Matthews, NC
Latitude 35.8 degrees
Longitude 80.42 degrees
We started our trip early--was shooting for 8a, but made it by 7:30. After a Sheetz breakfast, we headed south--out of Ohio and onto West Virginia. They made our route into a turnpike, which normally I would okay with--we have an EZPass. The problem--drivers didn't seem to understand how a tollgate works, resulting in a near stoppage a mile long.
Finally made it!
Onto Virginia, specifically Wyethsville for three items--a giant pencil...
the birthplace of a First Lady...
...and Skeeter's, a local institution and a hot dog place.
The dogs were excellent, although a little strange. The redness of the wiener is not a visual effect. Not sure if they are smoked or pickled. Also, for a place that has reportedly sold 9M frankfurters, they have yet to work out an efficient operation.
More driving through the mountains, and we made it to Charlotte, NC. We came here for Heroes Con, the first comic book convention we're attending since the "before times".
We came here several years ago, and it's a rare example of a real "comic" show. No pro wrestlers signing autographs, no appearances by "red shirt #3 from episode 43 of Star Trek", no huge displays by media behemoths--just rows of comic dealers, publishers, and artists, along with some craft sellers. We bought a 3 day pass, since we couldn't buy a day pass in advance.
We picked up our passes (once we found the right booth), and took a quick tour around the place. We did stop at the Ahoy Comics booth--an indie that we LOVE, and we've covered on our comics podcast. PIcked up a couple trades there. Tomorrow, we'll hit the floor in earnest, along with some sessions.