We woke up around 8 a.m. and knew we wanted to sneak in some exercise after a lot of sitting on Saturday. I talked Ryan into joining me on a 55-minute run around Charlotte. Oh my gosh it felt absolutely fantastic to breathe air that wasn’t ridiculously thick and hot! I also had to laugh when Ryan commented on how nice and soft the North Carolina grass is compared the the stiff, thick grass we have in Florida.
I thought this was such a funny thing to notice, but when my family and I moved to Florida from Illinois, I immediately commented on the difference in the type of grass since it wasn’t nearly as soft as Illinois grass. Random!
After our run and a quick breakfast, we drove through downtown Charlotte since I had never seen the city before and didn’t want to leave without checking it out. Ryan actually visited Charlotte for work last year and was semi-familiar with the layout of the city, so he had no trouble driving around while I took everything in. Charlotte was much smaller than I thought it would be and reminded me a bit of downtown Orlando.
While driving around the city, I saw lots of signs supporting the Charlotte Knights, the local minor league baseball team who apparently have both a mascot and team colors in common with my alma mater, UCF. I felt right at home!
Sunflour Baking Company
By the time we were done checking out the city, I started to feel a little hungry again, so Ryan and I made a quick pit stop for lunch at Sunflour Baking Company for hot drinks and a bite to eat.
I started with a cappuccino while Ryan ordered a dirty chai latte (a chai latte with two shots of espresso).
(And yikes, my lips look a little too purple! I was trying out a new lip color I received in this month’s Birchbox and I think that one will be immediately retired.)
My cappuccino was great but Ryan’s latte stole the show!
My goofy date (all hopped up on espresso):
For lunch, I selected an egg and avocado sandwich served on one of the most fantastic cheddar biscuits.
Everything was so incredibly fresh and absolutely melted in my mouth. Each bite overflowed with sharp cheddar cheese flavor. YUM.
Freedom Park
After lunch, we made our way to Freedom Park where my friend Caitlin encouraged us to park and walk around.
I changed into the “play clothes” I packed in the car just in case we felt like exploring which was a great decision since cartwheels aren’t exactly a ladylike thing to do when you’re wearing a dress.
(If we ever come back to visit Charlotte, I really want to rent the bikes you can see behind me. I think that would be such a fun way to see the city!)
We had a great time walking around the park, people watching and taking in the beautiful greenery. The weather was a bit cloudy at first, but eventually the sun came out and the afternoon morphed into perfect outdoor walking weather.
Ryan and I both noticed lots of kids out playing and even stumbled upon a lemonade stand where we had to stop to buy a glass from three adorable girls.
Drink up!
Cowfish
We walked around the Freedom Park and explored nearby neighborhoods (and saw some ridiculously amazing houses) and after a few hours, we were ready for an early dinner. We drove around for a little while before stumbling upon The Cowfish, a sushi and burger bar.
The concept intrigued us since neither of us had ever been to a restaurant that served burgers and sushi. I’m glad we decided to stop in because it was quite good!
(I love my husband!)
The atmosphere was upbeat and fun and the extensive menu offered no storage of delicious-looking entree options. I selected two sushi rolls and Ryan opted for a burger topped with ham and a fried egg. Both selections were wonderful!
It was a great end to a great day in Charlotte!
We will be making the drive back to Florida late this morning but have enjoyed our time in Charlotte very much. I’m off to sneak in a quick visit with Caitlin before we hit the road!
Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
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Ahhh! Charlotte is one of my favorite, favorite places to visit. Looks like a great time!!
What a great weekend getaway! I think I’ve only been to Charlotte once but I was little and don’t remember much. I hear it is beautiful though. So glad you had a great time and got to see Caitlin!
Glad you enjoyed Charlotte, downtown is very beautiful. It’s just a few hours from where I live. It was definitely much cooler here this weekend. This is what they call Blackberry Winter, our last cold snap before summer. It will be back in the 80’s by Wednesday.
Oh Charlotte. Pretty place, pretty name.
Laughed at your crunchy Florida grass, it just might be my only complaint against lovely Florida.
In the Niagara Falls area, we have lovely, soft velvety grass that you just wanna sit down and have a picnic on. (That’s when it’s warm enough for grass!)
Charlotte is such a beautiful city. My husband and I vacationed there last year and fell in love with the southern charm!
What a fun weekend away! Grass really is different in different parts of the world!
ahh I love CHARLOTTE
I lived there for a while when the lawyerhusband was clerking and keep trying to move us back 🙂
Wow Charlotte looks like a freakin’ awesome city! If I visit my friend at Duke one day, I think I’m going to have to make a slight detour 🙂
All the food looks amazing, especially that biscuit egg sandwich. WHOA.
I am moving to Charlotte (tomorrow!) so great timing to read about your trip. Looks like I’ll have to add Sunflour Baking Company’s cheddar biscuits to my list of things to try!
How fun!!! I’m sure you will love it!
Looks like a Fun trip!
It looks like you guys had a full adventure, and really got to explore charlotte! Fun!! I’ve only been there once and I was more impressed with the downtown area than I expected to be. I hope you enjoy your visit with Caitlin!!
How fun! I really want to go to NC, I don’t think I’ve ever been before and now I have TWO friends moving their in July. Asheville specifically but I’d gladly go visit! 🙂
I just heard about a dirty chai the other day and I think I have to try one. I am not a coffee drinker, but I think I could handle that maybe??
it’s one of my favorites! it tastes SO good, the chai flavour will pull away from the coffee flavor, i think you’ll love it 🙂 I get mine iced in the spring/ summer.
How fun! The egg sandwich and sushi rolls look to die for!
I think the lip color looks good on you, actually!
Charlotte looks beautiful and I’m glad you had a good time! I see you also brought out the big guns camera-wise, these photos make Charlotte look amazing.
I am glad you were able to check out CowFish! We have one in Raleigh and I have really enjoyed it the several times we have gone. My husband and I always get a burger and Sushi and share since it is so hard to decide between the two! Glad you enjoyed your time in NC!
You’re crazy! I’m loving that lip color!
Haha thank you, Kim!
My husband and I ate at Cowfish in August when we visited and loved it too! Charlotte is such a beautiful city. Definitely on our list of places we would love to live! (Charlotte and Denver are our top spots!)
Denver is amazing, too! Good picks!
I love Charlotte, its such a young and upcoming city. I used to live in Western NC and Charlotte was our “big” city!
Looks like such a fun day! I travel to Charlotte a couple times a year for work and I love Freedom park! There are so many great little places to explore in Charlotte. I’m definitely keeping Sunflower Baking Company in mind for my next trip down there!
Oh my gaaaaaassshhhh!! Sushi and Burgers! my husband and I would die! My fav and his in one establishment? Date night would never be the same….
I love new city exploring, looks like you guys had a blast, awesome!
P.s-the grass in Illinois right now is pretty lush…just sayin 😉
Where are those awesome shoes from? Are they Nikes?
Reebok! https://www.pbfingers.com/2014/02/06/reebok-zquick-launch-party/
Thanks!! 🙂
I love Charlotte! I’ll definitely have to try Sunflour next time I’m there!
I agree! Those bikes sound like so much fun to ride around, and a super great way to see a new city! And burgers and sushi, that is definitely an interesting combination to serve at one restaurant haha
So great to see my city up on the blog! It’s such a nice and clean place and the South Park area where you ate at CowFish is uber nice! Glad you are having fun 🙂
Fun road trip! I haven’t been to Charlotte yet.
Love Charlotte! Looks like you all had a wonderful weekend!
I don’t think the lip colour looks to bright at all! Summery!!! The grass is tough in Florida, did you notice the difference when you were in Ireland?
I’m always talking about how much I miss the northern grass! (I moved to Florida almost 8 years ago.) Whenever we travel I’ll usually take a few minutes to bury my bare feet in the soft grass. 🙂
Awesome time! Looks like the perfect day to me: ) a little exercise, exploring, COFFEE & good food <3
PS. I always say that about FLs grass when i visit, vs. our grass in PA. It's so different! lol
Sounds like a great weekend — exploring a new city is so much fun!
So glad you guys had a nice little weekend getaway! I love how Ryan is so goofy in the photos. I think he and my husband would get along just fine. 😉 Also, I don’t think your lip color is too purple in that photo – it’s pretty and looks great on you!
I’ve never been to Charlotte, and have never even been to NC! I can’t believe it! TN really is so close too! Looks like you guys had a great time, and LOVE that you had “play” clothes in the car ready to go 🙂
This looks like so much fun! I wanted to visit charlotte last summer but didn’t make it down! Guess I need to add it to the list again 😉
I thought the lipstick was fun 🙂 Bright and springtime-ey!
Also – I especially love this post becuase there’s a good chance my husband and I will be moving there within a year! He’s in the army so we don’t know for sure, but since neither of us have been to NC this is a great pre-view. 🙂 I always love your vacation posts!
Sunflour (love the cheddar biscuits!) and Cowfish are a couple of my favorite places to eat in Charlotte! Glad you were able to enjoy Freedom Park, it’s within walking distance from my house.
It’s a gorgeous area!!
I LOVE Charlotte. If it weren’t for Florida being #1 on the spots we want to move to in the states (from Canada where we are now), Charlotte would for sure be second. My hubby has friends that live there and when we visited for the first time, I immediately fell in love!! Looks like you had a great weekend 🙂
Breakfast sandwich on a cheddar biscuit might be the best breakfast idea ever! Charlotte looks beautiful and like a wonderful place to visit! I should probably add it to my US travel bucket list. 🙂
I’ve never been to Charlotte but have heard it’s cute and small (a lot like downtown Orlando, yes). I also got that purple color in my Birchbox and tried it this weekend. It may grow on you, just don’t wear much else color on your face.
Charlotte – my home! Glad you enjoyed your time here. You definitely hit some of the good spots. Sunflour Bakery is yummy and so is Cowfish! Did you go to the restroom while you were there? Instead of music you get random foreign language lessons playing over the speakers. It’s hilarious! Looks like you hit the park at just the right time. It’s usually really crowded!
And the Knights baseball stadium just opened downtown a few months ago so it is brand new and that’s why we have all the signage! (It was just outside of Charlotte actually in SC instead of NC for many, many years.)
Yes!!!! That scared the heck out of me in the bathroom! Ha!
Did you find your camera or purchase a new one? If so, what did you go with?
I still haven’t replaced my point and shoot. I’ve been using my iphone and my DSLR (I have a Nikon D3000).
I’m so glad you mentioned biking. My husband and I will be driving from Oklahoma to Florida (Miami) the second week of June and were considering hauling our bikes along. Is it unbelievably unbearable to do something like this in June? Should we just leave them home and plan on walking and driving to and from the beach?
I’m not extremely familiar with Miami so I’d hate to steer you wrong. I’m really not sure!
You know, I’ve only been to Florida once, but one of the big things I remember from the time I was there was how weird the grass was! We stayed in a condo during my family’s trip, and I thought the grass was fake haha. You’d think lawn grass would be the same everywhere, but that’s quite obviously not the case!
That food looks so delicious! Looks like you had a lovely time.
That’s hilarious that you were in Charlotte… My husband and I are actually relocating there over the summer and are going up next week to look at apartments! Question — did you and ryan stay in a hotel? We are still looking for places to stay while we visit and would love any suggestions!
Also I love sushi but hate burgers, while my husband loves burgers and hates sushi… so cowfish sounds like a perfect compromise! We will have to check it out.
I just love Cowfish. It’s probably a good thing they don’t have them in Atlanta though because I would probably spend all my money there…. my boyfriend especially enjoys the HUGE fish tank a the one in Raleigh.
I’ve never been to Charlotte but have always been a little bit intrigued by the Southern US…hopefully someday soon! I think I need that cheddar biscuit in my life.
I’ve been dying to go to Charlotte. It seems like such a charming place and it looks like you had a blast. Definitely think I’m gonna have to plan a vacation there soon!
I rented those bikes in Freedom park during a visit last spring! I didn’t take any photos when I was there so I love seeing yours. We rode the bikes through the park and along a path that takes you back towards the downtown area (or I think everyone there calls it Uptown?). I highly recommend it, was a really fun way to spend a gorgeous afternoon!
PS That lip color looks great on you!
That sandwich looks amazing!! I wasn’t sure that the egg/avocado combo could get any better… but on a cheddar biscuit? that sounds fantastic!