Riding in Kannapolis, NC (January 15, 2012)

 Spent a pleasant weekend (with a bonus day thanks to the Martin Luther King Holiday) in North Carolina. Though cold (it is winter after all) bundled up and took a Sunday morning ride to the area that was formerly known as "Cannon Village" in Kannapolis, NC.This was once the site of a many million square feet complex of textile mills, but they are since torn down and long out of business. This survives-which is now offices for the NC Research Center, some stores and restaurants, The Gem (a great place to see movies) and even (as I found) the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. A statue of Dale Earnhardt can also be found there.

The NC Research Center can be seen at right. This is one of a new complex of buildings designed as part of a bio-tech research campus. The promise has not yet quite matched up to the massive investment, but everyone is hopeful that someday this will be a major job creator. It certainly is a beautiful collection of buildings, and some employment and research is going on there. It is certainly a beautiful campus and sure hope that it turns out to work out in the future. I think that the economy hit this project pretty hard and that things have a way to go yet. Hopefully it will soon take off.  

Trains run though Kannapolis, this one comes from Charlotte, NC and runs to (ta-da) places east including Richmond, VA. It takes a while to get there from Kannapolis, high speed rail being a dream, but given some rising fuel prices and this may be a future way for me to get between Charlotte and Richmond. Rail is (I am told) an important way for many to get to Washington, DC and back from Richmond. Rumor has it that many live in Richmond and commute via this method back and forth to work due to the high cost of housing in the Washington, DC area. I don't know for a fact this is true, but I have been told that it is that way. At any case, a very nice weekend in the 40's in North Carolina. Still a wacky winter to this point (not that I am complaining) with no snow either in the Charlotte or Richmond area, and in fact some very fine temperatures in the last few weeks. To this point, it has been a very mild and pleasant winter. Got out to enjoy the day, enjoyed the ride, and was fun to be back in the Kannapolis area to do some exploring. Saw some new things there-nice to spend a bit of time there on a cold but quiet Sunday.