Exploring Raleigh
After working 9 days in a row, two of which were doubles, I
was looking forward to finally getting to explore Raleigh. The morning brought
a random thunderstorm and my plans were canceled. My friend and I laughed as we
tried to make literal "rain check" plans for later in the week.
Disappointed, I settled into my giant fluffy chair. I watched some TV, surfed
the web, and ordered some pizza... a lovely lazy day. Then God decided to bless
me with a beautiful (rest of the) day so my friend and I texted each other at
the exact same time, "Hey the rain cleared! Wanna meet up?"
She lives near NC State as she is enrolled there so we met
at her apartment. She offered to drive me around since I don't know my way yet
and our first stop was a jewelry store called Light Years. If you like jewelry
this store is heaven! They have jewelry representing the entire world; Eiffel
Tower necklaces, Ganesh rings, Buddha earrings galore! They also have a few luggage
tags and passport covers, coffee cups, magnets, incense, and other cool items.
Located in Cameron Village near several other quaint little shops including a
Thousand Villages Store, which sells items made by villagers and proceeds go
back to help them. Next stop was a Starbucks for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up.
After ordering our coffee we went outside to sit in the warm sun. We sat down
at a vacant table and the woman next to us moved down two tables. We both
looked at each other with puzzled faces. What was that about? Well in Raleigh
people are either snobs or nice, it's a weird mix but I have found on several
occasions that you never know what you're going to get from this bunch!
Raleigh Mixed Nuts
On an elevator several days ago, as more and more people
kept packing into the small space, I mentioned aloud to my uncle that I was
freaking out a little bit that there were so many people trying to get in. I
mean we were all practically contorting to play this odd game of elevator
twister with complete strangers. A lady overheard me and said for everyone to
hear, "Well if I were afraid of elevators I just wouldn't get on! And
that's that!" I didn't say anything back. She was rude I'm not. A few days
later at a Mexican restaurant, On The Border, who by the way boasts the best
margarita in Cary; I mentioned to the bartender that I had never been there
before and didn't know what to order from the menu. The lady next to me reached
over and said, "Do you like enchiladas? They have all you can eat for
$6.00." I replied "That sounds good!" And she said, "Well I
overheard you talking to the bartender and I thought I would help."
Now back to Starbucks, as we sat there laughing about the
lady who obviously has some people issues, we noticed a much older lady walking
her greyhound. My friend asked if we could pet her dog and she obliged. The
lady told us about how she rescued the former racing hound from a shelter that
specializes in the care of retired racing greyhounds. If people don't adopt
these animals or "donate" them to a shelter they are put down. I
almost got sick as we talked about this. The dog was sweet and obviously old.
He really liked his new owner who loosely tied him to a pole as she went inside
and he stared after her. When she came back out we said our goodbyes and thank
yous and she walked to the sidewalk. Nervously we watched as we realized she
was trying to cross the busy street, not at an intersection. She thankfully
made it across and we went on our way to the NC State Campus and The Gregg Museum.
I should mention that the traffic around the campus is
crazy! These people drive like maniacs. I more than once was stepping on the
imaginary break in the passenger's seat and had made some stifled whimpers.
They just got a new traffic circle and apparently no one knows how to use it
yet and there are accidents all the time. So drive with caution or take a cab
so you don't have to worry about it.
Gregg Museum
The Gregg Museum is located inside of one of the NC State
Campus buildings. I was allowed to take pictures of one of the exhibits and the
man at the counter was really helpful. The first exhibit- Barkcloth, Bras, and
Bulletproof Cotton: The Powers of Costume. From the NC State website: Using
amazing objects from the Gregg Museum’s permanent collection, this exhibition
explores not only how clothing serves to protect, shelter, shield, and modify
the human body, but also how what we wear helps us lure, seduce, dominate,
segregate or manipulate others, discover spirituality and personal self-awareness,
proclaim our individuality or group membership, or express ourselves.
This exhibit is an amazing display of clothes from around
the world; including colorful hats, ceremonial dress, and military uniforms.
Both beautiful and informative with a mix of the weird and surprising. Free
admission makes this museum even cooler!
The next exhibit entitled: Textiles of Exile, I wasn't
allowed to take pictures and honestly I wanted to for this exhibit much more
than the other. From the NC State website: In Textiles of Exile, the Gregg
displays examples from Hispanic immigrants in California, African slaves
brought to the Americas, Afghan refugees in Pakistan, imprisoned women in
Chile, and relocated Cambodian Hmong in North Carolina; all call attention to
the universality of the “silent scream” of homesickness. This description
leaves out that there are also tapestries from 9/11 here in America, a sweater
from a schizophrenic, and some needle points made by a man in prison unraveling
his multicolored tube socks. While the latter was the smallest example it was
the most detailed.
The JC Raulston Arboretum
This little gem is free to the public 365 days a year. I've
never been to a place where the flowers were so fragrant! Peaceful, relaxing,
gorgeous a great place to go if you generally just want to have a good day and
get out of the house. There are benches scattered around and some are set off
in some private places. I can imagine grabbing a book and sitting there all
day. : )
I hope you enjoyed my post. Comments and questions are welcome! Check out my photo gallery too!
