Last weekend at I was at Sola Coffee in North Raleigh checking out their Pop Up Market when this dog walker strolled by with a herd of well behaved dogs in tow. I counted 13 dogs in all. It was quite a site to see. It was a nice reminder that now is a great time to enjoy the outdoors with our four-legged friends.
Filed under Events, Picture of the Week
North Main Street ~ Wake Forest, NC
Lately I’ve been spending some time exploring Wake Forest. The town has a small but quaint downtown area lined with local businesses including antique shops, a hardware store, and the popular White Street Brewery. A recent addition just one block over from the main drag on Brooks Street is the new coffee roaster and pour over bar called Back Alley Coffee Roasters. A place I recommend checking out if you are a coffee lover.
One of my favorite things to do in Wake Forest is go for a run along the stretch of historic homes on North Main Street. Many of these homes date the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. My favorite one is the “Queen Anne” style home pictured above. I love the huge front porch, lattice work, and polygonal tower. The plaque out in front of this home indicated that it was built in 1892. I still have a lot to explore in Wake Forest, but in the meantime I suggest adding it to your list to check out soon.
Also, keep an eye out for Wake Forest’s new spring concert series “Friday Night on White” featuring food trucks and free outdoor music on South White Street the second Friday of each month from April through September. You can view the scheduled performers here: http://www.wakeforestnc.gov/friday-night-on-white.aspx.
Filed under Picture of the Week
Last week I was in downtown Cary for the “Celebrate the Street” event commemorating the groundbreaking of the Academy Street improvement project. One of the bands performing at the event was the Bailey Spiritual Sounds Shout Band. They are a church based brass band that performs at services held at the United House of Prayer in Durham on Holloway Street. The band takes its name from Bishop C.M. Bailey, the current leader of the church.
Of course I am biased because I play the trombone, but this band blew my mind! The band plays mostly contemporary gospel tunes that they learn by ear and jazz up on the fly. They perform them as a group with two to three members improvising solos while the rest of the group accompanies them playing pre-arranged rhythms and grooves. Each performance is unique because there is so much improvising going on and they are creating their sound on the spur of the moment. It’s difficult to find many details online about when the band holds public performances but I do hope to catch them again soon. They really were incredible!
Filed under Events
Downtown Raleigh at Night
Last week I took my camera with me as I embarked on a short run around downtown Raleigh. I snapped the picture above as I ran laps around the Halifax Mall government complex on the northern edge of downtown (near Peace Street). In case you were wondering, the walkway loop around the quad is approximately 0.35 miles making it a great spot to run laps at night after work if you are like me and work downtown.
Filed under Picture of the Week
Train Tracks by W. Martin Street ~ Raleigh, NC
Earlier this week I took a meandering run through downtown Raleigh. I like to take a small camera with me in case I come across anything new (and I always seem to stumble across a place I have never explored before). The photo I snapped above was taken just before the dead end of West Martin Street on the western side of downtown just past CAM Raleigh (map of location). There are many old warehouse buildings in this section of downtown and the area is currently receiving a lot of attention and undergoing a revitalization. It will be interesting to see how it evolves in the coming years.
Filed under Picture of the Week, Raleigh
The Triangle Explorer 