A Warm Day in Charlotte (November 11, 2012)

November 11,  took a ride out to Charlotte on the motorcycle. I also got in some county roads...took a sort of backroads route on a beautiful day with 70 degree temps. Can't beat weather like this in near Mid-November. First stop was Eastland Mall, which closed a few years ago. Charlotte purchased the property in August this year for a reported $13.2 million. Much like the Cloverleaf Mall on Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield, Eastland was once a premier mall which fell on hard times as the neighborhood changed. There are plans to re-develop it - will revisit this in the near future.   

Out on Central Avenue, wandered around there a bit. This is one of many "Fuel Pizza" which are usually found in old gas stations, there are a few of them around Charlotte, and the surrounding areas. Pizza is pretty good (I have had better, have also had much, much worse) did not stop into this one, but have been to the one at Davidson, NC. Lots of neat stores there, many good places to eat (a number of Vietnamese restaurants can be found on Central Ave), and a number of the restaurants were packed both inside and outside. Great weather will do that for you. Well, that and the fact that the Carolina Panthers were in town playing a game.  

Speaking of town, this is a view of "Uptown Charlotte" basically from the Fuel Pizza location seen above. I rode into Charlotte, always fun to ride around there. Game was underway when I got there, so traffic was not bad (it was I am sure when the game is over). Have been to a number of games at Bank of America Stadium, nice place to see football (even if the Panthers are not all that good this year). On the way back made a short stop in NoDa at Revolution Pizza and Ale (not for the pizza there either though) and then got back home after a 2.5 hour ride. Had a great time, and always fun to explore the city. After that ride, chilled out a bit at the house (watching the Panthers game with Denver) before taking a drive this time back to the RVA where I will be spending the next few days, and a weekend here. Looking forward to some adventures in this very fun town!