Cary IS NOT on the way from Fearrington to Pittsboro, Pinehurst/Southern Pines.

Take a left turn out of F onto 15-501 and continue south. Pittsboro is just a few miles from FH, to Pittsboro.

It should take less than an hour to get from RDU to FH, unless there is football traffic. I don't know the home UNC schedule yet. IF there is a home UNC game scheduled for 12 or 1 pm kickoff, you could have problems since the directions you (probably) have to FH go through Chapel Hill.

UNC has a home football game 9/2/06 at 3:30 p.m. so you could get caught up in tailgating traffic jams. The team is playing Rutgers and I don't know how large a crowd is expected. Back when UNC was a top 10 team (ah, memories) people would come to town just to be in town during a game. Didn't have a game ticket, just wanted to 'experience' it first hand.

Instead of going straight to Fearrington through CH, how about from RDU go to Cary, then take 64W to 15-501N to FH? You could see if Cary fits your criteria and avoid some traffic at the same time.

Better check the NCState schedule. Raleigh is worse than Chapel Hill!!

NCSU plays at 6:00. While it's later in the day, it will be well attended as it's the first game of the year and it's against AA-National Champs ASU (who's fans will be driving into Raleigh from Boone via I-40 E).

The stadium is a few miles east of the airport off I-40 so staying west of this from 2:00 PM on is a good idea.

You will definitely find lots of traffic if there is a football game. You may want to get to the Fearrington community and get out before 2:00ish to avoid traffic. You could head over to Hillsborough and then come back to CH that evening after the game.

If you could do the homes on Monday morning, you should go straight to Southern Pines/Pinehurst for Saturday and come to Fearrington that evening after the game. You could then hang out in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough on Sunday. You could see the homes Monday morning and then head to the airport.

For a holiday weekend, I would think that your trip to the airport will be at least 45 minutes. But, I would probably give myself an hour. The problem will be traffic more than distance.

I recommend Saratoga Grill in Hillsborough for dinner. There is another good restaurant on the main street that is really nice. (You should be able to identify because Hillsborough is not so big.)

Cary is quite large. Very "new" and clean...very Atlanta like.

Pittsboro is a growing town. There will be a lot of growth in Northern Chatham County within the next few years. Fearrington is getting ready to swallowed up by a huge new community being built in that area.

Pinehurst and Southern Pines are great if you like golf. Very nice...but not a lot to do unless golf is your thing.

In Chapel Hill, Mama Dips is good. I like Nantucket Cafe which is at the intersection of I40 and Hwy 54. Also, 411 (on Franklin Street) is good. The Weathervane at Southern Season is nice.

There is a great little soda shop (ice cream counter and all) in Pittsboro. Nice antique shopping along the main street.

Have fun-

Thanks for all of the great suggestions! - dining included! We are really looking forward to this trip.

If it is on the way, we may very well check out Cary - if it is "Atlanta like" I think it will be way too big for our tastes, but you never know. While there, I want to see as much as possible.

I would doubt FH model homes will be staffed on a holiday, but I will check with them. That would make sense to do things that way.

Am I missing any other towns we should try and see?:

Cary
Chapel Hill
Pittsboro
Hillsborough
Carborro
Southern Pines
Pinehurst

Raleigh and Durham are too big for us - we don't really have a desire to see these this time given our timeframe.

p.s. Although I realize S. Pines and Pinehurst (moreso?) are alot about golf, I was under the impression - with Southern Pines anyway - from the literature that they sent, that this is not just a bunch of gated golf homes and courses.

It appeared that there was a real downtown with a village-like atmosphere, and numerous events throughout the year not centered around golf.

Is that not accurate?

We have family in Southern Pines--and it certainly is not all gated communities. It is a lovely little town--actually backs up to Ft Bragg which I have just become aware of. But of course, Ft.Bragg is immense. Yes, it and Pinehurst have nice little town centers and it is not all about golf.
I may be quite wrong, but in a lot of ways, Cary might be larger than Durham--or would feel so. I would rather take a beating than deal with the beltways around Raleigh. I know--this coming from a Charlottean!!
Durham is in a way a sort of small town with good shopping. I think there is a bit of town and gown about it also. They have taken the big old warehouses downtown and converted them into attractive shopping and dining destinataions. It--Durham--definitely has more panache than Cary. You might not want to dismiss it out of hand.

I will add that coming from the NE you will perhaps be amazed at Southern Pines and Pinehurst--there is a definite reason for the naming!! The neighborhoods (that I have seen in SP) are quite lovely, sitting in the piney woods. No problem about mulching!

I agree...you may want to check out Southern Durham--near SouthPoint Mall or Northern Durham (Treyburn) which has rolling hills and is georgous or the Trinity Park/Watts Hillandale areas--old houses w/personality.

Yes, Durham definitely does feel smaller than Cary...(and a lot more personality)...I've lived in both.

Don't believe all the bad press that Durham gets.

I grew up near Southern Pines and Pinehurst...I think that most of the "retired" folks that live there are saturated in the golf lifestyle. Yes, there is a cute little town part...mostly for the tourists. But, it is a beautiful area.

This just came from our AAA

Chapel Hill Road Trip

This fall, visit Chapel Hill and the North Carolina communities of Hillsborough and Carrboro to enjoy the eclectic culture and activities surrounding the nation’s first state university.

Explore Hillsborough’s historic architecture - a backdrop for a writers’ colony that includes a Pulitzer prize-winning author. Sample Carrboro’s vibrant art’s community. Call today for a free guide: 1-888-968-2060

Thanks Gretchen!

We are on our way Labor Day weekend and cannot wait!!

Any hints people can provide would be appreciated, as well as areas to look for real estate and 55+ communities (nothing institutional please!!)

We will have limited time, so I think for now will skip Durham. Much too big for us from what we have seen anyway...

Thanks to all who have helped.

As several of us have said, you may make a mistake to rule out Durham. It is NOT a large town. Skip Carrboro.

I will add that the amenities of having Duke University outweigh "size". I am feeling you have a skewed view of these towns/cities by including Cary and Carrboro.

We have not ruled out Durham, but for this trip, we are just seeing Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Southern Pines, and Pinehurst as well as the Fearrington Village and model homes there.

We really don't have alot of time with just Sat/Sun and Mon AM, so I don't want to spread ourselves too thin.

Thanks to all who helped. We are just back and had a great time on our first trip to NC! Such VERY friendly people! What a nice change.

I will do a full trip report when I have more time over the weekend.