Know a better bird's-eye view of uptown skyline?

A reader named Sandy asked me about the perch with the best bird's-eye view of uptown Charlotte. See what I found out by reading today's column. Click here.

Also, got a better suggestion? Post it here. Thanks.

Hear me on the radio

Today show travel editor Peter Greenberg last Saturday did his radio show -- Peter Greenberg Worldwide -- from the Ballantyne Resort. He asked me to be on to talk about Charlotte and the U.S. National Whitewater Center, which I had recently written about because of the Olympic trials there.

Anyhow, I just got the link to the broadcast. Want to hear it? Here's how:

Go to http://www.iradionow.com/, enter log-in -- info@iradio.com, and enter password -- 24824. Click on Travel and Peter Greenberg Worldwide. Select the April 26 show. I appear in the second hour. Mayor Pat McCrory is in the first hour.

Do it soon. I have no idea how long this guest log-on will work.

Nothing to complain about Charlotte commute?

This just in: Forbes.com ranks the 10 U.S. cities with the worst commutes. Charlotte didn't make the list. Should it have?

Click the link above the read the story. Here are the 10 worst cities, according to Forbes.com:

10. San Francisco
9. Los Angeles
8. Houston
7. Washington
6. Tampa
5. Dallas
4. Orlando
3. Miami
2. Detroit
1. Atlanta

Pain at the pump?

This morning I got a call from Krista Terrell, spokeswoman for the Arts & Science Council.

"I'm so excited. I just had to share this with you," she said.

Krista took the Lynx light-rail line to work uptown for the first time this morning. She was excited to report that it ran smoothly and was more convenient for her than she thought it would be. She didn't think driving to the I-485 station from her home in Steele Creek would make sense. Why not just drive to work?

But she's getting tired of paying nearly $4 a gallon to fill up her Honda Accord. In fact, she doesn't even fill the tank. She stops at $30 or $35 because that's all she can stomach at one time.

So this morning she has her husband leave the house at 7:45 a.m. and he drops her at the I-485 station at 8 a.m. She buys a ticket and the train leaves at 8:15 a.m. She takes the train to the Time Warner Arena station and after a short walk gets to work around 8:35 or 8:40. All told, it took her about 10-15 minutes longer than driving would have, she said. But it's worth it to save some gas money, she said. And now Terrell plans to do it two or three times a week.

Turns out it works well to have her husband drop her off on his way to work in Ballantyne. "It was easier than I thought," Krista said.

I still haven't tried light rail. I have it in my head that it would be too hard with a baby who my husband drops off at daycare and who I have to pick up at night. How would that work? Am I wrong?

Plus, I don't live as far away from uptown as Krista. Her commute to work is about 16 miles, double mine. And I need my car for work.

Are you taking the train to and from work? How's it working out? What do you think?

Shopping near uptown of all places

Twice in the last week I have been to the Target and Home Depot Expo Design Center in the new Metropolitan development near uptown. The stores opened last fall. But last week was my first time over there and I was impressed. Aside from New York, I've never lived anywhere that has this kind of retail so close to the center city.

Metropolitan is a $225 million, 16-acre project replacing Midtown Square between Kings Drive and Kenilworth Avenue.

Best Buy, Marshalls and Staples are opening there soon. And Trader Joe's -- what I really can't wait for -- is slated to open a store in the second half of this year.

Have you been? What do you think?

And what stores do you wish were close to uptown?

Sneezing in Charlotte?

I am happy to report that so far this year my allergies are the most under control they have ever been since I moved here nearly five years ago. This is major. Usually I am sneezing my head off all the time.

Medical writer Karen Garloch says the rain has been tamping down the pollen. So aside from the drought, that's another reason to be thankful for the Spring showers.

Are your allergies better or worse since moving to the Charlotte area? Let me know by posting here.

And email your responses to Karen -- kgarloch@charlotteobserver.com -- too. She's working on a story. Be sure to include your name and daytime phone number when you email her. Thanks!

Nothing to do here?

Can't find anything to do around here? Head to Charlotte.com. That's what Editor Rick Thames advises in a message on today's front page.

New on Charlotte.com: A searchable calendar of nearly 15,000 happenings along with maps, directions and nearby restaurants. I checked it out and found an event I happened to be searching for yesterday -- Art & Soul on South End -- at the top of the page as the "Best Bet."

Check it out yourself on Charlotte.com or go to events.charlotte.com (no www).