I was lucky enough to go on a spring tour of the gardens at the N.C. Governor’s Mansion.  This was a free event with knowledgeable docents leading groups around the grounds.  And the gardens were quite a treat!  They’re fanciful and beautiful, yet practical.  Everything is beautifully laid out.  There’s rose gardens and lawns and everything is perfectly trimmed and maintained.  (True fact: The labor is provided by prison inmates.)  There’s a koi pond and even play equipment for Governor Purdue’s grandchildren when they visit.  Beehives were recently added that are expected to produce six gallons of honey per year.  One of the most colorful spots on the grounds was the staging area where hundreds of plants were still in nursery containers waiting to be placed in their proper spot.

The very best part of the gardens to me, though, was the vegetable gardens.  There is a very large vegetable garden producing food and herbs that are used in the kitchen of the Governor’s Mansion, with the excess donated to Urban Ministries.  It’s the most beautiful vegetable garden I’ve ever seen and the variety is quite impressive. Not only are there plenty of the expected tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, but there’s rattlesnake beans, muscadine grapes, mushrooms, and artichokes. Vegetable crops are grown in the spring, summer, and fall.  The head gardener was on hand to share information, advice, and samples of sugar snap beans and strawberries.

I left there inspired to work harder on my own gardens and grounds.  But there are a few things I need.  For one, I could use some pleasant helpers.  When my kids work on our grounds, they don’t act as eager and nice about it as the prisoners at the governor’s place do.  Secondly, I could use some of those bees to fly over here in my direction to help me out with my plants.  And finally, I wonder if any of those armed security guys could help me out with these squirrels.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

The Governor's Vegetable Patch

The Governor's Gardens May 2010

Raleigh has such a great location in the State of North Carolina – - centrally located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian Mountains.  And these vacation hot spots are not far in either direction.  In fact, in about three hours with  Labor Day weekend traffic, we were soaking in the sights on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Not bad at all.

So to get to the mountains we headed down I-40 West.  Same road we take to get to the beach, just the opposite direction.  Soon after hitting the road, there was an “1-800-By Train” sign.  I don’t really know what these train signs mean, but we figured they must be connected to the mountains somehow and we were excited to see them.

The main difference between the reasonably short trip to the beach and the reasonably short trip to the mountains is that on the way to the  mountains there is actually stuff to look at along the way.  Sure, the trip starts with what appears to be the same dense, green scenery and the same strict billboard regulations, but things start to change near Burlington and it only gets more interesting the further west you travel.

There’s life along this stretch of highway.  It’s almost like a business route.  You can see businesses, shopping, food, motels, and traffic on other roads.  You don’t have to wonder how far off the exit you’ll have to travel to get to the local Hooters.  You can see it from the highway.  It’s that close.  There are also homes close to the road and even brand-new, high-rise apartment buildings so close to the 8-lane highway that you could probably spit your gum onto their front mat.  Really.  And once you turn off of I-40 for the final leg of the trip, then the scenery really gets interesting in that quaint, small-town, charming sort of way.  It’s a preview of the fresh, change of pace awaiting you a short distance up the road.

A visit to the Blue Ridge Parkway requires you to slow down and appreciate the breath-taking views.  It is like taking a step back in time, while surrounded by postcard-beautiful scenery.  All this less than three hours away?  That’s a day trip.  I’m in.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

You know you live close to the mountains when....

Blue Ridge Parkway

One of the great things about living in Raleigh is how close we are to the Atlantic Ocean.   North Carolina has beautiful, sandy beaches from top to bottom, but the route from Raleigh to Wrightsville Beach has to be the fastest and easiest.  Hop on I-40 and two hours later you’re bodysurfing.  Seriously.  That close.  In fact, we tested it out again this weekend.  A mere thirteen minutes after piling into the car, we saw a sign for the North Carolina Ferry System “1-800-By Ferry.”  When your house is within thirteen minutes of a ferry sign, I consider that a pretty good place to live.

The 2-hour trip down I-40 is with a 70-mph speed limit, two rest stops, decent radio station reception, and frequent-enough exits for gas and/or fast food.  It’s well-maintained and essentially litter-free, with the exception of a staggering amount of tire pieces.  The east and west lanes of the interstate are separated by aesthetically-pleasing cables and the exit and entrance ramps are nicely landscaped.  It’s a busy road, but not overloaded with tractor-trailers.

Sights to see along the way?  I-40 between Raleigh and Wilmington is lined with lush, dense, green foliage…….and not much else.  Of course, sometimes there are cattails growing in the ditch beside the highway, and there’s also an occasional pond or farm field and a few billboards.  I’m not sure why there are so few billboards, but it’s nice not to drive down a “South of the Border” corridor.

To be fair, there are a few exits we’ve been meaning to try and hope to try some day soon.  I’d like to tour the Duplin wineries and partake of the free tastings they advertise on those billboards.  There are also a few Civil War sites along the way that I’d like to visit, such as Moore’s Creek National Battlefield and Bentonville Battleground.  Our problem is we’re always in a hurry to stick our toes in the sand when we’re headed east.  And when we’re headed back west, we’ve usually hit the road later than we should have and can’t afford to stop along the way.  Maybe some day soon we’ll actually plan ahead and veer out of our well-traveled lane.

So after two hours down a boring road, you arrive at a beautiful beach on the Atlantic Ocean.  That’s a day trip!  I’m in.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

You know you live close to the beach when...