A song that was really big in the US back in the mid 2000s was called Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show. It was a great hit until it got thoroughly overplayed, and if you know every lyric like I'll do you'll remember a line towards the end where he croons. If I die in Raleigh, at least I will die free.
I don't know if I get that reference entirely, but according to several people I talked to in the region last weekend, their little plot of paradise is getting popular. Prices are going up, houses are being built and some folks wish new people would stop coming.
Famous across America for its sophistication, brains, cuisine and music, the research triangle is in the middle of North Carolina and is made up of three cities - Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.
This region has more than 2 million people. North Carolina was the swing state that went blue for Obama into office back in 2008.
Who could blame people for wanting to move here? I want to, too, after three days dancing around the towns, eating at amazing restaurants, listening to great music and playing in nature. I arrived in Durham via an Amtrak train from Charlotte to visit two dear friends.
In Durham we kicked things off with "Lesbionic" cocktails at Dyke night in Arcana, a funky bar that's a queer and woman-owned business with all queer staff.
From there we strolled tipsily down the road to the funky 21c Museum. It's an art museum, a bar and a hotel. The building was originally a bank in the 1930s, and we went downstairs to see the vault. 21c was started by a philanthropic couple with a goal to rehabilitate historic commercial buildings; it's one of many 21c museums throughout America.
My desire to travel through the South without a car helped get me to here, but once I arrived, we had to drive heaps to get around. The three cities are each located 20-30 minutes away from each other. Fortunately there's plenty of greenery along the drive. It's a pretty part of the world.
We hopped in the car Saturday afternoon and headed to the Haw River for some paddleboarding. We drifted along lazily, chatting and enjoying a few beers. It was the perfect contrast to the Friday night on the town. Later, a little sunburnt and blissed out, we made our way to the Saturdays in Saxapahaw Farmers Market and Music Series. We put a blanket down on the hill and enjoyed music by the modern country band Blue Cactus.
We got there early, and the vibe and crowds continued to build. The hill was packed with families and one by one friends joined us on our blanket. I was intrigued watching a smiling fit woman hula hooping by the stage. Her name was Ann Humphries and she's written a book called The Tao of Hoop.
She told me she loved the people of North Carolina, except those stuck in the 1950s like racist sheriffs and homicidal police. Less than 20 miles from where we were standing in Alamance County is a confederate monument that she and many others are working to take down.
Yes, we're still in the South.
On Monday morning my friend drove me to the Raleigh Greyhound Station, where I saw a very different side to the Triangle. My bus was running three hours late, and I soon realised American Rapper Keith Murray was also waiting for the same bus! A New York native, he arrived from a performance in Delaware and had been delayed.
"Fortunately by the grace of god, I'm here on a wing and a prayer," he told me.
Aren't we all.
Classic North Carolina
I'm no sports fan, but anyone who has lived in Carolina knows about the Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina. Tar Heel was originally a reference to barefoot workers producing tar during the summer months in North Carolina, but since 1924 the actual mascot has been a grumpy blue ram.
