Tim's Urban Hike

Tim's Urban Hike
I have been trying to come up with something a little different than our normal weekend hike around the same trails in Umstead. I got the idea a few weeks ago to create a hike that highlights the best of my home town. I think I have come up with a very interesting 6 mile hike through the heart of Raleigh with a couple of coffee breaks along the way. This will be on various city sidewalks and parks with traffic so be alert. I would recommend wearing your sneakers. We will be going at a normal 2-2.5mph walking pace with lots of stops and starts so this hike is rated moderate because of the six mile distance. With all the street traffic I would not recommend this hike for small kids or animals. Don't forget your camera!! This is a great way for newcomers to the Raleigh area to learn your way around downtown.

Details:
We will meet at 9AM @ the Capital City Grocery Store on 10 W. Franklin Street near Peace College where we will enjoy coffee, pastry, or breakfast on their covered outdoor patio area. The hike will begin at 10AM for those that are not hunger. We normally take 2.5-3 hours to finish depending on the number of coffee breaks along the way. My planned route will take us down Blount trip past lots of old Victorian homes and the Governors Mansion, through Moore Square, past the City Market area and galleries where we will turn right at Davie Street and head back up the newly remodeled and reopened Fayetteville Street (possible stop at Port City Java for a refill?) to the Capital. After looping the Capital grounds and enjoying the various monuments we will next head down Hillsborough Street towards NC State. We will pass such landmarks such as Snoopys hot dogs, YMCA, old Hilton hotel (Holiday Inn Brownstone), Velvet Cloak Inn, Saint Mary College, and stop to explore the NC State Bell Tower. Then take a right on Oberlin Rd past the new Red, Hot, & Blue restaurant, the Player Retreat, and head up through Cameron Village. We will hang a right on Clark Street and head past Cameron Village and past Broughton High School and on to Peace Street. We will head down Peace St past Starbucks (coffee stop/pit stop) and turn right on Glenwood South. We will pass the old Pine State Creamery plus all your favorite clubs and restaurants and hang a left on Jones St which will take us past the NC State Legislature and the NC Natural History Museum building to Wilmington St. We turn left on Wilmington St and head back towards Peace College and over to the Capital City Grocery area. Capital City Grocery has a hot food bar, deli, bakery, coffee station, plus sushi and there are numerous restaurants and shops such as Tookies Grill where folks can enjoy lunch or browse once we get back.

Capital City Grocery Link:
http://www.capitalcit...

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