Savona Mill and Blue Blaze Brewing are just 10 minutes from Uptown via the Greenway. The view from Historic West End gives a unique perspective of the city, bookended by Bank of America Stadium and Gateway Village.
Have plans this weekend? If you're in Charlotte, check out the West End and have a couple of pints at the area's pioneering brewery, Blue Blaze Brewing.
This photograph was captured with a DJI Mavic Pro drone.
One of the standout highlights of Overland Expo at the Biltmore Estate is the Camel Trophy Expedition Skills Area. You can work with experts in the field to rig a system to fuel your vehicle directly from an oil drum or to build a bridge across a gully with logs and rope. The skills the Camel Trophy team teaches are about creative problem solving in the field. You may never need to build that bridge but it sure is empowering knowing you could if you were suddenly dropped into a Top Gear special episode!
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
It would be hard to beat the sunrises from Beech Mountain. Every day brings another technicolor surprise. On this occasion, the sky turned pink to complement the smoke-colored Blue Ridge Mountains. At 5,506', Beech Mountain is the highest town east of the Rockies. The height often results in rivers of clouds flowing through the valleys on cool mornings.
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300 from the back deck of Slopeside.
Columbia's Riverbanks Zoo & Garden is a perfectly-sized zoo. Everything has been modernized and they have a really diverse array of animals. They even have an aquarium, stocked with sharks, moray eels and other saltwater favorites.
When you're armed with a camera, it's sometimes hard to take a step back and see the action through others' eyes. But if you do, and the heavens align, something special happens. The little girl pressed up against the glass is my daughter and I managed to capture her excitement just as all of the other kids stepped back into the shadows.
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
Most people go to Paris for the romance and delicious food. Or they go for the centuries-old art and architecture. I love Paris for all of that but what intrigues me the most about Paris is the embarrassment of riches when it comes to street art. A keen eye is always watched over by Space Invader... or Dig Dug. Even Shephard Fairey, creator of the now immortal Obama Hope poster, has works on display with Andre the Giant.
This photograph was captured with a Nikon D90.
The weather has been so warm this week that I've been daydreaming about long summer days at the beach... and trips to the Morgan Creek Grill at the Isle of Palms Marina. Just around the corner from Wild Dunes, the Marina makes for quick excursions around Charleston's barrier islands. And at the end of the day, Morgan Creek Grill makes for a memorable meal as the sun sets across the water over Goat Island.
This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone.
These houses line the backside crest of Beech Mountain, just off of Oz Run at Beech Mountain Resort. Imagine waking up each morning to those views... Beech Mountain is such an inspirational place!
This photograph was captured with a GoPro Hero 3+ Black camera attached to a DJI Phantom 2 drone.
The growth of Uptown Charlotte has just been astounding. When I look at the buildings in this photograph, at least half of them didn't yet exist when I moved here 18 years ago. We're talking about hockey stick growth but it feels like we're just getting out of the gates, too.
This photograph was captured with a DJI Mavic Pro drone.
During one of our past visits to Wild Dunes, we took the Delphinus from the Isle of Palms Marina to Capers Island for a sunset tour. As soon as we hit the beach, I sent up the drone for a different perspective. The forest off the beach is so thick, I'm not sure you could make it through if you wanted to on foot.
Click here to check out some of the photographs that I took on Capers Island.
This video was captured with my old DJI Phantom 2 but if you're in the market for a drone today, check out the DJI Mavic Pro.
Santo Stefano is a beautiful vineyard in Tuscany. We rented a little Renault convertible and took a day trip from Florence (Firenze) to Siena.
I learned three things that day:
1) Siena is amazing and I need to go back to experience the Palio di Siena (if anybody out there can hook me up, please let me know!)
2) Vineyards in Tuscany don't have giant "VINEYARD" signs out front — at least they didn't back when we went. Instead, they have a hand-painted sign of a rooster. So, if you are driving through Tuscany looking for a nice vineyard to visit, go to the places advertising roosters and you'll be good to go. Wait for a "Vineyard" sign and you might miss all the good stuff!
3) Regular people aren't allowed to drive on a lot of the streets in the historic district (pretty much all) of Florence. You can get in but you're going to have a hard time getting out as you back your car hundreds of feet down alleys lined with Vespas and motorcycles. Don't ask how I know.