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 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.

First time here now that they are in their new location. Brilliant location to be in the American…read moreTobacco campus since it needs more food/drink options. The inside is clean with a nice design, plenty of outside seating to soak up the sun! The service was great and we were able to sample a few drinks before selecting our drinks. Price for a tasting was reasonable too. Looking forward to coming back

Grateful to have been served by Hailey for both my visits to Honeygirl and Ment Beverage. These…read morebusinesses share the same tasting room and microbrewery space. I enjoy their cozy space and their commitment to supporting local agriculture. I had a flight of their meads on my first visit and a nonalcoholic drink on my second. The flight lets you sample any four drinks on their menu. There are plenty to choose from. Cheers! Thanks for having me.

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

This is just strange enough that you need to stop and take a picture. Someone has built a pair of…read moregiant legs that make it look like the model was lying on her back with her legs wide open. There's room in between for you to stand for a picture. It's a one minute stop and it's great for your Insta. [Review 2150 of 2024 - 3809 in North Carolina - 23169 overall]

Nothing wrong what so ever! Wayne worked hard on these now are a land mark! meet me at the legs ,…read moreok everyone who lives in Henderson knows that the giant legs are in south Henderson and Wayne is the man's name who cut out the metal with his bare hands and sanded the metal, prime painted the legs then painted the legs with the color on the painted legs sun south Henderson. Wayne also worked hard setting the legs up and positioning the heavy metal

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

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!

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.]

Epic sweet fare…read more CHEZ MOI www.iloverumcake.com Easily the most delicious rum cake I have ever, ever, tasted. Moist and flavorful. Generous samples were provided by the beautifully charming owner, Rhonda Jones, and her friendly assistant. Probably the tastiest morsel I had at this event. Bookmark! THE PALACE INTERNATIONAL Such a beautiful display! Loved the presentation table with tiny African dolls, painted wooden giraffes (I have a small collection so they really caught my eye), and colorful table linens. Top notch. These ladies provided Mandazi East African donuts, Chai tea and plantains (although I missed the plantains). The Mandazi was very tasty and the Chai was delicious and not overly sweet. Perfect. They also provided a sample of loose tea in a super cute little satchel. Bookmark! MYSTIC I could get in trouble here. The Irish cream and bourbon mix. Wow! Wait, already bookmarked. LITTLE DIPPER Husband and wife team provided tasty treats with a choice of 3 chocolate sauces: milk, white, and dark. Pineapple, strawberries, marshmallows, and pound cake were offered along with a caramel sauce and graham cracker crumbs. One of the longer lines and definitely worth the wait. COCOA CINNAMON Beautiful and informative table display. The ladies here provided an exquisite liquid chocolate beverage to which you could add your own spices. I enjoyed drinking the chocolate so much that I skipped the spices. ESCAZU chocolates made with goat's milk. LOVE these local chocolates! DEElish! RELAY FOODS Described as "Amazon meets Whole Foods and they have a Baby." Great concept. You place your food orders online in one location (Relay Foods) with locally sourced products including local and organic meats. Then you pick up your order in a specified location within a few days. You have a choice of locations in the triangle area and you have flexibility in choosing a pickup date. Score! www.relayfoods.com NORTH CAROLINA SWEET POTATOES Provided tasty samples of at least 6 varieties of NC sweet potatoes...all lower on the glycemic index than regular white potatoes. Score! I'm definitely going to expand my sweet potato horizons and will be looking for more varieties at the farmer's market. SPROUT CAFE Provided generous samples of organic smoked pork loin with cranberry-Chipotle BBQ sauce on crostini. I'm not a pork fan but since it was organic, I tried it. Wow. The pork was beautifully smoked which enhanced the flavor of the meat rather than overpowering it. The smoky saltiness of the pork perfectly complemented the tart-sweet cranberry-Chipotle BBQ sauce. Quality ingredients. What a delicious score. Bookmark! EDEN'S Soy red velvet squares, both vegan without icing and non-vegan with icing. The vegan squares were moist and delicious. Yum! VINTAGE BEE Provided samples of creamed and flavored local honey. LOVE local creamed honey. Score! BIG SPOON ROASTERS Provided samples of 10 different nut butters. The Ginger Almond was nutty with a wonderful light ginger finish. Absolutely delicious. MUSEUM BLIND MAPLE SYRUP TASTE TEST My blind preference was the Grade A pure maple syrup. The hubby's was Log Cabin. Great, I can keep the good stuff to myself and let him have the high fructose corn syrup for his pancakes. Fun little exhibit. NCSU Food Science Club provided a make-your-own ice cream demonstration. We added milk, sugar, and vanilla to a ziplocked sandwich bag, sealed it, then placed it inside a larger ziplocked bag with ice and ice cream salt (rock salt). We then carried our little bag around to check out other vendors while kneading and massaging our tiny, unformed ice cream baby. 10 minutes later, our sweet little ice cream baby was born and, we ate every last sweet little bite! Yum. UNC Department of Chemistry demonstrated homemade gummy bears, actually gummy blobs and strands. I couldn't bring myself to try these but apparently they tasted like gummy bears. Interesting and informative. Very informative. Excellent venue, top notch vendors, fun and informative event. 5 shiny stars!