{"id":14573,"date":"2026-06-03T10:11:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=14573"},"modified":"2026-06-03T10:11:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:11:51","slug":"trip-to-the-south-charlotte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2026\/06\/trip-to-the-south-charlotte\/","title":{"rendered":"Trip to the south: Charlotte"},"content":{"rendered":"

We visited several places new to me during our trip through the south-east earlier this month. My assumptions about Charlotte, North Carolina, proved to be mostly wrong. While it has the beauty and Southern charm I expected, it’s not the small city I imagined — not at all! Charlotte is huge and has the traffic problems of other major US cities. It reminds me of New Jersey in this regard, which is not a good thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the midst of the urban hubbub, we discovered a quiet oasis for people and birds called Wing Haven Garden<\/a>. In addition to being a wonderful garden, Wing Haven is a bird sanctuary. Here is a photo I took of the grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more<\/span>Cleveland Museum of Art Opens Renovations<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Next, we visited the Mint Museum Randolph<\/a>. Charlotte’s Mint Museum actually consists of two museums: Randolph, the one we visited, and Mint Uptown, which contains more of their contemporary collection. Everything cool or happening in Charlotte is in the ‘Uptown’ neighborhood, named, I think, because it’s on the rise above the rest of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To underscore the importance of the Uptown Mint museum to the staff, the administrator at Randolph explained that the traditional collection was housed at the Randolph Mint, while the contemporary collection was housed at the Uptown. She made it sound as if we’d made a mistake by visiting Randolph instead of Uptown Mint. But she took it well when I explained that I avoid “contemporary” exhibits whenever I can. “‘Contemporary’ hasn’t changed in 60 years,” I told her. Small museums like the Charlotte Mint that are not blessed with a large endowment or a world-class collection try to make a virtue of necessity by emphasizing their contemporary exhibits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more<\/span>In the Studio Oct. 14 2012<\/span><\/a><\/div>

The best of the smaller museums showcase local artists and collectors. Charlotte, like other places we visited along the southeastern seaboard, preserves colonial and antebellum traditions. For someone who lived in Trenton, New Jersey, close to the Delaware River and near Washington Crossing Park, I love the South for cherishing its traditions. Mint Randolph is home to a lot of collections from this time, which give it a unique personality, something hard to achieve in our deracinated age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I had to take photos of these beautiful procelins, which made our visit worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more<\/span>Cleveland Museum of Art Staff Exhibition<\/span><\/a><\/div>

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Read more<\/span>In the Studio—10\/28\/12<\/span><\/a><\/div>

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Read more<\/span>Hurricane Sandy<\/span><\/a><\/div>

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We visited several places new to me during our trip through the south-east earlier this month. My assumptions about Charlotte, North Carolina, proved to be mostly wrong. While it has the beauty and Southern charm I expected, it’s not the small city I imagined — not at all! Charlotte is huge and has the traffic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":14580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,17,253],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-art-museum","category-culture"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/charlotte-mint2.jpg?fit=826%2C1440&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4398,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/11\/trip-to-university-of-cincinnati-fail\/","url_meta":{"origin":14573,"position":0},"title":"Trip to University of Cincinnati (fail)","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"November 23, 2014","format":"status","excerpt":"My son John and I left early yesterday morning for a visit to the University of Cincinnati. John, a senior in high school, plans to be a computer engineer and UC's program is #2 in the state (behind OSU's). It was raining when we left; a freezing rain that made\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bio"","block_context":{"text":"Bio","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/bio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2880,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/01\/cleveland-museum-of-art-finishes-renovations\/","url_meta":{"origin":14573,"position":1},"title":"Cleveland Museum of Art finishes renovations","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"January 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"After 8 years and $350 million, the Cleveland Museum of Art has--finally!--completed its ambitious renovations. The long awaited (by me) opening of the new\u00a0West Wing's\u00a0China, India and Southeast Asia collections means all collections are once again on view after the long hiatus. 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Lawrence (died 1830) had well-earned success throughout his life. A prodigy, he found success early and later became President\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Portrait of Catherine Grey, Lady Manners by Lawrence","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/lawrence.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2766,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/11\/schoepfle-garden-photo-session\/","url_meta":{"origin":14573,"position":3},"title":"Schoepfle Garden photo session","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"November 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Last Sunday was perfect for getting outside. Windy and brisk, the sun broke through thick clouds to transform the afternoon gloom into a dazzling spectacle of light and shade--ideal for photography. I rambled around the Schoepfle Gardens with my adored Nikon D5200 taking 200 photographs. The formal gardens intertwined with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bio"","block_context":{"text":"Bio","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/bio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Schoepfle_Garden.png?fit=533%2C355&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Schoepfle_Garden.png?fit=533%2C355&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Schoepfle_Garden.png?fit=533%2C355&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11281,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2022\/09\/book-review-ink-black-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":14573,"position":4},"title":"Book review: Ink Black Heart","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"September 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently listened to the audio version of the detective novel The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith. Galbraith is the pen name used by J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame. This novel is the 6th and latest in this series for adults. In these novels, Galbraith chronicles the adventures\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/jkr.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/jkr.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/jkr.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/jkr.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4114,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/09\/one-hundred-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":14573,"position":5},"title":"One Hundred Birds","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"September 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"For those who love\u00a0Asian art, as I do, the Cleveland Museum of Art is an oasis. \u00a0Cleveland has one of the best Asian collections in N. America, and now, since earlier this year, it's housed in a new wing dedicated to the collection. Each time I visit the collection, I'm\u00a0entranced.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"One Hundred Birds by unknown Korean artist","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/100-birds.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Gw6F-3N3","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14573"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14598,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14573\/revisions\/14598"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}