Raleigh Homes Realty

Residential real estate in Raleigh, N.C.

Raleigh’s Groundhog – What Good is He?

So we have our own weather forecasting groundhog here in Raleigh, North Carolina.  And on Groundhog Day 2010, we celebrated when our Sir Walter Wally predicted an early spring. But unfortunately for us, Wally got it all wrong this year.  No early spring here.

As a matter of fact, tomorrow is the first official day of spring.  And guess what?  Tomorrow is the first day it will feel finally like spring around here, too.  It’s about time.  So break out the flip-flops, peel back the convertible tops, and enjoy this spring day that’s been a long time coming.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

Raleigh: A Value Vacation Destination

We placed in another hot Top 10 list.  This one is not a best-places-to-live list, but a best-places-to-visit list!  Hotwire ranked Raleigh at No. 8 on their new Top 10 Travel Value Index as a best value city for travelers. We’re on the same vacation destination list with Orlando, L.A., and Denver, and actually ranked ahead of Chicago and Miami!  Hotwire says these cities offer the most for your travel dollar in hotels, transportation, and entertainment.  Overall appeal is also considered.  Obviously.

Whew.  So now we’re a vacation hot spot, too.  The difference with Raleigh, though, is not only is it a great place to visit, it’s also a great place to live.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

To see the entire list:  http://www.hotwire.com/destination/travel-value-index2.jsp

The R-Line

Happy one-year anniversary to the R-Line!   The R-Line is our free circulator bus that runs seven days a week, most hours of those days, making a loop through Downtown Raleigh.  The stops are plentiful and the bus comes through roughly every 10-12 minutes.

The R-Line has connected all the parts of Downtown Raleigh, making it much easier for residents, workers, and visitors to get around.  Going to see a play at Memorial Auditorium and want to catch dinner first?  Go ahead, park your car and hop on the R-Line.  It hits all the restaurant hot spots.  Bar hopping?  The R-Line is perfect for that, too.  In the evenings the warehouse district with all its popular venues are added to the route.  The R-Line connects everything without ever having to be behind the wheel yourself or walking farther than you feel like.  Drugstores, coffee shops, hardware stores, beauty salons, restaurants, nightclubs…the list is long.

And the R-Line is always interesting.  The riders are friendly and the price is right.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

The R-Line
The R-Line

Grocery Shopping at Its Best

So today I went grocery shopping at Harris Teeter at North Hills, the newest store in town.  Now,  I don’t really mind ordinary grocery shopping, but this was grocery shopping at its finest.  Fine grocery shopping?  It’s true, and I’ll list just a few of the reasons why the grocery store trip was one of the highlights of my day today.

1:  I didn’t need my umbrella.  Yes, it was raining, but I didn’t need my umbrella.  They have covered parking.  Harris Teeter has a parking deck!  Rain, wind, snow, heat—-none of that matters when you enter the grocery store through the parking deck.

2:  I got a meal in addition to my groceries.  You know how they say you shouldn’t go to the grocery store hungry?  Well, that doesn’t apply to this store.  Of course they have an in-store deli with plenty of sushi, subs, and prepared foods.  But here they also have an extra-long salad bar, a soup bar with 5 kinds of soup, and an Asian hot bar buffet with almost 20 items.  And there’s even nice tables and chairs where you can eat your food while it’s hot.  No need to stock up on those free cookie samples when you shop here.

3:  You need a map.  Seriously.  This store is HUGE.  And they actually have maps of the store in little map stands all around.  But this is Harris Teeter, so it’s not the warehouse-store kind of huge; it’s huge and stylish.

4:  This store has two levels.  You can take your cart up and down in an elevator!  Or you can take the winding staircase if you’re just there for an express lane trip.  It’s one of those things you have to see to believe—-taking your cart in an elevator in the grocery store.

So I think we may possibly have a new tourist destination in Raleigh.  Harris Teeter at North Hills, sightseeing at the grocery store.  Just like me, a lot of the shoppers there today came because they were curious about the logistics of a two-story grocery store.  Well, I’m here to tell you, it is big, beautiful, and worth checking out.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

The new Harris Teeter at North Hills
The new Harris Teeter at North Hills

It Snowed Again

And this time it was a wet snow that outlined the tree branches and created a winter wonderland effect.  It came overnight on a Friday with a few inches and the roads were essentially clear and dry by late Saturday afternoon.  That’s the kind of snowfall we like here in North Carolina!

But…we have had enough wintry precipitation this winter!  This is North Carolina, after all.  Bring on the heat and humidity.  We’re ready.  We may not even complain about it too much next time around.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

Raleigh’s Groundhog Rocks!

Thank goodness we have our very own forecasting groundhog here in Raleigh, North Carolina! Our Sir Walter Wally braved the elements and the lingering piles of snow on February 2 to join Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker in a Groundhog Day ceremony and made a prediction for an early spring here in these parts.

While I do feel sorry for those up north for whom Punxsutawney Phil forecast six more weeks of winter, we’ve had enough winter around here already.  Several years worth, as a matter of fact.  Bring on spring!

But Sir Walter Wally, is today’s 34 degrees and rain really part of our early spring plan?!?!

That’s Life in Raleigh.