North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh

Whenever I feel like a break from tv, shopping, or going out to eat - the mundane activities of life, I roll on down to the art museum in Raleigh. Its in a pretty good location, down the street from the fairgrounds and from the college. I can always find a parking space, admission is FREE, and there is always tons of stuff to see. The museum is continually changing pieces out of its abundance of artifacts, paintings, sculptures, and "other stuff" that's usually too weird to fit in a category. I was lucky enough to have a personal tour from one of the museum's restoration experts. She was kind enough to point out some of the touch-ups that the museum staff have worked on in order to preserve or restore the paintings, etc. If art isn't really your "thing", they have an excellent caf� that serves up the most delectable selections for pretty reasonable prices. The dining atmosphere is definitely for grown ups, though. In the summer there are movies shown outdoors in their amphitheatre and guess what? They are free, too! There are also concerts and other events that cost money, but are worth the exchange. I don't know, if you are the type of person that likes to meander through artwork, discussing the complexities of the world, then this is probably the place for you!