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The Research Triangle is the area around Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, NC.

Drove to Durham, North Carolina.? Because we got there early, we did some sightseeing.? Chapel Hill, home of North Carolina University is a short drive.? The guidebook said that the Moorehead Planetarium was a must see attraction.? The early astronauts trained there and some of the tools, which the astronauts used, were developed there, such as the docking guiding mechanism.? The museum did not meet up to our expectations.? The University of North Carolina campus was quite beautiful, however.? This made the trip worth while.

On the way back, we stopped at Duke University in Durham.? Originally called Trinity College, it changed its name to Duke, because of the heavy endowment by the Duke family, the founders of the American Tobacco Company.? The chapel is built in the English Gothic style.? Originally Methodist in orientation, the services are now nondenominational, attracting between 800-1,600 worshipers on Sundays.? This is understandable, because of the magnificent Aeolian organ (7,000+) pipes is a delight to hear.

One more stop we made was at the Bennett Place, a yeoman’s farmstead that, by chance, became the site of the largest troop surrender of the Civil War, 89,000+ men.? Generals Johnston and Sherman heard of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox.? Under a white flag they decided to meet and began negotiations for surrender.? The home of James Bennett just happened to be the place where the two armies converged.? They met on April 17, two days after Lincoln’s assignation.? Sherman knew of it, but Johnston did not.? Because of the hostile sentiment in Washington DC at the time, the original generous terms of surrender were denied by Washington.? Jefferson Davis also commanded Johnston to continue the hopeless war.? He refused orders and continued to negotiate with Sherman.? The final agreement was a military surrender and was carried out in Greensboro, NC.? Bennett Place is pretty neat.? The farmstead has been reconstructed from drawings and guided tours are available hourly.? The site also has a museum, depicting life of a yeoman farmer (subsistent living) during that time.

Took a short trip to the state capital, Raleigh.? Raleigh is a planned capital city originally built around 1,000 acres with the capital building in the Center Square.? The building is functional and unassuming.? The governor still has his office on the first floor.? In the rotunda is a stature of George Washington dressed as a Roman General, penning his inaugural address.? The dome of the rotunda is unadorned and gives a sense of simplicity to the building.? On the second floor are the old legislative chambers.? The house and senate are now located in a newer building a block away.? The third floor houses the library and geological exhibits.? These two rooms should not be missed, because they are pretty stunning, albeit small.

Between the capital and legislative buildings are two museums: Natural History, and historical society.? The historical society has some really interesting exhibits, especially on health care from the Cherokee Indian remedies to the root doctor (folk herbalist), to modern medicine.? The sports hall of fame, hall of governors, and the workshop of “Carbine” Williams, inventor of the carbine rifles.? His was a fascinating life, perfecting many of his inventions while serving time in prison.

The Natural History museum is quite expansive, featuring reproductions of the different ecosystems in North Carolina, from the coastal salt marshes to piedmont, to the mountains of the Appalachians.? They have a two-story waterfall, a living butterfly conservatory, and different whale skeletons.? Many exhibits are hands-on and some cater to the youngest of children. ?

Unlike many other museums and attractions, most of the ones in Raleigh have no admission charge.

Finally we sat in on the Senate proceedings in the Legislative Building.? Even though the building is very modern, it is quite open and airy.? The workings of the senate were very interesting.? The President of the Senate, the Lieutenant Governor, seemed like an auctioneer.? One of the bills up for discussion was interesting.?? One of the senators rose and asked if he could discuss a ?friendly’ amendment to the bill.? Such civility.

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