Charlotte, North Carolina on a Rainy Evening

Photo and story by Jason Dozier

On the way to my radio station in Whiteville, North Carolina, I took an opportunity to stop in downtown Charlotte, nicknamed the Queen City., for Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III of England.

Charlotte was originally built at the crossroads of two Native-American trading paths. The intersection of these two paths is known as the heart of Charlotte, and can be viewed from above in the CTC rail station that crosses over Trade Street, and looks out at the Walgreens, and the intersection of Tyron Street. Having limited time, as always, I pre-scouted this location and shot some interesting elevated images of the downtown streets.

As it got later, I worked my way to the south and past the Nascar Hall of Fame, to Marshall Park, which was conveniently located across the street from the Sherrif’s office, where I was able to use the park pond for some interesting skyline shots. The only problem was the sky was cloudy, and had a dull look to it.

The most memorable moment of this stop was the next morning when I left my hotel in a rainstorm and the van flooded out because someone left the cover off of my carborator and the water made it into the engine. I had to call AAA for a 140mile tow to Whiteville where I had a mechanic waiting to dry it out. That was a long 140-mile tow-truck ride.