Carolina In My Mind

For years, North Carolina was just part of the commute to drive down to Florida. We didn't have family there growing up or really any friends. As I've written about before, we were largely a Virginia Beach family so it wasn't until I was in my teens that I set foot on its impressive beaches along the Outer Banks. But even driving just driving through it as a kid it was always a very striking state to me.

I think it was the green. Virginia highways have plenty of trees lining them but there was something more vibrantly verdant about Carolina forests and the trees seemed to tower taller. You just visually knew when you were out of the Old Dominion and in the Tar Heel State, that moment when the interstate billboards transitioned from Jesus hotlines to sweet tea (But it's the South so Jesus still shows up). North Carolina seemed to be more nature-oriented and I remember hiking through the mountains later in life just silently taking it all in between pine trees nestled firmly in that red soil.

In terms of the beaches, there was a reason I didn't mention the Outer Banks when I was wrote that beach blog post a couple weeks ago; I knew it would be better suited here. The thing about beaches at the Outer Banks is that they're relatively low traffic in comparison to Virginia Beach but the sand is a noticeably coarser; less fine and more granular. That means when you get swept back on to shore, it feels like you're getting sandpapered occasionally even drawing a little blood if the surf is particularly violent. And those waves definitely crash harder than they do up north which is great if you're an amateur surfer but not so great if the emphasis is on the "amateur" part. I definitely qualify as an amateur.

In that week right after graduation, all my buddies and I wound up at a beach house down in the Outer Banks toasting that one last gasp of summer; summer breaks just aren't the same as high school fades into memory. Would you believe that was the first time I ate at a Five Guys too? Northern Virginia burger chain and I travel five hours south to a totally different state to get it. Anyway, the big thing I had to keep in mind is that when navigating the Outer Banks, the cops are out in force. That road to the beach is full of speed traps with the speed limit suddenly plummeting and patrol cars waiting every step of the way. That kind of extended to the beach itself but not too much. I remember being at a house party that one time and seeing a wave of flashlights move up the coast and immediately splitting as it dawned on me who exactly were carrying the lights.

Admittedly, the only cities I've spent any real amount of time in are Charlotte, Durham, and Raleigh. Durham was more a layover thing but in a lot of ways it encompasses a lot of what the entire state is about: A bohemian bastion in a sea of Dixie making up a crucial point in the Research Triangle, the city has holdovers like the Lucky Strike factory alongside a younger scene of academics and hipsters.

That dynamic is apparent in Raleigh which makes up another point in the Triangle but a lot more of a distinct college town. A friend of mine had gone to NC State and I remember visiting him to help celebrate his 21st birthday during a summer session. At that time, pedicabs were just coming into vogue (strike a pose!...sorry, instinctive Madonna reference) so it wasn't uncommon to see rickshaws pedaling furiously between craft breweries and artisanal sandwich shops. I spent most of that visit reading Death Hallows from cover to cover as that had just come out, if memory serves.

My favorite city in North Carolina by a country mile is Charlotte. One of my oldest friends in the whole wide world has lived there for nearly a decade and it's always interesting visiting him and his wife while observing how the city has changed since my last appearance. There are still vestiges of the Old South in the city and the Uptown area is super-walkable despite the skyscrapers. Those buildings were largely built as many banking firms looked to set up corporate shop in the city. When the industry crashed, much of that construction went unfinished (in some cases, for years) leaving abandoned skyscrapers filling the skyline in a vision of what could have been. Much of the construction has since been completed but there are still unfinished buildings in the center of town; the first time I visited my friend, it was much more apparent with these looming incomplete concrete and steel precipices overhead the neon Uptown like Neo fucking Tokyo.

Always thought it looked like a giant bottle opener.

Nowadays, I try to make it down to Charlotte at least once a year, visiting friends, taking in that Carolina barbecue, and the delightfully hipster scenes in NoDa and around town. A particular favorite aspect is the resurgence of video arcades around town with Abari as my personal preference full of vintage arcade cabinets, a Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis at the bar, and a corner of the bar set up like an 80s basement complete with used couches and wood-paneled walls. When I think of the best Carolina has to offer, the blend of southern hospitality and burgeoning modern sensibility, Charlotte is what comes to mind first.