Thursday, May 21, 2009

UNC

Today we biked from Wake Forest to the University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill and now we're all in a church watching Cash Cab:
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1 comment:

  1. Duckie #2May 21, 2009 at 9:22 PM

    Ok, so I leave tomorrow for London, so I'm posting a few cities at once. Don't want to break the trend, I look forward to my nightly virtual trip across the country.

    Next City: Winston-Salem
    -called the "Twin City" for its dual heritage, or "Camel City", a reference to Camel cigarettes and the city's prominent tobacco industry. I think Twin City is nicer...
    -locals call it Winston. So when they say, welcome to Winston, you're in the right place
    -home to two universities: Wake Forest University, a nationally distinguished private university and Winston-Salem State University. Still can't get over the WF thing...
    -Salem founded in January 1753 by Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg, on behalf of the Moravian Church. Guess they couldn't call the town "Spengenberg"
    -he called this area "die Wachau" (Latin form: Wachovia) named after the Austrian estate of Count Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf. Wachovia Bank takes its name from this area where it was founded. DUDE! Another really cool new thing!
    -1849, the town of Winston was founded, named after a local hero of the Revolutionary War, Joseph Winston. There we go, back to the names
    -in 1889, the United States Post Office Department combined the mail offices for the two towns, and the towns were officially joined with a hyphen as "Winston-Salem" in 1913
    -In 1928, teenager Thad Garner used $600 he had saved driving the high school bus to buy a barbecue stand. Soon after, the Garners began selling a spicy barbecue sauce that Thad's mother was making in her kitchen. This sauce became Texas Pete, one of the best-selling hot sauces in the Southeast United States.
    -In 1937, Krispy Kreme opened its first doughnut shop in Winston-Salem, in a rented building on South Main Street. The shop sold directly to customers in the historic district

    Cool city!

    Next up: Charlotte, NC
    -largest city in NC
    -nicknamed the Queen City, Charlotte (as well as the county containing it) is named in honor of the German Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg
    -a resident of Charlotte is referred to as a Charlottean. Must suck to be named Charlotte there..."Hi I'm Charlotte a Charlottean"
    -was a site of encampment for both American and British armies during the Revolutionary War and, during a series of skirmishes between British troops and Charlotteans, the village earned the lasting nickname "Hornet's Nest" from frustrated Lord General Charles Cornwallis
    -churches, including Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Catholics, began to form in the early 1800s, eventually giving Charlotte its nickname "The City of Churches." That's great news for you and your fellow bikers
    -1989, the city took a direct hit from Hurricane Hugo. Passing through Charlotte as a Category 1 hurricane with wind gusts over 100 mph (160 km/h) in some locations, Hugo caused massive property damage and knocked out electrical power to 98% of the population
    -December 2002, Charlotte (and much of central North Carolina) was hit by a massive ice storm (which some dubbed, "Hugo on Ice")
    -home to Bank of America and the makers of Cheerwine
    -75% of the NASCAR industry's employees and drivers are based within two hours of downtown Charlotte. Dodge the racecars!
    -Charlotte/Douglas International Airport is the 30th busiest airport in the world, as measured by traffic

    Annd, lastly
    Davidson, NC
    -home to Davidson College. you're visiting almost every college in NC it seems like
    -founded in 1837 with the establishment of the Presbyterian Davidson College, named for Brigadier General William Lee Davidson, a local Revolutionary War hero in Mecklenburg County
    -land for Davidson College came from Davidson's estate, a large portion of which was donated by his son
    -wikipedia lists four people as "notable residents". They're all NASCAR drivers. Go figure
    -it is a true college town.

    More to come when I get back, look for a postcard from the other side of the Atlantic at your next stop =)
    Good luck!

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