A Lip-Sticked Pig

The Colored Man loves to travel, so this past weekend my entourage and I-yes, I do have an entourage, no just kidding-but seriously, friends and I went to Charlotte then Lexington, North Carolina, for the Lexington BBQ Festival.  This entire trip was my idea, so I was especially excited to return to the state that I spent some of my formative years in, and to see a part of America that I had never seen before.

I was most anxious to taste some good barbecue at the festival, but alas, the poor Colored Man was sadly disappointed.  If pulled pork sandwhiches and hot dogs topped with some sort of barbecued sauce is your idea of a festival, then the good folks of Lexington, North Carolina need to wake up and smell the pit smoke.  The planners were correct that there would be lots of folks at the festival, but there were no ribs, chicken, whole hogs, pork butts or anything else that you would expect at a barbecue, and the Colored Man was not alone in this thought, as he heard some fellow train riders expressing the same thing while going back to Charlotte.

The car trip down was fun and easy-going with lots of talking and laughing, and a few snores here and there.  We stopped outside Asheville, North Carolina for breakfast at the Miami Restaurant.  The Miami Restaurant is the kind of place that you expect Andy and Barney to hold court in - homey, old-school and old.  When we all walked in, I got the distinct feeling that they were not used to seeing this many people of color together at one time, and I must admit that for a short period of time, it made me kind of uneasy.  But my fears were quickly allayed, especially when a juicy, fresh hamburger arrived.  While there I had the pleasure to meet Bridgette Odom who is a candidate for District Attorney in Buncombe County.  It seems that Ms. Odom http://www.odom2010.com/ comes from a local Republican legal dynasty, as her brother John Sutton is running for Clerk of Court of Buncombe County.  Their father, who I also met was very friendly and told me that he is a retired lawyer, who stopped practicing when he couldn't hear the judge anymore.  Mr. Sutton also told me that he would be voting for Barack Obama in 2012, so Mr. Sutton instantly became a new friend of the Colored Man.

Our next stop, after many stops for gas, was in Charlotte at the Courtyard Marriott on WT Harris Boulevard.  Let me suggest to everyone, that when making hotel reservations, use one of the travel websites such as Priceline or Travelocity.  The deals that you can get cannot be beat.  

We were hungry, so I asked this very nice employee at the hotel, where could we go to get good Southern food.  She instantly recommended Mert's, http://www.mertscharlotte.com/ which is located in downtown Charlotte.  Mert's is funky, eclectic, African-American owned, diverse and hip, and has a 98% rating from the local health department.  The Colored Man is thinking that the missing 2 points, is probably because the chef/owner wouldn't give the inspector a free meal.  It serves Southern and Low Country cuisine from an open-kitchen.  This is definitely one of the restaurants that you cannot pass by if you ever visit Charlotte.  The Colored Man and his entourage...oops, friends, loved it so much that we went back for Sunday brunch.  Mert's is the kind of place that opens at 9am, but by 9:30 had at least 60 people dining, and a flow steady coming in.

Amtrak was the mode of transportation from Charlotte to Lexington.  This is a special one-day, once-a-year service offered just for the festival.  The Colored Man had not been on a train in a number of years, but there is always something peaceful and soothing about a train ride.  After about an hour ride, which seemed to be about a 30-minute ride, we arrived to the Southern-drawled good mornings of the hospitality committee and the soft strings of bluegrass music provided by the Grass Cats, http://www.grasscats.com/.  Our first stop was to find something to eat, and we went to The Southern Diner, where I proceeded to wolf down eggs, grits and country ham, with a homemade biscuit.  I am a true Southerner so I know good grits when I eat them, and these were good grits, and not the instant type that you purchase at your local supermarket.

The festival was in its' early stages so there weren't that many people out yet, but that would quickly change.  I knew immediately that something was amiss.  My nose was not receiving the scent of charred meat, and my eyes did not see the tell-tell sign of smoke wafting through the air.  The pig had shown up all lip-sticked and rouged, ala Sarah Palin, but was not qualified to perform its' duty, just like Ms. Palin.  The pig was supposed to be on a barbecue spit, and it was missing in action.  In fact, word must have gone out on the farm that none of the animals were supposed to show up, cause the chicken wasn't there, nor the steer.  So we spent alot of time just people watching and hanging out, and one of the most delightful people that we meet was Mrs. Aquilla Samson.

Mrs. Samson is a 75-year old, lifelong resident of Lexington, and has been very active her entire life in the struggle for racial equality in Lexington.  I didn't get a picture of her shoes but they match her blouse, which matches her purse.  Very foxy!!! lady, and the pig ears and earrings top everything off very nicely.  Ms. Aquilla is probably the Fox of Lexington who ate all of the pigs!!!

Eventually, we got back on the train to go back to Charlotte and Sunday morning we began our trip back to Cincinnati.  On the way back we stopped off in Asheville, which is an artists colony and the home of the largest private residence in the United States, The Biltmore.  The Biltmore, http://www.biltmore.com/ built by George Vanderbilt, uncle of Gloria Vanderbilt, famous for her jeans, and great-uncle of Anderson Cooper, the is he?, isn't he? silver-haired reporter on CNN, was opened in 1895, with landscapes designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, who is most known for designing Central Park in New York.  Due to time restraints we were unable to tour the mansion and grounds - all 80,000 acres, but have made a promise that we will return to Asheville and The Biltmore, at some point in 2011, and pay our $60.00 per person fee, and take the grand tour.  I wonder what ole Georgie would think about the Colored Man riding around his estate in a carriage, as if he owned the whole damn place?

We arrived back in Cincinnati at around 9:30pm, a little tired, but definitely looking forward to another trip.  Word is out that the Colored Man may be going to the mountains in January for a rustic vacation and some hiking.  Let's hope that I can keep up and not get lost.  Remember what happened to the hikers in the movie, Deliverance?

Overall, this was a great trip - great travel companions, beautiful scenery, delicious food and fun times.  I will definitely go back to Charlotte and even Lexington.  But definitely not to the BBQ Festival.  I was expecting to get my fill of barbecue, and that just did not happen, and that was the entire reason for going.  But there is something special about the South - the friendliness of the people, the hospitality, the beauty of the land, the culture, which draws the Colored Man to his ancestral home like moths to the flame.

By the way, the Colored Man is never too proud too beg.  You see these out-of-focus pics, so you know that I am in need of a good digital camera.  Deep down inside I harbor a little James Van Der Zee and Gordon Parks.  Christmas is just around the corner and the Colored Man accepts gifts from one and all.  And I promise to have some barbecue all ready for you, or at the least a few dozen homemade cookies.  Contact me at Thecoloredman@gmail.com.