October 7, 2007
Free Raleigh, NC Getaway
We usually took two-stage vacations each summer when I was a kid. The trips to Dallas were great because I got to spend time with cousins, grandparents and other family. At home I was part of a smallish family, with just our parents and my siblings living in the New Orleans area. In Dallas I felt like I was related to everybody, because Mom and Dad both came from large families and we were pretty much the only ones who ever moved away. Our summers always started with the renewal of all the family ties we’d been missing since our last trip. It’s the second phase of our vacations I want to talk about today, though. We spent part of almost every summer traveling around the South, visiting battlefields, museums, state fairs and other attractions. That’s something I really enjoyed and would love to do again. Actually, I’m sure I’d enjoy it even more now, because so many of my blogging friends live in the South and I’d love to have real-life meetings with them. How cool would it be to win a FREE Raleigh Getaway so I could get reacquainted with North Carolina and meet up with my friends? Raleigh is the Old South at its best, with plenty of contemporary attractions too. If I were to win their contest I’d kick my visit off to a great start with:
One night accommodations for two at the Courtyard by Marriott Raleigh Crabtree Valley
$25 gift certificate to Bloomsbury Bistro
Free VIP admission for two to Rum Runners
2 tickets to the North Carolina Theatre
2 tickets to the N.C. Museum of Art’s Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism
2 tickets to Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences
I’d have to stay a little longer than just the free weekend, though, because there’s so much to see and do in Raleigh. I’m a huge American Idol fan, so I’d have to spend several days at the North Carolina State Fair. Rubben Studdard is performing on October 14th, followed by Kellie Pickler on October 16th and (be still my heart!) the incredibly sexy Chris Daughtry on October 20th. There will also be a chance to see Trace Adkins in Concert, as well as Sara Evans, Josh Turner and MercyMe. As if all of that isn’t enough, Paula Deen will be at the State Fair on October 17th, and I know y’all know how much I love the Food Network folks and would love to see Paula live! My old bones will keep me from looking for the campsites I stayed at in my youth, but I can still revisit the past by visiting the State Capitol to learn about secret rooms, ghost stories and the principles upon which the State of North Carolina was founded, and I’d have to pay my respects at the Confederate cemetery, too (which I probably visited all those years ago.)
It’s just a pipedream for me since I can’t shut down my business right now, but maybe you can be my proxy and enjoy the Fall Getaway for me? Register to win that free weekend for me, will you, and get to know North Carolina while you’re there. I’ll be living vicariously through you, so I’ll expect some great blogging and lots of photos from you when you get back. Chris Daughtry’s autograph, signed “To Skeet, with all my love” would be an added bonus. You could do that for me, couldn’t you? 
[tags]contests, family vacations, North Carolina, Raleigh NC, travel, vacations[/tags]
Posted by skeet @ 12:31 pm • Travel, Home & Family
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