Greensboro Daily Photo

People of Greensboro: Todd Olson

If you are downtown this weekend, stop into the Bodega, located on Greene Street, right across the street from the Carolina Theatre. Above, is Todd Olson who co-owns the convenience store with Daniel Leonard. Todd is from Kernersville and Daniel from Colfax. Both men are entrepreneurs, owning multiple businesses around town. However, the opportunity to open the Bodega and serving people going to the theatre, as well as the people staying in the nearby hotels was very appealing to these guys. Todd and Daniel both love working in the hospitality industry and are keenly aware that human interaction is something hard to duplicate in a digital environment.

If you stop in for a quick cup of coffee or snack, you may decide to stay a while and sit on their outdoor patio. You may even find a live plant for your apartment. The Spanish word "bodega" can mean "wine cellar", "grocery store", or "storeroom". Bodegas started becoming popular in New York and New Jersey in the mid 20th century and the owners and managers would become the person on the block who looked out for you, shared local news when you came in, and did a lot to help you feel like they were part of your community- precisely what Todd and Daniel hope to do in their long/skinny Bodega downtown.

A Fall Walk Along Walker Avenue

The above photo was taken on Walker Avenue, in the 1800 block, just west of UNCG. Walker Avenue is a very walkable street that passes through Lindley Park and continues all the way to West Market Street out past Holden Road. Today's  scene exemplifies all of the flowers and planting you see on this well-cared-for street.

From this low angle, the fall flowers are front and center. There are also a lot of "sidewalk gardens" in this part of Greensboro. The homes up on the hill in the background date to 1925.  While in recent years these homes have mainly served as rentals for college students. The homes are in very good condition and any parent would be happy to know their children lived here. Have a great weekend and please get out and enjoy these fall scenes!

Warm Fall Day on Lake Higgins

The above photo was taken at Lake Higgins yesterday. The water was a brilliant blue and the reflections were fabulous. The leaves have been colorful in other years; however, the view is still pretty fabulous. The three Greensboro lakes have nice trails and they are very walkable. For this photo, we were at the juncture on Carlson Dairy Road at the bridge and between two legs of the Bald Eagle Trail. In spite of being such a lovely day, Lake Higgins was very empty. October is a perfect month to take advantage of the nice weather for outdoor sports. It is also a perfect time of the year for taking photos. Here's to an afternoon at the lake!

This 226 acre lake has been an important municipal reservoir since it was constructed in 1956.  If you're heading to Lake Higgins, the marina and launch are located at 4235 Hamburg Mill Road. If you have any questions about use of the lake, their phone number is 336-373-3739. 

Got, Skeletons?

Most neighborhoods have a household that is passionate about holidays. Often, that household has a personal favorite: the Christmas inflatable yard, the Easter yard, even the Fourth of July neighborhood. The above household at 10 Snowgoose Cove at Lake Jeanette is one such house. They are driveway to rooftop crazy about Halloween, with quite a skeleton theme. This mid-1990's home inTurnstone Village, Lake Jeannette's first neighborhood, always goes all out for Halloween. The yard looks amazing by day. We're betting it is awesome by night. We're also betting they will give away good candy for trick-or-treaters. 

Also, notice those beautiful pumpkins and mums, they are selling out quickly. Procrastinate no longer! Last we checked, Fresh Market still had pumpkins, but Mt. Pisgah UMC on Pisgah Church Road had already sold out for the season. As for 10 Snowgoose, they didn't procrastinate!

309 South Tremont Drive

309 South Tremont Drive, across the street from Ebenezer Lutheran Church, is a a glorious old home built in 1925. The doors of the house resemble the hobbit homes in New Zealand. In addition to the doors, the steep roof and the symmetry of the house are noted. The home is known as the Jesse N Allred house. We're not entirely sure who Jesse N. Allred was. Do you know? Possibly, this person was a manager at Ansell's which might have been a clothing store. If you know, we'd love to hear from you. 

It is located very near UNCG, just west of campus in an area on the edge of Lindley Park and Sunset Hills. There has to be an interesting story to this home with some features of the storybook style. Happy Tuesday!

Glorious Fall Foliage

This weekend in Greensboro, the weather was crisp and glorious. The sun was shining and the air had that brisk bite, letting us know that it won't be long before we get our first frost. Yes, it is time to bring houseplants back in when temperatures are dropping to the 40s at night. The above photo features a few leaves from vines and deciduous trees common to Greensboro. They were seen on a basketball goal that had fallen. The leaves at the top are from a sweet gum tree and the ones to the right are from the Virginia creeper vine.

If you are playing the autumn leaf identification game with a friend or loved one, here is a fun poster we found on etsy (not for sale by us or anyone we know). Here is a fun visual from NC State University. Be sure to click through on the top from home to identify to list. It focus on the products of the trees. Regardless, please take advantage of some fall foliage admiring and leaf hunting here in Greensboro. On the bright side, once the deciduous trees lose their leaves, we'll have the evergreens! Happy Monday, it is supposed to be a little warmer today!

Opening Day of The Summit, on Highway 68

The Summit has been a portable church meeting at Oak Ridge Elementary School. With a membership of about 1,000, the Summit has long been ready for its own building. Well, today is opening day for this glorious facility on Highway 68. When we were on site yesterday, Pastor Andy and his family drove into the parking lot to introduce themselves (and probably to figure out who was in the lone car in the parking lot on a Saturday. He informed us that, locally,  this is actually the third Summit, with one in Jamestown and one in Kernersville. If you want to attend tomorrow, on opening day, be fore to go online and get an event ticket. They have services at 9:00 and 11:00 am, and likely, both services will be at COVID capacity. You can also watch online. Here is a link to their website. Surely, this homecoming or incoming, will be a glorious event for all involved. All the best to the congregation and staff. "New" is a most exciting and hopeful of times.

Greensboro Votes!

Early voting is upon up. Above is a photo of the early voting station at Bur-Mil Park was taken yesterday. Before the polls opened, the park was an ocean of people and a sea of signs. If you look through the trunks of the trees, you can see part of the line. Once the polls opened at 8am, it took about an hour to get through the line and finish voting. By the time the first wave of voters had finished and people headed to work, lines started shrinking.

Regardless of how we vote, it is our civic duty to vote. Please note, this year, there are no "I voted early" stickers and there is no electronic voting in Greensboro. Bring a pen with black ink or, if you forget, they have pens. Be prepared to bubble in your candidates. The candidates are listed in alphabetical order with political affiliation clearly stated. 

Here is the early voting schedule and list of sites for Greensboro.