The Dean Smith Center - Home of the UNC Tarheels
Cameron Indoor Stadium - Home of Duke Basketball and the Cameron Crazies!
but Kannapolis? Only the warped mind of Ron’s or a devoted NASCAR fan would know that Kannapolis is the hometown of the Earnhart clan from NASCAR racing and that there is a tribute to Dale Earhart Sr. in the town plaza. We also made the pilgrimage to Mooresville 
where DEI, the racing company his widow runs, is located. We went through the tourist area and got a chance to see many of his, and his son Dale Junior’s cars and many of the trophies they had won. We then got back on the freeway and headed for UNC. 
Since it was dark when we arrived at Chapel Hill we made a quick loop through the campus and checked in at a nearby Days Inn. Nice place to stay, but we would like to have known about the 0700 loadout of the high school track team that was also staying there. Now to most of the working people reading this you are really feeling our pain, but we are retired! Once we got to the campus and found a visitor’s parking lot we went for a walking tour of the campus. It was nice to get out and get some walking in but….. UNC is a fairly hilly campus and we have gotten soft since we have been on the road. Fortunately we got to stop and take pictures to rest our legs. There were four major areas we wanted to see; Carmichael Auditorium, Boshamer Baseball Stadium, the Dean Smith Center and Kenan football stadium. You know who made those choices, as Carmichael is the old basketball facility 
After checking out of our hotel in Myrtle Beach we set the Navigator for Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Ron has long been a Tarheel basketball fan, and thought it would be neat to tour the campus along with nearby Duke University. Since we are also and Oregon State Beaver family we thought it would be nice doing that wearing OS apparel, Ron with a cap and Connie with her OSU Mom t-shirt. You know the old saying about best laid plans. As we went seriously west and not as much north we began to question our route. One of the bad things about having a navigation system is that you get lazy and do not check the maps. Apparently there is another little something in NC that is called Chapel Hill and we were headed for it and not the college town. Since we were too far to turn back and make anything happen that made sense we decided to drive our loop backwards from our plan. So instead of touring the college campuses Friday and heading through Charlotte we went to Charlotte first.
Once we hit Charlotte we began a redneck tour of North Carolina. By that I mean we went to Lowes Motor Speedway and then to Kannapolis. Now going to Lowes speedway might make some sense,
Once we hit Charlotte we began a redneck tour of North Carolina. By that I mean we went to Lowes Motor Speedway and then to Kannapolis. Now going to Lowes speedway might make some sense,
but Kannapolis? Only the warped mind of Ron’s or a devoted NASCAR fan would know that Kannapolis is the hometown of the Earnhart clan from NASCAR racing and that there is a tribute to Dale Earhart Sr. in the town plaza. We also made the pilgrimage to Mooresville where DEI, the racing company his widow runs, is located. We went through the tourist area and got a chance to see many of his, and his son Dale Junior’s cars and many of the trophies they had won. We then got back on the freeway and headed for UNC. Since it was dark when we arrived at Chapel Hill we made a quick loop through the campus and checked in at a nearby Days Inn. Nice place to stay, but we would like to have known about the 0700 loadout of the high school track team that was also staying there. Now to most of the working people reading this you are really feeling our pain, but we are retired! Once we got to the campus and found a visitor’s parking lot we went for a walking tour of the campus. It was nice to get out and get some walking in but….. UNC is a fairly hilly campus and we have gotten soft since we have been on the road. Fortunately we got to stop and take pictures to rest our legs. There were four major areas we wanted to see; Carmichael Auditorium, Boshamer Baseball Stadium, the Dean Smith Center and Kenan football stadium. You know who made those choices, as Carmichael is the old basketball facility 
and the Smith center is the new facility. We did get to go through most of the facilities, but found the baseball stadium under construction and the Smith center closed. After finding the Smith Center closed we had to walk what seemed 
like the steepest hill in NC to get back to our car.
Once back in the car we made the 6 mile drive to Durham, the home of Duke University. We did a driving tour of the campus and upon turning onto Chapel Pl we were greeted
by one of the most breathtaking sights we have ever seen on a college campus, 
the Gothic styled chapel at the university. In fact Duke has brick buildings that all appeared to have been inspired by Gothic architects. Ron remarked that it was a good thing he had not seen the Duke campus first or he could have been a Duke fan.
The only real “highlight” of the ride back to Round O was eating at our first, and last, Cracker Barrel Restaurant. Cracker Barrel is a chain of “homestyle” restaurants throughout the southeast. By homestyle we mean FATTENING comfort food. Sorry to all our friends and family, but the best part of getting back home will be to resume some sort of sanity in our dietary habits and to start pounding the pavement again. On the road is not the place to maintain any semblance of those things, especially in the south.
like the steepest hill in NC to get back to our car.Once back in the car we made the 6 mile drive to Durham, the home of Duke University. We did a driving tour of the campus and upon turning onto Chapel Pl we were greeted
by one of the most breathtaking sights we have ever seen on a college campus, the Gothic styled chapel at the university. In fact Duke has brick buildings that all appeared to have been inspired by Gothic architects. Ron remarked that it was a good thing he had not seen the Duke campus first or he could have been a Duke fan.The only real “highlight” of the ride back to Round O was eating at our first, and last, Cracker Barrel Restaurant. Cracker Barrel is a chain of “homestyle” restaurants throughout the southeast. By homestyle we mean FATTENING comfort food. Sorry to all our friends and family, but the best part of getting back home will be to resume some sort of sanity in our dietary habits and to start pounding the pavement again. On the road is not the place to maintain any semblance of those things, especially in the south.
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