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Play It Again Sports carries both new and used sports equipment. It's great to be able to shop locally and in a smaller, not mega-chain store. Know what you're looking for when you go in, though,...
Play It Again Sports carries both new and used sports equipment. It's great to be able to shop locally and in a smaller, not mega-chain store. Know what you're looking for when you go in, though, or be prepared to go home and do some research before coming back to purchase, especially with some used items - find out what a reasonable used price is for the item. But that's common sense no matter where you shop. The people are friendly and helpful, even when they don't carry what you're after (that day it just so happened to be clogging shoes).
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Blue Ridge 14 is a staple of cheap entertainment in this area of Raleigh. Having a second-run movie theater is awesome enough, but to have so many different screens is really extraordinary. With...
Blue Ridge 14 is a staple of cheap entertainment in this area of Raleigh. Having a second-run movie theater is awesome enough, but to have so many different screens is really extraordinary. With the number of selections at "the buck-fifty", as my friends affectionately call it, you can effectively just let yourself be three or four months behind on all your movies and still go to the movies *all the time*. On weekends, you may want to stop by ahead of time and buy your tickets. Notice that all the shows start in clumps at certain times - go in the off time and buy your tickets to avoid the long lines (or having to go kill 2 hours in KMart because the showings you wanted are all sold out). Parking can be quite a pain - be careful, some places nearby have been known to tow!
The only downside: no ATM cards accepted (at least without a huge fee), and expensive concessions (buy Jr. mints at KMart or Food Lion and put them in your purse).
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Krispy Kreme doughnuts are the ultimate North Carolina treat - they were invented 1.5 hours away in Winston Salem. This is the Krispy Kreme closest to downtown Raleigh and NC State. Like all...
Krispy Kreme doughnuts are the ultimate North Carolina treat - they were invented 1.5 hours away in Winston Salem. This is the Krispy Kreme closest to downtown Raleigh and NC State. Like all Krispy Kremes, you can watch the production line from the seating - drop by at 10 or so at night to see things running full blast. They offer both "specialty" doughnuts and original glazed. It's worth checking around to see if you can find anyone in the community selling fundraiser buy-a-dozen-get-a-dozen cards. These cards cost $10. It's good for a free dozen glazed when you buy any dozen of doughnuts. You get one "punch" off of the 10-12 on your card...well, I've decided the rate just depends on who is working. Sometimes they let you get up to three free dozen per visit and count a punch a visit, other times they've punched off for each dozen. With a dozen glazed running over $5, this is a steal!
This story is usually very busy but service is fast. Make sure you pick yourself a paper hat up from beside the register! If it's after 11/midnight-ish, just head through the drive thru - it's open 24/7 and the doughnuts are hot and fresh overnight.
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The Caribou Coffee on Maynard is one of few coffeehouses in that immediate area/intersection, and it gets a LOT of business. The service is usually very fast though, including the drive-thru...
The Caribou Coffee on Maynard is one of few coffeehouses in that immediate area/intersection, and it gets a LOT of business. The service is usually very fast though, including the drive-thru (though if you're going through it on your way to work you will need to allot more time for your commute). There's seating both inside and outside - the outside seating is at a premium on summer nights, and they've been okay past summers with people sitting out on the patio even after the store has closed. While I'm an independent coffee house girl at heart, this Caribous can have the local hangout feel I crave, and that makes it a-okay with me.
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The Missouri Botanical Gardens are among the best botanical gardens in the country. The "hot house" area is very large for a botanical garden and quite impressive. There is a wide variety of...
The Missouri Botanical Gardens are among the best botanical gardens in the country. The "hot house" area is very large for a botanical garden and quite impressive. There is a wide variety of plants, and good explanations of what they are. There are both exotic beauties and practical plants (banana trees, coca plants, pineapple bushes, etc). The conservatory is also nice. It was too cold during my visit to walk the outdoor grounds, sadly. The in-house restaurant is quite good and rather reasonable as far as museum dining goes. Don't miss the Orchid show every February/March and the Dale Chihuly exhibition in 2006!
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The Atlanta Botanical Garden is one of the greatest botanical gardens I've ever had the pleasure of visiting. I've been on multiple occassions and it is always a delight. The display of pitcher...
The Atlanta Botanical Garden is one of the greatest botanical gardens I've ever had the pleasure of visiting. I've been on multiple occassions and it is always a delight. The display of pitcher plants is absolutely fabulous, as is the orchid house. The hothouse part of the garden is nice, but the extensive outdoor grounds are just as spectacular. Feel like you're walking though a Jane Austen novel as you stroll through the more formal gardens, or roam through the Asian-inspired gardens. There are also less formal green areas. It's a great place to visit and I hgihly recommend it.
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The Museum of Science and Industry is one of the most awesome musuems I've had the pleasure of visitng. The exhbits are very hands-on and interactive. I was particuarly impressed by the railroad...
The Museum of Science and Industry is one of the most awesome musuems I've had the pleasure of visitng. The exhbits are very hands-on and interactive. I was particuarly impressed by the railroad model of Chicago (complete with the El) and the periodic table that had products representing each element. Very cool. I was there at the time of the Bodyworlds Exhibit and they seemed to be very well-organized for it. Go early in the day - the lines much later were quite scary as we were leaving! The UBoat exhibit is worth checking out - we couldn't afford to pay to go in it but you can go through most of the U-boat related things without paying to go in the boat.
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Though this listing says that the Green at Grant Park is a public golf course, I find that sort of hard to believe. It is a mini-golf course will real grass greens and an extensive restaurant...
Though this listing says that the Green at Grant Park is a public golf course, I find that sort of hard to believe. It is a mini-golf course will real grass greens and an extensive restaurant serving beverages. I was out with four friends and we noticed this place and wanted to stop in. We stood at the "stand here to be waited upon" for a good 10 minutes or so, and were totally ignored by the staff. My friend walked up to someone was serving and asked about it, and she walked away without answering. We were dressed similarly to the current patrons, so we have no idea what it was that made us so repugnant. Regardless, we considered trying there again and came to the conclusion that it simply wasn't worth it. Looks cool - if you can get in.
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Bennigan's is a national chain restaurant, and so in many ways (decor, menu, prices), they're just like every TGIFriday's/Applebee's in North America. This one had a prime location right across the...
Bennigan's is a national chain restaurant, and so in many ways (decor, menu, prices), they're just like every TGIFriday's/Applebee's in North America. This one had a prime location right across the street from the Art Institute, making it a great place to stop for lunch or dinner if your'e in the area and don't feel like being adventurous. I've eaten here twice - once with a large group and once alone. The service was fantastic when I was alone. When I was with a group of eight people, it was a total nightmare. We were all on expense accounts and asked explicitly when we came in if we could have separate checks...they said of course, but when the bill arrived, it was a totally different story. Ended in a huge mess and they were quite rude and uncaring about the fact that we needed the separate checks for business reimbursement purposes.
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I was staying at a nearby hotel that didn't offer a decent breakfast, so my friends and I found this Corner Bakery. We were *very* pleased with what we had. A few people had just breads and...
I was staying at a nearby hotel that didn't offer a decent breakfast, so my friends and I found this Corner Bakery. We were *very* pleased with what we had. A few people had just breads and pastries, I had a pastry and the fruit and yogurt parfait. They were both excellent. Everyone was very pleased with both the taste and the price of the food, and we only regretted that we found it on the last day of our visit. we didn't notice any unusual dirtiness. The staff was friendly and helpful with our questions about how the setup works (I think when I was there you took a card with a number on it to your table and they brought you any food that needed to be prepared). If I'm staying in the neighborhood in the future, I will definately return.
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