In exploring the area we determined to visit the Mint Museum. The Mint Museum offers a chance to pay homage to the lives of people in the past of Charlotte, those who built this great city into what it is today. Not only is the Mint Museum a great example of "recycling" due to the reuse of old buildings, it is also full of artifacts representing time gone by.

I first became interested in the Mint Museum because I was a teller in Virginia for four years. I anticipated seeing the inner workings of a bank. What I found instead were art exhibits uncommon to the average person. Having recently toured mansions in Newport, Rhode Island, I have a new appreciation for the kind of art once collected in households of the rich. In reading great novels such as The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald), we can only imagine such interior decor, but some of those types of items are available for viewing in The Mint Museum. The Mint Museum has ensured that such artifacts of American Heritage are not lost but are able to be enjoyed by the public.

We visited both locations because a kind associate at the first location provided us with information that it would not cost additional to do so. At the second location we discovered relics from a more common past, those of iconic artifacts recent generations recall in their own households! It was fun to reminisce. 

By visiting the Museums we enjoyed being a part of the fabric of America, both by appreciating the past and by learning about the households of each other as we shared memories. This is a great family event!