North Carolina

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Changes:

SC – STRIKE AT THE WIND OUTDOOR DRAMA (pg. 147). Lumberton (Pembroke). An outdoor drama in Pembroke that tells the story of a Native American whom some consider a hero didn’t open last year because of a lack of money.

CW – Winston-Salem. OLD SALEM (pg. 78). A North Carolinian friend has an update for us (can you believe they LOWERED prices?): OLD SALEM. We loved it so much that we joined for the year! It's now only $99- a year to join and the admission fee to go in has also dropped to $17 for adults, for all the guided and self guided tours, or you can choose just one building and pay for that, or just walk around for free but not go in buildings! They have also have seasonal things going on, that's why we decided to join for the year! We could not see everything in a day because one day it's 19th century and the next it's 18th century so different buildings are open on each one of the centuries.

Additions:

NC – WINSTON CUP MUSEUM. Winston Salem, NC - 1355 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. Admission: $4.00-$8.00 (ages 5+). The Winston Cup Museum is now open! Located in the former Bob Neill Pontiac dealership building that has been renovated. The museum highlights R.J.Reynolds Tobacco Company's 33-year sponsorship of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. It houses over 30 authentic Winston Cup racecars and Winston #1 Show Cars along with one-of-a-kind racing artifacts donated by R.J.Reynolds Tobacco and other sponsors. For more information visit the web site. www.winstoncupmuseum.com

CW – Winston-Salem. EMBASSY SUITES. 400 North Cherry Street. NC 27101. (336) 724-2300 or www.twincityquarter.com. Continuing our recent series on using downtown lodging for family weekends, this hotel, really any Embassy Suites, meets our Big City needs. Safety and security are the first things moms look at. The parking garage is well-lit and attached to the hotel by walkways. You can walk a block or two to many restaurants or bring some entrees and reheat them in the mini-kitchen suite. Speaking of food, our fav part of Embassy Suites is the hot, full breakfast. You can order an omelet from one of the amazingly courteous and friendly chefs. Or, just wander through each station and grab some fresh scrambled eggs, some meat, some French toast, maybe grits and then muffins, cereal, juice and fresh cut fruit. Wow, it is worth it if you’re a family who likes to have a big breakfast before a full day of sightseeing. And, for lunch or dinner, their soups and salad or appetizers were really quite good (sides $4.00, lunch avg. $8.00, dinner $15.00). Kids Menu runs around $6.00. In-house amusement starts with the central glass elevators (up and down, repeat.), then inside the spacious/separate living room and bedroom, and ending with the pool. Oh, and there’s a Starbucks in the lobby right by the elevators. Because busy streets and traffic lurk below, your kids will feel like they’re “big time”. Honestly, though, this was the most genuine staff that ever served us – from the General Manager to the bellman. We felt so comfortable, we didn’t want to leave! Current rack rate is $179, but weekend rates are $129.

SC – Charlotte (Concord). GREAT WOLF LODGE INDOOR WATERPARK RESORT. www.greatwolf.com. Make a splash in your scrapbook with a family vacation to the award-winning Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC (near Lowes Speedway, 20 miles north of Charlotte). Plunge, splash or float at their gigantic indoor waterpark, reserved exclusively for guests. Unwind in any of spacious suites, designed to capture the atmosphere of the Northwoods and the amenities of a full-service resort. The park is exclusively for families staying at the resort and isn’t open to the general public. Thrill-seekers flock to the new water raft rides or the wave pool. Mellow guests go with the flow in the endless lazy river. And, zero-depth entry pools and kiddie slides provide a safe, dedicated space for the little ones still getting their sea legs. At Great Wolf Resorts, they take fun and safety seriously. The waterpark is staffed by 100 certified lifeguards. Be sure to get the full Great Wolf experience during your stay! Visit the Elements Spa for a massage, play in Northern Lights Arcade where you can win redemption tickets for GREAT prizes, or hang out in the teens-oriented Gr8 gaming area. Two restaurants are on the property. The resort offers 10 different styles of suites, starting at $179/night. Basic suites accommodate up to six people and feature refrigerators and microwaves for light meal preps (save $$!).

NC – INTERNATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS CENTER & MUSEUM, Greensboro. (excerpt from CNN & visitnc.com) I first got word of this place opening through www.visitnc.com. Then my friend @carolinamama posted a field trip visit on her blog this week (http://carolinamama1.blogspot.com/2010/02/international-civil-rights-center-and.html). Hopefully in May I’ll be able to visit for myself. In the meantime, here’s some excerpts from others who marked the opening day (Feb. 1) with some wonderful reflections and insights: McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr. and David Richmond were refused service February 1, 1960, but they sat their ground. The Greensboro Four's act of civil defiance will be commemorated Monday with the grand opening of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro. Three members of the Greensboro Four will attend the ceremony without their companion Richmond, who died in 1990 at age 49. Located in the 1929 F.W. Woolworth building where the sit-ins were launched, the museum boasts a section of the actual lunch counter where the Greensboro Four sat. The counter and stools have never been moved from their original footprints. The February 1 sit-in was only the beginning of the Greensboro Four's work. After the store closed for the day, the students returned to campus and recruited others, the only prerequisite being that fellow demonstrators refrain from violence. Twenty-five students, including four women, took part in the protests the following day. By February 4, more than 300 students, including whites, were involved. A group returned to the store every day for several weeks. The sit-ins, eventually more than 70 of them, spread across the South, making the Greensboro Four an important catalyst in the nation's budding civil rights movement. Other highlights of the Museum’s exhibits include:

	All Men are Created Equal - an introductory exhibit to help transition visitors from the 21st century to an era when racial injustice and “Jim Crow” laws permeated a segregated society
	A Moment that Changed America - a filmed reenactment of the discussion between the Greensboro Four on the night of Jan. 31, 1960, when the freshmen quartet decided to take action
	The Hall of Shame - an exhibit exposing the violent and turbulent times that marked the transition from slavery to “Jim Crow” to civil rights activism
	In Memoriam to Lives Lost - a wall of remembrance for lives lost in the battle for civil rights
	A Changed World - an exhibit dedicated to the continuing journey and the evolving non-violent civil rights, equality and peace movements throughout the world

A complete list of the 14 opening exhibits can be found on the Museum's website. In addition to the exhibits, the facility is a “collecting museum” featuring period artifacts that reflect some of the most notable names, places, events and achievements of the civil rights movement. On display will be such items as:

	A bus seat, circa 1950, signed by Rosa Parks
	An authentic wooden slave auction sign
	Green Book, a circa 1950 travel directive to identify “safe houses” and establishments that would service African Americans
	A medical bag used by Dr. George Evans, the first African-American physician allowed to practice medicine in what had been an all-white Greensboro hospital
	The official uniform once worn by Capt. Harvey Alexander, member of the first graduating class from the Tuskegee Air Corps
	A travel typewriter used by anti-segregationalist Ralph McGill, a Pulitzer Prize winning author and publisher of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The building has been meticulously restored and reflects many of the Architectural details from the original F.W. Woolworth retail store including the terrazzo floors, intricate moldings and even the signature “Woolworth” gold lettering that graces the exterior of the building.

More fun information about:

SE – Wilmington. Check out their Sunny Savers last-minute discount program: www.sunnysavers.com (discounts updated weekly).