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  Raleigh, North Carolina
Saturday, November 13, 1993

I visited Raleigh by myself in November 1993 on my See The Capitals Trip. Stopped here after Richmond, and before Columbia. Raleigh is one of the southern capitals with that "do something under the table" atmosphere - it's also in Columbia, Montgomery and Jackson. I didn't really feel it anywhere else -- Atlanta is too big, Tallahassee too different, Frankfort too isolated, Baton Rouge too industrial, and Nashville too country and rich! Anyhow, Raleigh seems sleepy and musty; I spent the night there and spent time in the capitol and the museum next door.

North Carolina has much beauty to offer but it has always been my "drive-through" state on the way to somewhere else! I do love Winston-Salem and Asheville and Mt Mitchell and have fond memories of camping in the western mountains. And there's New Bern and Cherry Point on the coast, where both my brother Craig and my son Scott lived for a while.

Facts:
North Carolina was the TWELFTH state.
Date: November 21, 1789
State Nickname: Tarheel State
Key Words: carpetbaggers, whiskey kegs, research, seashore

The town of Raleigh was laid out in 1792, after the Assembly decreed that a "seat of government" should be set up within 10 miles of Isaac Hunter's Tavern. They sold lots for residences to help finance the building of the capitol.

After the Civil War, Carpetbaggers ruled the Assembly. They set up a bar IN the capitol. You can still see nicks in the marble steps where they rolled the whiskey kegs up to chambers!

The North Carolina State Museum is in a beautiful park beside the capitol. Fifteen miles from Raleigh is Research Triangle Park, which serves Duke University, University of North Carolina, and North Carolina State.

Raleigh isn't too far from the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Raleigh, North Carolina
Population 306,944
Elevation 363
Eastern time zone

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