Playing Tourist...

Today was beautiful, making it hard to stay inside. We played tourists today, driving through Carrboro, an artsy UNC village hangout full of coffee and book shops, then on to Chapel Hill, again driving through the hub of UNC, as students walked along the shop filled streets. We ended up in Durham, scoping out Duke, and by accident found the Sarah P. Duke Gardens which is considered the "crown jewel" of Duke University. (It is also the place where April and Keith became engaged!) We parked along a busy street and hiked on over to the popular 55-acre lush garden-park in the heart of the West Campus. This public garden is visited by 300,000 visitors from all around the world each year. Being Spring, it's just coming alive, but there were loads of Japanese Camelia Bushes in full bloom and many bulb flowers. In another month or two it will be breathtaking! The best part of the whole "Duke" experience, however, was that the dogs were welcome to stroll along with us in this lovely setting. Families, dog-lovers, grandparents pushing baby strollers, people of every nationality were all enjoying being alive on this sunny day, in this tranquil, pleasant spot.