ncgrrl

I'm glad you enjoyed your visit. UNC paid big bucks for their football coach and gave him a raise and contract extension a few days before the game, so it's kind of hard to accept (at least for me) a close game won in overtime. A refence only oldtime residents will get: Duke football would have lost to the old Durham High school.

The drought isn't fun and lakes are disappearing before your eyes.

Soccr has given a good representation of possible weather at New Year's. Though it could be warmer/colder/rainier/etc.

kgh8m

Great posts, Big Al. You've made me a bit homesick. Not absolutely everyone is as nice as you've encountered, but by and large the great majority are. We pride ourselves on it.

As for the comment about the Dean Dome, when I walked in for Freshman Convocation, it was like that scene in "Rudy" where Ned Beatty says "This is the most beautiful sight these eyes have ever seen!"

bigal12

ncgirl, the game was a good one. Duke should have won that one 3 times. I was routing for UNC, but Duke actually looked like the better team that day, except for the field goal kicker. The UNC offense was horrible.
Great time though. We actually by mistake, at the end of the game,with my family walked into the UNC tunnel 2 minutes after the players went in. The Security guards let a group of people in. We were looking for a short cut to get to our parking spot, we thought we were following a crowd of people looking to leave the stadium. When we got all the way at the end of the tunnel near the door to the players locker room, I went up to one of the guards and said "I don't think we belong here" "what is this group of people waiting for?" He told me it was the new recruits waiting to meet the players. I was thinking why did they allow my family with 2 young kids come in in the beginning. Maybe they thought my 10 year old was a recruit.
Can't wait to go back and watch some basketball games!!

bigal12

kgh8m, it was a beautiful sight, the Dean Dome. I watched the movie "Rudy" several times.
Where do you live now that you are homesick and why did you leave?

ncgrrl

The game shouldn't have been close to this UNC fan. With the talk about getting a 'top' football coach, it should have been a beating by UNC.

And the standard reply of a sports fan around here in Septebmer after a dismal start to football season is "basketball starts in October" so football has never held the importance as basketball, though UNC was quite good when Mack Brown was the coach.

Come back for a basketball game -- men or women. Great time had by all.

bigal12

I agree the game should have not been that close.
We are looking at possibly coming again at the end of December. I think they will be playing Nevada the day we could make it.
How hard will it be to get 2 tickets?

ncgrrl

I'd call the box office and check. Maybe some returns at holiday times. You might be able to buy some from someone selling outside the Dean Dome. However, scalping for more than $1 over face value is illegal in NC so be careful if you go that route.

elsiemoo

Bigal9, you can go to stubhub.com or gotickets.com, and purchase tickets for the UNC/Nevada game for about $55 each (upper corner). But if you wanted to see ACC teams play each other ... well, that's a different kettle of fish. Tickets from the same sources for the Duke/Carolina game, for example, start at $550 each, $200 for UNC/N.C. State!

bigal12

Wow, they get expensive it seems. I have purchased from scalpers before,but it is great to get a ticket ahead of time.
Thanks for all the help.

wanderer1

Bigal12 -

Are you planning on moving to Fearringon?

I hear what you say about buying now, just not feasible. DH has a pension which won't be available for another 4 years so we have to stay put for now.

tedgale

May I interject with a question? I have posted a separate question about where to stop when driving NYC-Savannah in the days after Christmas.

Chapel Hill was one suggestion. May I ask you:

1. to confirm that this would be a good choice? -- we like scenery, history, architecture and... uhh..."charm".

2. to suggest where we might stay and where we might eat?

bigal12

Wanderer, I thought by the way you were feverishly looking that you were going to make the move soon. 5 years things change and you will see a lot of different areas by then. I can not find anything available in the townhomes now in Fearrington. I would consider this for a second home. My wife loves the fact that the Jordan Lake is right there, and the kids are so happy with all the college sporting events, plus the fact it is a beautiful area. The kids loved playing near the farm area. It is nice to see so many trees in a development.
We also might look in West Cary, which is still very close to the lake, and within 25 minutes from Duke, UNC, and NC State,which also has the adjacent hockey arena. Not to mention the fact the airport is only 15 minutes away.
Another advantage of Fearrington is the low taxes in Chatham county, while still being so close to Chapel Hill. I think Fearrington Village for us would make a great place for a second home. There is nothing else like that in the Triangle area I am told.
If I was going to move somewhere as my main house, when I am semi-retired I would probably buy a nice home in Chapel Hill.
I wish you luck in your search. You have plenty of time.

bigal12

Tedgale, Chapel Hill has the charm,scenery,beauty and history. Being that Duke is only about 20 minutes away I would definitely look there also. The Chapel there needs to be seen as well as the Duke Gardens. The architecture there is amazing!!
As far as where to stay, if you have the $$ the Carolina Inn was gorgeous!! We only ate at one restaurant nearby at Fearrington Village which was real nice, but expensive also. Franklin Street is a neat place with many shops and restaruants also. There is plenty of other neat shopping nearby also.
I would google Fearington Village, Carolina Inn at Chapel Hill as well as the Chapel Hill visitors and convention bureau. Really a nice place to stay and visit. We hit it just right, by luck, the trees were in full bloom so late in the season.

Cassandra

Tedgale -- thinking you might want to start a new thread, b/c this one might get lost. And maybe do a "Chapel Hill" search on this board first. But anyway:

What's your budget? Carolina Inn (on UNC campus = "downtown" Chapel Hill) is upscale, as is the Washginton Duke on the Duke campus (but actually on a golf course -- lovely), and also the charming indie Siena on Franklin St. on the way into Chapel Hill. There's also a new "luxury boutique" hotel called the Franklin St. right ON F. St. downtown in a similar price range ($175-275). We also have fair representation by the chains: Sheraton, Hampton, Holiday, Residence, and Courtyard.

Durham is a little more complicated to figure out re: location -- downtown is not advised but there are plenty of good chain motels elsewhere, esp. near I-40. You can also stay in "RTP" (Research Triangle Park) on I-40 and pay a little less.

(Staying in Fearrington only makes sense if you want a Relais & Chateaux ultra-luxury experience for $400/night -- and don't mind being 20 min into the country from Chapel Hill and even further to the interstate.)

As to places to eat, you'll be overwhelmed but tell us your interests/tastes (again -- maybe start a new thread). I wouldn't know whether to send you to our best French places (Provence, Bonne Soiree) or our BBQ places (Allen & Son, Barbecue Joint).

bigal12

Cassandra I agree with what you say. I just dis-agree with the Fearrington Village characterization as being 20 minutes into the country. I think it is only 15 minutes and it does not really feel like a ride into the country. It is not like there are farms with cows on the trip to Chapel Hill. In matter of fact there is the Southern Village complex with houses, shops,movies and restaurants. Definitely does not feel like a country drive, but does feel peaceful and quiet.

Cassandra

"Hey" Bigal -- think it depends on where Tedgale's coming from. The drive will look suburban to some of us, but if he's from a dense urban area, Chatham county will look rural. It's really not the same drive as, say, 20 min. on 15-501 between Chapel Hill and Durham. (Also, you and I know the Southern Village complex is there, but if this is the first time you're driving past it, you might not know there's anything more than some houses up that street.)

But, truth is, the towns are spreading out to meet each other.

bigal12

Good point Cassandra.

tedgale

The Carolina Inn seems to have no availability for our dates, so that option is gone.

As for cost: I guess we would rather take a quite-ordinary hotel room and spend more on meals.

A good restaurant/meal can make my day. We don't expect to spend much time in the hotel.

However, we would prefer to avoid truly soulless surroundings!

Cassandra

Siena is not soulless and you have some very good food right on premises in the Il Palio restaurant. However, it's small and if the Carolina Inn is booked, maybe the Siena is too.

You can do very well out at the Courtyard on Rte. 54 (they call it something like the Courtyard Chapel Hill).

Cassandra

cont'd: That Courtyard is across from the Meadowmont center, which has some nice places to shop and eat, and it's not too far from the intersection with I40, but far enough so you don't have the sense you're at a road-side motel.

Otherwise, try the Sheraton or the Hampton Inn right next to it in Chapel Hill.