PLEASE DON'T MICROWAVE MY JOURNEY

In a world that moves quickly, our travels should slow us down, take the road less traveled and enjoy the memories in the miles.

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Well, good morning. It is July the 6th, 2026, and straight from the Highley Cabinet studio. This is according to Willie B, and I yours truly will be your host for the next half hour. Isn't that exciting? Okay, let's get into this. I had something kind of off the wall happen, is how this podcast or this episode tonight came about. And you know me, it's something always weird is gonna happen anyway, if if I'm involved. But I have a question for you because sometimes the destination is not the point, and what am I talking about? What I always say, the memories are in the miles, but as a caveat to that, are we taking those miles and driving past somewhere we should stop? And what am I talking about? So I'm talking about how many amazing places have you driven right past, not because they weren't worth stopping for, just because you were focused on getting to your destination. And that's happened to me more times than I can count. Sometimes we forget the destination is not always the point. Sometimes it's simply getting away. And today let's talk about Charlotte, North Carolina, and why maybe it's time that we all slowed down long enough to discover what's been sitting right beside the interstate all along. So if you're joining me for the first time, is if if this is your first time to this podcast, welcome. I do welcome every single one of you. Uh, this podcast has grown way past anything I could have ever hoped or imagined for. Uh, so if you are brand new to the show, welcome. Uh, we talk about food and travel, and not necessarily in that order. Sometimes there's no order whatsoever. But if um if you have been here before, then welcome back, my friend, because this isn't a travel show about checking the landmarks off of the bucket list, it's about creating memories, finding incredible foods, meeting incredible people, and sometimes discovering places you never expected to enjoy. So, what was the reason behind this trip? Well, the wife and I just decided that we just wanted to get away for a day, and what better way than just hopping on the interstate and driving a couple hours? Now, I'll be honest. Uh, you know, I didn't see Charlotte as a destination. I have to I have to be perfectly honest about that. I knew it was a big city, but I mean, I'm you gotta give me a little bit of credit because I'm not from North Carolina and I'm still learning this as I go. Now I can pretty much tell you anything about any town in Texas, but when it comes to North Carolina, I'm still learning. But the amount of entertainment for all age groups and genre is absolutely unreal. There's no other word for it. But you know, when we drive to our destinations, we drive through there and we see that it's a big city, and we're thinking, oh, yeah, this would be a cool place that I'll probably never come to. We fly over it, we drive through it, we drive around it, and that that brings me to an interesting point I want to share with you before we go deeper into this. I remember growing up because we traveled a lot, and I remember as they started building what we affectionately call a loop around cities. And what's that for? That's so that we didn't have to drive through the city back when they were smaller and have all the red lights. You may drive through a town now, and it may only have a population of 5,000 and then 200 red lights. So the loop or the bypass or whatever other names that they come up with these, it is a way to take us around faster, to get us through where we're going faster. Sometimes we have to slow that process down. Because I I remember thinking in my early 20s that if all of these roads are taking us around these cities and towns and that are have a lot to offer, it's like we're microwaving our freeways because we're just trying to get to the destination, and there's no journey in between, there's no entertainment in between, there's no memories to be made in between, and that was always the case growing up because you didn't have the loops and the bypasses and the you know, the toll roads and and and all of these types of things that just take us whizzing around or by or over the things that we really need to slow down and see. Because sometimes we get so focused on getting to the beach or the cruise ship or Disney that we forget that the journey itself can become part of the adventure, and I'm starting to realize that later in life that, hey, you know what? I'm not gonna take the loop. I'd realize that Google Maps says, hey, you gotta go this way. No. Nope. I see a path that goes straight through this town, and I'm gonna take it. I want to see what I'm missing. Because if I go the loop or the bypass or the toll road, guess what? I'm not seeing any of that. I'm just microwaving my trip. And have you ever stopped and really thought about how food tastes out of a microwave? It's not that great. And it's the same thing with our travel. When we microwave our our trip to get to the destination, it's not as great as it could have been if we had just stopped along the way and took time to not to sound cliche, but smell the roses, so to speak. So Charlotte has and I will say this Charlotte has quietly become one of the South's best cities. For many people, it's simply an airport. That's what it's always been for us, either Raleigh or Charlotte. Or a city that they can drive through on Interstate 85. But Charlotte has quietly become one of the fastest growing cities in America. It's clean, it's modern, and of course, it's full of southern hospitality. Yet somehow it still manages to feel approachable. You don't have to spend New York money, or for that matter, Orlando money, to have a fantastic weekend. I'm going to give you some talking points when you are around the water cooler at work to bring up the destination to go to go to Charlotte on your next weekend. It's the banking capital of the Southwest. It is the second largest financial hub. Excuse me, only trailing behind New York. Wow, that is insane. Rich Revolutionary War history, gold mining history, and this one's interesting. I actually found a no pun intended, but I actually found a little nugget of information that I found very humorous, if you will. So it is actually the birthplace of the first gold rush. Back in 1799, a 12-year-old boy named Conrad found a 17-pound nugget. Holy Toledo. Now you're thinking, well, I bet these this his family just probably owns half of Charlotte. Actually, you would be wrong because what happened was they had no idea what they had. He took it back home, and his family used it as a doorstop in the house. Now, you know what they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure, and that's exactly what happened. A jeweler came by and bought it for $3.50, a 17-pound gold nugget for $3.50. Now, I have to think that back in 1799, $3.50 was quite a handsome price, but I'm sure it was nowhere near what it was worth. But like I said, not one man's trash, another man's treasure. They have the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Even if you're not a NASCAR fan, check out the size of this Hall of Fame museum. Over a hundred and fifty thousand square feet. That's that is just mind-boggling. You got the Charlotte Motor Speedway. You've got more than 20, more than 20 beautiful parks, and one of them has a lake. I actually think there are more than one that has a lake, but there's one in particular uh that has a really nice lake, walking trails, etc. And I don't know how many breweries they have. I lost count on those. Locally owned restaurants. This one got my attention. Locally owned restaurants by the dozen. But now there is one there that catches my attention every single time I go through the city of Charlotte, and that is the Southern Pecan Gulf Coast Kitchen. Mmm, I tell you what, that food is really, really good. And I have the last time I ate there, I did not have my recording equipment. And I'm like, oh, I've got to come back and make an episode of Culinary Highway on Southern Pecan Gulf Coast Kitchen because it is just really good food and the service, everything, attention to detail from the it's it's a wow experience. I mean, just there's no other word for it. They've got all these walkable entertainment districts. Um, it's just you just cannot want for anything to do. You say, Well, Will, you said it was for all genres. Is it family friendly? And this is the one thing that I really appreciate because it is a destination that works for everyone. You got kids, plenty to do. If you're retired, there's plenty to do. If you're just looking for a weekend getaway, Charlotte checks all of those boxes. They've got a theme park that is not only theme park with roller coasters and all this kind of stuff, they also have a water park, and it is really cool water park. And now I have not been to uh the Carolins yet. Uh, I've been I had that on my list this year, but I'm not 100% sure that's gonna happen. But the summer's not over yet. But I hear that the because you know I'm a roller coaster junkie, the Copperhead Strike is one of the most talked-about roller coasters in North Carolina, so I definitely need to get down there and check that out. I just haven't made it yet. Talk about kids, you've got Discovery Place Science. Now, this is a science and tech museum that's a very hands-on, immersive experience for kids. And not only that, they have an aquarium and an IMAX all in one location. You could literally have the kids there all day long. So if you don't want to do the whole theme park there, then there you go. Discovery Place Science will keep them busy all day long. Uh, I just remembered the name of the park that has that is one of my favorites, and it's it's uh called Freedom Park, and it's a lakeside park. Talk about a place for a picnic. I mean, you it's so picturesque, you just could not ask for a better place to have a picnic. I kid you not. Would I steer you wrong? Here's the thing: you toss in a couple dozen uh museums and then get this number. Are you ready for this number? Over 100 different sporting events. That's insane. I don't care what sport you're looking for, they have a field for it, they have a location for it. Yeah, I mean, you just cannot find anything that is not on the list of boxes to check. Um walking downtown, it has one of the coolest little boutique shop downtown areas to walk and restaurants. I mean, uh, I'm telling you, it's just unreal. Um, but you know, like I said, uh on the food, there's just dozens and dozens and dozens of mom and pop restaurants and some really wow factor restaurants. Not just your little, it's not just mom and pop diners, it's not just your little diner for breakfast or diner for lunch. I mean, I'm talking about some serious mom and pop restaurants that are everything from a diner to a white tablecloth. And it's just it's incredible. It's got an incredible food scene. I actually believe that Charlotte could be the upcoming, you know, everybody talks about Raleigh, but I really believe that Charlotte is on course to be the culinary capital of North Carolina. I mean, I said it. Uh I think within the next five years, I could really see them walking away with that title just because they are taking the culinary scene to that level. Um, but you know, the thing that I love about finding locally owned restaurants is it's the places where the owner still greets you and the chef still walks through the dining room, and recipes have been handed down for generations because those are the restaurants that I chase. When you talk about supporting local restaurants and should uh chain restaurants while traveling, every dollar that you spend with a locally owned restaurant, it helps local families, not shareholders. So, you know, I I have to say, I was going through my email the other day, and I ran across several emails that I had received from different places where we've traveled, and they sent me some really lengthy emails about how appreciative they were, that I just took the time to film their restaurant and that I found their restaurant to be something special, and it just really stood out to them and just the kind words, and it's like you wouldn't get that from a multi-unit national chain. Um, you know, they might give you a five percent discount card for the next time you come in. I mean, I don't know what you know, or nothing, you know, but a locally owned restaurant, they show appreciation, and it is unreal to me. Um, and that that's why I truly like to chase uh locally owned restaurants because you know, our our motto on Culinary Highway is local eats are the best eats. So I'm gonna bring up one other point. You know, we always talk about why do you travel? You know, why are you so hung up on travel? Why do you love travel? And that really today is the heart of today's episode is travel because it's not always about famous landmarks, sometimes it's just simply pressing pause and taking the road less traveled does not sound cliche. But the most important part of traveling for a few days, whether it's a weekend, a day trip, or whatever, the phone doesn't matter, the emails don't matter, work doesn't matter, and you remember what laughing feels like, you remember conversations, you remember sunsets, and you remember that life exists outside of your daily routine. That's why we have to qu stop microwaving our travel routes when we're on vacation. And I think that's why travel is so important, not because of where you go, but because of what it gives back to you. You know, those that that one-day trip to Charlotte, it was the most relaxing trip I think I've taken in a long time because there was no planning, there was no tickets to buy, there was no reservations to make, there wasn't anything. It was just get in the car with your spouse, your significant other, and drive and talk and enjoy each other's company on that drive. And then enjoy the destination, enjoy the journey, taking those side rows, back roads, straight through routes, stay off of the microwave roads. That's gonna be a new term for me. Microwave freeway, no more microwave freeways, but it just really felt nice to recharge, and I think everybody can relate to that. My final thought for you tonight is maybe Charlotte wasn't really the destination. Maybe it was a simple reminder. A reminder that sometimes happiness isn't found thousands of miles away. Sometimes it's only a few hours down the interstate, and sometimes the memories you need are waiting in places that we've been driving past for years. So the next time you're planning a trip, don't overlook the cities between point A and point B, because you just might discover your next favorite destination. Thank you for spending a little time with me today. Do not forget to caffeinate and conquer. If today's episode made you think about taking that weekend trip, calling in a few vacation days, or supporting a local restaurant, then we've accomplished exactly what this show is all about. And until next time, travel often, eat local, make memories, and remember, sometimes the destination was never the point. I appreciate you listening. Have a great day.

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