Hurricanes Lounge XXVIII: The "where's the rain?" edition

[BrindAmours Army]

Whaddup fam recently moved up to NC, want to take a friend whos new to hockey to a Canes game. What's the parking like out there, also any thoughts on what we can do around the city to make an afternoon of it? Never been to Raleigh.

Whelp. Typed up a detailed response but accidentally hit back on my browser.

Parking is $20 at the arena. There is a sports bar and grill across the road from the arena that charge I think $15, Backyard Bistro. Solid food for what it is, not a bad place to get dinner or drinks before a game. Also it's easier to leave from there than it is to get out of the crowded arena parking lots.

Things to do: Depends on what you're into but, NC Museum of Natural Sciences and NC Museum of Art. There are plenty of escape rooms. There are a few state parks that are nice to explore. Crabtree or Southpoint would be the local malls. There's a Dave and Busters 10-15 minutes from the arena. The Raleigh Beer Garden is fun if either of you are beer drinkers.

 

[BrindAmours Army]

I still like the NOVA area....Ballston, Clarendon, and Rosslyn areas (also Metro stops) tend to have a lot of younger folks living there. The Metro (subway) is a godsend and helps you avoid traffic. I would drive up, park my car, and ride the Metro everywhere. Our office was in DC proper and then out in Ballston. Tons of restaurants and shops especially in the Ballston, Virginia Square, Clarendon areas....few minutes on the Metro and you're at work.

Best of luck....

Thank you! I'll take a look at those areas

 

[The Faulker 27]

Spent the weekend hiking in the Lake Placid area. Such beautiful country - can’t wait to go back.

Also spotted a papa johns just across the border.

I visited the Olympic sites at Lake Placid on a family trip in the 80s. I was young so don't remember much, but will never forget seeing the ice hockey rink, and walking on the Bobsled and Luge tracks.

 

[dogbazinho]

I've lived in Northern VA, Fairfax for almost 5 years now and love the area. If you work in Alexandria I think you'd want to avoid living in Southern MD. It's going to be a pain crossing bridges during your commute and IMO Northern VA has more to offer. Northern VA has high cost of living across the board so you need to think about how much you'd be willing to pay in rent and how much time you'd be willing to spend in a car. If less than 30 minutes your radius is going to be rather small.

 

[7even]

Whelp. Typed up a detailed response but accidentally hit back on my browser.

Parking is $20 at the arena. There is a sport bar and grill across the road from the arena that charge I think $15, Backyard Bistro. Solid food for what it is, not a bad place to get dinner before a game. Also it's easier to leave from there than it is to get out of the crowded arena parking lots.

Things to do: Depends on what you're into but, NC Museum of Natural Sciences and NC Museum of Art. There are plenty of escape rooms. There are a few state parks that are nice to explore. Crabtree or Southpoint would be the local malls. There's a Dave and Busters 10-15 minutes from the arena. The Raleigh Beer Garden is fun if either of you are beer drinkers.

Natural sciences museum sounds like a winner, we're a couple of nerds. Really appreciate the response!

 

[BrindAmours Army]

Natural sciences museum sounds like a winner, we're a couple of nerds. Really appreciate the response!

The natural sciences museum is fantastic. There's also the NC Museum of History, but I much prefer the natural sciences one.

 

[BrindAmours Army]

I've lived in Northern VA, Fairfax for almost 5 years now and love the area. If you work in Alexandria I think you'd want to avoid living in Southern MD. It's going to be a pain crossing bridges during your commute and IMO Northern VA has more to offer. Northern VA has high cost of living across the board so you need to think about how much you'd be willing to pay in rent and how much time you'd be willing to spend in a car. If less than 30 minutes your radius is going to be rather small.

I appreciate the advice!

The building I'll be working in is a 5-10 minute walk away from the King Street Metro Station. I hate dealing with traffic so I'm hoping to find a place within walking or biking distance of a metro station, ideally on the blue or yellow lines. But we'll see how that goes.

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Natural sciences museum sounds like a winner, we're a couple of nerds. Really appreciate the response!

You’ll probably see Hamilton there.

 

[SlavinAway]

You’ll probably see Hamilton there.

Hahaha

 

[the halleJOKEL]

nerds? go to atomic empire in durham and drink beer and play board games

 

[The Faulker 27]

nerds? go to atomic empire in durham and drink beer and play board games

Most "nerds" don't have this level of commitment.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Whaddup fam recently moved up to NC, want to take a friend whos new to hockey to a Canes game. What's the parking like out there, also any thoughts on what we can do around the city to make an afternoon of it? Never been to Raleigh.

In addition to the paid parking noted upthread, there's also a free lot on Trinity Rd, technically on the fairgrounds property. It's ~7 minute walk from your spot to the arena door and ~3 minute walk from the spot you would have paid $20 to park in. If it's decent weather outside, that's a good way to get around the otherwise unreasonable parking fee.

Speaking of decent weather, if you're going to hit up a museum I would advise the Museum of Art while the weather is still good. Natural Sciences is awesome, don't get me wrong, but the art museum has big outdoor spaces including a walking trail that doubles as a sculpture exhibit. Assuming you plan to come back to Raleigh at some point, I'd hit the art museum during the fall and save the all-indoors science museum for the winter.

On the other hand, one of the big upsides to the science museum is that it's right in the middle of downtown so you can also hit other sites and grab a bite to eat while walking around in the nice weather. So you can't go wrong either way, really.

 

[DaveG]

Most "nerds" don't have this level of commitment.

Can confirm

 

[BrindAmours Army]

nerds? go to atomic empire in durham and drink beer and play board games

I wonder if we've ever met irl

 

[The Faulker 27]

You’ll probably see Hamilton there.

Be sure to take a selfie with him, and post to Calgary's Twitter page.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

I wonder if we've ever met irl

i only exist in the computer, so probably not

 

[FreshSeabass]

nerds? go to atomic empire in durham and drink beer and play board games

Wait... A place like this exists? Asking for a friend. I thought there was just boxcar.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

There's also Quarter Horse.

 

[DaveG]

And Reboot in Winston, though they're mostly old arcade games here. Though nothing like being able to get about an hours worth of Tetris for a buck.

 

[BrindAmours Army]

Wait... A place like this exists? Asking for a friend. I thought there was just boxcar.

Also check out Triangle Game Night. They do weekly events at different restaurants around the Triangle. Massive collection of board games, and they are free to play! Though I normally tip/donate $5 whenever I go.

 

[FreshSeabass]

These all sound awesome. I need to get out and try these

 

[7even]

And Reboot in Winston, though they're mostly old arcade games here. Though nothing like being able to get about an hours worth of Tetris for a buck.

I was there last week!

 

[The Faulker 27]

Isn't there a Dave and Buster's in Cary?

 

[BrindAmours Army]

Isn't there a Dave and Buster's in Cary?

Yes.

Also, Wednesdays are 50% off games. If you download the app and register a D&B card, you'll get a ~weekly offer for buy $20 of gameplay get $20 of gameplay for free. So on Wednesdays it's the effect of $20 for $80 of chips.

I go there more often than I should

 

[the halleJOKEL]

atomic empire is board games (and card games/tabletop rpgs/etc)

there are several game stores in the area... gamer's armory, event horizon, game theory, hangar 18, etc. etc.

video games/barcades are a separate nerd store genre that also exist and are growing in popularity around here