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!

A group of us decided to take a Preservation Tour about Durham's Tobacco Heritage. After loving my…read morelast tour I was excited to take another. We waited in the grass where the meeting location was described but a tour guide never showed. There were others waiting for the tour as well. The website did say they may cancel last minute but none of us received the cancellation.

Last week, I stumbled across a Facebook event for a free walking tour through downtown Durham…read morefocusing on Architecture and Urban Landscape tour. I thought this is great! I'm on a budget and I want to learn more about Durham! The Facebook event has the official location as the office of Preservation Durham, but it actually meets at the Durham farmers' market. I made the mistake of showing up to the office, but did a quick google and realized a different page listed the proper meeting place. Luckily I caught the group on the way to the first stop! The tour itself was fabulous. The guide had photographs from previous eras of architecture to hold up against the current view which definitely helped me, who knows nothing about architecture, to actually visualize what Durham used to look like. Overall, there are 3-4 other tours they offer on Saturday mornings both on bike and on foot. I'm super excited to try another tour the next time I'm free!

It was so beautiful and upbeat. Great message too! Having…read moreSanta visit and sit for pictures was icing on the cake of a great experience

What a great, completely free Christmas light show! My boyfriend and I were looking for Christmas…read morelight shows in the Triangle area and came across Lake Myra during our search. The song selection was great and the light synchronization was amazing. Stick around for the finale song because it's really well executed.

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.

State of North Carolina Marianne and Daughter Love North…read moreCarolina. I've got family members and my friends living there who I've had for over 50 yrs. Then years ago we made Manhattan friends that originally came from North Carolina. I've been to North Carolina staying in my Aunt and Uncle's time share. I can't say enough about how much I enjoy this State. If I didn't have to have a car to get around in North Carolina I'd want to move there in a heartbeat. But that's only if I had to leave Manhattan for some reason. Naturally I love and want to stay here in Manhattan. I'm so happy that I have so many connections in my personal life to this state. It's definitely welcoming and I can visit when I want! If you're looking for a place to retire or relocate for any reason I recommend North Carolina!

Other than two years when I was living in the UK, I've lived in the Tarheel State for the last…read moresixteen years. I've lived in six states (NY, MA, FL, PA, AR, NC) and two countries (US, UK). This is my favorite place. Our motto: "To be, rather than to seem." Don't fake it. North Carolina was one of the original thirteen colonies, the twelfth to join the Union and the last to join the Confederacy during the Civil War. We're in the South now, y'all. It's a huge state, incorporating the cities of Charlotte, Raleigh (the state Capitol), Greensboro, Durham, Winston-Salem, Fayetteville and Asheville. We have the barrier islands, the Great Dismal Swamp, the steel and concrete jungles, the mountains, beaches and the rivers. North Carolina has the highest point in eastern North America, Mount Mitchell. Our license plates say "First in Flight" (because the Wright Brothers flew here first at Kitty Hawk) and "First in Freedom" (as my fellow Charlotteans declared independence a full year before John Hancock signed that other famous Declaration). We have 420 miles of I-40 (the busiest east-west corridor in the USA), 182 miles of I-95 (the busiest north-south), 231 miles of I-85, I-77, I-74, I-73. I-26 clips the corner of the western end of the state and at 12.9 miles long, I-87 is the shortest designated primary Interstate. To drive from Tennessee border (west) to the Outer Banks (east), it's about six hours. Or you can drive three hours from north to south. Could we do better? Sure. North Carolina got worldwide news and boycotts for the enactment of HB2. Officially the "Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act" it got notice as the "Bathroom Bill" that required people to use the bathroom that corresponded to their birth certificate. We're also known for the gerrymandering of our 12th Congressional District that was described as "political pornography" by the WSJ. We hosted the 2012 Democratic National Convention and the 2020 Republican National Convention. We currently have a Democrat governor and both houses of the legislature are Republican. It's interesting. We are home for the Carolina Panthers (football), the Carolina Hurricanes (hockey), the Charlotte Hornets (basketball) and we have the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Charlotte Motor Speedway and Rockingham Speedway host car races. Minor league baseball include the Charlotte Knights and the famed Durham Bulls. The North Carolina Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of History, the Durham Performing Arts Center and the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. In education, Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest University are routinely ranked in the top 100 best colleges in America. Thirteen of the Fortune 500 are based in North Carolina, including Bank of America, Lowe's Home Improvement and Honeywell International. Charlotte-Douglas International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world after Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Chicago and Los Angeles, ahead of Orlando, Guangzhou and Las Vegas. The Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte is the 56th tallest building in the United States. Pepsi-Cola was invented in New Bern, Cheerwine in Salisbury, Texas Pete hot sauce and Krispy Kreme Donuts in Winston-Salem and we have the headquarters for Bojangles Famous Chicken N' Biscuits in Charlotte. The UPC bar code and the CTRL-ALT-DEL key sequence were developed in our state. You might be wondering why we have a NORTH Carolina and a SOUTH Carolina. Here you go: https://www.carolana.com/Carolina/thesplit.html We don't talk to them much. :) Taxes are not excessive, the roads are okay, the crime rate is climbing and it's all good. I love it here. Come visit! [Review 19084 overall - 3402 in North Carolina - 53 of 2023.]

Retail owners pockets are janglin' And Barbie's bright red…read moreheels are danglin' So then it must be Xmas And this year's most fun sex was After walking up and down West Franklin! What? This is the heart of Chapel Hill North Carolina which is my favourite town in the whole Deep South. It's a beautiful college town which includes the massive University of North Carolina - it's most famous Campus. You'll spot tons of young people, provocative outfits, expect warm weather most of the year, lots of amazing looking College people running up and down this road, being trendy, judgy, chill, hyper, young and fun, and lots of great times to be had by all. I mean you can have almost as much fun here on Franklin Street if you like college towns as I'm having scratching the head of my little kitten right now, and that is she is having climbing all over me and trying to scratch and permanently scar my face. The highlights are definitely Cha House, which is the best boba in the south, and Buns which has pretty good hot dogs. They have a Waffle House right here on the strip and lots of clothing stores. Nearby, the life-changing Sunrise Biscuit Company which is actually not on the Strip but about half a mile down, has amazing chicken biscuits. And then Meritt's for a Pimento BLT but that's about a half a mile away from Franklin as well. A few old legendary diners along here you need to try! Lots of late night bars and some cute coffee shops and more Boba, and all kinds of other great things, so come and check it out for yourself!

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.

Likely overlooked often because both Morgan and McDowell are busy streets, so most folks don't stop…read morehere often. This small "green space" next to the parking deck is also ignored by walkers. But here at the corner is an interesting piece of art. "Hedron" (stainless steel, 2004) by local artist Carl Billingsley was created in 2004 and purchased by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission. About eight feel tall, the sculpture is interesting. Matte steel and angled, it looks almost robotic. The artist's web page: http://billingsleyatelier.com/ [Review 12480 overall, 2269 of 2019.]