Southern USA 2013: Day 8 - Raleigh


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Southern USA 2013: [Day 1: Atlanta] [Day 2: Atlanta] [Day 3: Orlando] [Day 4: KSC] [Day 5: Wellington] [Day 6: Jekyll Island] [Day 7: Chapel Hill] [Day 8: Raleigh] [Day 9: West Virginia]

Saturday, July 6, 2013: After a quick breakfast, Judi was our tour guide through the UNC campus in Chapel Hill. We passed the Michael Hooker Research Center, ....
... the Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower, ...
... and the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.
Next, we headed toward Durham, ...
... bound for the Bennett Place, where Paul joined us. The Bennett Place is the home of James Bennett, where Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered his army to Union General William T. Sherman on April 26, 1865, ending the Civil War in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.
Visitors can peer in to the reproduction of the farm house to see it as it might have looked back then.
A large vegetable garden is planted behind the house.
A path on the grounds is part of the original road on which the generals approached the property.
Inside was a museum covering the Bennett family history and North Carolina during the Civil War.
From here, we headed to Duke University, also in Durham.
This grand entrance (with Orchy tucked to one side), ...
... leads to the majestic Duke University Chapel (with Orchy posing up front).
We had a morning tour at the Duke Lemur Center, so this is where we said our goodbyes to Paul and Judi.
As we parked the car, we spotted our first lemur in the woods behind the fence.
We watched a short film while we waited, ...
... then broke up into two tour groups outside.
Our guide introduced us to the various lemurs who live in these enclosures, giving us an overview of the type of lemur and then details about the lemurs themselves.
Here's a lemur.
And here are two.
Here's a ring-tail mother and her baby.
That was so cute, we'll show you another mother-and-baby pair.
Here's a lemur just hanging out.
Beyond the enclosures and the fence, we could see lemurs walking around in the woods.
Our next stop was an indoor facility for nocturnal lemurs and related animals.
Once all the doors were closed, the shades on the enclosures were lifted and we took a peek at the animals who were under the impression that it was night time.
We passed these two guys on our way to the next area.
There were several tall cylindrical enclosures in this garden area.
Here are a pair of lemurs, ...
... and another pair.
The lemurs all have similar faces but different markings and color, ...
... and in some cases, different family habits and styles as well. It was all very interesting stuff and we really enjoyed the tour.
Next, we headed to the Sarah Duke Gardens, ...
... and walked around in the sun for just a few minutes before deciding that we didn't want to be out in the heat any longer. We had been lucky during our lemur tour to have overcast skies, but the sun was out in full force at this point.
We had lunch at Burger Fi, ...
... where the burgers were delicious and the onion rings were the size of a human fist.
In the early afternoon, we arrived at the home of our friends Mike and Leah in Raleigh. This was the first time we had ever visited their home, having seen them previously in places all over the US over the past decade and in Austria in 2010. After a quick tour of Mike's beer cabinet and beer cooler, our excellent host poured the first of the afternoon's beer selections, ...
... Justin Blåbær, a blueberry-flavored Berliner weissbier, from Evil Twin Brewery in Denmark.
That was followed by another Berliner weissbier, Dogfish Head Festina Pêche.
We brought surprise balls for the kids, and Chloe carefully unwrapped hers and sorted the surprises that fell out, ...
... while Dexter moved a little more quickly and announced his findings as he went.
Next up was Boulevard Brewing Company's Special Limited Release Ale, Saison-Brett.
Cheers! This round was People's Barrel Aged Porter from Foothills Brewery in Winston-Salem.
That was followed by Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. While all this drinking was going on, there was also much eating of appetizers and talking among friends. It was an excellent way to spend an afternoon.
Dexter and Chloe hung out with us as well, and put on a little show for us as kids love to do. They are really sweet kids.
Debbie's last beer for the road (designated driver Tom had long since switched to water) was Foothills Brewing's Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout.
After a great time, we had to get back on the road. We drove through the NC State campus on our way out of town.
We saw the Memorial Belltower which honors NC State alumni killed in World War I ...
... and this majestic building, whatever it is.
Between Raleigh and Winston-Salem, we stopped for at Hursey's Bar-B-Q, so we could compare North Carolina barbecue with South Carolina barbecue.
The barbecue here tasted more like pork and less like vinegar, but it was definitely the same style. The ribs Tom ordered were delicious, as were the hush puppies.
In Winston-Salem, we stopped at Foothills Brewing to pick up some of the beer we had enjoyed at Mike and Leah's. At 8:00 on a Saturday night, the place was packed, so we bought some bottles from the bartender and didn't stay. This drive-by photo is the only picture we took of the place.
Here are our purchases -- a six-pack of Carolina Strawberry, and two bombers of People's Porter and Hoppyum.
As it grew dark, we drove through Wake Forest University.
It was the final stop of our NCAA tournament-themed university tour.
Heading north from Winston-Salem, the scenery was quite pretty but barely visible at dusk.

The barely visible sign on the right welcomed us to Viriginia, but we can't be any more specific than that regarding the wording.

Day 9 >


Southern USA 2013: [Day 1: Atlanta] [Day 2: Atlanta] [Day 3: Orlando] [Day 4: KSC] [Day 5: Wellington] [Day 6: Jekyll Island] [Day 7: Chapel Hill] [Day 8: Raleigh] [Day 9: West Virginia]

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