This park has such beautiful, well-kept grounds with nice walking trails and plenty of outdoor…read moreart/sculptures to keep you entertained and amazed. There is also a flower garden, a mini lake, a picnic area, and plenty of parking available. We came on a Monday afternoon with the intention of going to the museum that is within the park, however, since it was closed we decided to walk around the park instead. We thought it would be 30 minutes and we would have walked the entire thing. We were wrong. The place is huge! We tried to say within the shaded spots but ended up walking through the parts without shade. There were so cute things like a little hut I dubbed the hobbit house because it kind of looked like one. There was an interactive art installation area with musical swings (apologies if these aren't the correct terminology) but you swing yourself and it triggers some musical notes. Way cool! Another installation were these bars you pull or push around which also triggers musical notes. We had a great time checking out some outdoor arts and taking in the scenery during our stroll. This park had so many interesting things to look at or in my case, take photos at with my long lost sister. Next time I am in the area, I am definitely coming here again. What a beautiful place!

I love this park. We typically come during the day to enjoy the paths but we came today early in…read morethe morning with our run club. The trails within the park were closed (not sure why), so we went running around the park. It's especially hilly in this area and connects to the greenway. It's great for endurance training. We also love to come here for picnics, photo shoots, and bike rides.

The 2009 race was featured on Man Vs Food. And I think folks may have been wondering how could 2010…read moretop that. But this is just the kind of race that gets better (and more remarkable) with age! What is Doughman? Think Ironman -- but a lot, well, doughier. For those not in the know (and really you should check out that M v F episode -- hilarious!), Doughman combines competitive eating with a 4-person team quadrathlon and crazy costumes. The charities this year were SEEDS and See-Saw Studios -- both Durham youth programs. And the food stops on the race were all Durham restaurateurs with a local focus. I volunteered with some fabulous yelper helpers: Mari J, Helena K and her hubby, Al. We were stationed at the first stop in the race, Hog Heaven. Bikers cycled in and proceeded to wolf down (or try to) a chicken leg, cup of pulled pork and three hushpuppies. Sound outrageous? It is. The next stop involved an inner tube and paddling across a pool. Some of the best costumes were the Stay Buft team (cute Pillsbury hats and shirts!), Inconceivable! (a Princess Bride cast... how the hell they raced in pirate boots and capes is unbeknownst to me), and Breakfast of Champions (Biscuit King and Wonder Bread Woman?? So clever and well-produced!). But of course it was our very own Make Me Yelp team (Tripp W, Jane W, Phil G, and Meghan B) that won first place in costumes this year... for some very homemade Richard Simmons'-inspired outfits complete with curly wigs -- and the jumping jacks and high knees to go along with them! They finished 16th place (out of 70) in the race; and Yelp raised enough money to earn the 10th spot on the fundraising leaderboard. In other words, you yelpers rock! ;) Super-excited for the Doughman Banquet (yummy local food and beer) which takes place this evening. Ticket funds go to the charities. Awesome way to participate in Doughman if you don't necessarily feel like dressing up like superheroes and stuffing your face with a hoagie at 9am. Time to start planning for next year's race! --- So I just has to post a quick same-day update to say the Doughman hEArTs Durham Banquet was so fabulous. Terrific local breweries, great live music, and really good catered food (especially loving the Dolly Mama chocolate; LocoPops; and the bbq). And just swell company. People ate, drank and made merry for sure. Wish I could've stuck around for the dancing but I was pretty pooped after such a big day!

Being a part of the Doughman race is one of the more fun things I have done in a while. What other…read moreevent can you simultaneously dress up in ridiculous costumes, get exercise, act stupid, eat amazing food, get a scenic tour of Durham, meet interesting new people, and dance to 80's music? That's right, no where else but Doughman. We represented yelp proudly and with tons of spunk (can someone say random acts of jumping jacks?). I feel I got the best food draw of the team with local yogurt and a BBQ platter, but with the uphill 10 mile bike ride, I definitely earned every tasty morsel. Fav moments: - Phil G hopelessly roaming around for food prior to the race. Blah blah blah donut blah blah. - Kicking the Biggest Loser team's butt. There was no way I was going to let them come even close. - Meghan B 80's mix. Imagine me rolling through Durham driving the chaser truck, windows down, full Richard Simmons costume, singing 80's tunes at the top of my lungs, and waving to every person that passed me by. Classic! - People mistaking the wig for my real hair - The 3rd place team's coach in short shorts and an armadillo belt buckle - Eating and drinking my weight in food and beer at the banquet that night (still not really sure how I did it) So much fun. I can't wait to do it again next year!

I remember my first handful of visits to Raleigh as a teenager and seeing the Cree Shimmer Wall as…read moreI drove down S. McDowell St. as we passed the Raleigh Convention Center and Red Hat Amphitheater. At the time, I had no idea what it was but thought the way it shimmered in the light was beautiful. I've been a Raleigh resident for several years now and I can confidently say that even to this day, I have to stop and admire the wall whenever I'm nearby. "Shimmer Wall is a 9,284-square-foot piece of art adorning the west side of the Raleigh Convention Center. This spectacular piece is made up of 79,464 light and dark aluminum square pixels that change shape and disappear as the squares flap in the wind. The design team, including artistic inventor Ned Kahn, worked to put the thousands of 4-inch by 4-inch aluminum pixels hinged on louvers to allow for free motion on 4-foot by 4-foot grids. To aid nighttime "shimmering," the design team chose to backlight the wall with 56 LED fixtures from Cree, which have a lifespan of 15 years. The LED colors vary depending on the season or celebration. The wall depicts an image of an oak tree and has become a symbol for Raleigh, the City of Oaks." - LocalWiki How cool!!! I have heard that you can get a good nighttime glimpse of the Cree Shimmer Wall at night from the bridge on Boylan Street. I've never stopped to check it out there but that is also a great spot to take a snapshot of the city at night. I love this city.

Mad. Cool. (Of course they were setting Red Hat Amphitheater…read morefor Shinedown concert the day I went to see the wall, so whole downtown Raleigh gone mad hatter, but consider it as part of experience) Over 9,000 sq ft wall designed by Clearscapes with LED lights donated by Cree. It made with 80,000 metal panels, moving in the wind and creating rippling effect. Some panels are fixed, and paint a picture of old Oak Tree, to commemorate Raleigh nickname, City of Oaks. Like a reflection of Oak Tree in the water, rippling and changing, it representing the city that stands for it's past and changing for the future. This is grand.

Hooray for the fifth annual Raleigh Typhoon Scavenger Hunt! It was a lot of fun, a lot of food and…read morejust a wee bit of drinking. A great chance to explore the City of Oaks and get silly with 500 other scavenger hunters criss-crossing through the downtown area. But as Christina mentioned, the end was not quite what we hoped for in terms of prizes and how it was handled, bummer. We played leap-frog, passed a hula hoop, did word jumbles, hop scotched, counted crosses, rocked and scissored it out and more. Along the way we got to check out Ripple City, the Big Easy, Woody's, The Oxford, Hibernian, Armadillo Grill, Noir, Jules and a slew of other sponsors. And yes, we drank some beer! But given the amount of ground we covered, we had to hydrate! ;-) All-in-all a fun event that could use a little better organization. Just know that Team Yelp was in it to win it. Puzzles: Finished. Drinking: Complete. Eating: Done. Next year we're bringing home a big prize! And only 3 sombrero's were sacrificed during the evening. Nice job peoples!

Honestly, I'm really glad I competed in this year's Raleigh Typhoon, but I'm not sure I'd do it…read moreagain, or if I did I'd focus more on enjoying the drinks and games instead of trying to get it all done, because at the end of the day...it was about the journey, not the reward (because there was none). Seriously, the deck was stacked against participants in the first place. After registering, we received a white sheet with clues on where we could find 'challenges' that would earn us blue puzzle pieces. Challenges ranged from a good ol' crossword, to origami crawfish to more physical challenges like a team vs. team leap frog race. Once we had the blue puzzle assembled (before any other team we saw) we had an entire new list of 17 items we needed to find and paste to a 24x24 posterboard to get the $400 prize. The $600 prize puzzle was a 'letters missing' puzzle and the $1000 prize was a pictogram to find a key that would open a safe. So yeah, not easy. Things that need work: 1. Attention to detail: Our blue puzzle, once assembled, was cut from different stacks so we had whole words missing (effectively eliminating us from being able to even compete for the 'letters missing' $600 prize). 2. Closing/Prize Ceremony: I don't know about you, but after I've been running around in costume for 9 hours in the heat, not stopping for food, but stopping for lots of drink, I want to pay for MORE beer and listen to LOUD Katy Perry/Gaga pumping out of the same mic used to announce rules for submission of posters / prizes. It took them 3 hours to even announce the winners. Tighten that shiz up! Then, we'll party. AND...when it came time to submit the posters for the $400 prize, they chose the winner based on the first one they liked out of only 20 submissions. Our poster was complete, along with our other items at 7:30, when some people were still making theirs at 8:30. I know it's not a race, this just seems unfair. 3. Confusion: We understood that we were supposed to get photos at every stop, save receipts and other such requirements, so we did it all. At no point in the prize ceremony were these items mentioned or considered, enhancing the feeling that we busted our butts for nothing. GoodTimes: 1. Meeting other teams! There were some playing dirty (grab all the matchbooks...you know who you are...) but most people were happy and having a wild-eyed good time. 2. Getting to see Raleigh! Businesses I'd never been to like The Union and Gypsy Jule made a great impression. Others were less welcoming (and that's pretty interesting too). 3. Bonding with my own team! Raleigh Typhoon is a great way for a group of people to see many sides of each other, working together, keeping each other pumped and sacrificing your own comfort (feet & heat) with your eyes on the prize.

We all know that the Greenway system in Raleigh has really raised the level of outdoor recreation…read morein the area. And since much of it is centered around the Neuse River, I'd say it's time we all start using and protecting this asset as much as possible. I mostly use the river for canoeing (as I did today), and it's always a blast. For canoes, kayaks, and tubes you have a few options for getting on the river. I bought my own canoe, but you can always rent at Paddle Creek, but honestly, it's over-priced. If you want to go once, then stick with them, but if you like hitting the river with regularity, then buy a boat - they're not too expensive. Or, you can grab some tubes, but make sure you get the sturdy black ones. I generally launch at the dam or, if I don't want to do quite as long of a trip, I'll put in at Capital under the bridge. You can float down to Horseshoe Park or all the way down to Anderson. It's about 3 hours from the dam Horseshoe and about 5 from the dam to Anderson. It's quiet, full of wild-life and wonderfully peaceful.

The Neuse River provides the best route for float trips. Grab your friends, beer, a few big…read morefloaties, and A LOT of sunscreen and you'll be set. The river has miles of slow-moving rapids so you can honestly float for hours. If you want something a little faster, rent a kayak or paddle board from any of the nearby boat rental businesses.

I cannot stop laughing at the viral videos on YouTube of trucks and other overheight vehicles…read morecrashing into the bridge. I don't know whether the driver are dumb or if they are inexperienced or if they just don't care. Lowering the road is not possible because of the water pipes that run under the street, and since it is obviously a railroad bridge, raising it isn't possible either.

Years and years ago, I saw a magic video of an indestructible bridge. In the video, a series of…read moretoo-tall trucks attempt to clear this too-short bridge. And while these trucks got their tops sheared off, air conditioning units ripped off, loads of hale bales shoved off, the theme song from the Rocky movieis played. Hilarious. The bridge is indestructible. I didn't think that I would ever get a chance to visit this magic place for myself and yet... here it is. An honest to goodness real place that I'd seen first on the Internets. The Strongest Bridge in the World. Or, as the locals call it, The Can Opener. Seriously, watch the video for yourself and tell me... you want to see this place for yourself. https://youtu.be/JsAlzV4qSD8 I did stick around for about ten minutes. No trucks hit the bridge. Was it wrong that I was disappointed?

I think 147 is the highest score you can possibly get in snooker? Is that right? Well it's also the…read morebest highway you can possibly ride on in the Triangle. This little Motorway is really useful because it will take you through the heart of Durham, and way down towards Chapel Hill and Cary and Morrisville, and the reason that it is great is because if it didn't exist, you'd have to go all the way right around on 85 and 40 and traffic in the region would just be absolutely nightmarish - somewhat like Atlanta. But as it happens this road does exist, and if you will forgive my sacrilegious Bible Belt inspired expressiopn, it's a Godsend.

This parade is held each December in Apex's charming and historic downtown. We just recently moved…read moreto the Raleigh, NC area, so we were curious to check it out and see what it was about. I don't know the whole parade route, but I'd suggest finding a spot to watch near the Apex Chamber of Commerce. A lot of people watching brought beach chairs along, which is an excellent idea. Unfortunately, it was rainy on the night of the event, but it was still fun. I was quite surprised by the size of the parade. We saw one marching band, various local dance groups, karate schools, color guard from the local school, Girl Scout troops, church groups, firetrucks, antique vehicles, an Elvis impersonator, Santa and much more. I felt like I had stepped into a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting, it's all very cute and idyllic. Be sure to arrive early so you have enough time to find a parking spot, a lot of the roads were closed off for the event. There are other Christmas festivities planned in that area for that weekend, so check out the town website for more info. https://www.apexnc.org/428/Special-Events-Festivals This is a great family friendly activity! I think most kids will love this parade.