The journey continues to North Carolina

In October, I apparently decided that I did not want to be at home. Between work events and a couple of trips out of town - I was never home on the weekend!

My first trip was to North Carolina to visit my friends, Jenny and Paul.

A little over a year ago, I went to visit them when they lived in Salt Lake City. Like me, apparently they don't like to stay still. :) Paul is going to business school at North Carolina and I joked that he could only accept a job in a city I had never visited before. Good news is? My next visit to see them will be Boston!

Back to this visit......This was my first time visiting North Carolina and I couldn't have been more excited! The airlines decided they needed to test me as I almost didn't make it!

For anyone who knows me, I am a huge Duke fan and have been for years! So the fact that Jenny and Paul live in Chapel Hill (very close to Durham and Duke University) was a double bonus! Don't worry about the fact that the 'other' North Carolina University is where they ACTUALLY live and where Paul goes to school.

After a little bit of a rough time travelling to North Carolina, I finally made it.....very late in the night. Saturday morning, we woke up early because we were going to tailgate for the UNC Homecoming football game. We couldn't have asked for better weather (I was actually hot!), but Jenny and I needed to teach these Southern girls how to tailgate! They were all wearing way too cute dresses and cowboy boots, while Jenny and I were ready to drink some beer and play some games!

Pauly D and I

We didn't have tickets for the game, so after the tailgate we headed to a bar to watch UNC and KState play. I'm pretty sure I scared off their friends in the process as I was yelling at the TV and our team - oops!

Even though Chapel Hill and UNC is not my preferred school, I really enjoyed walking around their bar district and seeing the cute little town. And I have to give them credit for their team spirit - even their firetrucks match their school colors! I joked that children who grow up in this town might have some issues because they would never know a fire truck is supposed to be red!

Sunday was a day of relaxation, but Jenny was gracious enough to drive me to Durham so that I could see the Duke campus.....that place is huge! I always wanted to go there but couldn't afford it (or even get close) so it was great to see the campus....but we got lost even driving around! I was really hoping for a prominent 'Duke University' sign, which unfortunately we never found. I was completely satisfied, though, with a stop at the infamous Cameron Indoor Stadium. It would have been sweet to be able to watch a game there!

Cameron Indoor Stadium

The last stop of my weekend was to a great BBQ joint in Raleigh called The Pit. At this point in the year, I had been able to experience all of the great BBQ (Nashville, Austin and KC to come after this trip) and this place was no disappointment. It was my first time having Carolina BBQ and it was one of my faves! Jenny and Paul taught me that Carolina's sauce is famous for being vinegar-based. Luckily, this particular restaurant had another option....although the meat was one of my faves, the vinegar sauce was not! I still highly recommend this stop if you're ever in downtown Raleigh...makes me want to go back for more!