Chapel Hill

The idea of the trip came up about five weeks ago. Once it became clear that Erin and I were moving to North Carolina and that the Peabodys would be coming with us, we started plotting out a day-long trek to Chapel Hill. Peabody has an odd obsession with that school, and I just like to see college campuses. Add in the fact that Amy was able to drive in from Raleigh, and we were sold on the idea.

So, on the Fourth of July, we all got up and hit the road at 8:30 in the morning. We piled in the truck and set off for the highway. In all, the drive took a little over two hours. As we crossed 150+ miles of North Carolina, we came to see more of what I noted earlier: smooth roads, flowerbeds, and lots of trees. This time, however, we saw something new.

I was cruising along in the left lane, going about 75 in a 60 when I saw the state trooper in the median. Shit. I knew I was going to wind up busted here. Even though I had been with the flow of traffic just a few minutes prior, I was definitely the fastest one around right at that time. I tapped the brake and hoped to at least slow down a few miles per hour before I got tagged by the radar. I glanced at the Crown Vic as we drove by, and noticed something unusual. There was nobody in it.

Now, this car wasn’t just pulled over to the side of the road. It was in the median, angled toward the eastbound traffic. It was just over a hill, almost sneaking up on us like any other speed trap. I began to wonder if somewhere along the highway, we would find a disembodied corpse of a North Carolina state trooper.

I had somewhat dismissed the thoughts of the car after a few minutes…it was simply one of those things that disappears from your memory unless you have a reason to remember it. Like seeing another trooper-mobile twenty minutes later. Then a third once we got onto I-40. Then a fourth right before the Chapel Hill exit. Apparently, this is how North Carolina prevents people from speeding…they park official state police vehicles in the median and hope that it causes you to slow down. We did see one car pulled over by a real-life trooper on the return trip, so it appears that while the odds may be on your side, there still is the risk of getting nailed.

**********

We arrived on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill a few minutes before 11:00. Franklin Street would be the loose equivalent of South University, or Grand River in East Lansing. Lots of shops, restaurants, coffee houses, and the like, forming one border of the campus. We window shopped for a few minutes, taking note of the types of stores that were around.

A few minutes later, Amy arrived, and we all decided that we were hungry. We went to Top of the Hill, a restaurant/brewery a block away. We sat out on a third floor, covered porch. The day was warm, but we were shaded and under a ceiling fan, so the temperature was almost unnoticeable. Beers and burgers and po’ boys came to the table and were all promptly demolished.

From the menu, we learned that the restaurant was one of the most successful in town, winning numerous awards in the last twelve years. What amused me was that the owners only bought the space and opened the restaurant in order to prevent TGIFriday’s from opening at that intersection. Score one for local businesses. I then looked out from our balcony and saw Starbucks, Qdoba, Quiznos, and a few other chain eateries. I guess the spread of the chains can only be slowed for so long.


***********

After lunch, and a stop by the NC bookstores where I procured a Tar Heels shot glass, we set off to walk through campus. This narrative will be picked up in much more detail next week when I can post the pictures along with it.

Suffice it to say, UNC has a gorgeous campus. The school was founded in 1795 as the first public university, and some of the buildings go back almost that far. There is a great mixture of classic and modern architecture, with everything seeming to blend together. There are lots of open spaces, green grass, and shade cover. There are also a lot of hills and little roads and paths that don’t run straight. This makes navigating the campus to be a bitch. That’s why we spent almost three hours covering about seven miles in 90+ degree heat that day.

But like I said, I’ll save that until I can get pictures up on Monday.