Last weekend, I found myself in North Carolina for the first time. One of my boyfriend’s friends was getting married near Chapel Hill and after a weekend of festivities our flight back to Minnesota wasn’t until Sunday night so we had some time to waste. Let me take you on a little photo journey from our day in Raleigh.

Breakfast at First Watch

Obviously, I had to start with the mini pumpkin donuts.

State Capital

We drove into downtown Raleigh and walked around the State Capital. We’re big into statues and monuments and it was a beautiful day to walk around and read about the history.

Natural History Museum

A block away from the Capital is the North Carolina Natural History Museum. It’s free and I feel like it’s unique because most of the exhibits are specific to North Carolina rather than from a global perspective.

Historic Yates Mill

Next we drove 15 minutes outside of the city to Historic Yates Mill County Park. It is home to the last operating18th-century waterpowered grist mill in North Carolina’s capital county and it’s been beautifully restored and maintained.

Lake Crabtree County Park

On our way out to the airport we stopped at Lake Crabtree County Park. There is a large lake and tons of opportunity for activities like canoeing, biking, volleyball, picnicking, fishing and the list goes on.

How do you think we did for our first time in Raleigh? I honestly didn’t research anything before we visited so if you have any top Raleigh spots we missed, leave a comment and let me know!