For the 5th year running my family and I did the Amazing Maze and we loved it. It started with my…read moredaughter and I years ago then we expanded the family and others joined in and now we take quite the group. It is so much fun. We had great times trying to find our way out and doing the various puzzles as we move about. All of us have tried to lead and we have always shared many laughs. This year I was extremely excited to see the AFTER pandemic approach to the Hill as they had a festival feel with all types of retail and food choices. They even had places set-up for you to take selfies or have photo opportunities. What a nice touch. I cannot wait until next year.

Not adult friendly for actual attendants. Miserable mindsets of workers, sadly…read more The maze is fun and interactive. The check in attendants were rude to adults and after spending an hour in the maze. We went to return our pencil and crayons and there was a candy bowl. The lady with frizzy grey/dirty blonde hair yelled at us saying 8 and under and that that's all the candy for the day. At first I thought she was joking and laughed it off. But unfortunately she was being serious. Candy is a festive piece to fall and Halloween. It's not designated for kids. Majorly let down and made me feel bad for trying to have fun on my weekend.

This large bronze artwork is located across from the Mecklenburg County Courthouse. It is a hand…read moreand for being such a simple sculpture, there is much to it. The hand is located in a small plaza that is outfitted with covered picnic tables and next to the parking deck. The Little Village Grill is also here. The sculpture is my Asheville-based artist Hoss Haley. The caption at the base reads, "The hand symbolizes exchange, agreement, fairness, compassion - all of which reference our judicial system and its many responsibilities to the community. Integrity refers to the state of being complete and undivided." I also found a statement online, "A challenge for Haley was positioning the hand so that is appeared neither begging nor oppressive. The result is a neutral hand, 'as if to say I'm simply offering my hand without judgment.'" That's a powerful message, quite appropriate for the location. [Review 18908 overall - 3392 in North Carolina - 2431 of 2022.]

This statue of Sam Mills stands on the East side of Bank of America stadium. It is inside the gates…read moreso you'll probably only be able to visit when there is a game on. It depicts Sam Mills in uniform and seeming to look across the field. At his feet, the caption reads "Sam Mills. Leader and Gentleman. Linebacker. Carolina Panthers 1995-1997". For the squad, Mills was more than simply a linebacker. During the franchise's early years, he was its lifeblood. At 5'9", Mills was deemed tiny, yet he brought unparalleled intensity, leadership, and tenacity to the field. After joining the Panthers in 1995, he immediately established himself as a vital member of their defense. His status as a player was solidified by his famous interception in the team's first-ever victory and his selection to the Pro Bowl at the age of 37. The team's enduring motto, "Keep Pounding" was inspired by his bravery off the field as he battled cancer while still coaching. His #51 jersey was the first retired by the team. In 2022, he was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. [Review 517 of 2025 - 4117 in North Carolina - 24078 overall]

With monuments from Pennsylvania and Maine, dedicated to the soldiers from those states who came to…read morethe South to fight in the Civil War, this is a peaceful and quiet place. I was here on Memorial Day Weekend with all of the flags laid out. A great tribute to our military. Prior to being a cemetery, the land was an abandoned cotton mill before it was converted into a military prison. At one time, it held as many as 10,000 men and in such a tight area, there was disease. Many died from malnutrition and were buried in mass graves. It is a column place and I was glad to have visited on this weekend. You won't be able to miss the Federal Monument to the Unknown Dead, a 38 foot tall granite obelisk. There are a number of context markers that explain the layout and history. [Review 1123 of 2024 - 3618 in North Carolina - 22147 overall]

This cemetery is the historic, original national cemetery. It's operated and run by the main annex…read moreon Statesville Blvd. near the VA Center, but is worth stopping by for the historical significance. The minute I drove in I could see the difference: the large cast iron gates and stone perimeter fence, the multiple plaques and monument to the unknown soldiers, the Maine and Pennsylvania monuments honoring the soldiers from those states that died in the prison camps of the 1860s. There's a lot to see in this 12 acres. The trees and vegetation are larger, more established, and there's less of frenetic pace here than in the newer location. It's what you would expect, the immediate emotion evident in the newer locale is here replaced by the bittersweet sadness of monuments to those who may no longer have living relatives or any who can come by regularly. There were only a few people at this spot, all elderly, paying respects to Korean or Vietnam war vets, buried here just before the new annex opened. There's a stateliness about this spot and a more intimate feeling. It's beautifully maintained. The state has kept this location as well groomed as the newer national cemetery annex. It's a fascinating location to visit and pay respects, before or after visiting the new cemetery, and it matters little if you're a history buff or not.

This marker is under a tree and so it's not in great condition. It's also hard to read if you're…read morezipping by. I was able to park in the nearby church lot and walk over. The marker reads, "Whig general, was killed at Cowan's Ford, Feb. 1, 1781. Davidson College and Davidson County are named for him." Davidson College: https://www.yelp.com/biz/davidson-college-davidson Online, as is usual with North Carolina's brief markers, there is more information. "William Lee Davidson, for whom both Davidson County and of Davidson College are named, was born in 1746 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the son of George Davidson, an Irish immigrant. William's mother apparently died in childbirth, and George Davidson joined the migration from Pennsylvania to the Piedmont of North Carolina, eventually settling along Davidson's Creek in Iredell County. When his father died in 1760, William was placed under the care of Alexander Osborn and John Brevard, two of the wealthiest men in the area. Under their patronage, Davidson attended Sugaw Creek Academy near Charlotte and studied under Alexander Craighead. In 1767, Davidson married Mary Brevard, John's daughter, and sister of Ephraim Brevard, one of the authors of the Mecklenburg Resolves." "On February 1, 1781, Davidson's militia forces attempted to delay Cornwallis's crossing of the Catawba River at Cowan's Ford. His men held against a vastly numerical superior force until Davidson fell dead from multiple gunshots." "Davidson's death was much lamented in the American ranks. Described as the "chief instrument relied upon by Greene for the assemblage of the militia," Davidson was remembered as "a man of popular manners, pleasing address, active and indefatigable." His pistols, sword, and wallet were taken by British forces and given to Cornwallis after the skirmish. They are on display at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in Greensboro." Quite the Continental hero. Much respect. [Review 13393 overall, 712 of 2020.]

I never would've imagined Concord would have such a large, nice library tucked into the upcoming…read morehustle and bustle of their downtown. It meshes perfectly with the other shops and restaurants right along the main drag. Out front the shrubs and green spaces are nicely upkept and featured a sculpture or two. In the library you can find basically anything you'd find in a Charlotte library. The bottom floor features the fiction and nonfiction stacks, plenty of computers for public use and tables for board games, puzzles and Scrabble night. Upstairs is an entire theater where, on the day I visited, a duo was playing guitar, tambourine and singing for a group of kids. Just beside the theater entrance is the children's area for books and things. Both upstairs and downstairs you can find staff at the ready to help you find what you need. It's amazing to me that more people don't take full advantage of the service and resources libraries provide entirely for free in our communities. Though I think that's changing, as this location seems to prove.

This marker is visible near the front gates of the prestigious University of North Carolina at…read moreCharlotte. It reads simply: Established 1946; became Charlotte College, 1949. Moved here 1961. Campus of The University of North Carolina since 1965. From the historical marker web page: The "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944," better known as the "GI Bill of Rights" was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 22, 1944. With unprecedented unemployment in postwar America, many veterans took advantage of the educational opportunities offered by the G. I. Bill, which included the payment of tuition, as well as expenses for books, fees, and subsistence. Soon the enrollment demands at colleges and universities surpassed available slots for admission. Educational facilities sprang up across the country. One such institution opened in Charlotte in 1946. Known as the Charlotte Center, it offered evening classes at the old Central High School building near downtown. In 1947 Bonnie E. Cone, a mathematics teacher, was asked to direct the center. Although the demand for such centers had decreased by 1949, Charlotte's leaders recognized the importance of having a state-supported college in town and convinced legislators to transform the center into Charlotte College, a two-year institution. Cone became the first president of the college. In 1957 Charlotte College acquired land in northeast Mecklenburg County for a larger, permanent campus, and the following year it became a part of the state's community college system. The first buildings on the new campus were opened to students in 1961. In 1963, as part of a statewide expansion, the legislature voted to make Charlotte College a branch of the newly-created University of North Carolina system. The formal transition and name change occurred July 1, 1965, when it became the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dean W. Colvard was selected to be the first chancellor.

This marker is in Uptown Charlotte and looks like a regular North Carolina historical marker but it…read moreseems to be independent. It simply reads, "Second Ward School. 1923-1969. Site of the first public high school for Blacks in Charlotte-Mecklenburg." At the bottom, it indicates that it was erected by Second Ward School Alumni. Second Ward High School was opened in 1923 in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the city's first public high school for African Americans. During a time of segregation, the school provided respect and safety, and was considered the heart of the neighborhood. The school was subsequently closed in 1969, when the neighborhood was demolished during urban renewal. [Review 516 of 2025 - 4116 in North Carolina - 24077 overall]