Well, Craig has to work this Friday and Saturday, when his acutal birthday is, so I decided to take him somewhere this weekend.

The only place I could safely do given the time frame was within 5 hours or less, so I picked something like the place I used to live. (At least I'd know where to go and what to do.)

We did get to see things I hadn't before. We went to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, which I hadn't been to because they completed their renovations in 2000, and I lived in Charlotte by then. We also went to the NC Museum of Art, which I'd been to, but of course there's always new exhibits.

First of all, Hampton Inn (at least the one we stayed in) is now amazingly great for the price. I've never stayed at such a nice place that wasn't an actual HOTEL. They've gotten some kind of new marketing people, so all their items are "styled" and modern. Great amenities, great service, and reasonably priced! Lots of nice little touches, like a lap desk, a microwave, a fridge, hair dryer, iron, good smelling toiletries, big soft pillows, shower curtain that bows out to give you more room in the shower, and a free hot breakfast every morning. I highly recommend them.

We ate at Denny's for breakfast the first day, because we missed the hotel breakfast serving time. So here's some pics I took while I was waiting for our food.


















Then we went to the museum. I've never seen a place that uses trompe l'oeil so effectively. (The pictures on their website really don't do it justice...) They have these great rooms that are made to look like various areas of NC, like the coastal plains, and the piedmont forests, and the mountains, complete with stuffed animals and models of plant life. They're really beautiful and amazing and lifelike.







They have some excellent dinosaur skeletons, including this head that you can touch.



There's a pretty solarium that has some giant dino models with fake pterodactyls flying around the ceiling.



Craig loves teh dinos:



They also have this amazing tunnel thing that's made to look like those tubes at the aquarium that you can walk through, and the sharks swim overhead. Except this is filled with FAKE prehistoric creatures, and NO water!!! You'd never know it just to look at it and walk in there. I wish the pictures did it justice.








The last place was the Arthropod Zoo, which is just like what it sounds. I took this one picture for my (little) sister because she loves ladybugs.



And that's about it. I didn't take any pictures at the art museum today, because they don't really let you. But it was really cool to have a different person's perspective on things. Craig pointed out some things he noticed that I never would have on my own. It was tons of fun.

Then we were both exhausted, so we came home. :)