The Ben E. King Mural is located in Henderson, NC at the Tobacco Warehouse. Parking is on the…read morestreet and this mural was in a more residential area. The bright colors of this mural grab your attention and with Ben E King portrayed mid-song makes this mural great. This mural is part of the North Carolina Musicians Mural Trail and painted by the talented Scott Nurkin. It was completed in 2021. King was born in Henderson, NC then moved as a child to Harlem. In high school he formed a do-wop group, called the Four-B's, that performed at the Apollo Theater. King was an R&B singer and record producer. He was part of a group called Five Crowns. Five Crowns replaced those in the group, The Drifters. He was one of the leads for The Drifters and performed as lead singer for "There Goes My Baby", "Save The Last Dance For Me", "Dance With Me", and "This Magic Moment." A contract dispute caused him to start a solo career. He went on to be a solo artist and is known for "Stand By Me", "Supernatural Thing Part 1," and "Do It In the Name of Love."

Nice place. Good people (and a good dog). Ask to see the garden!read more

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 art museum here has somewhat limited hours, but it is notable that the surrounding Parkland is…read moreopen even when the interior of the museum is not. The park offers various objects d'art set against a woodland plain, and it links in with other trails as is common in North Carolina. There are a lot of greenways. There is ample free parking and it is close to a lot of other things but quiet and secluded. And if it is a day when the museum is open, you can get a good mix of indoor and outdoor experiences for free.

Located in the museum park, off one of the trails and in a corner where you're probably not going…read moreto just stumble upon it is this extremely interesting artwork. It took me about 90 minutes of walking and wandering until I finally found it. Difficult because it's not on one of the paved trails and some of the woods trails are marked off. But I did eventually get there. The Cloud Chamber is a "camera obscura" that uses a pinhole in the roof to project a mirror image of the lit area onto the walls. After you step inside and close the door, once your eyes adjust, you'll see trees and clouds and blue sky projected across the white cement walls. It's very clever! Thank you to artist Chris Drury who installed this stone, wood and turf structure in 2003. And thank you as well to Atlas Obscura for the entry: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cloud-chamber-for-the-trees-and-sky GPS coordinates: 35.805927805555555, -78.69912752777778 [Review 11689 overall, 1471 of 2019.]

There's a giant cat prowling car dealership parking lots in Zebulon NC. I managed to find it! Two…read morestories tall, it's currently mounted on a trailer. Considering that the cougar is nearly 50 years old, it's in amazingly good shape. Originally part of a promotional stunt for the Mercury Cougar automobile, it's worth a stop to check it out and get a unique selfie. Thanks to Atlas Obscura for this one. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mercury-cougar [Review 11744 overall, 1526 of 2019.]

Love this trail. Not many trails can accommodate mobility devices, such as mobility scooters…read more This is great for walking. Dogs are welcome as long as they are on a leash per leash law of Lee County/Sanford.

Here is info from various website about this historic site…read more I hiked to it in the late 80s and it really made an impression on me. I've wanted to revisit it ever since and now I can more easily since a road has been put in. Standing at nearly 40 feet tall, the furnace is an impressive historic remnant of a by-gone era. About a 150 years ago, a group of industrialists came to Lee County to mine local iron ore deposits. They constructed the Endor Iron Furnace to smelt the iron which they then transported by rail to supply the Confederacy. The furnace site is located on the south side of the Deep River. County / Township Lee / Cumnock Watershed Deep River / Cape Fear River Acres 426 Protection Status Acquired by purchase in 2001 using funds raised in the Deep River Campaign and grants from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund and the NC Natural Heritage Trust Fund. Transferred to state ownership (Department of Cultural Resources) in 2002, but managed by TLC. Owned by the State of North Carolina, managed by the Triangle Land Conservancy and maintained by Lee County Parks and Recreation.The 426 acre site, on the banks of the Deep River, includes 250 acres of floodplain and wetlands, and about 3.5 miles of stream frontage--TLC's largest conservation project to date. Scheduled tours of the furnace site are announced throughout the year. Site Location: Iron Furnace Road Sanford, NC 27331-1023 Days/Hours: Tours announced throughout year. Also by appointment. Fees: Free Phone: (919) 776-7479 Email: info@tlc-nc.org Website: http://www.tlc-nc.org/endor_property.shtml Bus Parking: Yes Handicapped Accessible: No http://www.historicdistricts.com/NC/Lee/vacant.html http://www.triangleland.org/lands/partnership/endor_property.shtml

The American Tobacco Campus was established in 1890 as an industrial center. When the tobacco…read moreindustry left, the campus had to change. The Durham Bulls Athletic Park and the Durham Center for Performing Arts brought new life to the campus. The Old Bull Building is where Lucky Strike was made. Tobacco was a large employer in Durham so when it shut down in 1987 the property started to fall apart and people moved away. Capitol Broadcasting decided in 2004 to purchase the campus and turn these historic buildings into something unique and special. The ATC has offices, apartments, shops and restaurants. There is a courtyard, water features, outside seating and even a train car. It is an easy place to visit with three parking garages nearby and street parking. Then it is fun to walk around and see the remnants of what used to be there.

Old tobacco factory (from 1870's, that was one of the largest manufacturers of cigarettes) that was…read morerenovated into an area comprised of restaurants and bars, office buildings, shopping store, gyms, a courtyard and waterway, and a performing arts center and baseball stadium nearby. Really beautifully landscaped, with an extremely clean campus, there is something for everyone. Really nice to walk around, plenty of shade and benches (and tables) to relax at!

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!

Absolutely great tour! Just moved to Raleigh and it was a fun way to get to know the city: Great…read morefood and Sam was a great guide. Highly recommend.

I've lost count of the Taste Carolina Food Tours I have taken. I've taken the Raleigh tour the…read moremost. My first Raleigh food tour was a great introduction to Raleigh and how I learned to get around in Downtown Raleigh. So since then I always try to find a food tour while traveling. Even though I've taken the Raleigh tour multiple times it has not been the same exact tour as the restaurants rotate so the route changes. Taste Carolina has tours in Raleigh; Durham; Hillsborough; Asheville; Winston Salem; Greensboro; Chapel Hill; Charlotte and Wilmington. Besides Raleigh, I've been on the Hillsborough tour; Durham tour and Wilmington tour. The only tour that wasn't up to par with the other Taste Carolina tours was the Wilmington tour. I do not recommend that tour. The website is easy to use and book the tour you want to take and you can list any food restrictions or food allergies. They try to accommodate. Then you are provided a starting location and parking suggestions. On tour day, you meet your guide and you are off exploring the town as well as discovering restaurants you might not have heard of before. Back when I started these tours, my palate was limited. These tours exposed me to foods I never would have ordered. Some I loved and others not so much but that is all part of the experience to try new things. Generally there are about five or six stops on the tour. You will be given your dish then usually the chef or owner comes out and tells you about the dish and the history of the restaurant. On my last tour I took the Durham tour a second time. At the stating point, the guide had the route we'd be walking on a map with all the restaurants we'd be stopping. I learned some new areas in Durham and went to new restaurants. I regularly eat at several restaurants I was introduced to on the first Durham tour. I've tried to take the Asheville tour for years but the weeks it runs never meshes when I am in town. March will take me on the Greensboro tour though. This was recommended to me by someone on my Durham food tour.

Adorable and detailed miniature train set up. Much more expansive than we anticipated. My daughter…read moreand I stopped by on a day in the pouring rain and still enjoyed looking it over.

Lovely collection of model trains, G sized. I learned the G can stand for Garden size-suitable for…read moreoutdoor use.Tons to see and enjoy. Friendly "conductors" answer all the questions I had, never lost a smile. Interesting stories posted around, brings the city to life. Loved the experience, I will share, I had planned to enjoy the trains, and find a breakfast. Sans croissants. not much to pick from. Note to city planners?? lol