Downtown Raleigh

We live within 25 minutes of downtown Raleigh, and I work very close to downtown, but we hardly ever spend any time there. All we have heard over the last several years is about all the changes being done, and how much money is being spent. New building, new parking deck, Fayetteville St open or closed?, etc. Since the weather has been absolutely beautiful since our snow last Monday (yes, we had snow in March!), we decided to go downtown to let Aidan feed the squirrels and pigeons, hit a couple of the museums, and just see how things have changed. The first thing I noticed when we parked, was how many people were around. In the past when we went on the weekend, there was nothing going on and there was no one around.

Unfortunately, there was only one squirrel and no pigeons. I guess all the construction has run them off. And it worked out because now we get to eat the peanuts! :) Most of the Capitol grounds were closed b/c of construction, but Aidan was still able to run around. After the Capitol we went to see what Fayetteville St is like since it is now once again open to traffic (been for a couple years now). I was amazed at how pretty it was when we rounded the corner. The money spent on that project was well worth it! There were cars parked everywhere, and people were going there to eat lunch. I felt completely safe, and honestly, a little like I was somewhere far from home (like Wilmington or Beaufort). It was like driving 30 minutes, seeing a brand new place, and feeling like you were hours away from home and everything that was a part of your normal everyday life. We ate lunch at The Big Easy (I think this is what it was called). I think it has been there a long time. The food was okay for me (not a big shellfish person), and Andy really liked it. Aidan ate chicken nuggets and fries, of course! :)

After lunch we went to the Science museum. It was the first time we had been in several years. It was very nice, but seemed really big since we had been walking a couple hours already! We only saw the first three floors, but I don't think there was much to see on the 4th anyway. Aidan enjoyed riding around in his stroller. He looked at things, but didn't really see anything that fascinated him. He was tired, so he wasn't interested in walking around. They are having a pirate exhibit at the History museum, so Andy wanted to see it. When we got there, we realized you had to pay to see it, so we left. Too tired to pay!! :) We may try to catch it before it leaves.

We went back to the car, and Aidan was asleep within 3 minutes!!! We stopped and got smoothies at Planet Smoothie (we went there all the time in college), and went home. Aidan was so worn out, he took a 3.5 hour nap when we got home!!!! I think that is very close to a record for him!

Next stop will probably be the Life and Science museum in Durham. Aidan will probably be much more interested!!!

Here is a slideshow of some of our pics from the day. Unfortunately, some of them are cropped and don't show as much as they should, but the general idea is there!

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