CHARLOTTE & MATTHEW - NOT A LOVE STORY!

Well, we are back safe & sound from 9 crazy, fun, interesting and WET days in Charlotte, NC!  We did so many interesting things, met some phenomenal people, and saw so many amazing things that I don't know where to begin to tell you all about it!

But today's installment of our adventures has to be about the story that dominated everything, the whole week long - Hurricane Matthew!

When we left on our trip on Sunday the 2nd of October the forecast called for gorgeous weather - sunny and in the upper 70s all week long, including both race days.  And the closer we got to race day, the more grim the forecast became.  Hurricane Matthew was originally not supposed to impact the Charlotte area.  WRONG!

We woke up during the night on Thursday night to the sound of rain on the roof of the RV.  And not just any rain, hurricane like rain.  And so it began ...

Thankfully, we were camping at the former Tom Johnson's campground (which is now part of CMS property) and we were parked on gravel that drained really well.  The same cannot be said for the hearty souls who like to camp in the infield.  This, combined with the past few races at Dover in torrential rains, is why we will NEVER camp on grass at any track ever again.  Ever.

We sat in the camper formulating Plan B for Race Day #1.  And we were going to need it!

We had visited as many museums and race shops as I could take (Hey!  I never claimed to be THAT big a race fan!) so I really just wanted to go someplace fun and non-race related.  Hubby - who is the guy who picks up maps and brochures everywhere we go - got busy doing some true armchair tourist research and he suggested this place - The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery.  

I am so glad we found this place!  It is a true German-style brauhaus, with some really authentic German cuisine.  And the beer!  SO good!  This was my lunch for the day (and my afternoon snack for the next day too!)

We tried 6 different beers and left with three six-packs to share with our daughters and sons-in-law who are the real beer lovers in our family!  I'm sure they wish I could have brought home some of this meat and cheese plate too!

It was a great way to spend a few rainy hours on a Friday afternoon!

The rain continued the rest of the day and all night long on Friday.  And it was a wind-driven rain which meant there was no way we could put the awning out and sit outside.  So we did some reading, some napping, and alot of tv watching, hoping that the sun would come out tomorrow.

Well, the Nascar gods were not with us on Saturday either.  Thank goodness for college football on television!  The wind and the rain continued and even got worse.  We tried to take advantage of a little break in the downpours and go for a short walk, only to have to turn around and go back inside. All of Saturday's track action was also cancelled, which meant that the night race we were so looking forward to was now going to be a double-header day race.  Oh well.  With all of the folks who were dealing with damage to their homes, we had no right to complain.

Late Saturday afternoon, I opened the camper door to see if it was still raining and guess what greeted me ...

It was a beautiful rainbow, too!  I could see both ends of the arc over the campground.  No pot of gold, but still a great sign!!  We had a few more showers, and then I saw this ..

This is what the edge of a hurricane looks like!  Pretty cool, huh?!  So while the weather was awful, it was also beautiful in its own special way.

And once we were sure that the rain was outta here, all the campers with cabin fever slowly emerged from their cocoons, and the Matthew Survival party began!  I'll tell you all about that and all the crazy campers we met in my next installment!