The Randleigh Dairy Heritage Museum is just up the road from Howling Cow Creamery. Its hours are…read morelimited, so check before trying to visit. Tours of the campus and facilities are offered. I've taken both the walking tour and the tram tour. The museum honors William Rand Kenan, Jr. He was a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate and a North Carolina resident. He had a passion for dairy farming. So how did these cows end up at NC State and not UNC-Chapel Hill? In Kenan's will, he left his dairy farm, 78 Jersey cows, and an agriculture education endowment to the University of North Carolina System. The university system chose NC State as it had the College of Agriculture, pastures, and animal husbandry programs and students who could handle the cows. So NC State owned these cows and the farm in Lockport, NY and needed to transport them to Raleigh. Thankfully, the endowment was $2 million. This fund allowed for their care and dairy research. The museum came about in 2016 and officially opened in 2018. From the outside, it looks like a dairy barn. Inside, it is a hands-on museum with many storyboards as well. You can hear how cows "moo" in other parts of the world. You can learn how food moves through a cow's digestive track. You can try churning some butter. You can learn about Kenan and the cows, too. On this tour, I opted for the 30-minute tram tour, where you can see the cows from a distance, the new arrivals, the fields where their food is grown, and the milking bar from the tram. It gave a good overview without needing the biohazard gear. Corn, Hay and Sorghum Fields grow their food. There is a grain mill on site. Animal nutrition students ensure that the cows have a scientifically formulated diet with vitamins and nutrients so they remain healthy and produce the ultra-rich milk that makes the ice cream so good. The butterfat is used for the Howling Cow ice cream, the milk is distributed for on campus dining and markets, and the surplus goes to the state hospitals and prisons. Howling Cow Creamery opened in 2020 and made this agritourism possible. Kenan's legacy is in every bite of Howling Cow ice cream. If you get an opportunity to check out this mostly-student-run operation, I highly recommend it.

The location is central, easy to find, and visible. I enjoyed reading quotes from African Americans…read morewho helped to empower others to fight for the freedom of all people. I was honored to see a park that is dedicated to supporting African Americans instead of trying to denounce or erase African American history. The park is beautiful, clean, and sacred., I felt connected to George Floyd while reading the words, "I can't breathe! The beam is lit every evening...Pass the torch!

Freedom Park is a small one acre park located in Downtown Raleigh near the Legislative Building and…read morethe Executive Mansion. The Beacon of Freedom is what you will see first. It is lit each night. The walkways have inscriptions of quotes for some of the African Americans that helped lead the fight for freedom and equality. Along the walkways are benches if you want to sit and reflect. The park is accessible to all and has street parking as well as a nearby parking lot.

I've lived in Raleigh for over 20 years and only recently discovered these delightful gardens just…read morea short drive away. There were two separate areas, the Lake Trail and the Waterfall Trail. The Waterfall Trail was more of a true trail, winding through the woods. The Lake Trail primarily looped around the lake. It would have been nice to have distance markers on the sign. There is a port a potty at the trailhead.

I brought my furry son here for his last hike. Unfortunately his cancer had started to wreak havoc…read moreon his body. Jax loves exploring in the woods, going on walks, and playing in water. This was the perfect spot. I'm sure we probably weren't supposed to let him in the pond but it was his last day with us so we let him splash around the edge. The trails were still viable even given all the leaves had fallen. It was a really peaceful walk and we made great memories. There weren't people there at the time we went which I was thankful given our circumstances. Unfortunately it hadn't rained enough lately to produce the waterfall in the waterfall trail but we did get to see a little one on a different trail. If you walk the waterfall trail and get to the top, there's an intersection where you'll see lots of people carved their names in a tree. Stop by and look up, if you see JAX, that's in honor of my boy. Enjoy your fur babies, your children, and your own life, stop and smell the flowers. Take a walk on a sunny day and feel the sunshine in your face. We're only here for a short while.

The first local Earth Day festival I attended a few years back was fun. I was working at Algonquin,…read moreand one of our authors -- Richard Louv -- was in town as a special speaker on getting our kids back in touch with nature at the Museum of Natural Science. I came out to support that but stuck around for the fun festival activities: earth-friendly clothes for sale; a strolling magician; a one-man junk band; and meeting THE Burt of Burt's Bees fame. In the last few years, the festival has grown even more supporting lots of live musical acts, a cute kid's parade where they march downtown with instruments and outfits constructed from recycled materials, even a large-scale bowling game with a giant PeeWee Herman-esque ball of trash knocking into empty water cooler 'pins'. But the coolest part of the festival -- and the reason I look forward to it every year -- is the Burt's Bees tent sale. This annual event is their way of purging old inventory. And It. Is. Fabulous. They have aisles by prices ($10, 8, 5, and 2 -- yes, two bucks!). And down each aisle are bins filled with goodies. The best scores are the gift packs, which you can stock up on at 50-75% off. But I also loaded up on cheap soaps, chapsticks and travel-sized baby oils for my guest bathroom. Great value and great products: not to be missed!

I am always a fan of any massive festival where I can take the kids. This year they coordinate the…read moreGrand Opening of the Nature Research Center with Earth Day. The outside activities were great and bountiful. The inside of the museum addition was designed well. On the inside of the museum I have mixed reviews, but do to the massive crowd I have to save final judgement about it later. Even some of the directors of the labs, and people that worked in the museum (red shirts) mentioned how they were just given the go ahead to move less than a week before the grand opening. I would say half of the interactive displays did not function properly, or were just turned off. The projectors were broken, so they had makeshift displays set up, that were broken as well. The labs didn't have their equipment set up, so we couldn't get a real feel for the labs. As I walked through the museum I wold see a panel that was laying on the floor exposing wires, bags of screws laying out, or trim just laying on the ground. I don't think they did a walk through to make sure the building was ready for thousands of people to come in. But, I will be back later just to see all of the exhibits after they get them fully functioning. For anybody that is wondering, since the rest of the building obviously was no where close to being finished, I was told that it was office space. Office space or not, it looked horrible for a state wide Grand Opening as the backdrop as the Governor was speaking.

I stumbled upon this gem of a history lesson by accident while walking to downtown from our Airbnb…read more Catherine gave my son and I a great tour and history of Raleigh. I'm a history buff and she was able to keep me interested in an area of the country I know little of. Always fun to learn local history. It's free and enjoyable.

I had never been to the Joel Lane House Museum so the Fourth of July Celebration was the perfect…read moretime. The museum offers free parking on St. Mary's Street and more parking in front of the house on West Hargett. Admission is usually charged but was free for this event as we were not given the official tour but received $4 off coupons to return for a tour. They provided Howling Cow ice cream and free lemonade too. So who was Joel Lane? Joel Lane is considering a Founding Father of North Carolina and Raleigh. He sold 1,000 acres of land to make Raleigh the State Capital. The Joel Lane Museum House is the oldest house in Raleigh and is older than Wake County. The decision to move North Carolina's Capital to Raleigh happened in the Joel Lane House. As they say "it was the room that it happened". Joel Lane was a slave holder of 43 adults and children. They are the ones who built the house and maintained the plantation, raising the livestock, cooking and caring for the Lane family. The museum provides a way for us to see how life would have been back then from the candles to the necessary to the toys they had to how they made yarn for clothing. The herb garden provided a method for medicine. The holiday event provided an overview but I am planning to return for a tour to learn more of the history and see all of the property.

What a charming history museum, complete with multiple air conditioned buildings, including the…read morecarriage house (with an iron lung) and a delightful medicinal garden. The educational and interesting guided tours begin on the hour and are lead by a professional guide. The museum is very well done--thank you East Carolina University. While it is called the Country Doctor Museum, a good portion of it is a tribute to the work and impact of nurses as well. Learn about the apothecary and unique stories about various artifacts in the museum. There are no opportunities for hands-on experiences and small children may not be the best guests. Seniors (over 55) get a discount. The gift shop has an variety of themed gifts for purchase. I took visitors from Illinois and they loved it. I'll bring other guests who visit Eastern NC.

The Country Doctor Museum has been updated since my prior visits. Admission is $8 and your tour…read morestarts in the gift shop building which also has a library and some medical artifacts. Guided tours run on the hour and you will get to see the building that was a country doctor's office, a medicinal herb garden is behind this building, then the last building is where the carriages, old vehicles and the iron lung are located. You will see how medicines were made with herbs and how the pills were cut. They used what was available. There is a room with surgery tools and prosthetics. The tools used changed over the years and they learned that hot water prevented some infections from developing. The newest addition is a sick room. This room shows what it was like if you were sick and isolated. The room also has a lot to read and see of how health care has evolved. Vaccines are much more recents that I realized. The last building showcases the carriages and some Ford vehicles. There are some doctors bags to see as well. The iron lung gives a visual to imagine what that would have been like to be inside. Even though I have visited this museum a few times, I learn something new every time. They also keep updating the museum and adding new artifacts. The gift shop is also a great place to find some unique gifts.

An unexpected gem in the heart of Raleigh. I got told that the museum was planning to start…read morerenovations soon by the end of the month given that the house has seen some wear and tear and when the person running the museum turned on the sink, the water looked off like an orange color which most likely contains lead. Otherwise, the museum didn't take a lot of time to go through and admission was free and was somewhat interesting.

The Manassa T. Pope House Museum is located on what was once the Color Line in Raleigh (Wilmington…read moreStreet). Dr. Pope built his house in the Third Ward on that line to make a point and push boundaries. The house was built in 1901 and the inside has furnishings that were his family's and some additional artifacts of the time. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places. The land at the time cost $300. When you first enter the house, the first thing you see is the petal stained glass window. I loved all the attention to the details of the house from the moldings to the staircase. The piano in the living room bought from Sears also cost $300. The house is two-story gable brick house and both levels can be toured but you will need a climb a flight of stairs to get to the second floor. The house had the latest technology at the time with electricity and gas fixtures; a full bathroom; running water; telephone and a servant call bell as they had a maid. My group had the pleasure of taking a guided tour with Andy. He was full of energy in sharing the history of the house and had a sense of humor that brought the history of the house alive. Dr. Pope was born a free man attended Shaw University and was one of the first African Americans to be a licensed doctor in NC after attending a four year medical school (other medical schools were just two years at the time). After medical school, he worked as a postmaster in Henderson, NC. He was an officer in the Spanish-American War in 1911. He launched a drug company in Charlotte, NC. He also ran for the Raleigh Mayor in 1919, during the Jim Crow Era with a goal or getting voters registered. 1600 black males were eligible to vote but only 7 were allowed to vote with the Jim Crow restrictions. He provided healthcare to those without access to care in segregated Raleigh. The museum is free to visit but they do appreciate donations. The museum doesn't have a gift shop but there are items for sale at the at the City of Raleigh Museum, a few blocks away. The museum does not have its own parking lot but street parking is free on the weekends and there are paid lots on both side of the museum.

The wife and I always enjoy going to the herb fest. It is held in the festival park at Wake Forest…read moreevery year for a week towards the end of April / beginning of May timeframe. When you arrive at festival park there are carts / wagons towards the entrance. Grab one of these because you will want to load up once you see the variety. As you head down into the center of the park you will see a bunch of tables lined up with various herbs on them. They are organized and categorized very nicely to help find what you are looking for. There are typically several varieties of each herb grouped together. They also have several very knowledgable staff on hand to answer any questions you may have. At last year's herb festival I was actually a star! They shot a quick video of yours truly asking a question to the herb specialist for the evening news. In reality I asked him several questions and found out some very interesting things. Did you know that Rosemary does not grow well in a pot? Rosemary apparently grows best in the ground and prefers sandy well drained soil. We also learned why we have such a difficult time growing Cilantro. Ours always gets very scrawny and just grows seed pods (coriander). Apparently the difference is simply temperature. Even if grown in the shade under other plants the temperature in our region is not suitable for Cilantro. It will grow coriander if you like, but the cilantro leaves will only thrive in areas with consistent temperatures below 80 degrees. He did point us to Culantro which we had never heard of. The name sounds similar to Cilantro for good reason. It is basically Cilantro for warmer climates. It grows well even in hotter areas and tastes like Cilantro but the leaves are longer and skinnier with what looks like sharp edges. It is very comforting to be able to ask people the best way to take care of the herbs so you can ensure your new purchases thrive and do not wither away. If you prefer you can also browse the tents around the perimeter of the herbs containing a variety of merchandise and food from local businesses. Many offer any type of trinket you can imagine while a few local restaurants have food samples and coupons to entice you to come see them. Over towards the stage there is almost always some type of live entertainment ranging anywhere from a magician for the kids to local high school bands. The dates and times of each performance are posted on the website so you know what to expect or can plan your trip if one of them looks particularly interesting. There are also a few of the typical festival food fare such as hot dogs, funnel cakes, and lemonaid. Once you have loaded up on your herbs you head back to the entrance towards the couple of tents. Typically there is a small line here but it goes pretty quickly as there are multiple cashiers to assist you. Several individuals rome around and will count up your items and hand you a ticket detailing your purchases. You then step up to a cashier and hand them the ticket so they can ring you up. They will take cash, check, mastercard, and visa. We go every year and always enjoy a lazy day (starting with a coffee from Wake Forest Coffee Company of course). The only problem I foresee with next year is where to put our new items. We have completely filled our screened in porch this year with containers of plants so I suppose we will have to replace some items or get inventive!

I visit the Wake Forest Herb Fest every year. I've done so since we moved to WF as it is a great…read moreway to stock up on some homegrown/organic herbs for your kitchen or garden. Herbfest is free and is situated at the Festival Park on South White. It used to take place over the course of a week, but this year, it was over two consecutive weekends. Since we were out of town the first weekend, we went this past (lesson learned, there are not as many options on the last weekend). I went looking for my standards: lavender, cilantro, mint, lemon basil, and catnip. I found all of what I was looking for, except the cilantro. I was able to learn a bit from the staff who told me that I can start my own cilantro by using coriander seed and advised me as to how to go about doing so. I also purchased locally grown tomato plants and am going to start my own growing of tomatoes this year. Also available at Herbfest this year was the White Street Brewery Beer, however, they were only offering the Scottish Ale. Not as many options on the last weekend, I assume. Also, the first weekend, there is live music, and different exhibits from the local high schools. The Herbfest is definitely a great local event, and a way to support local gardeners, and a learning experience as well! A must every year!