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| Downtown Apex, NC |
We have been in the Raleigh/Apex, NC area for a couple of weeks now waiting the arrival of our third granddaughter. We have enjoyed the family time, and opportunity to explore the area and go back to some favorite places we've been to during previous visits. The late October early November weather has been very nice and I can see why this is a favorite time of the year here.
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Scrabble Game - Daisy sitting in for Cheryl
(I may be able to beat Daisy....) |
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| Daily walk - Bond Park, Cary NC |
We have enjoyed helping Cheryl pass the time with daily walks, Scrabble games, a little shopping and a few naps (for Cheryl of course).
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| Mathews Campground, Raleigh |
After our stay at Jordan Lake State Park, we relocated to Mathews Campground, a privately owned park just south of Raleigh. Dan and Lisa Mathews own a nearby business doing custom work on Airstream trailers and opened this small park initially for their customers. They have seven sites with full hook ups, are in the process of adding a couple more and decided to open the park to others as space allowed.
Lucky for us they had an opening and we can stay here as long as needed. It's about 15 miles from Darren and Cheryl, but the price is very reasonable and we are getting better at finding our way around the area.
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| Wheeler Lake Park, Raleigh |
The campground is near Wheeler Lake, so we checked out the park just down the road from us. Wheeler Lake Park, owned by the City of Raleigh offers fishing and other recreation opportunities. The large deck area, complete with rocking chairs, make for a relaxing spot. The whole Raleigh/Apex/Cary area has done a good job at adding parks and greenways as the area has grown.
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| Anna's Pizzeria - Apex, NC |
As we have become more familiar with the town of Apex we really like what we see. With a small "historic" downtown area you still get that small town feel, with several easy to walk blocks that feature specialty shops, restaurants, and other businesses. Anna's Pizzeria not only has excellent pizza, but a full menu of Italian dishes. Other restaurants we tried include Salem Street Pub, Blistered Pig Smokehouse, and Peak City Bar & Grill.
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| Salem Street, Apex |
Once you leave the downtown area, there are numerous housing developments and shopping centers springing up in every direction, much like this whole area is experiencing. A few people we talked to attribute part of the growth to a 2015 Money Magazine article that named Apex the number one place to live in American for towns between 10,000 - 50,000 population. Some weren't that happy about the article attracting even more people to the area, but I think the secret was already out.
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| Durham Bulls Baseball Stadium |
One of our favorite places to visit is the Durham area, about a 30 minute drive north of Apex. Home to Duke University, the Durham Bulls AAA baseball team, and American Tobacco Campus, it's a fun place to visit. We stopped by the Durham Bulls Park and visited the team store. The Bulls are the 2017 AAA baseball champions, so they had items for sale with those bragging rights.
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| Old Durham Bulls Baseball Park |
We also visited the old Durham Bulls ball park that is now owned by the City of Durham. Of course this is the park featured in the baseball movie "Bull Durham" and is a landmark worth preserving, complete with the small wooden ticket windows and concessions stands.
The old park is very well maintained and is used as a minor league training field as well being home to the North Carolina Central University Eagles baseball team.
If I understand correctly, the Durham Bulls name and logo come from the Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco manufactured in Durham beginning in the late 1800's and featured the bull logo in their advertising. The tobacco factories were located in the area across from the current baseball stadium and are a big part of the area's history as you will read below.
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| American Tobacco Campus, Durham NC |
The American Tobacco Campus is a collection of large brick buildings that were brought back to life after the American Tobacco Company (and other tobacco companies) vacated the factories and warehouses in the late 1980's.
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| Lucky Strike Water Tower |
After thriving for 80 years,
changing attitudes toward tobacco and competition in the marketplace forced the closures, leaving the building abandoned until purchased by Capital Broadcasting Company (owners of the Durham Bulls baseball team) in 2001.
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We shared - BBQ chicken biscuit,
BBQ beans & sweet potato biscuit
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| American Tobacco Campus |
American Tobacco Campus opened in 2005 as a mixed use development, including residential, office and restaurant space. It has been a great success and transformed this area of Durham. We ate lunch at one of the restaurants, Maybelle's Biscuit and Barbeque, which was very good. They make a sweet potato biscuit that was excellent! This area is just a nice area to walk around in.
Another positive remnant from the tobacco industry in this area is The American Tobacco Trail. The over 22 mile long trail was developed from the abandoned railroad bed originally built for the American Tobacco Company. Cheryl has taken me to the trail a couple of time and it is a popular recreation choice.
We also spent some time at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens on the Duke University campus. As you may remember, this is the site of Cheryl and Darren's wedding a couple of years ago.
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| Duke Gardens Visitors Center |
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| Duke Gardens |
With over 50 acres of gardens and 5 miles of walking paths, it is worth repeated visits. There is a small visitors center and gift shop. Tours are offered daily, both walking and by trolley.
There is plenty to see and do when visiting this part of North Carolina!
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