Historic Oak View County Park currently is on 27 acres. The pecan grove is 11 acres of that. When…read moreOak View was a working cotton farm it was over 900 acres. I took a guided tour of Historic Oak View County Park and learned some of its history. Wake County purchased the land for an office park before learning on the land's history. The property was saved from demolition and has since been added to the National Register of Historic Places. They are still learning more about it from research. Fourteen slaves were owned on the farm before the Civil War. Afterwards, some purchased land on Oak View and became sharecroppers or tenant farmers. The Farm Center History Center is where you can get information before you start exploring the park and it is a small museum. The goats are either found in the livestock barn or at the goat pen near the Tenant House. A cotton gin house can be toured and you can read about the cotton process. A cotton field is outside the building. They also have bee hives to pollinate the plants. A Plank Kitchen built in 1825 is the oldest building remaining on the property. It has a garden near it. The Main Farm House is open to tour, both the original house and the additions. Then there is the Tenant House replica that was brought to the park from Wendell as it had the same features of the buildings that had been torn down. I like that the park had walkways and ramps. The pecan grove is huge and each November the public can take some pecans home. While I was there, some people were fishing and others were having picnics. The goats can be fed carrots and apple slices.

This is a great park to explore with a little one. The space is huge and it's pretty easy to stay…read moresocially distant. They recently did a story book walk through the parks department that was neat. If you get lucky you may catch the goats out, but we haven't been so lucky yet. I've ready that you are allowed to feed them some carrots if the employees okay it. They do have a chicken coop as well which my son loved. He spent quite a bit of time just staring at the chicken walking around. If you follow the path to the left of the entrance it heads to a pond and if you follow it to the right there is a small cotton field and an old cotton wagon in the back of the old gin silo. It's a great spot for family photos, every time we have been we have seen people walking around with their photographer. The pecan trees and historic houses make for great photos. Right now due to COVID the bathrooms are closed. There is plenty of parking here. I know they offer so much more than what is currently available during COVID. Definitely a park to keep on the radar!

Small marker is standing in front of what is now the YMCA on Morehead Street. Not much going on…read morehere, it simply says: "Opened 1859; D. H. Hill was 1st superintendent; used as Confederate hospital; public school, 1883-1950. Stood near here." The institute was established in 1858 and Daniel Harvey Hill (who was later a Confederate general during the Civil War) was the first superintendent. The school was later used by the Charlotte Military Academy, which architect Herbert B. Hunter attended. The https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_Military_Institute entry has a lot more detail.

One of my favorite downtown Raleigh organizations. They always have friendly faces ready to chat…read morewith you or a comfy couch for you to relax in. They have one of the largest LGBT libraries in the south that is filed with great resource books, DVDs, or books to just relax at the pool with this summer. First Friday also premiers a new LGBT artist every month. There are also several great programs that happen throughout the month.

Friendly staff and volunteers and the largest LGBT+ library in the southeast! Family friendly and…read morean active participant in First Friday. Overall worth coming to spend an hour browsing books and checking out the latest artist.

The North Carolina Fallen Fire Fighter's Memorial is a nice tribute to the men and women who lost…read moretheir lives in the line of duty. The Memorial is in Nash Square in Downtown Raleigh and across the street from a fire station. The large memorial is a bronze statue with four firefighters. Three firefighters are rescuing a fourth that was under a steel beam. The names of the fallen heroes who have died since 1902 had to be redone as they ran out of room as unfortunately more names needed to be added. They also include those who have died of heart attacks and car accidents. If you are near Nash Square make sure to stop by this memorial.

Nice park located in the heart of Raleigh to honor the lost Firefighters that we lost during 911…read more Park it's self is simple piece that covers a sq block that has beautiful landscape and trees. But other than that it has no playground or anything that makes it a place to come hang out and chill.

This marker is not far from the Capitol in downtown Raleigh. I can't imagine what travel to Japan…read moreand China must have been like in the last 1800's. This was quite the man. The marker reads, "Thomas R. Jernigan (1847-1920). U.S. negotiator in China for 30 years. Consul in Japan and China. Editor, author, and lawyer. His home was 2 blocks E." Online there is more information. "In his position as a foreign service officer in Japan and China in the late nineteenth century, Thomas R. Jernigan brought better understanding between the United States and Asia." "Jernigan's first position abroad was as a consul (appointed by President Grover Cleveland) to Kobe, Japan, from 1885 to 1889, after which he returned to North Carolina to edit the North Carolina Intelligencer, a newspaper in Raleigh. His home in the Capital City stood near the present-day site of the Raleigh convention center. From 1893 to 1897 he served as consul general (again an appointment by Cleveland) in Shanghai, acting as chairman of the International Settlement board for much of that time. At the close of his term he elected to remain in China where he worked as an attorney for Standard Oil Company. Jernigan was the author of a number of books dealing with China, among them China in Law and Commerce, China's Business Methods and Policy, and Shooting in China. Late in life he became deaf. He counted Sun Yet-sen (1866-1928) among his friends and is buried in Nanking, China, near the Chinese leader's family plot." I'm glad to have learned more about Mr. Jernigan. I'd like to have met the man. [Review 12567 overall, 2357 of 2019.]

I really enjoyed my short visit to this small but friendly library branch! They has some nice…read moremulticultural displays in strategic places, and I enjoyed walking through the children's section, too. One of the displays in that area was a group of children's books about self-care, so charming and very needed! The only drawback, in my book, was that the restrooms are under lock-and-key, and a staff member has to unlock/open the bathroom door for you. The staff member was very nice about it, but it still felt a little awkward to me. I assume there's a reason for the policy, and I still love a community library. :-)

Jennifer is a rockstar of kindness and my s-hero! Amidst an urgent need unfamiliar with the area,…read moreshe was extremely courteous from the moment we first spoke on the phone. Upon arrival, she stepped into support and guide me through everything that I needed. It is no surprise that someone so wonderful is working in a community resource center. I truly appreciate her going above and beyond to save the day for me. Thank you Jennifer!

So I know I can't be the first person to want to hit the Thelonious Monk Trail in Rocky Mount. But…read moreit looks like I'll be the first to write about it. I was visiting Raleigh, and I wanted to do the pilgrimage so bad that I hit the road early one bright Sunday morn headed east. Here's what I saw: 1) Thelonious Monk Plaza - I came into town this way, just a slight bit north of the main downtown strip. This plaza is one in the old-school sense - you won't find a minimall with Bath & Body Works around here, rather it's the old train station. This is where the historical marker is planted that identifies one of the true American greats. It makes sense to have jazz markers by the old train stations - it brings back the America of old, and also reminds you that the musicians generally built their careers by moving out. 2) Thelonious Monk Mural - I walked about half a mile from the Plaza to see this (incidentally, on a bright Sunday morn I was the only sign of life in downtown Rocky Mount). If you didn't know it was a tribute to Monk, you would just think it's a slightly unusual mural - a triangle of houses with a trompe l'oeil river stream/piano keyboard that literally flows out onto the pavement (entitled "Monk's Corner"). This was apparently one wall an arts center that no longer exists, sadly - it's near the Harambee Street Apartments. I walked back to my car via Main Street, which allowed me to look at the attractive old historic buildings in downtown, none of whom were doing any business on Sunday. 3) Thelonious Monk Park - Now this was a slight hunt, considering not even Old Man Google registers this park as a place. Further, there's a street address given near Washington/Dunn, but the sign that names the park is over on Wye which spurs off of Washington. That confused me a bit - you can basically identify the park, but I felt like I was slightly trespassing when I wandered along the residential neighborhood to get there. This is a "park" in the sense that you can have a picnic under the gazebo or push your kids on some swings - otherwise it's just a small green space. Monk's childhood home no longer exists but would have been somewhere on the grounds. 4) Monk Rd - This road, just a block south of Monk Park, was obviously named after the man, but there's about as much significance to the name here as there is to the man they named Washington Street after (whoever that was) - its just the name. Nice that it runs parallel to the train tracks, at least. And that's pretty much it at this point. There's been talk about erecting a statue for Monk here, which would be a great idea - the great John Coltrane statue in High Point would be the model to follow, down to the sound samples and all. Here's hoping that happens. Until then, though, you've got this at least. And if you check it out, put on "Pannonica" for the soundtrack - that's what I was listening to, and it seemed to capture the feel perfectly.

This is not really a public attraction, although it is pointed out on some tourist signs in the…read morearea. It's kind of a beautiful 1960's-ish building from the outside, and apparently from the inside. If you leer through the windows and walk past apparently a uniformed police officer will come out and ask what you're looking for. But he's a nice guy and you can chit chat about what actually is in this building? He says mostly offices, and some public geneology references on the first floor. And there's stuff to see nearby and oh where are you from? I'm from there too! So overall very nice, just, I guess, nothing to see. (but it only makes me more curious about the ancient décor and furniture inside!)

This is really two libraries in one. On the first floor, there is the Information Center. This is a…read morereference library. It is also both a state and federal government docs repository. Some of the reference collection is open stack and available for browsing, but the bulk of the collection has to be requested via call slips. The second part is upstairs in the mezzanine. This is the Genealogical Research Center. This is the largest genealogical library in the state and has a wealth of material not just on North Carolina, but for most of the eastern states, as well. particularly for Maryland and further south. The bulk of the collection consists of published materials, books and periodicals, and some microfilm. There are some vertical files, but most manuscripts and all original North Carolina public records are held by the State Archives (a separate institution). The staff here is very knowledgeable and helpful, and they always seem glad to answer any questions. The library was just renovated this summer, so the space is very nice.