We Love Durham NC

Comic books in Durham

I had a hankering for some one-on-one time with my son on Sunday, so we ditched the baby with her father and headed uptown to 9th Street. The Regulator had inexplicably closed at 2:30, so we walked further down 9th Street and turned onto Markham to visit Books Do Furnish a Room. They did not have any Zippy the Pinhead comics (wasn’t going to get any for my son, not that he would have gotten the humor, I don’t think, but I thought he would find the character funny). They did have a respectable kid-safe collection… Teen Titans, tame Spider-Man. No Pokemon, nor any Japanese comics at all. The shopkeeper said that Barnes & Noble had taken over that market. Since we ended up at Barnes & Noble later to get the book we wanted from The Regulator (good thing we have so many choices), I saw that was true. But it’s certainly not the same experience as BDFAR.

Catch the Wind Photos

Here are some photos from the Catch the Wind exhibit.

Ornithopter Ride

Remote-controlled Sailboats

Smoke hole.

Seed drop.

Giant wind machine at dancing plants.

Durham Rising

We made it out to the Durham Rising celebration. Saw the red tarp come off the bull and snapped a pic of the kids with that bull (nameless yet?) and Wool E. Bull. Ate Locopops (mojito, chocolate, and chocolate, respectively)–like new tagline “Think Global Act Loco.” Sandbox was cute. Whacked a puck at the Hurricane’s setup and scored some cool posters. Scrap Exchange closed shop before could finish, but we threw together a “hat” for the girl to put on marching in the people’s processional. We were behind a fantabulous improvisational marching band called the Scene of the Crime Rovers. Saw family, friends. Met the Durham Skywriter who is really nice! The kid stuff got picked up around 8 so we headed out before seeing the light show.

Everyone we met was so happy and friendly. I think everyone was sharing the buzz of this great thing Durham’s done.

Bull Durham

Picked up a copy of Bull Durham tonight from Visart (no, not the first time). Too bad, for obvious reasons, that I can’t show it to the boy. He’d recognize the landmarks. Funny how some of the advertisers on the ball park wall are still around (Satisfaction, Brame) and some aren’t (This End Up furniture, “Cablevision”). Notable that this was really filmed in Durham. Even more notable was the scary bull mascot. Was that accurate? Thank goodness for Wool E.

Brightleaf Music

Last night we saw Will McFarlane and band at Brightleaf Square. That guy does a dead-on Eric Clapton cover.
The kids enjoyed running around the brickyard, eating sweets at Amelia’s, and peering in at the vintage goodies in Dolly’s. I noticed that some people brought folding chairs, and that was a good idea.

Water Callers

Just saw that Water Callers will be playing at the Durham Rising party in Downtown Durham this Saturday. We’ll go to hear the Durhamite song, if nothing else! (There’s plenty else.)

Hitting the Buzzer

Last night at the DBAP The Boy finally hit the buzzer at the top of the rock wall… way to go buddy! (And the Bulls wowed us with several home runs.)

New Train at the Science Museum

Honestly, we had been avoiding the rickety train at the science museum. The word “hurtling” came to mind. But my kids don’t have to suffer from my fears any longer, because there’s a new train. It’s all black and shiny. The same Teers who donated the first one (parked sadly under a tarp in the woods) donated money for this one, at around $130K. Woo Woo!

New Durham Museum Exhibit Catch the Wind

Today was the grand opening of the new Catch the Wind exhibit at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, and we were there. There was no fanfare… the rope blocking the entrance was simply removed. Our favorites were the ornithopter ride, the seed-drop, the remote-controlled sailboat pond, and the air-blast drums. This addition must put NCMLS in the “big” category of hands-on science museums. You really need a stroller or heelys to make it through the whole thing with the little ones.

Durhamite

Partial Durhamite song lyrics at the bottom of this Best of the Triangle article about Durham. It’d be cool to hear it on their MySpace playlist. (We’re racking our brains here trying to think of another city that calls its residents something ending in -ite. Maybe Seattle?)

Lollipops

It’s serious business going through a bank drive-through as a kid. Will they or won’t they have lollies? To all the preschoolers out there, the Durham Bank Lollipop Report.

• State Employees’ never has them. Give up asking. They do have a pretty cool giant orange cat inside.
• Bank of America rarely.
• Wachovia is okay about it (or bad, depending if you’re the dentist-paying mama or the candy-crunching kid) but you have to ask.
• The South Square Centura wins the prize, as they always have lollipops, and give them, and get this… they are that kind that have the little loop instead of the eye-poker stick AND they have letters printed on each side for educational merit.

We’ll have to come up with a reason to go to the First Citizens’ and M&F branches to round out the report. Oh, and whatever CCB is called nowadays. (I used to know a CCB teller who gave out dog biscuits but that’s another report.)

Friday Night at American Tobacco

Took the family to the ATC complex on Friday. Bobby Hinton band was cool. We found out you can’t play in the water, but think you ought to be able to when it’s 90 degrees. Also noted that you should bring a blanket and sit close to the front if you have kids, who will want to be at the front. Frisbee and balls and running after the band wrapped up. V. clean bathrooms.

Forest Hills Park Has…

Tether ball! Two new tether ball posts with fresh new balls. I cannot wait to introduce The Boy to the game. It’s like being in 4th grade all over again!

Bears Don’t Eat Twinkies

We took some friends from California to the Science Museum on Saturday. They were impressed with the hands-on interactive museum, as they report there are none of those back home. (It’s easy to take these things for granted.)

Down in the wetlands area, all around the bears, there are big signs reading “Don’t feed the bears.” And all four bears hover around the back viewing area, begging for treats. C’mon, guys, someone’s been feeding the bears.