North Carolina is nothing like the cities we've been traveling through. At all. Which was exciting and interesting because, like the ignorant tourist I am, I assumed that all of America would be pretty much the same. But after walking the never-ending blocks of New York and Chicago, the vast pine forests looming ominously in the low-lying fog were a welcome sight.
A back-packing mate of mine from way back met and drove us back to his from the airport. Which consisted of about 30minutes of highway and then a drive through a forest to a 15 acre block of land, tucked beautifully away from (what felt like) almost all civilsation. A very welcome sight from the Holiday Inn highrises we've otherwise been residing in!
After breakfast on the first day we headed out for a walk with Greg's three-legged black Labrador, Kenya, to Old River State Park an old water pump station. This was our first actual wander through nature, other than Central Park which consisted entirely of paved paths.
After our few mile walk we headed off to the infamous Bullocks BBQ for a proper flavour of the South www.bullocksbbq.com hand-pulled Bar-B-Que with Spicy BBQ Sauce and three sides of "vegetables" which include (but not restricted to) Mac n Cheese, fried okra, deviled eggs and potato salad. With a never ending glass of sweet tea to wash down the monster feed, we left very full and content.
To aid digestion we went for a walk through Sarah P Duke Gardens http://www.hr.duke.edu/dukegardens/ to the infamous Duke University http://duke.edu/. The uni resembled an old English village colony and housed the best research hospital in the United States, complete with a huge Gothic cathedral. We wandered through the "Quad" (Aptly named due to the four sides which make it up), past the frat houses and back to the car through the garden.
On the way to Greg's brothers house we stopped at a petrol station which sold an amazing selection of beer! Managed to pick up some Harpoon Chocolate Stout so I was a happy little camper. Casey picked up some Grey Lady wheat beers which he'd enjoyed in Chicago.
We made it to the brothers house through eerie tree-lined roads with no real sign of civilisation, we started to panic a little that we were about to embark on our real life horror massacre. Fortunately we eventually pulled up at the house and were warmly welcomed by Johnathon and Shannon, which put our paranoid thoughts at ease. The six of us stood around in the kitchen, slicing and grating various vegetables and chicken until everything was ready for the egg rolls and sushi to be made. Delicious and significantly better than the sushi we had for breakfast on our last morning in Chicago! Funnily enough!
After dinner and a few cheeky stouts we headed to Johnathon's glass-blowing studio, conveniently located next door. The studio was mind-blowing with phenomenal pieces made with a huge variety of textures and colours. After a brief demonstration that made the melting of glass look far easier than it actually was, Casey, Madeline and myself were aloud to each "blow" a bauble. Johnathon seemed somewhat surprised that I had "decided" to make mine resemble a pear. Turns out I actually have no skill and am unable to blow at calm, steady rate. Too many birthdays teaching me bad habits I suppose.
After we had finished our baubles and pears, we were aloud to make another item. Casey made a pendent and I made a blobby thing that initially started out as a marble until I added legs to it... Not really sure what I was going for but if anyone asks I figure I'll get away with calling it "modern art". (Photos to follow)
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