Trip to Raleigh
- sarahwilk24
- Jul 30, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 10
Fleet Foxes
229 pieces | LEGO: 41334 (retired)
Assembled by Kristy Williams, June 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
July 29, 2022
The couple's first trip to Raleigh was for a Fleet Foxes concert, which Sarah's sister, Emma, and her friend, Barrett, attended with them. It was a rainy, slow drive, and by the time they arrived at the Red Hat Amphitheater, the opening act had already started playing. As they were about to enter the outdoor venue, they announced it was closing due to lightning in the area. So, the group found an outdoor, covered area at a hotel up the street to wait in, and lucked out because Comic Con was happening across the street; the people-watching was excellent. Hunter could name most of the characters people were dressed up as by name. When the lightning threat had passed, they opened the venue again, and Fleet Foxes came on. Hunter and Sarah swayed, bumped hips, held hands, and were disgustingly cute as the band played their set. Sarah sang along to most of the songs, and Hunter spent most of his time watching her rather than the stage. Despite having bought all new ponchos that day, the rain stayed away. They stood for most of the concert because, as always seems to happen, they managed to buy seats right behind some die-hard standers who never sat down. It was a glorious evening.
Sarah P. Duke Botanical Garden
248 pieces | Unbranded: YL001
Assembled by Sarah Wilkinson, January 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
July 30, 2022
The next day, after an incident where Sarah got locked out of the Airbnb for the duration of Hunter's shower, they headed to the Sarah P. Duke Botanical Garden. Sarah had met her mom earlier that morning, halfway to Richmond, to take Emma and Barrett back home, so it was just the two of them that day. The gardens were free to enter and completely magical. They wandered around talking about Dungeons & Dragons. They dreamed about the landscaping they'd have at their future dream house together (yep, things were getting serious enough between them after five months to talk about the future like that!). Sarah wrote Hunter's name in Duckweed while they knelt beside a pond. They picked out their favorite koi fish and laughed at how small the baby koi were. It was hot, so they stopped at the little stone snack shack for cold water and a rest. Hunter bought his mom some goat milk soap and a hummingbird charm at the gift shop.
Shopping & Eating Our Way Around Raleigh
409 pieces | LEGO: 42614
Assembled by Rachel Deese, June 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
July 30, 2022
Afterwards, they bopped around town. First, they visited the Golden Fig Bookstore, where Hunter purchased a small cookbook and Sarah selected a few nonfiction books on heavy topics, such as the role of DNA in creating inequality. They stopped at the bakery next door, and Hunter bought pretzel bread with cheese. They went to a large thrift store (a little too chaotic for Sarah's taste, but Hunter enjoyed hunting for treasures in the kitchen wares, ultimately finding nothing worth taking home). Sarah endeared Hunter by putting Irish music on the car stereo earlier in the day, so Hunter gave her a concert between stops. They picked him up some dinner from a local chicken and waffles joint, and listened to a local band at the little Central Park near the restaurant while they waited for it. They mused about how they looked forward to a future where this was their life together, before realizing that it already was their life together. They were already living the dream of being together!
On another trip to see a concert in Raleigh in the fall of 2024, Sarah reconnected with her college friend, Ben, and Hunter was able to meet him. They walked around a waterfront park and took a photo before leaving. They also visited the Raleigh LEGO store during this trip!