North Carolina
Mar. 25th, 2009 09:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fauxkloreAs I mentioned already, I spent last weekend down in Raleigh,N.C. The primary purpose of the trip was to satisfy my Volksmarch obsession by checking off another state capital. But I do also have friends down there and seeing them was an important part of the weekend.
The downtown Raleigh Volksmarch was an enjoyable walk around the capitol complex, past the newish convention center, around the historic Oakwood neighborhood (including the cemetery) and through Mordecai Park. There was a fair amount of construction, requiring some detours here and there. Overall, it seemed to me that Raleigh is thriving, but does not have a real residential core in the city center. I'd also say that the architecture is generic Southern, with nothing to distinguish it from any other medium size city of the region.
The other walk I did was in Durham and took in the gardens and campus of Duke University. That was an absolutely lovely walk for this time of year, with lots of oriental cherry trees and camelias in bloom. The Duke campus is architecturally distinctive, with an attempt to recreate Gothic England. The chapel is a rather startling building to find in its setting, but the surrounding quad is along the same theme.
In addition to walking, I hung out with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
agedwiz and calsea, We talked about the grand old days of soc.singles (20+ years ago), in between eating barbecue, gawking at the food items on offer at A Southern Season, and driving through the downtowns of various towns in the region. It was great to see them and I had an excellent time overall.
The downtown Raleigh Volksmarch was an enjoyable walk around the capitol complex, past the newish convention center, around the historic Oakwood neighborhood (including the cemetery) and through Mordecai Park. There was a fair amount of construction, requiring some detours here and there. Overall, it seemed to me that Raleigh is thriving, but does not have a real residential core in the city center. I'd also say that the architecture is generic Southern, with nothing to distinguish it from any other medium size city of the region.
The other walk I did was in Durham and took in the gardens and campus of Duke University. That was an absolutely lovely walk for this time of year, with lots of oriental cherry trees and camelias in bloom. The Duke campus is architecturally distinctive, with an attempt to recreate Gothic England. The chapel is a rather startling building to find in its setting, but the surrounding quad is along the same theme.
In addition to walking, I hung out with
agedwiz and calsea, We talked about the grand old days of soc.singles (20+ years ago), in between eating barbecue, gawking at the food items on offer at A Southern Season, and driving through the downtowns of various towns in the region. It was great to see them and I had an excellent time overall.
