Michael Visits Charlotte...

In California we saw a sign that said,

"You don't know how many friends you have until you move to the beach."

Boy, did we find that to be true

and we loved having visitors coming and going all the time.

When we moved to Charlotte we feared that no one would come visit.

But in the 2 months we have been here,

we have had 4 different sets of family/friends come for various reasons.

We completely lucked out.

After Jessie left, my nephew Michael 

{who is the same age as me and we grew up like twins}

came to Charlotte for some meetings.

Although I like to think he just came to visit me.

One of the days I went Uptown with him and we had lunch at the epicenter.

It is a fun area with a bunch of different restaurants, a movie theater, and a bowling alley - 

all stacked on top of each other.

Signs for the democratic national convention filled the center

and it was exciting to see the city bustling around getting ready for the big event.

{No matter what our political views}

Annie and I hung around for a bit while Michael met with a few people

and then we headed to the Levine Museum of the New South.

It was a Tuesday afternoon and the place was dead.

I think we were the only ones there.

It was a simple museum with little exhibits 

but still pretty fascinating to learn about Charlotte post Civil War.

It reminded me of a much smaller version of the Newseum in D.C.

No one would ever guess it,

but Charlotte is the second largest banking city in the U.S. - after New York.

This place has really boomed over the years.

We learned all about the cotton industry and felt the different kind of cotton that was spun in this area.

North Carolina is a huge design center and it was fun to learn the history of it all.

I had never heard of Belk until I moved here.

Turns out it is a major department store in the South.

The museum had a replica of the first Belk store 

with some pretty cool antique items you could try on.

Nearly 35 percent of the Charlotte population is black or African-American.

It was pretty disheartening to get a glimpse of the segregation that existed here in the 1950's.

I thought this replica was pretty incredible 

and made me realize how bold they were about separating the races.

What a remarkable time in history it must have been when equality was finally established.

I couldn't help but snap a picture in front of the sign about the first female physician in North Carolina -

named Annie.

It was a quick visit to the museum - just the way I like it.

Next stop was a little market on 7th street.

I wish I would have taken some pictures.

We stumbled upon this unique area right off of the train 

where local vendors come to try out their products.

I discovered a juicing business and was in heaven.

I am hoping to go back this week to check it out.

My life has definitely slowed down since Annie

but Michael was nice enough to chill at home with me after bedtime.

Such is the life.

One night he got so tired of my empty/healthy cupboards that he decided to order Papa Johns -

at about 10:00.

James was sad he was missing out on the fun when I sent him a picture of Michael digging in.

But the best part was the next morning -

when both boys dug in for breakfast.

Dessert pizza and all.

I guess this is what my poor guests resort to.

We finished his visit off with a little sushi that evening before I took him to the airport.

Boy was it a bummer when he left.

He was the last of a slew of visitors and I wasn't sure what I was going to do with myself once he left.

Sure do love that nephew of mine.

I am praying we get to see a whole lot more of this guy in Charlotte in the near future.

Next time I promise a whole lot more junk food.