Once in town we shall take
a break from our history lessons and enjoy the North Carolina beauty. I really
want to get a feel for Charlotte, but not from a past perspective or a Civil
War perspective. I want to take Charlotte in, in its present conditions and see
what it can teach me not only about the South but perhaps about McElwee as
well. By visiting his home town I want to find how is life there, and the women
surrounding him might have affected him and also if their thoughts, believes, or words might mingle the realities of the South with the fantasies of the South.
From highest peak at Crowders MNT. Credit: http://hikingthecarolinas.com/crowders.php
“Just about anywhere you go in North Carolina, you will bump
into a Civil War story — one you may not find anywhere else” (Civil War
Traveler). Oddly enough there where not many Civil War battles around
Charlotte, but the story we have is McElwee’s own—and what a unique one it is.
When McElwee visits him family in North Carolina they go on a trip to the
Mountains, and almost every scene after that in NC McElwee is outside in these
beautiful surroundings, hiking, roller skating, on the lake. So I figured why
not take a chance to get out of the Civil War mind frame and hike with the
present. Today we will go hiking in Crowders Mountain State Park where
we will be rock climbing, hiking and picnicking all day. The night we will have
a lovely dinner at Luce and then go enjoy the southern atmosphere at
the traditional Irish Bar Ri-Ra. After an exhausting day we will go
catch some ZZZ’s at our beautiful room in the Duke’s Mansion.
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