We are now at the Raleigh Oaks RV and Cottages Park in North Carolina where we plan on staying three nights – a drive of some 160 miles from our last RV park.

We are keen on exploring “the Research Triangle” which takes in the cities of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. It is one of the most prominent research and development centres in the US with a mix of high-tech start-ups, global Fortune 100 companies such as IBM, Cisco and Sony Ericsson and cutting-edge research institutions including Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University. This thriving hub of innovation is home to more than a dozen pioneering industries including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, clean technology, and information technology.

Our interest is from the perspective of a potential future retirement area as North Carolina has a good climate with winters that are totally manageable, an OK tax regime, it has good medical facilities and more importantly for Poppy, it has beautiful trees and lots of them!

Since arriving in North Carolina I have never seen so many trees as there are here. Everywhere you drive, as far as the eye can see, it is just green.

Yesterday, we drive out to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The university is very impressive with attractive departments and halls of residence spread over miles and miles and each of them with well-manicured grounds. With all these high-tech companies in the area, the universities are very well supported and it shows.

We also take a walk along Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill which is a student night-life hub as it is lined with trendy bars, restaurants and of course, craft breweries.

Poppy’s paradise!