Raleigh/Cary trip with children
 

We are considering a transfer to the area and want to take a 4 day trip to the area just before Christmas to make a decision. We will have our 2 boys with us and would like your opinion on some area attractions to keep them happy during our little trip. We are specifically looking at Cary, NC and would appreciate any advice on kid friendly restaurants, hotels, sights. Thanks for your help!

Try this website: http://www.visitraleigh.com/visit/thingstodo.html. The two museums I'd try for young boys would be Exploris and the Museum of Natural Sciences - both in downtown Raleigh.

The website also has other activities, restaurants, and hotels.

www.triangle.citysearch.com has restaurant listings, and a category for "Kid-friendly" restaurants. For a great burger, and a fun experience, take the kids to CharGrill - there are multiple locations in the area, but there's one off Hillsborough St. in downtown Raleigh. It's similar to a '50's drive-up restaurant (but you do have to get out of the car). And the burgers are great.

Good luck. Many of my friends growing up were in families that had relocated to Cary.

I'm not sure if the kids will like it but here I go: The NC Museum of Art has a special exhibit on Degas and Matisse and Picasso and other famous names. It's running through mid-January.

Cary has about every chain available in the city limits but one non-chain restaurant that might interest the kids is Gypsy's shiny/nonshiny diner. Really it's just a diner, but had problems with approval from the town board because it is/was shiny (don't remember if they were forced to become a non-shiny building). It's on Buck Jones (I think). Also recommend the CharGrill.

Last year after Christmas the temperature was warm (days in the 70's even) but the year before, we were recovering from an ice storm. Be prepared for wild swings in weather at that time of year.

I don't live in Wake county so I can't recommend an area to live in. However, it seems the Wake County schools redistrict every year because of growth. The system is building schools non-stop, but when a new school opens it is still overcrowded and need trailers to handle the crowding.

Roads are a mess at rush hour so try to move somewhere near your job(s). Christmas isn't the best time to judge our roads because schools and many businesses take time off between Christmas and New Years. The NCDOT has traffic cameras along I-40 in Durham and Wake counties. I would try a web search to look at the traffic during rush hour now.

Not sure how old your kids are but, as mentioned, there is Exploris Museum, Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC Museum of Natural Sciences (see the big Dinasour). Char-grill is right down the street. http://www.rtplinks.com/Entertainmen...ation/Museums/ Too bad the NHL is in a lockout, you could take them to a NHL hockey game with the Hurricanes. Might be cold, but go to Pullen park and ride the train and carrousel.

Gypsy's was still shiny the last time I saw it (circa late '98). Yes, it was too shiny for the Town of Cary, so the diner couldn't open until they built a low brick wall and added some shrubs so that the metallic shine wouldn't be so noticeable. (The town also forced the Red Roof Inn to change its roof color to brown--the red was just too red for their tastes.)

Yes, CharGrill on Hillsborough would be a fun place. If the kids like college sports (don't know how old they are), Amedeo's on Western Boulevard in Raleigh is chock-full of NC State paraphernalia.

I didn't make it clear in that last post that Amedeo's is an Italian restaurant. It's fairly close to NC State (as is CharGrill), so they get lots of business from the students there.

How old are your kids?

I was born and raised in Cary so I know the area as well as anyone. I want to warn you before you arrive that you kids are probably going to be bored with their trip here. Living in Cary is not so much about things to do as it is about a way of life. The schools are great, the communities are great, the people that live here are great, and the extracurricular activities (soccer, baseball, dance classes, Indian Guides, roller hockey, neighborhood swim teams, etc.) give the kids additional things to enjoy. Your kids will love living here, but may not love visiting her. It is a very clean, beautiful town so if you are moving fom an area that "looks" different from this one, then they may fall in love with the place right away. Most likely though, it'll take about a week of living here. Good luck and welcome!