Non-Rail Activities
Biltmore House Bus trip Thursday September 2.
This trip was very popular in 2011 and 2021. A motor coach will transport convention attendees to the Historic Biltmore House in Asheville NC, where they will enjoy a tour of George Vanderbilt’s 179,000 square foot “summer home”, which was built in 1895 and is still the largest privately owned home in the United States. Lunch will be provided on site and the bus will make a stop at the Antler Hill Village and Winery for a complimentary wine tasting. This is a full day trip and participants will return in late afternoon. There will only be one bus load of tickets sold, so register early. Cost for this trip is $160.00 per person. For more information about the Biltmore House, visit their website https://www.biltmore.com/
High tea
Painting workshop
Pottery workshop
Quilt and yarn shop tour
Writing workshop by Cindy Brookshire
Telling Our Stories
Using simple writing prompts, we will ease our way into beginning to document some of our favorite family stories. I’ll even bring a few “show and tells” to jog your memories, and provide pens and composition notebooks, so when you leave the session, you’ll want to continue writing. Each participant will also leave with valuable handouts.
Cindy Brookshire is a published author of essays (“Railroad Wife”), short stories, (“Trains and Sex”) [written after the 2011 National Narrow Gauge Convention in Hickory], poetry (“Gas Station Hat,”) and books, (“A Heart for Selma”). She is a member of Neuse River Writers, and a regional representative of the North Carolina Writers Network. She facilitates weekly “Telling Our Stories” writing sessions at the Harrison Center for Active Aging in Selma, North Carolina. Author, A Heart for Selma and Little Towns, Regional Representative, North Carolina Writers Network, Co-founder, Activate Selma.
Writing Workshop by Jennifer Boone
Make your own bound journal
Blue Ridge Parkway
The beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway is less than one hour away on Hwy 321 North toward Blowing Rock. The parkway follows the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains escarpment, offering scenic vistas every few miles. The road is laid out northeast to southwest, meaning that a long drive along the parkway needs only a major road going down into the piedmont to return the driver to Hickory. The parkway is free but it is suggested that gas be purchased in Lenoir as fuel prices tend to increase with the elevation.
Blowing Rock
The historic tourist town of Blowing Rock has been an attraction for over 130 years. Situated at the “top of the mountain”, it has cool mountain breezes on even the warmest of summer days. Wealthy summer tourists escaped the summer heat for generations at Inns and Lodges. Modern tourists enjoy specialty shops, fine dining, Kilwin’s homemade ice cream and fudge (worth the trip from Hickory). The Blowing Rock is a rock outcropping that affords tremendous views of the Globe Valley far below. Definitely worth a trip up or a stop on the return trip from Tweetsie Railroad on Thursday September 2, if you sign up for that event.
Memory Lane Museum in Mooresville
Most modelers have automobiles on their layout, if for no other reason than to show the dreaded “competition” that would end passenger trains and make freight trains unprofitable in the far off “future”. This automobile museum has over 150 cars on display, from Model T’s in the Teens to NASCAR racing cars from the late 20th Century. The facility is packed, with the cars lined up in neat rows, just waiting for inspection. Currently the museum is open to the public on Thursdays and Fridays from 10-4:30. Check out this article on the museum. https://decorhint.com/the-remarkable-automobile-museum-in-north-carolina-you-have-probably-never-heard-of/?utm_source=nc
Hickory Aviation Museum
The Hickory Aviation Museum has recently reopened after constructing a new hangar for displays. Located at the Hickory Regional Airport, just moments from the Convention Center, the museum features a variety of preserved propeller and jet aircraft, including a FM-2 Wildcat, a P-3 Orion, an AV-8 Harrier II, a FJ-3M Fury, A F-105 Thunderchief, a Blue Angels F/A-18A Legacy Hornet, an A-7A Corsair II, and other aircraft. The museum is open Tuesday–Saturday 10-4. Admission is $10 though senior citizens are admitted free. Their website is https://www.hickoryaviationmuseum.org/
Sullenberger Aviation Museum
The Sullenberger Aviation Museum is located on the grounds of Charlotte Douglas Airport in Charlotte NC. Dedicated to Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who landed a jet liner in the Hudson River in New York in 2009. The A-320 Airbus that he flew that day is on display at the museum, along with 30 other aircraft, and items connected to Sullenberger.
The facility is not at the airport terminal. Instead it is on the edge of the property, at the end of one of the runways. Visitors can stand outside of the hangars and watch planes take off and land. While we were there, a volunteer came through announcing that “a Boeing 777 would be landing in two minutes” Of course everyone went outside to see the large aircraft come in. The volunteers are very helpful and share a ton of information.
One of the nicest things about this museum is the flight simulators. There are several located throughout the facility, and vary between easy and Very Difficult. A large video screen goes through the four minute flight looking down towards the ground, from the moment the takeoff run started until the plane hit the water. It makes you feel as if you are there! There are nearly 40 aircraft/helicopters onsite, from a reproduction of the 1902 Wright glider, to the Airbus that crashed into the Hudson River. Some of the planes are accessible for climbing into the cockpit and there are wheelchair lifts so that anyone can get up close and personal with those planes.
The museum is open 10-4 Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is $25 per person. Their website is https://www.sullenbergeraviation.org/
Hickory Crawdads Baseball
The Crawdads are a High A farm team for the Texas Rangers. They are based in Hickory and usually put on a pretty good show. The schedule for 2027 has not been posted yet but if they are playing at home during Convention Week, we will post it here.
Firing Range Opportunity
If Model Railroading makes you so irritated that you want to shoot something, or you want to let off some steam in a totally different way, this activity might be for you. Arrangements have been made with the Springs Road Shooting Range for attendees of the convention to have some shooting time. An instructor will be available for those who need some assistance. Cost is $? Per person. Equipment rental is available.
Gem Mining
The Emerald Hollow Gem Mine in nearby Alexander County is the only emerald mine in the United States that is open to the public for prospecting, offering visitors the chance to find over 60 types of gems, including emeralds, hiddenite and quartz by digging or using sluices. Hiddenite is a unique mineral that is only found in this area. For those who do not want to get their feet wet or their hands dirty, their gift shop offers many of the stones found there. Their website is https://www.emeraldhollowmine.com/