The Pixies Coming to Greensboro
With a new CD coming out in September, are hitting the road this fall, and have planned a stop at Greensboro’s War Memorial Auditorium on Tuesday, November 8. opens. The ticket presale is currently running (password DOOLITTLE) thru Thursday (7/14) at 10pm.
Note: the new CD coming September 6 will be a with songs by him and Reid Paley. It will be named Paley & Francis.
Trip Report: Carowinds
Since the park’s opening in 1973, has entertained people for much of the Charlotte area. The only problem is that the park didn’t stand up the offerings by other parks 4-5 hours up/down Interstate 85. Therefore it simply could not compete for customers beyond an hour’s drive away. Those days are over.
Built as a celebration of the Carolinas, Carowinds offered just the basics typically offered by a regional amusement park. Even with the acquisition by the and later Paramount, the park remained the bastard child to siblings Kings Dominion, Great America, Kings Island, and Canada’s Wonderland. In 2006, however, the parks were all purchased by , the operator of (Sandusky, Ohio), the coaster capital of the world. Cedar Fair acquisition isn’t always a blessing, as the company disbanded a nice park in Aurora, OH. Rides from that park were sent to the remaining parks, including Carowinds. Luckily, though, Carowinds was the recipient of intense attention from Cedar Fair, and the park now stands as a peer to , , and . In fact, the park has some advantages over each of those listed.
Asheville Explorer’s Guide Now Free
The iOS application Asheville Explorer’s Guide (iPhone, iPad) recently became a free offering from the Apple App Store. The app, traditionally at $2.99, is a fantastic tourist’s guide to North Carolina’s funky mountain city.
NOTE: The deal window has closed, and app is back to its $2.99 price.
Frugal Travel Guy Coming to Raleigh
is coming to Raleigh next week for a one-hour discussion about traveling frugally. His real name is Rick Ingersoll and he’ll be at the on Wednesday, April 6, at Noon.
Ingersoll, the author of , is an internationally recognized expert at amassing frequent flier miles, getting airline and hotel vouchers, and a host of other methods that have allow him and his wife to travel the globe for free, or nearly free, for years.
Ingersoll started the blog and speaking engagements to further his mission: to teach others how to do what he does so that they, too, can enjoy traveling for the rest of their lives. He’s especially interested in reaching people who think they can’t afford to travel.
“With my techniques, folks are always amazed at how much traveling they can do for next to no money.” He pointed out that a regular reader of his blog recently reported booking a $980 (Euro) hotel room in Paris for only $75 using FTG’s tips.
Lunch will be served at noon with the presentation and Q&A to follow. Business attire is required.
Pigs and Politicians
An AP story by Tom Breen detailing the N.C. Barbecue argument was released yesterday, and . It is a tongue and cheek response to First Lady Michelle Obama’s proclamations of barbecue as one of Charlotte’s assets earlier this week when the Queen City was named as the next Democratic Convention site. The article has a classic quote about Charlotte in the 4th paragraph that is worthy of a good chuckle.
While it is a good-natured overview of the barbecue argument in North Carolina, the article also carefully explains that the art of wood-cooked barbecue, such as that at Wilbur’s, seems to be a dying art. Those who good steaks on charcoal instead of propane can relate to this “problem” all too well.
They say that one of Charlotte’s assets is that it is an hour from Shelby, alluding to the prominence of excellent small-town outlets in the state, and the Raleigh area is no different. We have some good barbecue in Raleigh, but the best Eastern N.C. products are found in stores about an hour east of here.
I’ll risk all of my life-long Raleigh street cred to name my favorite, so here goes: (Asheboro). I know, I know, it is a different style, but ohmygosh! I’ve only eaten there a few times, it was always to go, and I only had a pulled pork sandwich with slaw, but those times were fantastic and had me tempted to do a U-turn and go back for more.
Rush Coming to Greensboro
On Friday, April 1 will bring their Time Machine tour to the Greensboro Coliseum. Tickets go on sale Saturday (12/10) at 10am.
I got a last minute invitation to see the band that I once loved (back in my high school says) at Walnut Creek two years ago and was blown away. It was hands down one of the best 5 concerts I have ever seen.
Triangle Modernist Homes Day-Tripping to Washington
While the Mod Squad is taking a bus trip to Charlotte in a few weeks, they are also happy to announce a day-trip to Washington, DC. The trip includes stops at the Charles Gwaltney-designed Rales Museum near Potomac, the Richard Neutra-designed Brown Residence, the Gordon Bunshaft-designed Hirshhorn Museum, and the Maya Lin-designed Vietnam Veterans Wall. The trip includes a 6:45am flight to BWI, lunch abord the air-conditioned, internet-equipped tour bus, and a return to RDU at 10:30pm. Dinner is on your own, and about 2 hours are allotted (so there is ample time to get to Rosa Mexicano 
) are $459 per person.
Mod Squad Planning Charlotte Trip
The always-interesting is sponsoring another exciting event. This time the tour goes to Charlotte on May 22 to tour the store, the 1970 Mark Bernstein house, and IKEA. Some of the trip’s features include:
- Our own air-conditioned, restroom-equipped, internet-equipped luxury tour bus.
- Sodas, water, and both healthy and junky snacks provided on board the bus.
- Super green – think of all the carbon we’ll save versus driving down individually.
- Each person gets "storage credits" representing a total of six cubic feet of storage space under the bus. You can trade, buy, or sell credits to others. So, in theory, with enough credits, you could bring a couch home! Plus, all you can carry in your lap. Delivery is also available through DWR and Ikea.
- Lunch is on your own at the IKEA restaurant. Be sure to try the Swedish meatballs!
- Parking is $4 per car, paid separately to FastPark on exit. Dropoffs and pickups are ok, no charge.
Tickets are limited, and are $49.95 before May 1, $58.00 on and after that.
Scenic Byways Site Gets Update
The NCDOT has just launched a new version of their . The site is a complete guide to some of NC’s most enjoyable highways, including the Blue Ridge Parkway as well as the Outer Banks Scenic Byway. The site includes maps of the roads, a of the Scenic Byways book published by the state, and videos of many of the treasured roads.
AC/DC Coming to Greensboro
One of the pillars of rock, AC/DC, is coming to the Greensboro Coliseum on October 25. Tickets went on sale at Ticketmaster outlets this morning at 10am.
Kings Dominion to get Gigacoaster
While there are unfortunately no roller-coasters in the Raleigh area, there are 38 roller coasters within a 3.5-hour drive of Raleigh. Not many cities in the world are an easy road trip from that many.
Next summer that number will push 40, and will do it with world-class style. Yesterday a sleuthy coaster enthusiast about new coaster for 2010. It will be a gigacoaster by , which by definition, means it will be taller than 300 feet, placing it among the tallest 5 coasters in the world. If you have seen the 310-foot, 93-mph (pictured) at Cedar Point on TV, then you have seen another gigacoaster by Intamin. It will be located on land that was once the safari ride, behind the Outer Limits.
To put this height in perspective, the two-year old Griffon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg is 205 feet tall, and the Eiffel Tower 1/3 scale replica at King’s Dominion is only 275 feet tall.
In other regional coaster news, has unfortunately destroyed its log flume ride to make way for a new roller-coaster coming next season. This will certainly be a showcase coaster, but Carowinds loses a bit of family elegance in removing their log flume.
Sonny Rollins Coming to UNC
One of the last living musicians is coming to UNC this fall. On September 22, will be playing at UNC’s Memorial Hall. Tickets go on sale to the public on July 13 thru the .
Rollins is one of the most important figures in the history. Not only did he play with Miles Davis, he was an influence on Davis when he was young. The chances to see guys who have played with Davis, (Rocky Mount’s) Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, Charlie Parker, and Art Blakey are coming to an end, so don’t miss this one!
Idols Live Tour Coming to Greensboro
On Sunday, August 2, the American Idols Live tour will be swinging through Greensboro Coliseum. The tour features this season’s Top 10 finalists, including Chapel Hill’s Anoop “Dawg” Desai.
(May 8th) from 10am to 10pm (password: Idols2009). $1 from each ticket will go to City of Hope.
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