The Golden Ticket

In late 2009 I took advantage of a unique opportunity, an at the time unprecedented offer by JetBlue airlines: travel, for one month, on any JetBlue plane, from any airport JetBlue serviced, to any airport JetBlue serviced, for the cost of a single $600 ticket.  I jumped at the chance for adventure, and for one month, with no driver's license, little prior knowledge of my destinations, and only the luggage I could carry in a black canvas backpack, I set out to explore thirteen US cities.
Charlotte, NC, my third destination, was a personal challenge: how would I fare in a place about which I knew nothing, not even apocrypha?  I'd never heard, or read, so much as two sentences about Charlotte.  But this journey was about discovery, and so, late on the night of my 30th birthday, I boarded a flight from San Francisco to Charlotte.   Arriving in Charlotte early in the AM, I bused to a nearby Motel (I couldn't find a hostel) and caught some shut-eye.  Early in the morning I bused to the nearby business district and began exploring.  After a few hours I began to feel discouraged - I'd footed to every corner of the downtown grid, and found little to do.  More worrying, there seemed to be little beyond the business streets.  Convinced no city could be this dull, I questioned the locals.  A few mentioned "NoDa", Charlotte's arts district, as worth a visit. I'd found my grail, now I had to claim it.