One day after I returned home, Kristin flew in from Dallas. We discussed in advance that we would go on a road trip to keep her away from the kitchen duty for a whole. So a few days after she returned home, we set out for a 9-day road trip to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, making a circle. The first day was beautiful with a clear and blue sky, white clouds, and a clear road. Here we come!
Our first stop was in Durham, North Carolina. Its nick name is Bull City, to be explained later. It is a school town with Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill. First, we went to Duke University.
The chapel looked quite impressive highly visible from all directions.
The founder was James Buchanan Duke.
We did not spend as much time at UNC Chapel Hill as at Duke because it was getting late and we felt tired.
The following day, we went to town to explore the downtown area. It was a cute little town and we walked around to visit several places, including this American Tobacco Company now converted into a shopping mall.
A little stadium that houses the baseball team of Durham Bulls.
Durham is known for its bulls and this bull statue has a rank: Major Bull. Now you know why Durham is called Bull City.
We stopped over at the Farmers Market. Again, it was a little market with a handful of merchants. Nonetheless, the ambiance was like a market. Right! There was a man busking with his saxophone.
As we were returning to our car, we found a guy who was carrying his unusual pet, a snake. He had the snake around his neck and was walking towards the market. I am sure he got the attention of many people, just as he wanted. Strange to me...
We also went to Raleigh, a nearby city that is North Carolina's state capital. Its nickname is the City of Oaks. We found a lot of oak trees and a lot of places named after the Oaks, including Old Oaks Cemetery.
The first place was CAM Raleigh. It is supposed to be Contemporary Art Museum, but what was on display was all African art. Maybe it is the month to honor and celebrate African art, but what was on display was all gloomy, different from the African smile and pleasure. The tone was overall discontentment about segregation and discrimination against African people. A protest against social injustice, so to speak.
After CAM Raleigh, we walked over to Morgan Street Food Hall, one of the largest of its kind with its 22,000 sq. ft. space. It was packed with people. We sat down for a while and after eating Weird Taco, we left the place. We were still nervous about the threat of the COVID-19, but they did not seem to care.
On the way to our car, we found a trolley for rental. The trolley was equipped as a bar so that a group of people can rent it and drive around while partying. Not for me. But good for a photo shot.
We stayed at Durham for two nights and took an easy-going schedule to relax. - Jeffrey
No comments:
Post a Comment