Charlotte weddings and a trip to the Duke Mansion

We just got back from our weekend trip to Charlotte and are sort of relieved to be back in Atlanta, even though we had a good time.  The wedding turned out to be fun–there were nice people and good things to eat and a live band that played good songs like “Summertime” and maybe some other ’30s songs I missed.  I got to wear that little blue dress and am just in love with it–I sort of take back what I said the other day about wanting something black and white to wear for wedding-going.  Light blue is just fine with me right now!  

Then this morning we got Starbucks and went to visit Drew’s family for a fish boil/Greek food lunch, and had a fun time eating and talking and watching geese fly over the lake.  It was really lovely there too, with the leaves just starting to change and the air cool enough for sweaters (finally!).  After that we did a little exploring and thrift store visiting, and ended up in what must be the prettiest part of Charlotte.  I’m not sure what it’s called, but I think it was the fancy part of town–the road was sort of narrow and winding and lined with oak trees and English Ivy.  Any of the big, early 1900s mansions along it would have been perfect for photo taking, but we sort of happened upon the one place in Charlotte I’d been wanting to see, the old Duke Mansion.  It was just beautiful–it was built just before the ’20s, but in a way it reminds me of a Jay Gatsby sort of mansion with its big windows and fountain and its little screened in porch that must have seen hundreds of parties in its day.  Supposedly Buck Duke, the big tobacco tycoon, bought it for his daughter Doris so he could introduce her to the South.  I looked around a little online and couldn’t really find out if she lived there long or went to many parties there, but it was at least fun to imagine the glamorous heiress wandering around the gardens and wonderful backyard of the place.

After that we went straight back to Atlanta (well, with a Cracker Barrel stop first) and it was pretty nice to get back to Drew’s house and the internet (I was away for 30 hours and got withdrawals) and a bunch of good tv programs all recorded and ready to watch (Project Runway and Mad Men, which is definitely growing on me).  Plus it’s Sunday, which means Silent Sunday on TCM!   But I think the very best thing of all was coming back to find the new issue of Lula in the mailbox.  It is wonderful and filled with all sorts of things that are right up my alley–it even has an article about a silent film star!