Although my time in Raleigh on assignment is over, I am left with fond memories of the extensive time that I spent there. Not only was I working at a top notch facility that was great in every way (particularly the staff and doctors with their warm and welcoming personalities and skills imparted to me along the way), but additionally what made my time in The City of Oaks nothing short of amazing, were the friendships forged and social fun outside of work. I worked over 10 months in this beautiful area and that deserves 10 days of ideas for ways to have fun there, as seen through the eyes of this “traveler”. I would like to dedicate the remainder of this blog post to just that (in no particular order).
Day 1:
Take an informative tour of downtown Raleigh and learn about it’s history and the city’s founding on the Mordecai Trolley Tour, followed by a grounds and house tour at Mordecai Historic Park. Trolley tours are available on Saturdays throughout much of the year. Go online to their website for more information and to purchase your ticket. Following your time at Mordecai, head to either the 10th & Terrace rooftop bar at the Residence Inn in downtown Raleigh (great views, comfortable / cushy wicker furniture, and delicious, creative rotating drink menu…I tried a peachy bourbon – lemonade drink there that was delicious!) OR try the Raleigh Beer Garden for a drink or two before dinner. This place has nearly 400 beers on tap (one floor featuring all North Carolina beers, another floor that features both national and international beers, and the rooftop bar, as well as the beer garden out back, which have additional taps. Raleigh Beer Garden also has a food menu and events, so check their website to get more info. Any beer aficionado would be excited to experience this place! End your afternoon with dinner in downtown Raleigh at The Raleigh Times. The Raleigh Times is a restaurant which is located in a historical building that printed many of Raleigh’s newspapers and is aptly named after the newspaper by the same name, which was printed here over 100 years ago. The Raleigh Times holds a special place in my heart for the experiences I had there with friends and family. They have a fun spot upstairs with a bar and outdoor seating on their rooftop patio. The drinks and pub style food is always delicious (word of advice: get the Times Nacho’s with pulled pork or chicken tinga – so good – especially those off the charts crunchy tortilla chips)!
Day 2:
Visit the NC Museum of Art for a few hours exploring both the interior of the museum exhibits on display, lunch and a drink on the cafe patio, and a walk around the exterior sculpture garden and adjoining walking trails. Afterward, make a stop at the Carolina Popcorn Shoppe and/or the Carolina Kettle Retail Store where they sell their potato chips in unique flavors such as Dill Pickle, Rosemary & Garlic, Bee Sting Honey Siracha, and Coastal Crab Boil, just to name a few. Then head home for the evening and relax with your purchased snacks while enjoying the latest movie streaming on your TV.
Day 3:
Start your Sunday morning off on a sweet note at Morning Rolls in North Raleigh. Every month they create a different cinnamon roll, in addition to their traditional ones (the Biscoff one was particularly good) and large enough to share. Then head over to Compass Rose Brewery to work off that breakfast treat at their 11 am Yoga session (bring your own mat and some cash if you choose to purchase some beer and food afterward). Take in a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in the afternoon. This theater is a lot of fun, offering a bar that you can either sit and enjoy a drink before or after the movie or even better, order from a waiter right from your seat and enjoy a gourmet burger or other delicious restaurant quality food, along with a cocktail (I tried the Whiskey Banana Split Shake – it was awesome). So much better than just popcorn. This is my kind of movie experience!
Day 4:
This place is getting more and more popular, so you will need to reserve your spot in advance, but when you are in the mood for some serious relaxation, head over to Sacred Stoneworks in Apex. Husband and wife team, Alicia and Anthony are top notch massage therapists that offer the perfect massage for someone who, like a sonographer, is prone to shoulder, neck, back and arm/wrist injuries. They offer a massage called the Fusion which is a perfect blend of Swedish and Therapeutic massage techniques to work on trouble spots and knots in your muscles, as well as provide relaxation. They have a truly “zen” environment with the background music, tranquil atmosphere, and a pre-massage sauna. They even offer “couple’s massage”, which I’ve been told by another travel sonographer I met while in Raleigh, is equally amazing. If you schedule your massage around dinner time, a couple of great options afterward just down the road (also in Apex) are the Tap Station Brewery & Bourbon Bar (casual pub style food in a unique setting transformed from a former gas station – upper deck is a fun spot to eat and perfect for families) – or – Scratch Kitchen (great menu and drinks). Following dinner, head over to Peak of the Vine for live music on Friday and Saturday nights and your choice of wine from their extensive high quality selection, beer, or even a cocktail (small bar right outside the wine bar). This is a cozy, intimate, and fun atmosphere with couches, high top tables and bar seating and something about it offers a feel of being at a house party with a bunch of friends. There is a nice outside area out back to enjoy on a comfortable afternoon or evening, as well. Perfect way to end a relaxing day in the “Triangle”.
Day 5:
Carolina Premium Outlets in Smithfield (east of Raleigh) – or – Tanger Outlets Mebane (west of Raleigh) are a great way to spend a less than ideal weather day and only about an hour’s drive outside the city.
Day 6:
One of the best “finds” during my time in Raleigh was at Lake Crabtree County Park – you can hike or bike on one of the trails, have a cook-out on one of the grills and picnic sites, or best of all, rent a kayak, canoe, pedal boat, or stand up paddle board down by the lake. And the best part is, a 2 hour rental of your choice (first come, first serve) is absolutely FREE! Just show your ID as collateral and provided there are available boats, you are on the water. It’s that simple. If none are available, they will give you an estimate of how long the wait may be and you can put your name on a waiting list for the same day and enjoy the other parts of the park while you wait. This is a perfect way to spend a hot day in Raleigh. See their website for season opening / closing dates.
Day 7:
Late morning hike in Umstead Park with a light picnic lunch. Then head over to the North Hills for a wine tasting (sign up on the North Hills Total Wine website for a 3 pm Saturday class in advance). For just $20 pp you will get an incredible tasting experience, sampling 7-8 different wines and learning about the region these wines were produced. Light snacks to pair with your tasting are included and the pours are generous. After you finish, you will definitely want some food to absorb the alcohol….perfect time to head across the street to Stir for dinner. Stir offers fresh ingredients and a unique, delicious and creative menu. The Spicy Chicken Samosas and the Slack Jawed Jezebel (bourbon, lemon curd and ginger syrup cocktail) are my personal favorites. The samosas are served 4 on a platter and each are as big as a turnover. They will not disappoint if you are looking for an appetizer that is both hearty and flavorful, with a spicy dipping sauce. This appetizer is so big it could be a meal in itself, with leftovers to spare (ask for more of that sauce to go if you do).
Day 8:
Sign up for either a Charcuterie Class at Joy Worthy (w/ Raleigh Cheesy) – or – a Wine & Design Class. This charcuterie class is a fun way to teach you the art of making your own charcuterie boards and the best cheeses and accompaniments to pair together and proper arranging for a charcuterie board that is not only delicious, but almost too pretty to eat! As for the Wine & Design classes, they allow you to paint a picture on canvas under the step by step guidance with an instructor, while enjoying a glass of wine and snacks that you are allowed to bring in. See both of these websites for more details. Before class, consider planning a little time to walk around the downtown area of either of these two locations and take in a little of Raleigh’s shops and parks. After class, if you only nibbled on some of your charcuterie or snacks from the paint and sip class, find your way to one of the many locations of Goodberry’s, a frozen custard take out window that often has outside seating to enjoy your sweet and super creamy treat (plain vanilla was the flavor I found to be the creamiest, but there are a number of other flavors and you can get mix ins to make a blizzard of sorts).
Day 9:
If you are not one of the fortunate ones to have a pool to cool off in when the temperatures start to rise, head over to Lake Johnson Pool which has lap lanes for you to get in a refreshing workout and lounge in the sun. After a quick stop back home to freshen up, a great way to spend the late afternoon is at the Raleigh Rose Garden, which is a gorgeous place to walk around in June and well into the summer. The roses are in bloom for weeks and are beautiful! This seems to be a popular spot for couples to have their engagement or wedding photos taken, as well as a perfect spot for an enjoyable lazy afternoon among nature for a picnic – just remember to bring a blanket and your picnic basket. If you time your picnic just right and have planned and bought tickets online in advance, the Theater in the Park is not too far away and provides an opportunity to watch plays in an intimate setting.
Day 10:
OK…this one is not technically Raleigh, but rather it’s neighbor in nearby Durham. But hey, it’s still part of the Triangle. It’s the “DU” in RDU (airport). Hopefully at some point you have already taken the Duke Homestead Tour and visited the Tobacco Museum (all in the same place, as described in a previous blog post). If so, the next stop will come alive a bit more as to its history and role in the tobacco industry. In the late 1800’s, The American Tobacco Campus was once home of the Genuine Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco, a brand of loose leaf cigarette tobacco. Several years later, a competitor stepped into the scene by the name of W. Duke, Sons & Co. (Washington Duke, the father and owner, is the founder of Duke University that we know of today). He eventually acquired the Bull Durham brand, along with Lucky Strike and numerous other tobacco firms, and his business then became known as The American Tobacco Company. ATC produced 90% of the world’s tobacco. With the decline in cigarette smoking in the latter part of the next century, the ATC closed and the property sat dormant for 10 years, until the early 2000’s when the campus was revitalized and turned into what it is today. The American Tobacco Campus is now home to retail, restaurant, event space, a radio station, Burt’s Bees and other companies, and the outdoor space is an architectural wonder with a park like setting, providing people an opportunity to relax on a nice day (or for those lucky enough to work there, their lunch break). The water cascading from the top of the ATC offers a feeling of tranquility to this outdoor space in Durham. At night the illumination of the Lucky Strike Tower and the string lights throughout the ATC is beautiful. The American Tobacco Campus is situated across from Bull Durham Athletic Park and the DPAC (Durham Performing Arts Center). I highly recommend a walk around the American Tobacco Campus. If you exit onto Blackwell Street (named after one of the owners of the aforementioned Bull Durham Tobacco), walk left and a couple blocks up on the left side is the 21C Museum (Blackwell Street becomes Corcoran Street by this point). 21C Museum is not your everyday museum – something you will have to experience to see for yourself what I mean by that. It has unique, thought provoking art displayed in a boutique hotel building. The museum’s art changes seasonally and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is free of charge. You can grab a drink at the bar when you first walk in and take it with you as you browse through the multifloor museum space (don’t miss the innovative bathrooms that appear translucent until you enter and lock the door), and the vault and narrow walls with mirrors on the lower level. Once you’ve had your fill of art, take a right out of the museum entrance onto Corcoran Street and then a right onto West Main Street. Up ahead on the left you will find The Slush (321 W. Main Street). The Slush is a perfect place to visit if you want a drink that will cool you off on a hot day, as this place sells nothing but frozen alcoholic slushes that you can take to go and walk around with. Head back to the American Tobacco Campus and linger in the park-like setting while sipping on your frozen slush. If you are hungry, there are several restaurants that you can grab a bite right on the ATC.
As you can see, the options of fun are endless in Raleigh. In my next two blog posts, I will wrap up my favorites for food, drink and festivals in Raleigh. In the meantime, if you are in the Triangle area, get out and enjoy it!