Raleigh, NC
 

Regrettably, I've had an appointment or two fall through for tomorrow (Wed.) and now have some spare time on my hands. What's there to do in and around Raleigh? Gimme some suggestions, friends!

Visit the art museum on Blue Ridge Rd. The Natural Sciences museum downtown. NC History Museum. Exploris with IMAX. Artspace to buy art.

If mobile, go to Chapel Hill to tour UNC. Or Duke in Durham.

Well, you can check out the strip balls on the north side of town. Or the new strip malls on the southwest part of town. Or the strip malls in Cary.

You could drive through downtown and see where people used to be.

You could engage the locals on their (justified) inferiority complex.

Plan on dining at your choice of chain restaurants.

I'll second the Duke / UNC tours. Walking in downtown Raleigh is nice, too.

There are several malls in the area. Crabtree Valley mall is on the north side of Raleigh and has some interesting shops. There is another sizeable mall in Cary (the name eludes me). If you are into outlet shopping, nearby Smithfield, NC has a huge complex right off of I-95 (probably a good 45 minute drive away, though). Durham has a pretty interesting science museum, too, right outside of Duke.

I thought that the ancient plaques extolling smoking and cigarettes and their contribution to America, prominently located on old factories in Durham, were an interesting artifact.

The North Carolina State art museum in Raleigh is a few thousand notches below the Louvre, but I do remember one Greek sculpture they had in their permanent collection that I decided should be properly titled "Homer at the Bat."

Second the NC Art Museum. They have a Monet exhibit going on through January with over 50 paintings. Recommend you buy tickets on-line first as they tend to sell out during the day.