fine time with my wife Patty, my son Robby, my very good border collies, and some nice days to enjoy a good motorcycle ride. I often note that Charlotte is not real big on history, but many of the smaller towns such as Landis, NC do keep history alive. For instance, there is this old train station in Landis, NC which is still on display (though needing some work to really be able to tour it) still on the railroad tracks of that small town. It is a mill town, which still has a working textile mill (one of the few still in the area) and is a nice place to visit.
Downtown Landis can be seen here, it is right next to China Grove, another old and small town. Top photo and this one was taken on November 25, and that is my motorcycle at the far right, and the railroad tracks I mentioned can be seen at the bottom. Those tracks are still used, fright and passenger trains run on them (one of those trains runs to Richmond, Va and beyond). I wish the train was faster, would be a great way to get between the two cities I currently live in, but right now its a slow way to get between the two points-and time is not often on my side when I head to North Carolina.
Of course post Thanksgiving means the start of the Christmas season. This is a view of one of my favorite animated light displays in Concord, the package seen at the top of the stocking has been tossed by Santa...he does that all night long! Amazingly he also never misses! The city has a number of such displays around town, they go on when the Christmas tree is lit, which was on November 18 this year. The event kicks off with fireworks and music, and I have gone quite a few years. However, this year I missed it being in Richmond, and missed the Stony Point tree lighting in Richmond as I was in Concord.
This is the Concord, NC city tree, which was lit in the previously mentioned event. It was seen here (as was the previous photo) on November 26. After putting out lights around the house, and also putting up our Christmas tree, Patty and I went out to see some of the sights around Concord. Sure it is early, but there were a number of displays up and enjoy listening to some Christmas music on the radio (some of which have been playing that since early November!) and seeing what the area has to offer. I love this time of year, and frankly even love it better when as this weekend temperatures were warm and the skies were dry. Cold is fine also, and a little snow is sure seasonable, but I can wait on both for a little bit longer.
The tree is a new one, though it has been in use for a few years, but not very long. It is also not a real tree, but is artificial. I have seen them put it together in the past, in sections. I like that, hate to see real trees cut down for a short event such as the holidays.
Certainly not Richmond's Tacky Light Tour (which I hope to bring some of the "brighter lights" to you this upcoming weekend) but one of the houses in my neighborhood (not mine though) decorated for the holiday. Thanksgiving weekend was not just the weekend the lights went up at my house, there was a lot of activity which extended into Sunday just before I left town. Drove back a few hours ago, and though the highways were busy, it was not too bad (have seen worse over the years). Enjoyed Thanksgiving in NC, looking forward to some great sights and sounds of the season in both NC and VA this holiday season!
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