Our Life - Travel Guides & Photography » Charlotte & Piedmont

Hilton Lake Charlotte

admin — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 20:22:21 +0000

There is a small lake near the University Area in Charlotte known as the Hilton Lake. Hilton University Place Hotel is located on the shores of this lake. There is a boardwalk where people can enjoy views of the tranquil lake setting and a beautiful path goes around the lake. There is a small playground for kids. You can stroll around the lake in the evening enjoying the sight of different birds. Paddle Boats are available for rent. There are many shopping and dining options here. There is a fountain in the middle of the lake. Many people gather at the lake for picnics or for a workout. The lake can get pretty crowded in the Summer.

Here are a few photos of Lake Hilton.

Uwharrie Vineyards

admin — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:41:07 +0000

Uwharrie Vineyards & Winery is located 25 miles North-East of Charlotte in Albemarle, North Carolina. It a beautiful 14,000 sq.ft. facility with a spacious visitor’s center, a formal banquet hall, wine tasting bar and a gift shop, surrounded by 50 acres of beautiful grape vines. You can take a Wine Tasting Tour and relax at the Vineyards. The harvest usually begins in late August and can last until mid October, depending on the weather, climate, and season.

Here are some photos from our trip in late Fall 2010.Visit the Official Website for more information regarding the Wine Tasting Tours.

Belmont Abbey

admin — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:53:36 +0000

Belmont Abbey (Mary Help of Christians Abbey) is a monastery of the Benedictine Order located in Belmont near Charlotte, North Carolina. Belmont Abbey is a monastery of about twenty Benedictine monks, founded in 1876. Its members pray and work together according to the teachings of the Gospel and the wisdom of Saint Benedict. The Abbey is situated on a 700-acre campus in the Piedmont area of North Carolina. The monks also are the benefactors of Belmont Abbey College.

Belmont Abbey Church is the most prominent building on the Campus. It was completed in the year 1894. The church is constructed in the gothic-revival style out of brick and granite and built in the shape of a Latin cross. There is a statue of St. Benedict in front of the Church. The towers of the church can be seen from most of the college campus. The Great Tower holds bells which ring to signal the celebration of the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours. The monastic community continues to hold daily services which are open to the student body and the public. In 1998 Pope John Paul II named the Abbey Church a Minor Basilica in recognition of the historical and aesthetical significance of the structure.

The monastery’s Lourdes Grotto was created in 1891. Intended to foster prayers for vocations, it was blessed as a Pilgrimage Shrine.

Here are some photos from our trip to Belmont Abbey. We attended the Holy Mass at the Basilica on a Sunday and it was really beautiful. Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden is also in Belmont. You can cover both places in a day.

Billy Graham Library

admin — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:19:59 +0000

Billy Graham is America’s greatest Christian evangelist. It is said that Graham has preached in person to more people around the world than any other preacher in history. Billy Graham Library is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It features Billy Graham’s life and his works.

You can tour the Library, Homeplace and Prayer Garden. The library is 40,00 square-foot and reflects Billy Graham’s journey from a humble farm boy to an international Gospel Preacher. Billy Graham HomePlace is where Billy Graham lived from age 9. The house and the gardens are really beautiful. The library is open Monday to Saturday 9 am – 5 pm and admission is free. You can spend around 3 hours in the library. This is one of the best attractions in Charlotte for free.

Here are some photos from our trip to Billy Graham Library.

Carowinds Theme Park

admin — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 05:17:32 +0000

Carowinds Theme Park is a 122-acre theme park, located on the state line between North Carolina and South Carolina, in Charlotte and Fort Mill, respectively. The park opened on March 31, 1973 with a vision of bringing the 2 states close together. Carowinds opens in late March each year and closes in early November, after the park’s Halloween event, “Scarowinds“.

Though the park is relatively small, it has both land and water rides to thrill people of all age groups. It remains a popular theme park in Carolinas and can be crowded in summers. For all those who stay in Charlotte and Fort Mill areas, the park is convenient for a day trip.The tickets are expensive but the Season Passes are a real deal. Food is not allowed inside the park but you can go outside for Lunch and re-enter the park. Many people pack picnic lunches and come out of the park to have it. Like any other Theme park, the food is really expensive inside the park.

We visited Carowinds during our first year in Charlotte. We had taken season passes and hence visited the park couple of times. We enjoyed the thrilling Roller Coasters like Afterburn, Carolina Cobra, Vortex and Nighthawk. The Water Rides weren’t impressive but the Wave Pool and Lazy River were good enough. Here are a few photos from our trip.

Beautiful Places in Charlotte

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:39:23 +0000

: Beautiful Charlotte

Charlotte – the “Queen City” is a beautiful place in North Carolina. Be it summer, winter, spring or fall – Charlotte is special during all seasons. There are lot of places in and around Charlotte for visiting like State Parks, Botanical Gardens, Aquariums and so on.

Here are some places you can visit when you are in Charlotte.

Lake Norman State Park
Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
Carolinas Aviation Museum
Lazy 5 Ranch
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Carowinds Theme Park
Uwharrie Vineyards
Belmont Abbey
Billy Graham Library
Hilton Lake Charlotte University Place
Festival of Lights at Tanglewood

Seasonal Photos

Beautiful Fall Colors Charlotte
Snow in Charlotte

Pilot Mountain State Park

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:03:59 +0000

Pilot Mountain State Park is located between Mount Airy and Winston Salem in North Carolina. It is 1.5 hours drive from Charlotte. It is well known for its distinctive peak “Big Pinnacle”. Pilot Mountain’s original Native American name is Jomeokee. Pilot Mountain has two distinctive pinnacles, named Big and Little Pinnacle. Big Pinnacle is also called “The Knob”. It has 200 feet (61 m) high bare rock walls, and a rounded top covered in vegetation, reaching a height of approximately 1,400 feet (430 m) above the surrounding terrain.

The park is divided into 2 areas:- The Summit and The Yadkin River area. Activities at the park include camping, canoeing, fishing, rock climbing, picnicking, hiking, and environmental education. There are different trails in the park which allow access.

There is a paved road with overlooks and offers views of Big Pinnacle.It is handicap accessible.
Another 0.1 mile long trail leads to Little Pinnacle and Little Pinnacle Overlook offers a close-up view of Big Pinnacle and distant views of the valley below..
The Jomeokee Trail is 0.8 miles roundtrip and is moderate. It goes around the base of Big Pinnacle.

There are 2 picnic areas at the Yadkin River section and 1 picnic area at the summit. Ivy Bluff and Yadkin River Trails originate the River Section of the park.

Here are some photos from our trip to Pilot Mountain State Park. You can read more about other North Carolina Parks here.

Beaches Near Charlotte

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:04:12 +0000

If you are staying in Charlotte, North Carolina, the nearest Atlantic Ocean beach would be around 4 hours drive from Charlotte. When the summer heat gets unbearable in Charlotte, who would not want to take a lovely dip in the ocean. Here is a list of beaches in North Carolina and South Carolina. We have been to Carolina, Kure and Sunset beaches in NC, and Isle of Palms in SC.

Beaches Near Charlotte

North Carolina

Wrightsville Beach – 4 hours
Figure Eight Island – 4.5 hrs
Carolina Beach – 4.5 hours
Kure Beach – 4.5 hours
Ocean Isle Beach – 4.5 hrs
Sunset Beach – 4.5 hours
Holden Beach – 4 hrs 45 mins
Caswell Beach – 4 hrs 45 mins
Surf City – 4 hrs 45 mins

South Carolina

Isle of Palms – 3 hrs 45 mins
Folly Beach – 3 hrs 45 mins
North Myrtle Beach – 4 hours
Myrtle Beach – 4 hours
Surfside Beach – 4 hrs 15 mins
Seabrook Island – 4 hrs 15 mins
Pawleys Island – 4.5 hours
Kiawah Isalnd – 4.5 hrs
Hilton Head Island – 4.5 hrs
Edisto Beach – 4 hrs 45 mins

Charlotte Motor Speedway

admin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:16:49 +0000

Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously, Lowe’s Motor Speedway) was designed and built in 1959 by current chairman O. Bruton Smith. Three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, two NASCAR Nationwide Series races and a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event are among the major events held on the 1.5-mile superspeedway.The speedway’s total seating capacity is approximately 140,000.

If you happen to stay in Charlotte or Concord, North Carolina, then be sure to check out the Speedway Tours. The highlight of this half-hour tour is a comfortable van ride around the superspeedway where you will feel the full-tilt force of the 24-degree banking. Feel The Thrill Tours are available on non-event days Monday through Saturday 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and Sunday 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. The zMAX Dragway is covered during the 11:30 a.m. or 3:30 p.m. tour Monday through Saturday.

Admission is $5 per person. Our tour guide was an excellent person. We had a surprisingly wonderful time racing through the speedway and the dragway feeling the rush of adrenaline. We were able to see NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage, travel down pit road and took a picture in Victory Circle. It was absolutely worth for the money we had spent.

Visit the official site for more information about the Tour.

For a good choice of hotels with discount prices, visit Where to stay in Charlotte NC for more information.

Here is the Gallery View of all Photos.

Lazy 5 Ranch

admin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:41:08 +0000

If you stay in Charlotte or happen to visit Charlotte, North Carolina, then be sure to check out Lazy 5 Ranch. It is a beautiful ranch located in Mooresville, about 30 minutes drive from Charlotte. It is a drive through Ranch which has over 700 animals from around the world which roam around freely. As you drive through 3.5 miles over pasture lands, you get to see both domestic and exotic animals from six continents including giraffe, buffaloes, zebras, llamas, emus, cattle, sheep and more. ‘The ranch has several petting areas, picnic areas, snack bars, play grounds and a gift shop.

It is open all days of the week. The admission fee is $8.50 for adults and$5.50 for children. You can also chose to visit the ranch on the horse drawn wagon instead of your car. The wagon rides cost $2.50 per person. You can buy animal feed for $3 per bucket.

We didn’t go for the wagon ride but drove thru in our car. We had a great time trying to feed all sort of animals. Surprisingly, these animals are least scared of human beings and are friendly They happily put their heads inside your car window expecting food. Kids are definitely going to love this one of a kind experience which they won’t get in zoos. Both adults and kids are definitely going to love Lazy 5 Ranch. You can easily spend 4-5 hours here. So when you are in Charlotte, don’t miss out this beautiful place.

Please visit the official site of Lazy 5 Ranch for more information. Here are some photos from our trip.

Here is the Gallery View of all Photos. Click on the thumbnails to view Larger Images.