My first experience in Charlotte, North Carolina was seeing Santa on the side of the road ringing a bell while waving to all the passing cars. That’s how I knew I was going to love the place; Christmas is my absolute favorite. Of course I had to stop and say hello.
I came to Charlotte because four friends I had met earlier this year at the People’s Perch in Maine, Ian, Markie, Montana, and Nolan, were all going to be there. The place where I had previously been camping was only two hours away, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to see them and visit a new place. While we were here, we would be attending a “Pie Ride” that Ian was putting on. Essentially we were all going to ride our bikes around the city all day eating pie; what more could you want?!
I met Ian and Montana at the house where they were staying, and they had a bike for me to use. We had two homemade gluten free pies with us, a squash pie and a berry pie. The three of us rode bikes to Brixx Pizza, where the pie ride started. When we got there we ordered four different pizzas with cauliflower crusts to share, the first “pies” of the day. We ate as we waited for Markie and Nolan to arrive.
When they arrived, they helped us finish the pizzas as we planned the route. Markie had face paint with her so we painted little designs on each other’s faces. We also drew out a bingo board with things to accomplish throughout the day, such as paint a stranger's face, do ten pull-ups in a random spot, and climb something metal.
Biking through Charlotte was my first experience exploring the city. I absolutely loved it. It wasn’t as busy as most cities this large. It had so many cute little parks and statues along the way. Our first stop was Freedom Park. It had a playground area for children, and also a separate work-out type area that was more geared towards adults, although there were also multiple children playing there. Ian and I stopped at the kids’ playground first, enjoying the monkey bars and slides before joining the others at the work-out area. We all climbed and zipped around the park. Off to the side there was a long straight turf racing area with lanes marked out on the ground. We did every single kind of race we could think of: cartwheel races, wheelbarrow races, the crab walk, and somersaults. We were playing harder than most of the kids, and having so much fun some of the kids came over and joined us. One little boy, who couldn’t have been more than 4, raced back and forth with us, making up random things we had to do, like the falcon run. He demonstrated by putting his arms straight out behind him and running as fast as he could. He had a blast with us, even though he did tell us we weren’t very good listeners.
We biked down a sidewalk beside a creek that ran through the city, and Nolan took us to a park with statues that played music. The first statue was a big silver metal ball that was taller than all of us. It had a sign in braille next to it, and the ball was supposed to play music by spinning a metal bar around the outside of it. The bar had broken off so the music no longer played, but it was still a beautiful piece of art. We tried to climb to the top of the ball, each taking turns, giving it our all. Each of us ran and jumped as high as we could, trying to bear hug onto the ball before sliding off. Ian thought if he took his shirt off he might be able to stick to it, but that didn’t work either.
Eventually Ian had Montana stand on his hands and he hoisted her up. She clung to the top of the ball. Next Markie and I were both hoisted up. It was a bit challenging having all three of us up there, but we managed to stay put. Montana laid on her stomach clinging to the ball while Markie sat on top of her holding onto Montana while I stood up holding onto Markie.
We decided the next big challenge was to get us all up there at the same time. Ian pushed Nolan up as we pulled. I almost slid off the side but managed to stabilize myself by grabbing onto Montana and Markie. Lastly we needed to get Ian up. We all tried as hard as we could to pull him up, but the ball was just too slippery and high to get him up without having someone on the ground. That’s when a nice man came over and asked if he could help. He pushed Ian up as we all pulled, and somehow we were all on top together! We clung to each other trying not to fall off. We had reached our goal! And we were able to cross climbing something metal off of the bingo card.
We rode along the bike path until we came to First Ward Park. We parked the bikes and played on big colorful disks that made music as you ran along them. Ian got out the squash pie. As we were eating, he pointed to some random guy on a bench and said, “Hey, do you want some pie?” The guy looked confused and kept looking around to see who we were talking to, but once he realized it was him, he did come over to join us.
His name was also Nolan and he seemed a little confused by the entirety of our group, asking multiple times where we lived, which for all of us was everywhere and nowhere. But he stayed and hung out for a while anyway. He let us paint his face, which was another spot on our bingo card, so we were able to cross that off. We each added a little more to our face paints as well.
We decided to head towards a water tower that Ian and Montana had previously climbed. As we rode we passed through a suburb where all the houses were decorated for Christmas. It looked exactly like one of those Christmas villages that people set up around the holidays. When we reached the water tower, it was in the middle of a charming place called Mistletoe Market. Ian and Montana had checked it out earlier in the week and the place had been empty, but it was now the weekend, and it was packed. There was also a live band playing directly under the water tower. We obviously weren’t going to be able to climb it, but at least we could enjoy this Christmasy spot.
There were multiple murals on the surrounding building that we enjoyed. We walked through rows of vendors selling different jewelries and things they had made. The place was adorable. There were small, old-fashioned RV's that lined the walkway. Some of them had been turned into little shops selling hot chocolate and different foods. There was an area with blow-up domes you could walk into with paper snowflakes hanging from everyone. There were even fire pits with swinging benches hanging around them.
We explored an archway made of shipping crates with one on each side and one going across the top. There was a building next to it with a staircase that made it possible for Montana and I to climb on top of the first shipping crate, ignoring a no climbing sign. We sat and sipped tea as we dangled our feet. Behind us were the doors to the shipping crate that made the top of the arch. We figured it would be locked but I tried the latch anyway. To my surprise it opened right up so we went inside to find what treasures it hid, but it was completely empty. Back on the ground Ian remembered that our bingo card required ten pull ups. He figured this was the perfect place and did the pull ups hanging from one of the shipping containers.
Afterwards we sat at the swinging chairs around the fire as Ian cut into our last pie—the berry pie. He served the pieces into our hands and we gobbled them right up. It was dark by now, and getting very cold. We reluctantly decided the pie ride better come to an end. We turned on the lights on our bikes and rode into the night. After dropping Markie and Nolan off at their bus, Monatana, Ian and I took our bikes down a street that was entirely lit by Christmas lights. Not only did almost every house on the block have lights, but they were also zigzagged over the street with giant balls of colorful lights hanging from them. It was the most decorated street I had ever seen, and it made my heart so happy.
That night I pitched my tent in the woods of a park right in Charlotte near where Markie and Nolan had parked their bus. It was the perfect spot at the end of a dead end street. There weren’t a lot of people around, and those who came though left my tent alone, so I kept it pitched there for three nights. I spent the next few days exploring the city by bike with my friends. It was the perfect short get-away, and I decided that I needed to get a bike and bike rack so I could attach a bike of my own to my car. It's the perfect mode of transportation for exploring while traveling, especially since I hate driving in cities. Finding a parking spot is the worst.
One night while in Charlotte I went along with my friends on a Christmas-light bike ride. The ride itself was over ten miles. Because I had ridden well over twenty miles each day the three days before, my legs ached the entire way. I was much less experienced than the other bikers and struggled to keep up. It was exhausting, but also a blast. We stopped on top of an eight story parking garage where we had a view of the entire city. I loved riding my bike back down the downward slope of circles of the parking garage, going fast without having to peddle.
I absolutely loved every bit of Charlotte. I'm not normally a fan of big cities because I find them overstimulating with too many people. I prefer nature. Maybe it was just being with people I care about, but this city did seem to have a different feel. There weren’t a ton of people, and the people who were there all seemed friendly. There were so many delightful parks and statues to enjoy as well. I know I will be coming back to visit this city again at some point in my life.
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