Whitewater Center

Sunday evening, September 2,  2012

Sam and Lucy joined us for the evening as we made our way to 

the U.S. National Whitewater Center, about 20 miles 

northwest of downtown Charlotte.  This facility opened in 2006 with 

an artificial river for rafting, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, a zip line, 

restaurants, climbing wall and, probably much, much more.  The recirculating river is filled with 12 million gallons of water, cleaned every 24 hours by a filtration and ultra-violet system.  It is an amazing place, particularly for Montana folks who are used to wild flowing rivers, whitewater rapids, eddies, natural rocks and log jams.  The rapids here at the Whitewater Center are classed II-IV, with 3750 feet of whitewater.

Here comes a raft--everyone paddling.

 

 

The organization that manages the U.S  Canoe and Kayak Olympic teams is based in Charlotte because of the proximity to this whitewater training facility.

 

 

This evening the Whitewater Center is hosting the convention delegates from Montana, Idaho, Alaska and California.  Local caterers provided the food, featuring local and regional specialties.  (We can all vouch for the crabmeat--really yummy heaped in fennel leaves! )  All the activities at the center were free for the delegates and guests. 

Here goes a standup paddle boarder down the rapids.  Not many of them made it all 

the way still standing on their boards.

Sam decides to try the zip line.

Lucy gets harnessed up to go with him.

Off they go.  Cool Sam looks like an old hand at this.

Oh no!  Papa's headed down the zip line!

There he goes, holding on tight and giving a hearty rebel yell!

One of the most amazing parts of this Whitewater Center is the raft elevator that

 takes the raft, passengers, paddles and guide from the bottom of the falls back up to 

the top to run the rapids another time!

On up they go...

almost to the top....

and back to the water at the top of the rapids.  

We snagged a table right by the rail, overlooking the whitewater run. 

"WELCOME Y'ALL"  

Jennifer Roberts, Chairman of the Mecklenburg County Council welcomes 

the Delegates from Montana, Idaho, Alaska and California.   A little later a country 

and western band  played  from this gazebo.

and dancers entertained...

What a beautiful evening!  The rain threatened but stayed away, and the sun set with this colorful reflection in the water.  Unfortunately, the event wasn't particularly well attended.  There was some confusion with the number of buses shuttling to the hotels, and some of the delegates arrived from the airport too late to catch their assigned buses.  Really too bad, because they missed 

a lovely welcome party.

Katie and Dan made the rounds of the other 11 parties to welcome everyone to Charlotte.  The host committee was particularly proud of this evening's parties because it gave 12 different venues a chance to host a party for the convention and involved a large number of caterers serving each venue.  We only met a few people from the Montana delegation because they were late arriving, but the Idaho folks were welcoming, and we all had a good time!  Way to go, Charlotte.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

                                                                                                       

The Sunday morning paper says it in big bold type:

The first event of the convention gets underway tonight
with 12 delegate parties in venues all around town.

After checking out the paper we strolled down to Covenant Presbyterian, just two or three blocks from Katie and Dan's home.  The walk seemed like a good idea until we had made it one block and were both soaking wet with the heat and humidity.  As we sat down in the pew at church, relishing the air-conditioning and the bulletin to use as a fan, a nice couple on the pew behind us tapped Jack on the shoulder and offered to take us home in their car after the service.  We must have looked rather pitiful!  We took them up on their fine offer.

 

 

 

 Pretty homes and yards line Dilworth Avenue.  However, I was enjoying the landscaping and taking pictures of plants.  This variegated lirope was so pretty with its spiky blue flowers.  We don't have lirope in Montana; too cold, I suppose.  It is such a hearty plant in the South that it had always seemed to me you could grow it anywhere.

 

 

 

Covenant has a beautiful campus of stone buildings, the first of which was built soon 

after World War II by master Italian stone masons brought to Charlotte from Italy 

to build the sanctuary and its tower.

 

A Sunday morning view of the tower.  The bells pealed out a Call to Worship 

and chimed the 11 o'clock hour.

 

 

Another view of the tower.

And one more tower view with the Duke Tower, Charlotte's 

newest skyscraper clearly visible in the background.

The interior of the church, pulpit to the left and lectern on the right.

The Eastern transept window with the morning light still illuminating the stained glass.

Pastor Bob Henderson preached a fine sermon on the Prodigal Son.   And we enjoyed an air-conditioned ride back to the house.

North Carolina Music Factory

Saturday Night-- Out on the Town!!

The North Carolina Music Factory is a former factory complex close to downtown Charlotte.  In changing the area into a music venue, several separate areas for different size audiences were created, including one very large outdoor stage seating several hundred people.  Restaurants and pubs with varied menus are scattered around the area and, for tonight, there are stalls with fresh vegetables and other locally grown and prepared food.  Unfortunately, for tonight there is also rain, a steady downpour during the first part of the night.

Tonight's party was planned to welcome the 15,000 media people from all over the world expected to attend the convention.  All the music areas have bands, the restaurants are open and the open-air stalls have lines of folks enjoying pulled-pork burritos, among other fare.  One stand featured Southern heirloom tomatoes with all sorts of salt from different parts of the world.  The tomatoes were quartered and speared with a toothpick; then you get to choose which salt to sprinkle on the tomato.  We were so busy and enchanted with this process and the delicious tomatoes that we didn't get any pictures -- really a sad omission because the tomatoes were very beautiful in their variety of colors and shapes, nicely displayed in an old style gathering basket.

"We Make It Possible" was Charlotte's theme for the convention.  Here it is a banner, but it was also displayed on t-shirts, campaign pins and other paraphernalia.

 

One of the bands is setting up on this stage and sound checking their microphones.

Katie and Dan greeting friends....

Dan's shoes are particularly snazzy, or, as a friend said, "too cool for school."  yeah...

Sam

This band played in an old warehouse with pipes and wires criss-crossing the painted black ceiling.  These beautiful crystal chandeliers hung from that black ceiling providing what lighting there was for the area.

More Southern food  featured here....  We particularly enjoyed the collard greens and quail breasts and the crab cakes and creamed corn...  yummy, for sure!  Alas, no pictures of this food either.  We were busy......

We "hung" with Russ and Amy Dean for a good part of the evening, enjoying both of them immensely.  Russ and Katie were in the same class at Clinton Elementary and Bell Street schools in Clinton, SC.  Russ is the son of our good friends Russell and Helen Dean who served at the First Baptist Church while we were at First Presbyterian.  Russ and Amy are now co-pastors of Park Road Baptist Church in Charlotte, an ABC church which allows women's ordination.  Jack really treasured the time with Russ, hearing the thoughts and concerns of a second generation of Dean friendships.

Meanwhile, on the main stage Kathy Mattea had a delayed start because of the rain.  Katie  enjoys this singer and her skill with the guitar.  At the Swannonoa Gathering in North Carolina Katie studied in seminars with Kathy Mattea's husband John Vessner, a song-writer and also a performer.

It was a great evening, despite the rain.  We didn't see any of the "big-name" media personalities.  Maybe the rain kept them away, or they were lost in the huge crowd of guests who did come.  Those guys and gals just don't know what they missed.  They'll have a hard time gettin' collards and quail breasts when they get back to New York City.  You bet!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Sam posted this picture on Facebook today--from the 2008 convention, I suppose.  He's excited along with all the family that this event they've been focused on for over 18 months is finally happening.  It feels like being at the top of a hill on a sled, and today, ready or not, we've pushed off down the slope.

Dan left early this morning, as usual, but he drove his prized high school yellow Volkswagen convertible, saved for him during the medical school years and restored by his parents.  Not only is he driving the convertible, he has donned that stylish straw hat for the day's activities, but he's still got the briefcase in hand.  This job has been a big one for him, having various frustrations along the way is certainly to be expected, but he's his ever cool and most competent self.  From the get-go he's hoped that the Convention will spotlight the city of Charlotte with all its successes and all the promise it holds for the future.  His term serving on the Mecklenburg County Commission gave him insight into all the opportunities and challenges facing this really lovely Southern city.

The dining room table is about maxed out with tickets, printed agendas and sticky notes.  Katie keeps up with Jeff, Dan's scheduler, as the days go along and situations and needs change.  Jeff is such a nice guy, young, enthusiastic, and competent.  He's an actor by trade, when the opportunities arise.  As a child he was a regular on the kids TV show "Barney and Friends,"  one of those eager kids following after that big pink dinosaur who taught them that "please and thank you are the magic words."  That's still very good advice, especially in a political campaign.  Anyway, Jeff also serves as Dan's chauffeur during the convention.  Driving probably won't be difficult--parking will be the challenge. 

H-E-R-E'-S  Jeff with his girlfriend Jennifer.

They both drove a van to our evening at the N.C Music Factory party, setting all of us out right at the entrance.  Before leaving the house Jeff took the picture below of all the family dressed up for the party, standing together in the living room of Dan and Katie's home.

Left to right are Dan, Katie, Lucy and Sam, me, Jack, Maloo and Mark Murrey.  Mark is Dan's older brother, also a Davidson guy.  He and Maloo live in Boone, NC, where he is a MD in Family Practice.

Katie has us organized with our credential and ready to go.

Jack snapped this nice pic of Katie and me as we stood on the porch stairs.  Katie has always been a little shorter than I am, and smaller (ahem.....); she's up a step in this picture and wearing high heels, but I do think I'm shrinking, height-wise, and we are actually fairly close to the same height.  Daughter Nancy is taller than both of us.  I'm mighty proud of both my girls.

On to the party in the next post....

August 31, 2012

Katie spent a good part of the afternoon walking us through timelines and logistics for all the Convention events.  It is all very complicated with venues for several levels of parties, i.e., "VIP" sections and "regular" sections.  Some streets downtown are closed and other areas fenced off by a firm called "Rent a Fence."  Who thought up that company and its business model?  They certainly are in the right place at the right time in Charlotte this week!  Getting to parking areas and from parking to events will be a challenge.  We have the notes we made during the walk-through with Katie, and now we are expected to lead the other family members through the charts as they arrive!

The grocery store is an easy (but hot) walk down the street, and I've been cooking and having some meals ready for whomever happens to be here.  It is so strange not to have Dan in the kitchen in the evening--we've all come to lean on him to plan and prepare the evening meal.  No one wants to eat out when Dan is in the house.

It's not Dan's cuisine, but no one is hungry.

With all the herbs and spices, I've produced a regular old supper with chicken and red beans and rice.

Mugs and barbecue sauce bottles with convention logo are scattered around the house.  On the table in the entrance hall there are pins with several different logos.  These rather surprising collectables especially caught my eye.  They are packages each containing two large marshmallows, one package featuring the president and one the first lady, produced by a local sweet shop....mmmm.  I don't know what to make of this, but the Republicans will probably want to make s'mores!

 This morning (Saturday, September 1st) Sam knocked on our door fairly early.  He leaves for school each day at 6:30 a.m. and has been going straight from school to the Convention office and staying until 10 p.m. or so as they try to wrap up the final details, so we hadn't seen him since arriving on Wednesday.  He's obviously thrived on the work and the responsibility, enjoying seeing the final product come together.  The staff at the office have made a special point of letting both Dan and Katie know how valuable he has been to the whole enterprise.  We feel we can see the maturity he's gained just since last June when he was with us in Montana.  He's a fine young man, and we are all very proud of him.

Sam's Convention pass was hung around his neck, and he held a briefcase in his hand as he came up the stairs to greet us.  Our eldest grandchild is quickly becoming a man.

Articles on Dan and the DNC Host Committee

August 31. 2012


Son-in-law Dan Murrey is the Executive Director of Charlotte's Host Committee for the Convention.  Two articles from the Charlotte Observer tell how he was chosen and the scope of his work:

http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/October-2011/The-Chosen-One/

 Running Charlotte's DNC team takes a surgeon's touch | CharlotteObserver.com



Here's a local television interview with Dan about preparations for the Convention:

DNC Host Committee Chair Dan Murrey | Charlotte ... - Fox Charlotte

Dan took a quick look at the arrangements for security for the Republican National Convention during a quick round trip to Tampa the Wednesday before the Convention in Charlotte.  He says Charlotte is ready:

Murrey encouraged after look at Tampa | CharlotteObserver.com

Dan and his Host Committee at the Convention podium in the Arena: