Charlotte, NC
I had the pleasure today to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina where even the possibility of cold rain could not keep me from traveling. I only had a few hours to spend there so I will only post what I know and a more intimate return visit will most definitely be planned for the future. I visited a little known used book store/cafe and the Carolinas Aviation Museum. Usually, traffic into and around the city can be an indicator of how difficult a city can be to navigate but either I was unusually chipper and therefore uninterrupted or the traffic near Charlotte really isn't as bad as say Miami or D.C. I was able to clearly see all signs and at no point were we at a stand-still.
My first stop was Julia's Cafe & Books, a non-profit store associated with the Charlotte Habitat for Humanity Restore. The only used book store with a cafe connection in Charlotte, Julia's offers a wide selection of fiction, nonfiction, biography, business, hobby, pet, religion, sports, and childrens books as well as cds, dvds, audiobooks, and even a few special edition older books and comics. You can sit in one of the reading chairs or play a round of chess at the table while sipping a cup of locally roasted coffee available from the cafe with all purchases supporting Charlotte's Habitat for Humanity. Julia's has the added bonus of being connected to the Habitat's Restore so your significant other or travel friends who aren't big readers can look around the restore while you shop for books.
My second and final stop was the Carolinas Aviation Museum. I was excited to see the Miracle on the Hudson exhibit and I haven't been to an air museum since I was in high school and went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. This museum was much smaller as to be expected but it was chopped full of beautiful aircraft. From the civil aircrafts that started it all to military warfare aircraft and helicopters, and commercial aircraft both old and new as well as engines and even a guided missle are all available to view and learn about the vast history of aviation, You can get up in an aircraft to feel what it feels like to sit in a jet or climb into a cockpit with your kids and show them all the buttons, dials, and levers. Listen to passangers of the US Airways Flight 1549 as they account the day the plane crash landed into the icy water of the Hudson River in New York City on it's way to Charlotte in 2009.
The museum is a magnificent place to take your aviation enthusiast who cannot travel to the Smithsonian in Washington DC. I am delighted that I chose to visit the museum in the short time frame I had in Charlotte and I started planning my next trip to the city on the drive home.
My second and final stop was the Carolinas Aviation Museum. I was excited to see the Miracle on the Hudson exhibit and I haven't been to an air museum since I was in high school and went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. This museum was much smaller as to be expected but it was chopped full of beautiful aircraft. From the civil aircrafts that started it all to military warfare aircraft and helicopters, and commercial aircraft both old and new as well as engines and even a guided missle are all available to view and learn about the vast history of aviation, You can get up in an aircraft to feel what it feels like to sit in a jet or climb into a cockpit with your kids and show them all the buttons, dials, and levers. Listen to passangers of the US Airways Flight 1549 as they account the day the plane crash landed into the icy water of the Hudson River in New York City on it's way to Charlotte in 2009.
The museum is a magnificent place to take your aviation enthusiast who cannot travel to the Smithsonian in Washington DC. I am delighted that I chose to visit the museum in the short time frame I had in Charlotte and I started planning my next trip to the city on the drive home.
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