Guus Bosman

Saturday morning we left for a 2,5 hour trip to Wilmington after a quick stop at Starbucks. It's very easy to find from Raleigh: take I-40 and follow it until it ends.

The weather was great and we had lunch in an outside bar overlooking the Cape Fear River. Later we went for a walk through the city. We also did a tour in a trolley that was pulled by two horses that were too slow to work for the Amish in Pennsylvania and got a tourist job instead. The tour gave us a good view of the beautiful historic downtown where many old historic homes still exists in the old Southern style.

In the evening we went for dinner in Caprice, a restaurant by the owner of Cafe Bruxelles in New York. The food was excellent, and although it was not primarily a Belgium restaurant it had many great Belgium dishes and of course superb French fries. The restaurant alone is worth a trip to Wilmington.

Friday afternoon we wanted to go somewhere for the weekend. First we picked Atlanta but that turned out to be 6.5 hours away, so we choose a city somewhat closer. Wilmington, in the south of North Carolina, turned out to be a great choice.

We got home about an hour ago and I don't have all the pictures ready but I wanted to share a highlight of our weekend: an unexpected encounter with 3 alligators.

After visiting a mansion this morning we stopped next to the road to enjoy the view of a large lake with many waterlilies. Just when I moved the car closer towards the lake I saw 2 reptile eyes staring right at me!

An alligator was enjoying the sun in the water, and we watched it and two others for about 30 minutes (safely from the car, of course). An amazing experience!

Yesterday Jason and I visited the Dixie Gun and Knife Show at the fairgrounds in Raleigh.

A gun show is a traveling exhibition where firearms, knives and hunting materials are displayed and traded. The Dixie show was in town for two days and I was curious what it would be like.

There were many firearms of various kinds: guns, revolvers, rifles and shotguns in hundreds of different styles and types. To my surprise there were also much heavier weapons like shotguns and assault riffles such as AK-47s. I couldn't help but wonder -- what legitimate use can there be for citizens to carry such weapons? Anyway, by far the majority of the items on sale were handguns and single shot rifles.

Owning and trading firearms is legal in the United States, but there are background checks buyers need to go through. In North Carolina, like in many states, there are additional restrictions if you want to buy a smaller weapon that can be hidden ("concealed weapon permit"). Not that I want to, but no: I can't own or posses a gun.

Over-all the audience was very diverse, with the majority of the visitors being male. There were a lot of fathers-with-sons looking for guns and hunting gear. Jason was an excellent guide (thanks!) and we had a fun afternoon.

Today I went to the Festival for the Eno River in Durham.

It's a 3-day music festival to raise money for conservation of the Eno River. I parked at the Durham stadium and a bus took me to the festival site. I walked around alone for a while and then met up with Mike.

There were a lot of different bands from the Carolinas and surrounding states. It was a very warm day, and it was great to sit in the shadow and listen to good music. I liked the performances by
Nina Violet and The Grandsons quite a lot.

Last weekend we were at the seaside we saw the highest dune in North America, Jockey's Ridge.

It was so beautiful! There's a path on a wooden bridge that leads from the visitor's center to the start of the dune. As soon as you leave that path you're almost in a different world.

It was very windy but we had an excellent time in the park.

When we were at the beach in North Carolina the weather wasn't great. That didn't stop us from having a great weekend.

Saturday afternoon when we arrived we went to the beach. The hotel had a long pier into the sea.

We had a great weekend. We made a road trip to the Outer Banks.

The Outer Banks is a string of beaches and barrier islands on the east coast of North Carolina, and it's about 4,5 hours driving from Durham. We took more time than that, with various breaks and enjoying the journey.

Around 5.00 pm we arrived on Kitty Hawk, one of the barrier islands. It's a really narrow patch of land, with at one side a sound and at the other side the Atlantic Ocean. A long bridge connects the islands to the main land.

Today I visited the Eno River State Park for the first time. The park is about 15 minutes away from our house, closer than the Umstead Park.

I spent 3,5 hours walking the various trails in the park. The weather was great and it's a beautiful park, with the Eno River and various creeks flowing through it.

At one point the trail crossed a creek and there was no bridge -- I jumped from stone to stone to get to the other side (no, I didn't fall).

Yesterday I enjoyed a "Southern afternoon".

First off, the weather is amazing this weekend. Temperatures are in the mid-80's which is almost 30 degrees Celcius. In the Netherlands that's about as warm as it gets when it's a good summer day, and it's only March.

Since we moved to Durham I've been exploring the various local radio stations here. Lately I've been listening to two country music stations; 99.9 Genuine Country and 94.7 QDR. The latter has nice Americana music on Sunday evening, but most of the time these stations broadcast mainstream country music. It took me some time to get used to it but I enjoy listening to it.

I drove to Chapel Hill with the front seat windows of the car open, listening to songs such as "Sweet Country Music", "Tennessee River" and "Anyway" by Martina McBride.

I was on my way to a store in Chapel Hill that, appropriately, is called A Southern Season. I took an exit too early in Chapel Hill and on a parking lot I asked a friendly elderly lady for directions. She was very nice and told me that the store has a great reputation. She then asked me where I was from and said "Welcome to America!".

In the store I spent some time in the aisle with Indonesian condiments and an middle aged Southern lady asked me if I was "finding anything good". She said: "I like to hear you talking".

Today I hiked on another trail in the William B. Umstead Park. Last week I started at the Reddy Creek entrance, and today I started from the main visitor center and took the Sycamore Trail.

The weather was very nice. It was warmer than last week, and I had no need for the jacket that I had brought just in case.

I spent a few hours in the woods, and walked around 7.5 miles. It's great to spend some time outdoors. Some pictures.