Not Exactly Charlemagne

April 24

So here we are in a part of the country named for Charles. As I say, not quite Charlemagne, but a royal Charles, nonetheless. 

Charles the Second issued the charter for Carolina. In an uncharacteristic burst of modesty, he said he named it for his father, Charles I, and not for himself. How can anybody tell? It gets confusing. But then these kings were all inbred.

It's summer here in this green country. We've had some little rain to keep it green.

We were at the Washington Duke Inn at Duke University for a couple days, thanks to my friend, Adrian, a professor at the university.

We got up late and got to the restaurant after they stopped serving breakfast. That turned out to be a turn of good luck. We shared a plate of the best crab cakes ever. If you're anywhere near Durham, N.C., it is worth a side trip to the Washington Duke Inn on Cameron Blvd. just to have those crab cakes.

Joanna believes they were made with no filler at all. Most of the time, you get mealy cakes flavored with crab. Not these. I had them with coffee and orange juice. I was tempted to order a light beer of some kind, maybe a Pilsner, to go with the meal, but decided to behave instead.

We spent the afternoon in downtown Durham. We stumbled without plan onto Parrish Street, which according to a number of historical markers was the Black Wall Street. The signs don't mention that all these successful black-owned businesses formed in the early 20th century were established to serve blacks, who weren't allowed to do business with white banks and insurance companies.

Success story? Yes. But define success.

We were also on Main Street, where there is a chicken and waffles joint and a tapas bar on the same block. 

Adrian came to the hotel and took us to dinner.

I found he has a new book about to come out: "The Physics of Life." It discusses his premise that natural and man-made systems evolve and find the most efficient ways to function in order to survive. Well, anyway, that's a layman's short take on some very interesting ideas.

Adrian and I have worked together on a number of articles for the magazine, and they never fail to piss somebody off. Fantastic.

We went to a restaurant in Durham called Parizade. Joanna and I shared a fantastic branzino, cooked whole. She had the head and I took the tail.

The craft beer culture of North Carolina never fails to surprise me. I had three ales, all very good. I didn't take notes, so I don't remember the names.

Right now, I'm working on something that the brewery, Mystery Brewing, calls a "Carolinian dark ale." It has an almost chocolate flavor from the malt, but enough hops to keep it from being sweet. It's named Queen Anne's Revenge. That's the name of Blackbeard's ship, which he ran aground off the Carolina coast early in the eighteenth century.

History is a great subject. It even names beers.

Sunday (today) we strolled around downtown Chapel Hill. It's a very pretty town blending the University of North Carolina campus and the secular part of the community. It's a small downtown, but a great stroll. In addition to the usual bars and restaurants, mostly catering to students, there is an art museum, which we didn't visit, and around the corner, a museum store that we did. 

I had heard about the recent phenomenon of adult coloring books. This place had a dozen or more. There was also an abundance of great stuff for kids.

Oh, wow, I said. Then came an existential moment. These things are clever and they appeal to adults and dinosaurs like me. We buy them for kids who aren't interested in this stuff at all. That's why I give my grandkids checks for birthdays.

Carrboro, next to Chapel Hill, takes its name from a guy named Carr who ran a cotton mill near the rail station there. Now the mill has been repurposed as a small mall with gorgeous shining wide-plank floors.

We had dinner at a sports bar in a shopping center near the Quality Inn. The place had something like 40 taps.

As I say, the beer scene in North Carolina (of all places) never ceases to surprise.

Be surprised, all, and to all a good night.