Apex, North Carolina
November 27–29, 2021
November 27–29, 2021
I stayed at the Jordan Lake State Park’s Crosswinds Campground in Apex, just outside of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. I got stuck in loathsome traffic on I-95 south in Virginia and ended up on the road for seven hours. I had vowed to drive no more than five hours in a stretch during this trip, to make sure I stay fresh and alert while towing my precious cargo, but traffic laughs in the face of such promises. Consequently, I arrived at the winding, wooded campground in the pitch dark, finally found my site, and then had to back in...downhill. For a brief moment, I thought, I’ll just drive to a parking lot somewhere nearby and sleep until it’s light, and then I’ll come back. In the end, though, I took a breath, took my time, and backed into my site like a champ.
Donna’s hot water heater seems to be on the fritz, so I’ve been using campground bathhouses whenever possible. After some unintentional comedy thanks to the motion-sensor-activated showers, I took the dogs up to Durham for an early-morning stroll through the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. The 55 acres of gardens were lush and gorgeous even in late November, so I think I would have fainted if I’d seen it in the middle of May. I also spent some time wandering around downtown Durham, which was eerily deserted on a Sunday morning. (I guess I am in the South—was everyone at church?) The American Tobacco Campus was oddly fascinating. I passed by the offices of “North Carolina Public Radio, WUNC” (ideally said in the voice of the Criminal podcast’s Phoebe Judge) and sat in a strange, arty, plastic chaise longue in a sunny spot beneath the Lucky Strike water tower to read my book. I wish I’d had more time to explore the Triangle area, but this was a nice taste.
Donna’s hot water heater seems to be on the fritz, so I’ve been using campground bathhouses whenever possible. After some unintentional comedy thanks to the motion-sensor-activated showers, I took the dogs up to Durham for an early-morning stroll through the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. The 55 acres of gardens were lush and gorgeous even in late November, so I think I would have fainted if I’d seen it in the middle of May. I also spent some time wandering around downtown Durham, which was eerily deserted on a Sunday morning. (I guess I am in the South—was everyone at church?) The American Tobacco Campus was oddly fascinating. I passed by the offices of “North Carolina Public Radio, WUNC” (ideally said in the voice of the Criminal podcast’s Phoebe Judge) and sat in a strange, arty, plastic chaise longue in a sunny spot beneath the Lucky Strike water tower to read my book. I wish I’d had more time to explore the Triangle area, but this was a nice taste.
