James was college roommates with my good buddy Keith Y. Even though I had only hung out with James a couple of times, he was super generous to act as host/tour guide during my time in Durham.
James lives between Durham and Chapel Hill, the homes of Duke and UNC respectively. I got a quick driving tour of UNC with several stops along the way, including the Old Well (the domed thing), bell tower, and football field. Their football field is open to the public and you can easily walk down to the field. There were plenty of people in the stadium running bleachers. You would never see that type of access at A&M.
UNC seemed like a very nice campus, somewhat similar in feel to Texas A&M, but not as isolated of a college town. On the way out, he took me by Franklin St., which is their Northgate or Campus Corner. They have a TON of shops and really nice restaurants. Beats the crap out of Northgate in College Station.
We stopped to eat at this place called Acme that was right off Franklin St (it was in the hipster district, but I cant remember what it was called). It is a pretty nice place ($20 entrees), but Tuesday night was half price night! So we ate like kings on a budget. Over dinner we discussed agriculture, North Carolina, and James shared some photography stories with me. James is a very talented photographer. Check out his webpage.
www.jamesbarrettphotography.com
After dinner, we drove through downtown Durham. There is a lot of new development in this city. Many of the huge tobacco warehouses from days past have been converted into bars, clubs, and lofts. It gives downtown are very vintage feel. James was also telling me how Durham is renowneed for its dining. I bet it is. I saw tons of interesting restaurants.
Next we stopped by Duke. James has clearly given this tour to many people and he began preparing me for the turn in the road that would reveal the noble bell tower of Duke chapel. For some reason, the lights were off and the bell tower. We both shared a laugh about the flat finish after the buildup. Anyways, we parked and went inside (apparently in NC schools you can just walk around any building on campus....it was also 9:30pm).
The chapel was huge and very gothic. Based on the look, you would think that this chapel was hundreds of years old, but it was finished in 1920's.
The chapel had two pipe organs with over 6000 pipes each.
Also, I noticed several scultures of protestant theologians (the chapel was originally a methodist church). I hadnt seen this before. In my experinece, protestant churches generally lack ornate decorations, so it was new to me to see depictions of protestant reformers etched into the facade. This might be common in the Methodist tradition, but it was new to me.
The rest of Dukes campus is incredible. It was night, so I didnt get any good pictures of campus, but James puts it perfectly: it looks like a Harry Potter school.
James and Melanie: thanks so much for letting me stay at your place. It was a huge help and I really enjoyed seeing your beautiful corner of NC that you call home. Many thanks!
I woke up the next day (Wednesday) and spent a majority of the day taking care of business. I worked on blog, did a lot of trip planning, and had some mechanical issues taken care of on the car.
After a super late start (5pm), I made my way across NC to the Croatan National Forest. Durham is near the middle of the state, and I was heading towards the coast. The campsite where I stayed in the Croatan Natl Forest was called Neuses River campsite.
The campsite was on top of a small bluff overlooking an inlet from the sea. I put up my lawn chair, enjoyed the waves and gentle breeze, and ate my Subway sandwich. The beach wasnt very nice. There were only a few feet of sand, and fallen trees crossing the beach into thte ocean. It wasnt bad, I guess, just a different type of beach. I had a nice converstation with Kayley as I enjoyed the view, and looked at the full moon across the water. Very relaxing.
The next day: the Outer Banks, NC!!
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