Oh Christmas Lights of Charlotte!
I grew up in Northeast Ohio where Christmas was white. My father and I would set out on the day after Thanksgiving and begin the ceremony of hanging the Christmas lights. We wanted to gain an early start to avoid the snowy days that often befall December. After spending the day testing lights, running extension cords, and climbing ladders, we would stand back to inspect our work, but the lights never looked quite right. At least not that early. There was no snow!
Christmas in McAdenville, North Carolina
My first Christmas away from home was spent in Houston with my outlaws (I mean in-laws). All the neighbors strung lights just like we did back home in an attempt to be festive. Even my in-laws had some half lit strands around the house (my father-in-law skipped the testing phase mentioned above). The lights didn’t inspire the Christmas spirit though without the cold white slush we call snow. It was my humble opinion that Christmas lights needed a canvas of white glistening snow and glittering ice crystals to come alive.
McAdenville – Christmas Town USA
Whether there is snow or not, Charlotte manages to inspire Christmas spirit in true Southern fashion with giant displays open to the public from the quaint mill town of McAdenville to the NASCAR hub of the Charlotte Motor Speedway to the evangelical home of Billy Graham. We happened to make the former two and not the latter. For more on the Billy Graham display, check out the post by my blogging neighbor.
The Gourmands in McAdenville
Anyone who lives in or near the Charlotte metro area or has had the privilege of driving through town on I-85 during the Holiday Season knows McAdenville. Cars wait in line for hours to drive through the Christmas light mecca and view the tree lights around the lake and the homes all decorated for Christmas. Town folk receive free electricity during the month of December as an incentive to participate. We enjoyed the lights courtesy of our friends this year on a party bus in celebration of his wife’s birthday. The wait was definitely cut short as we partook in beer and wine while sitting in traffic. The bus driver dropped us off at the lake so that we could walk around it and take in the lights and the air of Christmas.
Speedway Christmas Celebrating Tony Stewart!
The next night we went with our neighbors to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for their Speedway Christmas. Unlike McAdenville, there was no line for this festival of lights. However, it was also not free like McAdenville. The cost was $20 a car. We loaded six of us into our neighbors Honda Pilot. Dee over at Dee’s Adventure was our driver, and after convincing her that she didn’t need to race around the display like Danica Patrick, we soaked up the somewhat more corny light displays of Santas, America, and NASCAR. The path wound through the dragway and onto the speedway stopping at a Christmas Village in the middle complete with a Bethlehem and petting zoo. For the true NASCAR fans, the garages were turned into a display of trees and food vendors.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Grandstands
While I still have not adjusted to Christmas without snow, it was nice to see the lights with friends without cold fingers and toes! Merry Christmas!
Charlotte Motor Speedway Garage Open for Christmas
