It was a scorching hot North Carolina day in April when we arrived for the afternoon tour at…read moreSouthern Grace Distillery. We had paid in advance and made it just in the nick of time to join our group of about a dozen people. The crowd was a mix of adults and children; personally, I didn't quite understand the presence of kids on a jailhouse and whiskey tour, but the group was ready to dive into the history. The tour kicked off with chilling news of hauntings. Our guide mentioned that the show "Ghost Hunters" had even visited the site, certifying the old jail as haunted--though fortunately by "friendly" spirits. The sensory experience was a bit of a rollercoaster. I generally enjoy the scent of bourbon, and the initial aroma upon entering the distillery is quite pleasant. However, the main room where we spent a significant portion of the tour had a scent that was overwhelming and wholly unpleasant. That said, the content of the tour was good. It provided a well-balanced mix of intriguing historical facts about the prison and the technical side of whiskey making. The kids got restless during the tour and actually started brutally kicking each other in the shins. They each had on shell toed Crocs, so you could hear the crunch of bone and flesh beneath each kick. Their parents let it go on indefinitely. The hour passed quickly and was well worth the $14 adult admission. The tasting at the end is not for the faint of heart. They serve hard liquor, and I do mean HARD. My lips were numbing and my face was next. I had to tap out after the third swig! On the bright side, the gift shop is fantastic. They have the most darling items; we walked away with two tote bags and a delicious pink lemonade drink that will be perfect for sharing with friends this summer. This is a unique, affordable way to spend an hour, provided you can handle the heat and the high proof!

Wow this was a micro craft distillery at its best. Customer service, selection, and knowledge. They…read moretruly deserve being the face of the charlotte area whiskey. 1st entering, you walk into a small area with a gift shop area, bar area, and small separate sitting area on the first floor. The small sitting area also houses their original small still they currently produce their gin in. Pretty cool piece of history. So about the juice...They're really got some good stuff. You can do a curated flight for 10 dollars each pour, you can also do single pours of whatever they have available as well from their core products to the single barrels. I really love what they're doing with the "Story" line where they experiment with different finishes and blends. I'm not a huge rye guy but they are certainly doing it right. That says a lot for me to grab 2 to take home of their rye single barrels..my bartender was so cool and knowledgeable I even grabbed the one he actually picked. Overall 10/10. They're giving the bigger names a definite run for their money. You will not go wrong supporting and drinking local with them. Hands down the best in the charlotte area. They do offer shipping but, you NEED to go in for the full experience and the option to grab distillery exclusive bottles. #Foodierunner approved lol

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.

We had the best day at the NC Transportation Museum!!! We took the Amtrak from Charlotte to visit…read morefor the day (only wish there was some kind of shuttle from the Salisbury train station since the Amtrak doesn't stop in Spencer, but it was an inexpensive Uber). We started our visit with the train ride experience -- it took us all through the Spencer Shops property and they were playing a history explainer of the speakers (was a bit hard to hear with people talking but still interesting). Our two favorite parts of the property were the Roundhouse, which is filled with all kinds of different trains and train-related exhibits (like a real switchboard and a U.S. Army Hospital Car) and the Back Shop (literally has just about every kind of mode of transit you can think of on display, from bicycles to dugout canoes to fire trucks to boats and so much more). All the staff we met were so friendly and welcoming, too -- we had the best day! This would be the perfect place to take kids who are old enough to enjoy museums (especially those who are into planes, trains and automobiles)!!!

The North Carolina Transportation Museum has been on my list to visit for a while now, and I…read morefinally made it to Spencer, NC, to check it out. I love museums and have been to a lot of them, and some are better than others. This one felt disjointed and not cohesive. It could be improved. Tickets are purchased near the building near the train tracks. You get a wristband and a map to go on your way. The museum is on 60 acres, so there is a lot of walking. The Southern Railway Spencer Shops were once located here. 3000 people worked at Spencer Shops to keep the steam engines working properly. Spencer was halfway between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, GA, and the steam engines needed to be serviced about every 150 miles. They could run for about two hours, but then needed an hour of service to keep everything operating properly. I started in the Back Shop (look for the BE CAREFUL sign), which was built in 1905 for steam locomotives that required more extensive maintenance. The building is the size of two football fields. The building now shows all forms of transportation, from bicycles to fire trucks to cars to airplanes to rail cars to boats and canoes. This was a large building, and it wasn't clear which path we were to walk through it, as there were two aisles with items on both sides, along with empty areas. Building F housed the Roundhouse, which was the best of the buildings. It is the largest remaining roundhouse in the country. This was like a garage with 37 stalls to repair the steam engines. Now, inside it, you will find steam and diesel locomotives, passenger cars, and a full-size replica of the Wright Flyer. There is an area where you can see people working on the cars, and at the end of the building, there are some train cars that you can enter. The exhibits in this building are well done, and you can read the storyboards about the exhibits. I started in the orientation room to watch the video about the site's history, but it wasn't available to me. I was just handed another map. I'm not sure if he didn't want to start it for just one person, but I would have liked to see it as it would have provided background on the complex. The staff member wasn't friendly and didn't seem like he wanted to answer questions. Building G was the wheel balancing exhibit in a shed. The scales made sure the weight was correct for being on the train tracks. Buildings C, D and E felt like a waste. C was decorated for the Easter events, so it didn't seem the building was being properly utilized. There were some dining car exhibits in there. Building D had a model train layout and is used for storage. Building E had more classic cars. More signage would help to get from the buildings, if they made a path to follow. I didn't see any signage for getting from building G to E, so I had to backtrack through buildings F and B to get there, as I wasn't sure where I was allowed to walk on the gravel and tracks. This is where a guide would have been helpful to direct guests. Then, the inside buildings could use better descriptions, like those used in building F. It would have been nice to have helpful, friendly guides to better understand the complex. The trains weren't running on the day of my visit, so that may have provided the background information that was lacking during my visit. I'd remove buildings D and E from the tour and relocate the exhibits to fit everything into two main buildings for better flow. If I returned, I would just focus on building F and spend my time in the building, better curated.

Such a GORGEOUS park in the middle of small town North Carolina just outside of Charlotte. Lake…read moresports, fishing, children's parks and events, the place is HUGE. Camping hours locks you in after closing with private access should you need to exit. Ranger is a friendly bloke that was so helpful. Peaceful, full hookups and onsite black tank disposal. Note, it's a public park - so you're not going to have control over whom your neighbours are, but we got lucky and the possible problem guests were leaving as we arrived (yay!).

Nice, spacious park!!! The playground areas, alone, is worth the drive, it's huge and great for all…read moreages!! There's also a carousel, a barnyard to pet farm animals, an aquarium/exhibit with live animals inside of it in the nature center, a splash pad, mini golf, trails for walking, and some wildlife habitats outside that have wild animals as well. We didn't get to do the train, as it was closed; but there was still so much to enjoy at the park. Me and my bestie brought our kids and they had a blast! We spent a solid 2-3 hrs there and had a great time. It's also very inexpensive!! Some things that I will say is that the bathrooms are not very clean and don't even work but it's an old place, so that's to be expected and we're not there to use the restroom, we're there to play! Bring cash for extra things, like carousel, barnyard, animal exhibits, etc...sometimes their card reader doesn't work and they can only accept cash. There's even a cute place to shop where you purchase tickets for everything with toys and snacks inside! All in all, we had a great time! Keep in mind this place is old, but it definitely still has charm, and stands out against the other parks around. The animal exhibits, including the barnyard petting activity is a hit or miss, because this place is not a zoo. The animals have plenty of room to hide and/or roam to get space, which is a great thing!!! But some people might be upset after paying and not really being able to see the animals. Highly recommend!!! Go if you haven't!!!!

Spent a lovely afternoon here. They have a cozy log cabin tasting room where you can taste your…read morechoice of 5 wines for $15. We shared two tastings so we were able to taste 10 wines. There is a large offering of over 20 varieties. One of the current owners led our tasting and gave us detailed explanations of the history and thought process behind each wine. There are 11 wines that were the original Autumn Creek wines and then the new owners have added some new wines and new blends under the label Gioia dell'Amore Cellars. We liked all of the wines that we tasted. Our favorites were the Diamond Girl White & Red Blends and the Embrace Meritage red blend. After our tasting we purchased a bottle of Diamond Girl Red to enjoy on property. Outside the tasting room are a large deck and a brick patio with sweeping views of grapevines, a pond, a waterfall, a gazebo, a covered area and an event venue (where an anniversary party was taking place). It made for a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon.

So, first off, the name and owners have changed!! Now called Gioia dell Amore and the new owners…read moreare amazing. We haven't been here in many years because the customer service was bad but not anymore! Laura greeted us as soon as we walked in and 10min later we were best friends. Now I didn't hurt that she was from Texas and so are we which gave us a lot to talk about but we really enjoyed spending some time learning about her and her husband the new ownership and just their plans for growing this winery. I would say that they definitely have a passion for serving others and have already engaged in the community raising money for different charities their biggest one recently was one for a cancer charity. I'm not much of a wine drinker my wife is but after tasting the Chardonnay which was fantastic we decided to share a bottle and they also have a bourbon barrel aged Cabernet which is amazing. We promptly came home joined the wine club and will definitely be back because it's only about a 30 minute drive from Greensboro. They have music and food trucks on average about twice a month and I can promise you that when you go you'll get good wine and be treated well.

Have to say I was not impressed at all with this place. A lot of gimmicky items for sale, and while…read moreyou can find that at any store, the vibe here was just off for me. The sole employee there standing behind the counter and flirting with some girl the whole time by do a fake tarot reading on her. Amateur. Meanwhile not doing his job or helping in any way. Hard pass.

Went today and met a wonderful lady who took The time…read moreTo explain the crystals. They were out of what I was looking for but found a wonderful alternative. Will definitely be back