36 Hours in the Queen City of North Carolina

As season ticket holders, we try to go to one away Atlanta United game per season. So far we've been to games in New York/Newark, Cincinnati, Seattle, Montreal, Salt Lake City, San Jose, and Chicago. This season, our schedule has been a little hectic so we settled on a close match in nearby Charlotte, North Carolina over Labor Day weekend. This was a quick trip, we left on a Friday afternoon and returned on Sunday afternoon. We had all day on Saturday in Charlotte to explore before the 7:30 pm kick-off time. To add to the fun, David's work-friend Suraiya and her husband Jacob joined us for the match! They're Charlotte FC fans (which we didn't hold against them).

On our way to Charlotte, we took the scenic route to see some small towns and counties we haven't visited before. This added about an hour and a half to the trip, but overall Charlotte isn't a long trip from Atlanta.

An 1826 farmhouse house near Honea Path, South Carolina. 

Ware Shoals on the Saluda River in South Carolina.

Before rolling into Charlotte around the time it got dark, we ran into a massive thunderstorm. Luckily traffic wasn't bad, because it was pouring buckets. We checked-in at our hotel near Uptown Charlotte, and wanted to walk around but that was out of the question with the weather. Instead we drove to the nearby Optimist Food Hall for a late dinner. It was a little hard to get there, as roads around uptown were flooded and some were even closed due to the rain. The food hall itself was pretty nice, it was similar to some we have in Atlanta: a trendy urban food hall in a former industrial building. In this case it was a textile mill that was once the largest producer of gingham fabric (there was a big fabric industry in Charlotte in the early 20th century). There were several familiar names in the hall (Honeysuckle Gelato, Bottiwalla, etc) as there is a lot of overlap in regional food concepts between Charlotte and Atlanta. We got some BBQ, dumplings, an empanada, and a half pastrami sandwich to try out. Everything was good and we'd recommend this place overall. We went back to the hotel after dinner to rest up for the full day of exploring Charlotte on Saturday before the game.

Inside the Optimist Hall.

Food time!

David with his very expensive half sandwich.

The rain let up a bit by the time we were leaving.

The next morning Paul snuck off before David got up for some coffee at Summit Coffee, a short drive away in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood. After, we decided to go down to the South End to walk along the Rail Trail and see some of that neighborhood. This area is just south of Uptown, and is rapidly developing along the light rail line. There were, again, many similar restaurants and concepts that we see in Atlanta (like Superica), and a fun farmer's market along the trail. 

Morning coffee break!

Choo Choo!

South End reminded us of West Midtown in Atlanta.

A little market.

After wandering around in the hot sun for an hour or so, we decided to go grab some lunch at an Italian place called Little Mama's in the South Park neighborhood. This is a bit of an urban area popping up around a suburban style mall, south of the city. Pretty similar to some places in metro Atlanta. The food and service here were good, definitely an Italian-American red sauce joint, but they make some of their own cheese and pasta fresh.

After lunch we headed off to the Mint Museum Randolph location to check out their collection of mostly ceramics (and some paintings) from around the world. A pretty small museum, overall, it still housed some nice exhibits and is worth a short visit if you're into this sort of thing.

Lunch at Little Mama's.

Ummmm - what's going on in this vase!?

A cool pineapple teapot.

Neat art.

The artist has definitely seen a dog and cat before.

Likewise, those are totally the proportions of human children.

From the Mint Museum Randolph, we headed back to the hotel for a break from the heat. We then had enough time to walk around Uptown to the other Mint Museum (more modern building and modern art) since our ticket was good for both locations. This is definitely worth a stop if you're into modern art, it had some neat exhibits in an expansive space. We then took a lyft and met up with Suraiya and Jacob at Growler's Pourhouse in the  NODA neighborhood. This was another cute neighborhood with lots of lively folks wandering around and what seemed like a flea market in the main commercial drag.

We walked by the NASCAR hall of fame, which has been somewhat of a failure in terms of visitor numbers.

Uptown Charlotte is sorta like a mix between Midtown and Buckhead Atlanta.

Exhibit at the mint museum.

They had a roller coaster carved out of marble!

Civil rights painting.

The NODA neighborhood.

From Growler's, we caught a ride with Suraiya and Jacob to the Bank of America stadium back in Uptown to watch the Atlanta/Charlotte match. The stadium is also next door to a small baseball field and there was a game going on there too (minor league), so the area was very busy and lively.

Heading into the stadium.

Lots of blue, but there were also plenty of Atlanta people around!

Huddle before the game.

The main Atlanta fan section.

We had great seats for this game, and the stadium felt a bit more intimate than the massive Mercedes Benz in Atlanta - even though it's a similar size, the lack of a dome and the uncovered empty upper decks caused this effect. Overall it was a great experience and Atlanta pulled out a surprise upset win! I think our only complaint would be that it was pretty hot at the start of the game. Most people around us were very sweaty and we got a bit dehydrated because we're dumb and didn't buy any water. After the game, we said our farewells to our friends and started the trek back to the hotel. On the way, we passed a Whole Foods and ran in for bevies and a sweet treat to take back to the hotel. A good end to a fun day in Charlotte!

We also walked by the ACC headquarters.

And caught the end of the Notre Dame season opener win on TV at the hotel.

The next morning we slept in a bit, then started the trek back to Atlanta. We (again) took a more scenic route through some rural South Carolina and Georgia cities. We stopped for lunch in Thomson at a fun pizza/Italian place called Fernanda's Grill and Pizzeria (not sure why we did double Italian this weekend). We also stopped in Covington to walk around a bit in their cute downtown.

Paul with a huge plate of zeppole!

Thomson has painted guitars around downtown.

We stopped by what is supposedly the oldest surviving stone house in Georgia.

Big mural in downtown Covington.

We've been to Charlotte a few times now. It's a fun town with a lot of potential. It has a small, fairly urban core and lots of development seeming to improve its urbanity overall, especially along its light rail line. Overall, it does feel less diverse and colorful than Atlanta. There is so much overlap in architectural style, developers, food concepts and overall vibe between the two cities in some places, but Charlotte lacks Atlanta's civil rights history and hiphop culture. We'll definitely be back, and are looking forward to hanging out in more neighborhoods in this rapidly growing southern "little sister" of Atlanta.

Soccer Weekend in Cincinnati

Earlier this year we went to an Atlanta United away game in Seattle - and this year we decided to go to another away game, the last Atlanta United game of the season, in Cincinnati. Our friends and fellow season ticket holders snagged some great seats for the game, and we made plans to drive up.

On a Thursday after work we drove part way, stopping for some fried chicken for dinner at Champy's in Cleveland Tennessee. We've been to the original Champy's in Chattanooga, and we're fans! We drove a couple more hours from there, stopping for the night at Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky, where we stayed at the historic Dupont Lodge. The lodge itself is fine (the rooms were last updated in the early 2000s) but it was cool to stay in the state park quite a ways off the interstate. We couldn't see much while driving in since it was nighttime, but the next morning we were treated to excellent views from the hotel's back patio. After breakfast we drove the short distance to Cumberland Falls, the main attraction in the state park. We walked to a few different viewpoints before getting back in the car to head up to Cincinnati.

Champy's is... a bit much. But the food is good!

David with his chicken sandwich.

Paul's dark meat fried chicken plate.

David with the Harvest tree in the Dupont Lodge.

The back patio.

Walking towards the overlook. So much color!

Paul enjoying a harvest/fall scene.

Kentucky is really pretty.

Cumberland Falls.

From the falls, it was a little less than a three hour drive to Cincinnati. The fall leaves in Kentucky this time of year were very colorful and it was a nice drive overall. When we arrived in Cincinnati, we went straight to lunch at Gatherall, a new food hall (still in the processing of opening, with about half the stalls under construction) in a former playing card factory northwest of downtown. It's a cool addition to the city, even though it's a ways from downtown.

Gatherall Food Hall. Nice architecture!

Inside was industrial chic. 

David with his Korean fried chicken tenders and bulgogi egg rolls.

From there, we made a somber trip to bring flowers to David's Yiaya's resting place. The cemetery itself (Spring Grove) is really lovely, especially with all the fall colors and some of the elaborate mausoleums. We've visited a few cemeteries over the years as city parks or touristic attractions and this one didn't disappoint with it's attention to detail and restoration works.

How bucolic.

Flying buttresses on the Dexter mausoleum, built in 1869.

Salmon Chase (a senator, governor, and chief supreme court justice) is buried in the cemetery.

David's a fan of fall foliage.

Little stone bridge to a small island. Too cute.

The leaves were popping!

From there we drove to Paul's step-brother's house and hung out and visited for the evening. We hadn't seen him for a while so it was great to catch up with him and his family, especially his two adorable kids. We stayed at their house while visiting Cincinnati. 

The next day, Saturday, we drove downtown and met our Atlanta friends for breakfast at Maplewood Kitchen in downtown. It was pretty good, and definitely a worthwhile breakfast stop if in downtown. We visited their hotel next, the 21c museum hotel. It was really interesting, as the first two floors of the hotel are an art gallery. Really cool concept! Next we saw more art at the Cincinnati Art Museum. This is a very large, impressive art museum with free entry. It's probably the top attraction in the city, with its commanding architecture and wide-ranging collections of art and artifacts. Paul particularly liked the 18th century Damascus room.

Fountain square in downtown.

David's chilaquiles at Maplewood Kitchen.

We don't what this is, but we hate it. Part of the art exhibit at the 21c hotel!

Downtown Cincinnati has great urban form.

Pinocchio welcoming us to the Cincinnati Art Museum.

The Damascus room. It's actually cobbled together from a few different sites.

David and Arvo enjoy more impressive rooms and arts.

Just some demons chilling.

After visiting the museum, we drove up to the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood to be closer to the stadium and grab some food at Findlay Market. I think we've visited Findlay Market every time we've come to Cincinnati, it's in a quickly improving urban neighborhood just north of downtown. Plus there's good food options. From the market, we strolled around the neighborhood, did some window shopping, looked at cute streets and made our way over to Washington Park, where the game day fan zone was being held. There were lots of people out enjoying the nice weather in the pretty park. We sat at a café for a bit before heading over to the stadium.

The Cincinnati Music Hall.

The streetcar runs frequently and connects downtown to some of the urban neighborhoods just north.

We come to Findlay Market every time we visit Cincinnati.

Inside the market, this area is mostly grocers.

Lunch arepa!

Hanging out with our lunch outside Findlay Market.

Lots of cute shops around the market, this area is redeveloping quickly.

There are quite a few nice dining and shopping streets in Over the Rhine.

Paul's here for the fun!

The game was a lot of fun. Cincinnati was the number one team, so we expected to lose, but we pulled out a 2-2 tie even after getting a red card. And the seats that our friends got were primo - front row of the top level, just a section over from the Atlanta United away fans supporters groups. The stadium itself is pretty impressive as well. Worth the trip for any soccer fan.

The line to behold/take a picture of the Supporter's Shield.

The soccer gang at the stadium!

I mean, it's a pretty great pitch/view.

The stadium also had a cool light show around its front when it's dark.

The next morning we had a yummy home-cooked pancake breakfast with Paul's step-brother and family, grabbed some iced coffee for the road at Wyoming Community Coffee, and then headed out to pick up David's Aunt Diane, who we were shuttling down to Georgia to visit with David's parents for a few weeks. We made great time back to Atlanta, and enjoyed the fall colors in Kentucky, a stop at Buc-ee's outside of Lexington, and saw some odd random brush fires near the freeway in Dalton, GA. All in all, a great long weekend in Cincinnati and we hope to visit again soon!