You hit the high spots well. Next time go into downtown Charlotte and do Discovery Place, Levine Museum of the New South, The Bechtler (world class modern art), the uptown Mint Museum,, and the Harvey B. Gannt museum. When he finds out more about Davidson and Wake Forest, he might even add those really fine schools to his list--UNC is highly worthy also!! Two sons went, and DH to Davidson.
Hope he brought his Kindle to read this trip!!
Glad you've got your decision nailed down to your satisfaction.

Sounds like your son has it very together, glad he got a NASCAR fix and saw some colleges.

Thanks for the posting!

Gretchen, next time we will explore Charlotte but I wanted to stay away from the madness of Coca Cola 600 weekend so Davidson was as far South as we attempted. He did forget his Kindle again but was busy reading brochures and maps from the race car drivers as well as Old Salem. He also brought a book, Percy Harvin Series when we arrived at Raleigh. Problem is he reads so quick for a 10 year old.
Actually, one thing I learned at the Raleigh Airpot anyways, kids under 12 did not have to take their shoes off and anyone 75 or older did not have to take their shoes off and could wear a light jacket.

emalloy, he knew a lot of the drivers names, but the fact that we purchased a lot across the street from Kasey Kahne, he really got the "Fix." He wanted to watch the whole race which I can not do as not only do I not understand it, I get dizzy watching all those cars going in circles. My son learned a lot about race teams and sponsors also from our Museum visit.
Forgot to mention he likes Duke also because of the architecture but ran out of time. We have visited Duke and UNC a couple of times earlier. Great state!!

Smart move about not going in town (although you did the NASCAR!). You were pretty lucky to get a hotel--and paid a premium for the weekend's activities. It IS a big deal, even though some of us prefer to disavow it. Worth $100M in tourism!!
Good to know about the age thing--had heard about kids.
Mooresville is the NASCAR 'center'. you can tour the shops ordinarily.

The NASCAR site we visited was the NC Hall of Fame in Mooresville not the National one in Charlotte. Actually, the traffic was not as bad on Sunday because of Church and everyone being at the race. I still got a very good price at a Courtyard by Marriott but we did have to stay overnight in Statesville due to the lack of rooms and the fact I did not want to over pay.

I am so glad you enjoyed your visit. As a proud Demon Deacon I hope you will come back to see more of what Wake Forest has to offer.

And as a proud Tar Heel, I hope he'll reconsider Dook. Pretty buildings do not a college make.

The College wars!! Love it. We live in Sarasota and there is a constant Florida vs. Florida State. I am trying to talk the little boy into University of NC because it is much cheaper as well as a great school. He did love the look of Wake Forest though. He was surprise there was a gate to get in. I got a couple of cute pictures with him and the "Demon Deacon" statue near the Football stadium. I must say that Wake Forest in the off season still takes care of its football field with pride. We were surprised that University of North Carolina did not. We had lunch in a cute little place next to Wake Forest entrance. Was a neat little shopping area that did not look like a mall.

That would be Reynolda Village. It is made up of the service buildings for the Reynolds Estate and adjoins the gardens, which are splendid. Reynolda Village has a number of excellent shops, a couple of galleries and some very good restaurants. My guess is you tried Simply Yummy or Village Tavern. Do come back!

Glad you enjoyed your visit with us in NC! Reynolda Village is a personal favorite of mine (Especially the grilled cheese sandwiches at Simply Yummy!) May I make a small correction in the interest of those who might be planning trips - the NC Zoo is in Asheboro, not Asheville. Several hours apart. Isn't the zoo fun!

And it would be
Ashboro. All those "ashes" are so confusing!!
Only a little difference.
Near Ashboro is Seagrove--the POTTERY capital of America, folks. It is worth a destination trip if you love ALL kinds of pottery.

Yes, Reynolda Village. I forgot the name but my little one told me. I am losing it!! We ate at the Tavern which was busy. Simply Yummy was closed. Who were or are the Reynolds?
And I am sorry, yes it was Asheboro. Being we did not have a lot of time we only saw half of the zoo. For those who do not know, there is the Africa area and the North America area. We saw the Africa part of the zoo which was excellent. I did buy season tickets for our whole family. So when we come back we can see the other half and my wife and other son can see the whole zoo, we could join them again for the Africa area. Passes were also good for other zoos and wildlife habitats. In matter of fact one is in our backyard almost, near Siesta Key and another one an hour away in Tampa. Wish we had more time.

Reynolds was the family behind cigarette manufacturing in Winston-Salem (Camels, Winstons, Salems) Much of the family land was donated to Wake Forest to bring the University to Winston-Salem from its original location in Wake Forest, NC. Reynolda Village is owned by WFU, as are the gardens.

travelanne, have you tried the black bean cakes with homemade salsa at Simply Yummy? Major wow! I usually have one of my dogs with me when I am in Winston-Salem and Simply Yummy allows them to join me for lunch on their patio, so I am a regular there.

Thanks for the answer. I did not know WFU owned the Reynolda Village. I did know that Wake Forest moved to Winston Salem but wasn't sure why. I was explaining this to my son but was curious to why they did not at least change the name from Wake Forest to some other name that has to do with Winston-Salem possibly.

The University (still a college when they moved) had been around since 1834 when the it moved. I would not be surprised to learn there was a discussion of changing the name to something Reynolds related. Check out www.wfu.edu for all things Deac!

The Seminary remains in Wake Forest.

Ooh, didn't know Simply Yummy allowed dogs on their patio - look out, sandwiches, here I (and doggie-girl) come! I will definitely try the black bean cakes.

Interesting to learn some history about one's own back yard - I did not realize, for example, that WFU's School of Medicine moved to Winston-Salem some ten years before the college itself moved...

Gretchen is right. The Seminary was created in 1950 and used buildings on the Wake Forest campus. When the college moved the Seminary took over the campus.

In my days at WFU, the Southern Baptist convention still ruled and on campus dancing was prohibited. We did the Bunny Hop around the Quad as protest (I am not making this up).

Things have changed.

Do NOT mistake this WFU Seminary for what it was--OR more explicitly, what the SBC would have demanded from it. It is a VERY forward looking inclusive ministry that has been excluded from the SBC, thank heaven.

Any pictures of you doing the bunny hop on the Quad? This fourm is getting more interesting!!