My first (rather small) set of Charlotte photos is now online, should you be interested in seeing them…
I took one of my patented very long drives today and wound up in Shelby, after also passing through King’s Mountain and a fair chunk of Gaston County. I always liked the sort of dowdy mill towns around Gastonia when I lived here before, and I still do. While big cities in the south often look somewhat smaller and less urban than their counterparts in California, I’ve always found it interesting that the small towns read much bigger and more dense than similarly-sized towns in California. I’m not entirely sure why this is, but I’m guessing it has a lot to do with the fact that many small towns in North Carolina are somewhat more industrial than agricultural in character…
Shelby is nice. I hadn’t been there since about 1988, and it was nice to give it a more thorough once-over this time around. I have also developed a slight obsession with the broccoli casserole at Jackson’s Cafeteria (three inconvenient locations to serve you: Gastonia, Rock Hill, and Shelby) and I was able to have it for dinner again tonight…
I may have more musings later about small towns, cafeteria ladies, white teenagers, and other things. Right now, I’m gonna watch some TV, take a shower, and go to bed without my favorite cuddle toy again…
Sigh…