I stumbled upon this gem of a history lesson by accident while walking to downtown from our Airbnb…read more Catherine gave my son and I a great tour and history of Raleigh. I'm a history buff and she was able to keep me interested in an area of the country I know little of. Always fun to learn local history. It's free and enjoyable.

I had never been to the Joel Lane House Museum so the Fourth of July Celebration was the perfect…read moretime. The museum offers free parking on St. Mary's Street and more parking in front of the house on West Hargett. Admission is usually charged but was free for this event as we were not given the official tour but received $4 off coupons to return for a tour. They provided Howling Cow ice cream and free lemonade too. So who was Joel Lane? Joel Lane is considering a Founding Father of North Carolina and Raleigh. He sold 1,000 acres of land to make Raleigh the State Capital. The Joel Lane Museum House is the oldest house in Raleigh and is older than Wake County. The decision to move North Carolina's Capital to Raleigh happened in the Joel Lane House. As they say "it was the room that it happened". Joel Lane was a slave holder of 43 adults and children. They are the ones who built the house and maintained the plantation, raising the livestock, cooking and caring for the Lane family. The museum provides a way for us to see how life would have been back then from the candles to the necessary to the toys they had to how they made yarn for clothing. The herb garden provided a method for medicine. The holiday event provided an overview but I am planning to return for a tour to learn more of the history and see all of the property.

An unexpected gem in the heart of Raleigh. I got told that the museum was planning to start…read morerenovations soon by the end of the month given that the house has seen some wear and tear and when the person running the museum turned on the sink, the water looked off like an orange color which most likely contains lead. Otherwise, the museum didn't take a lot of time to go through and admission was free and was somewhat interesting.

The Manassa T. Pope House Museum is located on what was once the Color Line in Raleigh (Wilmington…read moreStreet). Dr. Pope built his house in the Third Ward on that line to make a point and push boundaries. The house was built in 1901 and the inside has furnishings that were his family's and some additional artifacts of the time. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places. The land at the time cost $300. When you first enter the house, the first thing you see is the petal stained glass window. I loved all the attention to the details of the house from the moldings to the staircase. The piano in the living room bought from Sears also cost $300. The house is two-story gable brick house and both levels can be toured but you will need a climb a flight of stairs to get to the second floor. The house had the latest technology at the time with electricity and gas fixtures; a full bathroom; running water; telephone and a servant call bell as they had a maid. My group had the pleasure of taking a guided tour with Andy. He was full of energy in sharing the history of the house and had a sense of humor that brought the history of the house alive. Dr. Pope was born a free man attended Shaw University and was one of the first African Americans to be a licensed doctor in NC after attending a four year medical school (other medical schools were just two years at the time). After medical school, he worked as a postmaster in Henderson, NC. He was an officer in the Spanish-American War in 1911. He launched a drug company in Charlotte, NC. He also ran for the Raleigh Mayor in 1919, during the Jim Crow Era with a goal or getting voters registered. 1600 black males were eligible to vote but only 7 were allowed to vote with the Jim Crow restrictions. He provided healthcare to those without access to care in segregated Raleigh. The museum is free to visit but they do appreciate donations. The museum doesn't have a gift shop but there are items for sale at the at the City of Raleigh Museum, a few blocks away. The museum does not have its own parking lot but street parking is free on the weekends and there are paid lots on both side of the museum.

The location is central, easy to find, and visible. I enjoyed reading quotes from African Americans…read morewho helped to empower others to fight for the freedom of all people. I was honored to see a park that is dedicated to supporting African Americans instead of trying to denounce or erase African American history. The park is beautiful, clean, and sacred., I felt connected to George Floyd while reading the words, "I can't breathe! The beam is lit every evening...Pass the torch!

Freedom Park is a small one acre park located in Downtown Raleigh near the Legislative Building and…read morethe Executive Mansion. The Beacon of Freedom is what you will see first. It is lit each night. The walkways have inscriptions of quotes for some of the African Americans that helped lead the fight for freedom and equality. Along the walkways are benches if you want to sit and reflect. The park is accessible to all and has street parking as well as a nearby parking lot.

I came here for a basketball game. We parked in a nearby parking deck. The venue sold snacks such…read moreas locally owned ice cream & popcorn. The seats are small and close together but all the seats appear to have a good view of the court. We enjoyed the game.

Nice place to watch the Wolfpack play. It was clean, spacious and easy to get to…read more Impressed by the food selection's and the nice clean bathrooms. Would see more women's games here for sure!

Watched Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals at the Hurricanes watch party (the game was in Las Vegas -…read moreso I watched TV with 22,000 friends). The staff were all helpful and friendly. The arena was clean. I am amazed that the parking was free, the tickets were only $10, and all prices went to the Hurricanes Foundation. Had a blast, the money went to charity, and to cap it all of the Canes won! Great time, recommended.

Very nice! Suite seats are awesome!…read more My daughter and I visited the center a few weeks ago for the young boy NBA concert. We sat in the suites section. I wasn't really sure how the seats were positioned but these were awesome seats! Kind of like bar seating without the service or conference room vibes with a long table not a round table. We really didn't have to get up at all and eventhough we didn't have an attendant or anything the food and drink were readily available just a few steps away along with the restrooms. We didn't have to worry about any crowd pushing and shoving or anything these seats were awesome I also attended this venue earlier in the year for March Madness and my husband and I sat in the seats down below regular seating and it was a bit tight for us but manageable. Nevertheless the parking no issue depending on where you park it can be a hike to get to the center. The lines move pretty fast security and all those checkpoints are pretty straightforward and finding your seat pretty much straightforward. Restrooms tidy! Concessions readily! Both visits for March Madness and a concert 10 out of 10! Have fun and enjoy life :)

I love trains and wanted to check out this one hour train ride near Apex. It's an open car and…read morethere was a breeze. The seats are like school bus seats so it's comfy. You can bring drinks and snacks on board. The process is easy. Order tickets online and check in at will call when you arrive. They have a big outdoor train set up at the will call area and this was wonderful. We loved the short ride and makes me want to take another train trip.

New Hope Valley Railway is a relaxing and fun place to visit. The open air seating tickets are…read morereasonable to ride the historic train cars. Parking is free and there is a large lot. It is all run by volunteers who enjoy trains and share their love with the visitors. Be sure to check out the mini railroad and the museum. They have displayed the cars and parts being restored. The train cars board about 15 minutes before departure. The ride is about 20 minutes one direction then the engine is moved from one end to the other for the return trip. It is a nice little getaway to enjoy nature and trains.

Great smooth entrance and exit for a soccer match Love the…read morepregame experience Finding our seats was a breeze and workers were helpful at all times with guests

Love this venue! We often attend Courage and NCFC soccer games which are always a fun experience!…read more Parking is usually very easy. If it's a really busy game, they sometimes have you park in the far lot - but it's still not a bad walk! All the lower level seats are great. Upper isn't too bad either!

The first local Earth Day festival I attended a few years back was fun. I was working at Algonquin,…read moreand one of our authors -- Richard Louv -- was in town as a special speaker on getting our kids back in touch with nature at the Museum of Natural Science. I came out to support that but stuck around for the fun festival activities: earth-friendly clothes for sale; a strolling magician; a one-man junk band; and meeting THE Burt of Burt's Bees fame. In the last few years, the festival has grown even more supporting lots of live musical acts, a cute kid's parade where they march downtown with instruments and outfits constructed from recycled materials, even a large-scale bowling game with a giant PeeWee Herman-esque ball of trash knocking into empty water cooler 'pins'. But the coolest part of the festival -- and the reason I look forward to it every year -- is the Burt's Bees tent sale. This annual event is their way of purging old inventory. And It. Is. Fabulous. They have aisles by prices ($10, 8, 5, and 2 -- yes, two bucks!). And down each aisle are bins filled with goodies. The best scores are the gift packs, which you can stock up on at 50-75% off. But I also loaded up on cheap soaps, chapsticks and travel-sized baby oils for my guest bathroom. Great value and great products: not to be missed!

I am always a fan of any massive festival where I can take the kids. This year they coordinate the…read moreGrand Opening of the Nature Research Center with Earth Day. The outside activities were great and bountiful. The inside of the museum addition was designed well. On the inside of the museum I have mixed reviews, but do to the massive crowd I have to save final judgement about it later. Even some of the directors of the labs, and people that worked in the museum (red shirts) mentioned how they were just given the go ahead to move less than a week before the grand opening. I would say half of the interactive displays did not function properly, or were just turned off. The projectors were broken, so they had makeshift displays set up, that were broken as well. The labs didn't have their equipment set up, so we couldn't get a real feel for the labs. As I walked through the museum I wold see a panel that was laying on the floor exposing wires, bags of screws laying out, or trim just laying on the ground. I don't think they did a walk through to make sure the building was ready for thousands of people to come in. But, I will be back later just to see all of the exhibits after they get them fully functioning. For anybody that is wondering, since the rest of the building obviously was no where close to being finished, I was told that it was office space. Office space or not, it looked horrible for a state wide Grand Opening as the backdrop as the Governor was speaking.