My girlfriend, dog and I all went to Carolina to see my son. I used to live there (and Richmond) now its Richmond only, but still good to be home. Had not been there in a few months. Saw some new stuff such as photo at left...Veterans Park in Kannapolis, NC. I also saw the Dale Earnhardt Statue there and even met his Mom who was there (and that was pretty cool). There are photos of that in other posts, but a nice thing to see, as was this fairly new park. I think it was dedicated around a year ago. Always some interesting stuff to see there, area tends to go through some changes pretty often.
Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC is many times the center of the universe in the region and the area is a hub of the motorsports industry...at least when that is NASCAR. Not just race shops but also NASCAR facilities and of course a lot of places selling race items. I don't think any of the shops are open on weekends - least some of them might be but none we went by, but as noted earlier some older posts have views inside those race shops. In addition to this track there is the Dirt Track and the 4-Wide Dragstrip. Racing is popular in Concord, NC.
This was inside the Yankee Candle Shop which was having a Halloween theme for Saturday inside the giant Concord Mills complex. My girl really enjoyed that, and I have to say it is a hell of a thing. Kind of a sad thing in that Concord Mills is the #1 Tourist Attraction in the state, but it is...and is a remarkable thing. This was a no tax weekend so it was even more packed to the gills than usual. Nice place to walk on a very hot day though - is air conditioned after all, and indoors. There are some interesting shops, and it is over a mile walk around its trace track like shape. As noted at left, you do see some interesting things there.
Headed back to Virginia on August 4 but did make a stop in Durham, NC...a very cool city. This is the bull from the movie Bull Durham. Though they have changed the ballpark to a newer one, they kept the bull, and neat to see that. There is a lot of interesting things to see in that area, both the ballpark, and the old American Tobacco building. They have some really interesting sights there as well.
It was great to be "home" again, nice to visit and see all the sights I remember, the food I used to enjoy and also to see my son. We had a great time during the short visit, and I am looking forward to returning again in the next few weeks!
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