June 28th - July 7th, Chapel Hill and Monroe NC
Friday-Drive to Chapel Hill NC June 28
Heading to Chapel Hill was a bit hairy, I mean hilly. There
was one stretch of road as we were leaving Pisgah National forest that had a
6-mile, 6% down grade. It is the first
stretch of road I can recall that had three runaway truck ramps in a row
and at one point lights you passed under that flashed if your speed was too
high as you were heading into a curve.
It is just for instances like that we have turned off the verbal
warnings on our GPS. It is worse
listening to her telling you "Speed Warning" over and over and
"Sharp Curve ahead" than just reading the signs and driving
responsibly. Although with 13,000 pounds
pushing you down the hill Tony's hands do sweat a bit. The integrated brake controller and exhaust
brake on the new truck do help a lot too. There were ridges full of pale pink
rhododendrons, majestic magnolia trees, and roadside stretches of day-lilies in
peak bloom. I am sure the plentiful
seasonal rains helped with the colorful show.
Saturday-Raleigh NC June 29
One of my godsons (nephew, Jeff) lives in Raleigh and I have
not seen him in a long time. He will be
turning 30 later this year so it seemed fitting that we should look him
up. AND look UP at him since he is
6'8" tall. He and Ami are the same
age but he is almost 20 inches taller than her! We met Jeff and his girlfriend Jenny near their office place
Digital Advising Solutions to catch up and have dinner. They own their own business providing
reasonably priced marketing, advertising and website solutions to new and
growing companies looking to increase their business via improved, streamlined,
more effective online presence. They
seem really passionate about their business and even passed out business cards
at the brewery. Raleigh Beer Garden has
over 350 active taps in a four-floor brewery that has indoor and outdoor
seating with corn hole games and music. 
On one floor the bar has taps with nothing but domestic
beers and another has only taps of imported beers. There is also a full regular bar on the first floor. Looking into the keg room was quite phenomenal. Their beer menu is only available on line so
you must search out your selection to tell the server or they can provide a
selection but they do not have a menu.
Jeff suggested their website needs help because the search features were
basically non-existent. You just
scrolled through a large list. The
manager was quite receptive to suggestions and offered to pass the business
card and info to the owners. The thin
crust pizzas, beer battered fries, beer cheese dip, and 
brisket sandwiches were all delicious and we would highly recommend Raleigh Beer Garden if you are in
Raleigh. We were too stuffed to
entertain the thought of gelato even though the place Jenny suggested is owned
by a parent company in France. PLUS
there was no parking for blocks being it was a Saturday. As we cruised we talked about the various
neighborhoods and they pointed out the lovely town square and grounds around
the capital building. Jenny snagged a
parking spot just off the square so we could peruse. It was quite an interesting interlude. We saw: an inebriated man being detained by police who had hauled
him away from his vehicle, historic 
buildings with beautiful architecture, statues, and a groom and his groomsmen riding electric scooters around the
square while the bride with her entourage walked to the shade of the trees for
wedding pictures. Some of this you
would never see on an organized tour.
It pays to have locals for tour guides especially when they are family
and the price is right, i.e. FREE. 
On the way to Raleigh we cruised through University of North
Carolina Campus. It is America's Oldest
State University and celebrated its 225th year in 2015. The stately brick buildings with white
banisters/trim and the narrow streets belied an earlier by gone era of the
town. The streets were short, and the
campus seemed compact, but a little confusing.
We never did find the visitor center!
Sunday-Durham NC-Duke University June 30
I am a big Duke Basketball fan. So when in Durham... go to the Duke Campus. The Duke University Chapel built in
1930-35 and designed by architect Julian Abele, who was the first black architect to
graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, is a highlight of the
campus. Tony had a brilliant idea to
just attend mass at the chapel. One
problem - the chapel in an ecumenical (non-denominational) place of
worship. They have rotating services
from different faiths. However in the
Divinity School Building there is the Goodson Catholic Chapel with mass at 11
am and there are tours of the historic Duke Chapel on Sundays at 12:15: perfect timing. 
GPS directions take you on the road right up to the chapel
and it is a beautiful sight with the main tower standing majestically among the
trees. Problem: there is no parking
there. Luckily some students told us
the name of the parking structure at the backside of the chapel and Google maps
had no problem finding it. That is why
you leave 75 minutes early for a 40-minute drive so you can get lost, park, and
still be on time for mass. The Goodson
Chapel was what I would call Gothic Light.
The window shapes and scroll work blended in with the rest of the campus
but without stained glass or dark woodwork, the place was light, bright and
refreshing. Also refreshing
was the
involvement and participation of so many students. This was definitely a service in the 21st century - all of the
choir members and the pianist had their music on their tablets! The student musicians were enthusiastic
(violin, 2 guitars, Bass, percussion on a square box that was both seat and
instrument), and two of the students took turns at the piano with the director. As I looked around all of the students were
actually singing and reciting the prayers in addition to acting as ushers and
lectors. Then a very large student sat
in front of me. He was pushing at least
6 1/2 feet and about a yard wide at the shoulders. It dawned on me that this is a basketball college, so why should
I be surprised if a giant sat in front of me.
It turned out that he did play undergrad basketball elsewhere and was
now doing graduate work at Duke.
was the
involvement and participation of so many students. This was definitely a service in the 21st century - all of the
choir members and the pianist had their music on their tablets! The student musicians were enthusiastic
(violin, 2 guitars, Bass, percussion on a square box that was both seat and
instrument), and two of the students took turns at the piano with the director. As I looked around all of the students were
actually singing and reciting the prayers in addition to acting as ushers and
lectors. Then a very large student sat
in front of me. He was pushing at least
6 1/2 feet and about a yard wide at the shoulders. It dawned on me that this is a basketball college, so why should
I be surprised if a giant sat in front of me.
It turned out that he did play undergrad basketball elsewhere and was
now doing graduate work at Duke. 
The tour of the chapel was short but interesting and there
is even a Kids Scavenger Hunt and Trivia sheet. The Duke Family (Tobacco and Textiles) donated the money for
the chapel and the university on the condition the name be changed from Trinity
College to Duke University. Constructed
of volcanic bluestone with 77 stained glass windows, stone towers and pointed
arches, it has intricate carvings of oak and lime wood (not citrus) on the
altars. All are a testament to the
craftsmanship of a bygone era. Many of
the Duke heirs are buried in a memorial chapel at the side of the church and
their wives and others important to the university history and heritage are
buried in marked tombs in the
basement.
Legend goes that craftsman usually hid a mouse carving in the church,
but no one had ever found the one in this chapel. It is supposedly good luck to have a church mouse so in later
years a woodworker added a small mouse to the side of the front altar. The statue of Andrew Jackson outside the
front door was recently removed because the University got tired of cleaning
off the graffiti. Unfortunately the
architect never set foot in his building because not many knew a black man
designed it and he did not want to embarrass the Duke Family. Both events are sad testaments to cultural downfalls.
Monday-Sunday- July 1-7 Cane Creek County Park Monroe, NC
This week our destination and objective is all about
visiting with our kids, Adam and Ami/Brian.
Originally they were going to pitch tents and camp on our site with us,
but with the weather in the upper 90's and humidity to match that did not seem
like fun. They opted to stay at their
house and it worked out as they also had house guests from Michigan for the July
4th holiday weekend. So we drove the 20
minutes back and forth a lot but their air-conditioned house was a fitting
place for a lot of fun. We ate a
Some drank a lot including a huge variety of
specialty shots with Apple, Vanilla and Mesquite flavored Crown Royal. We were quite happy to have the excuse that
we still had to drive back to camp on the curvy, narrow, no shoulder roads in
the dark to exempt ourselves from most of the shots. You know you are getting older (or maybe smarter) when that
happens. But we figure you are never
too old to go on a trip to Dairy Queen!
Do you know they even have Dairy Queen Blizzard flights? You can sample three mini blizzards for one
price. We really have to get out more!! Ami even got their Dog (Memphis) a DQ. 
Ladder Ball, and Yard Yahtzee entertained us for several
hours on a couple of occasions at their house and at camp. Our inflatable kayaks actually saw the light
of day for the first time in a couple of summers too. One camper also let Ami and Adam try her inflatable stand up
paddle board. They both did really
well. Friends, Phil and Cherie, from
our Alaska trip last summer were starting their summer travels from Sea Brook
Island SC and came to the same camp for a few nights. We had fun catching up, getting to know them better and teaching
them to play ladder ball. Hopefully we
can visit them near their home south of Charleston sometime in the future. 
Our campsite view over the lake was great but faced the
afternoon/setting sun. The air conditioners
were going pretty much non-stop. The
nearest Home Depot (south in Lancaster, SC) and Harbor Freight (North in Monroe
NC) got some business when we purchased 90% blockage sunscreen, and suction
cups and grommets to make our own sunscreen for that big back window. Tony added extra grommets along the
perimeter so that we can move the screen around depending on which way we may
Speaking of getting older: one evening the kids knowing that I like cooking shows found one for us to watch. Get this, it was called BONG APETIT. No that is not a typo! The judges smoked in between courses and all of the courses included CBD or THC products in crystalline, or powder and many varieties that supposedly had different flavors. Yes, they had major cases of the munchies by the time the show was done. I was dumbfounded! But I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when there are CBD establishments on every corner all over the country even in small backwoods towns. They even make dog treats with CBD. I know this because their rescue dog Memphis (Beagle/Daschund) is a consumer to control excitability, therefore barking.
Beautiful country
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