Exploring North Carolina with KathieyV

I am finding on my travels that there are amazing murals to be found in nearly every town and city.  I am going to start a new series called "Fun and Fabulous Murals." The first mural I am going to highlight is the "Monsters" wall in downtown Raleigh NC.  I had zero knowledge of this design until my daughter hired a photographer to take photos of her and the kiddos.  It was suggested we go to the monster wall for some great shots.  So off we went. The mural covers the entire side wall of a building.  The contrast of the black and white made it a stunning work of art.  Here is what the news and observer had to say about the mural... "Graphic artist Kevin Lyons, in partnership with the Truth campaign and Vans shoes, put the finishing touches on a mural on the side of the Morgan West building, home to Trophy Brewing, on Thursday, December 3, 2015. Tobacco-free messages are worked into the painti...

(Logo from their website) The Quarter Horse Bar and Arcade  in Downtown Durham. Cindy and I were exploring in Durham again and she mentioned The Quarter Horse Bar and Arcade.  She had been once before and said it was fun.  I had never heard of it so I said "lets go!"..... Quote from their site... "Quarter Horse Bar & Arcade is a private club with an amazing collection of classic arcade and pinball machines." When you arrive you are greeted by a staff member.  He or she will have you fill out a membership form.  You have to be over 21 to be a member.  That being said they do also have some kid friendly hours. A few hours on Saturday and Sunday.  The kiddos have to be accompanied by an adult.  Check their website for hours. When you walk in you will see a nice bar and dozens of pinball machines and games.  What fun.  I could have stayed for hours.  The games brought back memories of ...

(logo from their website) Fourth of July weekend was upon us.  Stephanie, Maggie and I decided to go check out a local fireworks venue. And Happy Day they had food trucks.  It is always difficult to choose just one truck.  We looked at our options and decided to go with  The Wandering Moose .  I love the logo. "serving slow cooked meats, scratch-made sauces, and fresh sides" (Above quote and logo from their website) We looked over the menu.... . We had to try the Smokey Bacon Mac N Cheese.  So good!  Yummy chunks of bacon all in a creamy mac and cheese sauce. Maggie loved it and licked the bowl clean.  I would most definitely order that again!   "Smokey Bacon Mac N Cheese Creamy mac n cheese with home-made bacon chunks" Wandering Moose Stephanie ordered... "The Moose Cubano Slow roasted pork, homemade bacon, melted Swiss/American cheese, Gulden's mustard, and pickles served...

Cindy and I decided to check a local winery,   Cloer Family Vineyards in Apex NC.   We went with a meetup group that we are members of.  What a fun afternoon of wine, music and friendly folks. Here is what they say on the website... "When you visit Cloer Family Vineyards, you will be welcomed by a member of the Cloer family. We love growing the grapes and making the wines, but we also enjoy meeting the people who come to our winery and buy our products. Our goal is to ensure everyone who visits our vineyard feels at home. That means no stress and no pressure – just friendly folks enjoying a common interest." I found that to be true.  We were warmly welcomed and and did feel right at home:-) We enjoyed a wine tasting and sampled all of their wines.  As we sipped we listened to the history of this winery and information regarding their wines.  Yummy and informative! We took a walk around the property...  Furry Friends... Lovely Vin...