Going all out for Halloween?

I'm looking forward to Halloween this year. We don't have big plans. We'll just walk around the neighborhood with our toddler girl and dog. The girl won't wear her witch's hat though and it's questionable the dog will fit into her pumpkin outfit, which gets more snug every year.

Among my more memorable Halloweens:

Three years ago, Jeff and I dressed up as Bree and Rex from "Desperate Housewives." If you need your hair done for your costume -- I had a French twist -- but don't want to pay a ton I highly recommend the Aveda school off South Boulevard.

My NYC Halloweens were memorable for reasons other than it being Halloween. Five years ago, my husband and I had dinner at the renowned Rainbow Room in New York. It was my last night in New York before moving to Charlotte the next day. And a year or two before that we saw the Rockettes Christmas show -- yes, on Halloween, which was a surreal mixing of holidays.

And, of course, there was Halloween in Athens, Ohio, where I went to school. If you know about it, enough said.

So today's questions: What are some of your memorable Halloweens? What are your plans this year? And if you are a newcomer to the Charlotte area, is it a bigger or less big deal here than other places you've lived?

First Thanksgiving in Charlotte?

Hey, newcomers, will this be your first Thanksgiving since moving to the Charlotte area?

I'm searching for fun stories. So if you will be spending the holiday here and have an interesting story, please drop me a line at abaldwin@charlotteobserver.com. Please include your name and a daytime phone number.

Maybe several generations of your family moved here. Or maybe you moved from overseas. Or you were discharged from the military and now call Charlotte home. Or you're cooking the turkey and trimmings for the first time. Or you're missing home -- or not missing home.

I can't wait to hear your stories. Thanks!

DIEBROKE: one license plate mystery solved

Remember yesterday's story on vanity plates? Well, one license plate puzzle mentioned in it -- DIEBROKE -- has just been solved. Thanks to owner Dick Dunn for reading the story and e-mailing to explain.

First, here's the part of the story where Dunn's plate is mentioned:
"Personalized plates are fleeting messages whizzing by on I-485 or mysteries to solve while stuck in traffic.
Does the driver of a Toyota Scion, spotted in Huntersville, with a plate that reads “MUTZNUTZ” like pound puppies? Is the owner of a Buick Park Avenue, seen at South Boulevard and Tyvola Road with “DIEBROKE,” really living it up?"

Here's what the e-mail Dunn just sent in:

"I truly enjoyed your article in yesterday's paper on vanity tags. They are always interesting to read, and read about. I am the person with the Buick Park Avenue with 'DIEBROKE,' but at 76 years old, I am not 'really living it up.' 'DIEBROKE' is from a book Stephen Pollan wrote back in 1997 on financial planning. Stephen Pollan is from Manhattan and is a very successful financial planner. Since I was close to retiring back then, the book interested me, and have tried to follow all of his great ideas regarding finances. With the economy the way it is today, this should be the No. 1 best seller of all books, especially with young people. I try to encourage everyone to read the book. Again, thank you for the article and keep up the good writings."

Got a vanity plate? Seen a clever one on the road? Keep 'em coming. Post here.

GR8PL8S! Got one?

In today's paper, I have a story on vanity license plates. YAY4ME!, right?

With just eight characters -- people cleverly use letters and numbers -- to work with, more than 9 million U.S. drivers are telling their stories, sharing their hopes, dreams, hobbies and philosophies. Click here to read it.

Anyhow, I asked readers to let me know about their vanity plates and promised to post them here. But first, I want to include others I noticed while reporting this story that didn't make it into print or that friends and coworkers told me they'd seen. Here they are:

Parked at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport: BADCADDY on a Black Escalade; JAZZZZZZ on a Lincoln MKX; TECHGOLD on an Audi A4; SOMETIME on a Honda Element and ASPEN on a Honda Accura.

On Park Road one Saturday evening: 2SLOW4U on a Nissan240SX.

On a Corvette parked at Carson and Tryon on Sunday of Panthers' first home game: NDIRISH.

Parked at a South End/Dilworth residence: OHBAMA!

On a Toyota Camry parked at the Westin: LIVWPASN.

Now for reader responses:

From Karen Branan:
"We have 3 in our family. My daughter's is "GONCNTRY" (Gone Country, i.e., the Alan Jackson song), my husband's is simply "FISHIN" and mine is "OH2BBOTN" (Oh, to be boating). Prior ones I have owned are, "ALMYCHRN" (All My Children - both kids and soap opera) and GOOD2CYA"

From John Tomasulo of Indian Trail: "As a 65-year-old retiree, new to this area, my wife and I enjoy getting into our car and exploring our new state and taking trips to Tennessee, Virginia and Maryland to visit family. The plate on my Honda Accord Coupe reads: STLCRUZN."

From Alex Miller of Denver, N.C.: "My plate CONE6OX reflects my hobby as a potter. CONE6 is the temperature (2232'f) I fire my pots to and OX is the atmosphere, Oxidation. It takes another potter to understand."

From Howard Freese of Charlotte: " For about fifteen years, I have been sporting SAN SU C and occasionally I get a honk. Usually, they know the French language. 'SAN SU C' is phonetic for 'Sans Souci,' which just happens to be the song of (my) alma mater Columbia College/University of New York. ... 'Sans souci' is loosely translated as 'without care' or 'carefree.' ... I suspect that not many who figure out the meaning of 'SAN SU C' know that there is an association with Columbia."

From David Guitano: "It's GODSHEMI. I am a Christian and believe all we have ultimately belongs to God. I have a Chrysler 300C with the Hemi engine -- hence, GODSHEMI."

From Larry Sulzer: "My wife Patty shares my love of fishing, so her license is FSHNHOTE.
She is my Fishing Hottie."

From Larry Proper via voicemail: 2KDS OUT on a '92 red Porsche convertible. He had to get two kids out of college before buying his wheels.

From Tracey: "After reading your article, I had to send you this one. My husband has a Mazda Miata - and his SC plate says B-FISHN, so its Miata B-Fishin."

Got a funny or clever plate to share? Post it here. Thanks!

A newcomer and her dream job

Back in my Oct. 10 I wrote about visiting the Carolina Raptor Center in Huntersville to meet the new CEO out there. Joy Braunstein happens to be a newcomer from Pittsburgh. I promised to post a link to the column when it published. It ran in yesterday's paper. Click here to read it.

Friendless from Ohio

I got this e-mail from Tracie, who's originally from Ohio and having trouble making friends here. She asks for suggestions. I'll offer some, but first her e-mail:

"My husband grew up in Vandalia, Ohio and I grew up in Tipp City, Ohio. We lived in Dallas, Texas for a year, but have made Charlotte our home for the last 7 years. We live in Harrisburg and like the others I read about, we too are still friendless after 7 years. We find that people are really friendly. You go out to lunch with people you work with. But when 5:00 hits, everyone goes their separate ways.

"We love living here, just wish we had friends. We don't have kids, so we don't meet other parents to be friends with. I've joked with people at work about placing an ad (online) on Craigslist for a friend and they just laugh at me. If you have any ideas, let us know."

OK, Tracie, here are some ideas. And, readers, if you have any thoughts on making friends here, please post them. Thanks.

1. Get to know your neighbors. If you still haven't met them or barely know them, think about hosting a grill-out or having neighbors over for cocktails. When new people move in, walk over and say hi, maybe drop off cookies or bottle of wine.

2. Join a church. If you already have a church, see if there are committees or groups within it that you would like to join. It's hard to meet people just on Sunday.

3. Don't discount those colleagues. That's how many of us meet a lot of our pals. Try to organize a regular -- weekly or monthly -- lunch outing or happy hour.

4. You aren't off base with your idea of looking online for friends. Try this: Go to Meetup.com and enter Charlotte and hobbies or personal interests (i.e. yoga, golf, pets, books, hiking, bowling -- whatever). You can find groups of people who do or discuss the things you are interested in.

5. Volunteer. Not up for a regular commitment? You can do a project at a time with Hands on Charlotte. More more info on the group, click here.

Is Charlotte really welcoming to newcomers?

Yesterday I spoke to a group of about 25 women at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Ballantyne. Most of them have been here just a few months, all of them less than a year, and they are taking a class called Moving On After Moving In. (A dozen or so churches around here offer the program, so call yours or the one you are thinking of joining to find out if it does.)

Anyhow, the women seemed upbeat and mostly happy to be in Charlotte. They were a really fun group. (Thanks for having me, ladies.) But two of the women spoke very honestly. One said that people here are "friendly but not welcoming." Another said she was denied membership to a moms club (she thinks it might have been too crowded but she said she didn't get a real explanation or suggestion for alternate club).

I like honest answers. Tell me about your experience. Did you feel welcomed to Charlotte? And if you have been here a while, do you feel differently now than you did to start?

Charlotte a good value?

Forbes has released its list of best value cities and worst value cities. Charlotte make the best value list. Click here to read the report, which says a home in New York is "three times less affordable" than in Charlotte, and for list of cities.

I'll get straight to it because as a colleague, just said, pretty soon Forbes is going to put out a lists of top lists and he's getting "weary" of it. It's simple: Agree or disagree that Charlotte is a good value?

Hey, Charlotte, get some better signs!

Getting around Charlotte can be a pain, because the signs here are either non-existent or just not good. I recently wrote -- in blog and column form -- about confusing and inconsistent signs for I-485. (See my Oct. 6 entry.) By the way, earlier today I got on the wrong loop AGAIN. And before that I had MapQuest issues with one of our Queens Roads! Grr...

But today I want to give a shout out to two people -- a colleague and a reader -- who point out issues with our city's signs.

First, check out a column today by my coworker Mark Washburn. It's about Wells Fargo execs visiting Wachovia today.

Mark just hoped they made it uptown, writing, "First off, under no circumstances, are they to drive themselves around. We do not need them motoring out of the airport seeing welcome signs in 13 languages, but nothing pointing the way uptown. By the time they find their way back from Rock Hill, they'll be convinced we're drooling imbeciles."

Right on, Mark. When I first moved here I dreaded having to go to the airport, unsure I'd find my way back. It shouldn't be this hard to get from the airport to Dilworth (where we were living at the time), I remember telling my husband.

There must be something in the air about roadway signage today. When I got back from speaking to a group of newcomers (read about that here tomorrow) I had an e-mail from a frustrated Charlotte driver. She's lived here 10 years. Here's what she had to say.

"In the last few months I have found myself extremely aggravated with this place. It's almost like Charlotte is allergic to signs! Recently, I was anxiously looking for the children's ER at Presby with my 3 year-old daughter vomiting in the backseat at 10 p.m. Being a healthy adult with no family in town I've never HAD to find a hospital in Charlotte, let alone a children's hospital.

I live in the Mountain Island Lake area. I zoom down Brookshire toward uptown. I see a GIGANTIC billboard for Presby's children's hospital, but they didn't bother to put an address, or directions on the darn thing ... nothing. I see a blue "H" sign. I follow it, then another... I exit at 3rd & 4th (streets) and POOF! the "H" signs disappear ... I never did find Presby. I wish I had. I heard they are fast and I wouldn't have been at (CMC) for an eternity in an empty ER with a vomiting 3 year-old...

This example is just one of many. Try finding a street address on Fairview!! There's an adventure. When you travel our interstates you have no idea what attractions Charlotte has to offer and if you did, good luck finding them. You would never know that we have museums and art galleries and theaters.

This town is filled with newcomers, isn't it about time that we start pointing people to our attractions? Making addresses clearly visible?"

Not too late to register to vote

Oct. 10 was the official deadline to register to vote in N.C. Didn't make it? Don't worry. It's not too late.

From Thursday (Oct. 16) through Nov. 1, you can register and vote at early voting sites. You must bring a current driver's license or other proof of address. Public libraries are popular early voting sites. For a list of early voting venues by county, click here.

Are you a newcomer voter? I want to talk to you for a story. Please e-mail me your name and daytime phone number. Thanks!

Who has best steaks in town?

Today's question: Who has the best steaks in town?

Inspiration for today's question: Charlotte is going through an upscale steakhouse boom. The latest to the scene is Fleming's, which opened late last month uptown. And my husband and I are slowly working our way through them. I say slowly because we reserve big-ticket dinners for special occasions, especially now that we have one child and another on the way and big-time economic downturn going on.

On Saturday night, we went to The Palm in SouthPark. It was our anniversary and we had a coupon. The steaks were delish -- right up there with our last steak splurge at Morton's uptown.

After Morton's and The Palm our next faves are probably McIntosh's and Sullivans. We also really like Beef 'N Bottle and it's throwback 1958-style brat pack atmosphere -- think Sinatra and deep red leather booths and waitresses who call you "hon."

This place is for the birds. Seriously.

Yesterday I interviewed the new president and CEO of the Carolina Raptor Center in Huntersville. Check out my profile of newcomer Joy Braunstein, who moved here in late August from Pittsburgh, later this month in the Observer. I'll put a post up here to remind you.

I took Lucy with me to check out the injured and rehabilitated birds of prey. Lately my toddler is pointing out every bird she sees. The eagles, owls and falcons delighted her.

If you've never been, you should go. There is a walking trail of birds and rehab center. And there are staffers trained to hold the birds on their arms. Click the link above for more info on the center and it's 20+-year history.

Later this month the center is also hosting an event called "Halloween Hoot 'N Howl." It's Oct. 25 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be live raptor presentations, hay rides, pumpkin painting, cooking decorating and more.

After our Raptor Center visit, Lucy and I grabbed dinner someplace I have long been meaning to go to while in Huntersville: Friendly's. Growing up in Ohio, where the ice cream and diner-style food chain has a distribution center and lots of restaurants, I went there a lot. The chain started in Massachusetts and is popular in the Northeast too. Our waitress was from New York and appreciated my appreciation for this being the only location in Charlotte. The next nearest Friendly's is 110 miles away in Lumberton.

So, yesterday, since we were up there and I am pregnant and was having a craving for the Fishamajig sandwich -- an original menu item -- Lucy and I went. And I am happy to report the Fishamajig and ice cream were as yummy as I remembered.

Registered to vote?

Tomorrow is the deadline for registering to vote in N.C. Your registration form must be postmarked by Oct. 10. (The S.C. deadline was Oct. 4.)

If you want info on how and where to register, click here for the N.C. State Board of Elections.

You can also get a form e-mailed to you from JustVote.org.

If you are a newly registered voter -- either because you are a newcomer to the Charlotte region or newcomer to the election process -- I'd love to talk to you for a potential story. Please e-mail me. Thanks.

Charlotte good for entrepreneurs?

I am heading soon to an event for female entrepreneurs in N.C. and S.C. That made me think this morning about whether Charlotte is a good place for start-up business owners.

Are you an entrepreneur? Did you move to Charlotte to chase your dream? How's it working out? Please post your comments here and if you are willing to have a follow-up conversation, please email me your name and daytime phone number. Thanks.

What do you think of I-485?

In yesterday's column on why I hate Interstate 485 and how I rarely know what the signs mean, I asked readers to share their thoughts. And did they. So far I have recieved about two dozen emails and phone calls. Some people empathized and others think I'm -- um -- directionally challenged (no doubt!). Some shared tips. I promised to post some to my blog, so here you go:

"The best way to tell location on the 485 beltline is to refer to the 'inner' or 'outer' and use the mile markers. I am the owner of Ace Towing & Recovery, Inc. here in Charlotte. In the beginning when 485 first opened we had a tough time finding the cars that were broken down. Tryon Street crosses 485 at S. Tryon and N. Tryon. I-85 crosses twice also. We ask people if they are on the inner or outer beltline and where they are coming from. We also try to find out the last exit they remember passing or mile marker. This has eliminated the location problems. Enjoyed your article." -- Michael Melandro

"In your attempt to navigate I-485, you made two -- no, make that three -- mistakes. Your first mistake was using MapQuest. Forget MapQuest ever existed. ...Your second mistake was forgetting that I-485 is a subsection of I-85, and that odd-numbered interstates travel North/South, and even-numbered interstates travel East/West. If you remember that N I-85 will take to almost to Richmond, Va., and S I-85 will take you to Montgomery, Ala., the N/S designation makes more sense. Your third mistake -- or, really, perhaps your first -- is living in a part of Charlotte that requires you to ever get on I-485 in the first place." -- Jonathan Webber
(Blogger's Note: I live inside 485, so I rarely use it. I was travelling between two assignments.)

"I was born and raised in Charlotte and I-485 makes no more sense to me than it does to you! I totally agree that the North, South, East, West, Inner, Outer directions are confusing and often pointless. I suggest that 'Counterclockwise.' Everyone knows what that means! They could easily be abbreviated to CW and CCW. A visual aid would be easy too: a dot representing the city with a ring around it representing the loop. A you-are-here arrow pointing the direction one is traveling (CW or CCW) lets the driver know if s/he is heading towards 5:00 or towards 11:00. For now, I ignore those useless signs and try to picture the whole thing as a clock. Uptown is the center of the clock. Mint Hill is about 3:00. Matthews is 4:00, Pineville is 7:00...Huntersville is 12:00... I'll bet if I told you to take I-485 CCW from Pineville to Mint Hill you'd know just what to do! Good luck navigating the loop!" -- Julie Gilland-Hubbard

"Well, East and North are the same and West and South are one. I never look at the words outer loop or inner loop. I just look at where it leads to." -- Unsigned

"I was elated to read your article on I-485. As one who lives in the mountains and uses the road to bypass Charlotte, I have been extremely confused on more than on occasion. When coming North on 77 and just trying to get to 85, the signs are no help. The Goode Freeway (is there a Bad?), Martin, Inner, Outer…..help! I just want to get to 85! Thanks for the observations. I was dying to tell somebody, and you did it for me. Now do you think anyone will do something about it?" -- Mark Van Arnam, Boone

"I'm pretty new to the Charlotte area and also found 485 to be somewhat confusing. The only thing I know is that Route 51 ( I'm not sure of the exit # but I know it's either before or after South Blvd depending on the direction your going ) is where the East/West turns into North/South. So as far as 485 is concerned if I'm going east I'm also going north and vice versa. I pay no attention to the inner/outer nonsense. I don't know if clears anything up for you or not, I just thought I'd throw it out there." -- Myk Altritt

"I totally agree with your confusion about N, S, E, or W signs on I-485. Directional signs not only make no sense on a beltway, they actually obscure which way to go. My choice would be 'clockwise' or 'counterclockwise,' but I believe that would never pass government muster since the average driver would understand it instantly. Failing that, consistent use of 'inner' and 'outer' would be the next best thing, I believe." -- Bill Jones, Hickory


"I have a novel idea for you. Get yourself a map of Charlotte and a compass. Spread out the map on your kitchen table and study it for an hour, concentrating on 485. Then take the compass with you in the car. Voila. Problem solved!" -- Mike Petrie

"I don't have a trick for 485 as is, but I sure would be helped by something that could be added to the signs: a simple word or diagram that indicated clockwise or counterclockwise. Wouldn't that pretty much take care of it? Those directions don't change as you go around. Either you're going around the city one way or the other." -- Brad Bostian

I love summer but...

I love summer. I really do. I love the heat. I get cold when it's 70 degrees out (to borrow a line from "When Harry Met Sally.") But I'm ready for fall. I'm tired of my summer clothes.

And the fact is that even after five years here I don't know how to dress for a Carolina-style fall, which is more like an extension of summer.

The mornings start out cool. I dress accordingly and then am roasting by noon. I layer but I never get that right either -- long sleeves when I should have had on short. Etc. etc.

Case in point: I should have worn shorts and a t-shirt to the pumpkin patch on Saturday instead of a long-sleeve T and jeans. It was so warm and sunny they weren't even serving hot apple cider. But I love what we had instead: a big apple cider slushy.

Today is supposed to be in the low 80s and then I think the weather forecasters are calling for more autumn-like weather with highs in low 70s. That's not fall to me, but I'll take it.

Charlotte good for singles?

Guess which city is tops on Forbes.com's list of best 10 U.S. cities to be single?

Answer: Atlanta.

It's the first time Atlanta has ranked No. 1 in the survey.

According to Forbes.com: "The capital of Georgia and home of Coca-Cola earns the top slot because of its hopping nightlife, relatively high number of singles and sizzling job growth. To those who know 'Hotlanta,' the ranking should come as no surprise. In the eight years that we have been ranking America's largest urban areas in terms of their friendliness to the nation's 74 million single adults, only once did Atlanta place outside the top 10."

Charlotte didn't make the top 10. The survey based rankings on these categories: culture, night life, number of singles, job growth, cost of living alone and online dating.

Charlotte is the first city I moved to not single, so I don't know what it's like to be a singleton here. So you tell me -- especially you singleton newcomers -- how Charlotte rates for those not coupled off.

Reader's take on best skyline view

In Living Here magazine, I wrote about the best spot in the city to see the skyline: the Seventh Street Station parking deck.

Reader Jeffrey Houser, who moved to Charlotte from Maine in May 2007, begged to differ -- and that's cool.

"While there are probably several great viewpoints, my favorite has always been at the top of what I call 'the Panthers' parking garage,' which is really the garage behind the hotel next to the BofA Stadium," House said in an e-mail.

He continued: "Of coure, the skyline is changing daily and some of the newer buildings that are going up aren't seen as well from that vantage pint, but the heart of the city is in all its glory from there. It can look fabulous on a warm summer evening as the sun sets in!"

Houser also sent two photos -- at the top of this post -- from that vantage point, both taken this past summer.

Where do you go for skyline views?

More pumpkin patches

In my Monday column on pumpkin patches, I listed where around the region you can go for pumpkins, hay rides and apple cider. And I promised if I missed any to add them to this blog. So, here's two more:

Hodges Dairy Farm in Charlotte. In addition to pumpkins, it has a crop maze and hay wagon and horse rides. Click here for the Web site.

Patterson Farm Market & Tours, Inc. in Rowan County. This third-generation working farm is about 30 miles north of Charlotte. Click here for the Web site.

If there are any other pumpkin patches around the area that should be included, please post them here. Thank you.

More Brixx pizza, please!

Yesterday, I helped the Observer host a group of about 30 Girl Scouts. Toward the end of the day, I asked a handful of them -- a couple of them who moved here five years ago -- where they hang out, what they like about Charlotte and what Charlotte needs.

Thought I'd share the answers here.

Where they hang out/what they like: "the mall." Which mall? SouthPark, of course, they said in unison. Nice to see how some things haven't changed. I enjoyed hanging at the mall when I was a kid, though my mall -- the Dayton Mall -- wasn't and isn't as nice as SouthPark.

What Charlotte needs: More Brixx pizza locations.

Hey, grown-up readers, here's your chance to answer those same questions. Just post responses here.