A Trip to the Triangle, North Carolina

Before we set out on our trip, I had this grand notion that we would be moving to North Carolina, but I really didn’t know much about it! A friend had recently relocated there and loved it. Everyone else I talked to and all the real estate shows would mention what a hot spot North Carolina was, especially the triangle area. We had yet to visit, but as our trip was coming to an end, we knew we had to check out a few places in the Triangle, North Carolina! My husband would joke and say, “why are we on this trip around the US if you already have your heart set on North Carolina?” Well truth is, I had my heart set on North Carolina, but not a specific area just yet. So off to Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill we went!

Durham

Airbnb

Since our trip was starting to wind down, we were becoming a little more frugal on where to stay. The nature of our travel often resulted in last minute bookings. This made our options fairly limited BUT this often resulted in some great Airbnbs, in unlikely places, with some awesome hosts. Durham was no different!

When looking for an Airbnb near Raleigh after our trip to New England, we found we had to look outside a bit to get what we were looking for. We hadn’t had our sites on Durham, but knew it was close enough to Raleigh, and found a perfect townhome with Karim and Val! We had VIP treatment before we even arrived! Do you know when you just know something is a good fit before you experience it? Well this is how I felt after conversing with Karim. He was so laid back and made sure we were 100% comfy in his home.

After picking up some groceries at Trader Joes, we checked into their lovely home. Karim and Val own 2 Aladdin’s Eateries (highly recommend!) in the area, and are SUPER busy!  We were lucky enough to bump into them a few times! Their home was immaculate because, well they’re not home a lot, and like to keep things tidy. We were welcomed with a bottle of wine and a nice note upon arrival to our guest suite. There’s nothing quite like feeling like you are staying with old friends for two weeks, even though you just met! 

For our two weeks in Durham, our goal was to explore the whole Triangle Area, North Carolina which includes Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill. Since these are 3 small, but well known college towns, there is so much to do just in the triangle! Keep reading to find out about our experience in each of the 3 areas!

Duke Symphony Orchestra

Our first Durham experience was a free concert on the green at Duke! We happened to arrive during Labor day weekend, and to kick the weekend off, the Duke Symphony Orchestra held a free concert playing lots of film scores! How fun! We packed some of our favorite snacks like crackers, cheese, meats, hummus, etc and also some wine and beer. We borrowed a blanket and enjoyed listening to songs from all kinds of movies, my favorite being The Little Mermaid!

Durham Central Park

On the next day, we went to Durham Central Park, where they normally have a Farmers Market on Saturdays, and went to the Food Truck Rodeo. This was awesome! There were dozens of different food trucks selling everything from burgers, noodles, ice cream, beer, sushi and more! The only downside was that it was incredible hot, so people were flocking to the shady spots all day. We never made it to the Farmers Market, but would have loved to!

American Tobacco District

If you ever find yourself in Raleigh or Durham, make sure you head down to the American Tobacco District. It is not what it seems (well anymore). This is an old industrial area which was home to the cigarette brand, Lucky Strike, which has been cleaned up and revitalized. The old mills are now luxury apartments, shops, bars and restaurants. A really cool area! This is also home to Burt’s Bees, which has Burt Shavitz’s cabin on the property, or at least a replica of his home.

Aladdin’s Eatery

We couldn’t leave Durham or Raleigh without visiting our hosts’ restaurant, Aladdin’s Eatery. And thank goodness we stopped in to the Briar Creek location! If you like any kind of Mediterranean food, you HAVE to go here! First off, the hummus is just the best you will ever have, served with deliciously fresh pita bread. Since I always have bigger eyes than my stomach and want to get everything, I got that Flavor Savor Special. It was a great dish because you got a little bit of everything including Chicken Mishwi and Beef Kafta, rice, hummus and falafel. YUM! We really loved the Dawali too, which is essentially stuffed grape leaves. Not only was the food amazing, the atmosphere and service is truly top notch! Be sure to save room for dessert because the pies they get are out of this world. Truly! 

 

Raleigh

North Carolina Museum of Natural Science

On Labor Day, it was the hottest day on our visit and we needed an indoor activity. Luckily for us, most of the museums in Raleigh are FREE! We decided on the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science, which allowed us to kill several hours in glorious air conditioning. I would imagine bringing kids here would be a really great FREE learning experience. They had several different areas, including some special exhibits. You can learn all about the geology, animals and plants of North Carolina.  Just don’t forget to leave a donation to help support the museums!

Hiking at William B. Umstead State Park

One afternoon, we were itching to get outside, since the weather had been bad due to a hurricane near by for a few days. We went to William B. Umstead State Park which is a great park with many trails and sites to see. You can rent canoes on the pond too! We took Sal’s Branch trail which was about 2.8 miles and pretty easy as far as elevation went. We were looking to do some trail running, but I would use caution here, as this rail is FULL of roots! If you are looking for some fast and fancy footwork on a trail run, then this is your beast!

Raleigh Beer Garden

On a separate trip to Raleigh, we made sure we stopped at the Raleigh Beer Garden. OMG! This place is insane! First of all they have over 300 beers on tap! Their digital displays break up each beer by category, making your decision making a little easier. There are three, yes THREE floors to this place, including a rooftop bar area which is really great, especially if they have live music. The outdoor space is HUGE as well!

Right next to the building are tables where you can enjoy your beer and/or food that you order. We did not get food here, so I cannot attest to the food, but it seems like people were enjoying their food pairings! If you continue on out back, there is a whole beer garden out there too with plenty of picnic tables for everyone. There is even a Airstream camper that serves a more limited selection of beers too, so you don’t have to walk all the way back to the building to grab a beer in a crowded line.

Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill is home of the Tar Heels at University of North Carolina and what a cute town it is! This area really reminded me of a quaint New England town, with historic homes, tree lined streets, and privately owned businesses in downtown. We just spent a night here walking around, visiting some breweries and of course eating! Our first stop was the Carolina Brewery. We stopped in here for 1 beer to kind of get our bearings and decide where else we wanted to go.

After our first drink, we decided to walk around the block to check out the area, which must be SO fun for anyone attending UNC! Next stop was YesterYears, a craft brewery. During the time we went, they had a few of their own beers, but also several other local beers. The woman working was really nice to talk to and she let us know about how they would be expanding in the near future. We just happen to be a few weeks early! While writing this post, I have come to learn that the brewery is now closed, but Vecino Brewery is now in its place!

Now that we live in Charlotte, Chapel Hill is only a few hours away for a little staycation! For dinner, we decided to do something different than the norm. We went to Kipos Greek Taverna, which was an incredible Greek restaurant with live music! Since the day had cooled off, and the threat of rain was gone, we chose to sit outside. I ordered spinakotiropita and enjoyed a well made Old Fashioned.

Venturing out on a Hike

While we were visiting Durham, we were only about 90 mins from our friends George and Anna in Greensboro. We spent a day hiking with them at Hanging Rock State Park and then had a wonderful dinner and brunch the next day. I really feel like part of what helped us decided to move to North Carolina was meeting people who live and love it here, especially friends! Hanging Rock State Park has a lot to do, including hiking trails, swimming, waterfalls, camping and more!

The Hanging Rock trail is a decent hike for all fitness levels. It is a mix of paved trail, dirt, and even some rocky patches. At the top, you will find a few different look out points. You might see some millennials taking death defying selfies, and others take a chance at hanging on Hanging Rock. Once you head out of the parking area for Hanging Rock, be sure to go to Lower Cascade Falls Trail. Here you will find a short .4 mile hike will take you to a nice watering hole and waterfall to cool off in!

What I loved about the Triangle, North Carolina

The Triangle, North Carolina is a perfect grouping of 3 small, but vibrant cities. Because each city, Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh, have major Universities, they are rich with not only culture and activity, but also history! I also thought that it was so great that they had so many free museums, parks, lakes, and neighborhoods that still had TREES! If you are someone who loves exploring new restaurants, breweries, and fun things to do, these cities all have their unique offerings and they are all pretty close to one another.

I really loved the suburbs of Raleigh, and seriously considered moving there until…well we found Charlotte! Because these cities were so small, I felt that life here would get “old” after awhile, especially after we saw what Charlotte had to offer. We have been back to Raleigh since moving to Charlotte, and would definitely be back! There is so much to see!