Getting my Josh Groban Fix in Raleigh

I was in town for the Josh Groban concert at the RBC Center. He is one of my favorite singers and truly has one of the most beautiful voices on the planet. Not to mention the fact he is absolutely gorgeous.

Unfortunately for me, the day didn’t go quite as planned. The weatherman said nice and hot. It turned out to be cold and rainy. I planned a lot of outdoor activities which meant I got wet!

My morning started out by visiting the Governor’s house! Yes you too can visit the elegant 1890s Executive Mansion. The mansion offers regularly scheduled tours for the public.

The Joel Lane Museum House was built in 1760 and is one of the oldest buildings in the county. Since the weather was crappy, I had the place to myself!

Built in 1785 the Mordecai Historic Park includes the mansion which was owned by one of the founding fathers of Wake County and a small building in which President Andrew Johnson was born. Reportedly haunted, the place was even almost investigated by the Ghost Hunters.

On the corner of Dr. King Blvd. You will find the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Gardens to honor this great leader.

Pullen Park is a beautiful park for the whole family and where you can find TV Land’s statue of Andy and Opie from the Andy Griffith Show

Despite the rains and the cold, there were plenty of other people who joined me in line at Snoopy’s for a great burger and their legendary veggie soup.

Before heading out to see Josh, I stopped in at the The Capital Room for a great dinner before the show. They are located near the center, the NC Museum of Art, and the state fair grounds.

Quick Tips:

As you can guess my first suggestion is to go to the CVB website and order a visitors guide. Their web site is www.visitraleigh.com. Or take a look around the website which has plenty of details on places to stay, places to eat, and things to do while in town.

Check out my other Raleigh journals. In additional to what I saw today there are other entries on other great things to see and do in Raleigh. Last time I visited the State Capital Building, the amazing History Museum, the incredible Natural Science Museum, The NC Museum of Art, and took in a Broadway show.

Get out and visit the neighbors. Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill make up the area known as The Triangle. These cities are just chocked full of beauty and history and offer plenty to do.

They are also filled with some of the best colleges including NC State, Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. So when students head back the place is full of students and parents. Homecoming and sporting events also pack ‘em in here. So make your plans well in advanced.

The State Fair in the fall also brings people in from all over the state and county. Plan accordingly. You can check out www.bytrain.org. They normally offer train trips to Raleigh during the fair.

Looking to bring your next meeting or conference to Raleigh? They have plenty of space for you. From traditional convention sittings to rather unique places such as museums and homes, they have you covered.

Take the time to enjoy downtown. Just walking downtown is a treat. This place is filled with so many historic and lovely places. Make sure to check out the history markers all over town. Check out www.ncmarkers.com to find out more.

Raleigh is home to the renowned hand bell choir, the Raleigh Ringers. To check and see if they are playing when you’re in town, go to www.rr.org for more information. Or just check out their events calendar as they perform all over the country.

Raleigh is about 3 hours from the NC Coast. If you’re driving there, why not stop and spend a day or two before heading out to our dazzling coast?

Best Way To Get Around:

About 15 minutes from downtown, you will find the Raleigh-Durham Airport (www.rdu.com). This is the second largest airport in NC and serves the triangle region. They offer more than 450 flights and arrivals daily. They have 46 non-stop destinations from Raleigh. And 9 major carriers and 18 regional carriers serve passengers. Low-cost carrier, Southwest Airlines, flies from here.

If you are strictly going to stay within the downtown area then you can get by without a car. Here you can find things to do, entertainment, and dining all with the limits of the capital area.
If you want to go out father you will need to rent a car. You can pick up a rental back at Raleigh-Durham airport.

Raleigh does have a transit system. They offer bus service out to the airport and into surrounding areas. They also offer a trolley service that stops at many major attractions. If you are thinking of this option, you can go to the official CAT website at www.gotriangle.org and map out your bus route.

Raleigh is accessible via bus or train. For travel within NC visit www.bytrain.org. Or visit Amtrak at www.amtrak.com and Greyhound at www.greyhound.com

Parking in the downtown area can be a pain at times. Read signs BEFORE you park. There are plenty of reasonable pay lots in the capital area. Most other attractions outside the area have their own parking and it is normally free. Parking at the RBC Center runs around .

I went with this place for two reasons: 1) It was just right around the corner from the Joel Lane House 2) The name. Snoopy is one of my favorite cartoon characters. I just adore that cute beagle.

After making a mad dash to my car at the Joel Lane House, I was soaked. I turned on my heater and followed my mapquest directions to Snoopy’s. I passed by it the first time. When I turned around I spotted it, but also noticed there wasn’t a place to park! I had to drive up and down three times before I was able to quickly snag the only open spot.

This location was once a gas station. So you have to walk up to the counter. And on a rainy, miserable day like this day, you’re in for a soaking. I pulled out my umbrella and got in the long line. Apparently even not so agreeable weather doesn’t deter Snoopy’s fan. The whole time I was here there was always a line. When the man in front of me discovered it was my first time here, he told me I absolutely had to try their veggie soup. It is reportedly legendary. Well, legendary doesn’t always mean great. But it was cold and I really needed something to warm up my stomach, so I figured why not. When I finally got to the front of the line I placed my order for my hamburger, onion rings, soup, apple pie, and Coke. Besides their soup, Snoopy’s is legendary for their hot dogs. But if that is not to your taste, they offer chicken club sandwiches, wings, burgers, and tuna salad sandwiches.

After I placed my order, it took a few minutes to prepare. Unlike the fast food chains their food is made to order. Back inside my car I couldn’t wait to dig in. It was so yummy. And that soup? Deserving of its legendary status.

They open at 10:30 everyday and are open until 4am Friday and Saturday, and midnight the rest of the week. They are cash only. There are several other Snoopy’s around town, in case this one isn’t close enough to you. They are located near the heart of downtown Raleigh as well as NC State and several other colleges. Snoopy’s fan range from suit and ties to college students, families, and everyone in between. The gentleman in front of me said even our current governor, Mike Easley, stops by quite often.

Snoopy’s is a great place to stop for a bite without having to dig to deep in your pockets. With all the fans that come here in droves to eat, maybe sometime soon they can move to a bigger establishment with a place to sit. But for now you just have to contend with lines and trying to find parking. But believe me it is well worth it.

Located inside the Ramada Inn, The Capital Room is close to The NC Art Museum, the RBC Center, and the fairgrounds. It is the perfect place to have dinner before a concert, art exhibit, or a break from greasy fair food.

The restaurant is located at the front of the hotel, across from the registration desk. The floor plan is set up with several different levels and has an open configuration. There is outdoor dining for warmer months when it isn’t pouring outside.

When I arrived there were only a handful of people here. I was promptly seated at my table and then waited for more than five minutes before my waitress appeared. She handed me a menu and took my drink order. She quickly came back with my tea and rolls and told me she would give me a few minutes to browse.

This is American fare and nothing spectacular: prime rib, steak, hamburger steak, chicken and dumplings, chicken-fried steak, and fish of the day. On the lighter side, they have sandwiches, burgers, and pasta. They do have an extensive wine list and offer a full service bar.

I ordered their prime rib, cheddar potatoes, green beans, and a roll. While waiting, my waitress kept coming back to make sure I was fine. She even told me about the women’s basketball tournament being moved to hold Josh’s concert at the RBC Center. Before too long, out comes my meal.

The prime rib was thick and juicy, but did have too much fat for my taste. Though my babies were glad for the fat scraps. The rest of the meal was great. It hit the spot on this cold dreary night. Sitting beside me all night was a divine looking dessert tray. It included cheesecake, several pies, coffee cake, egg custard, and red velvet cake. I went with the red velvet cake and hot tea to warm my inside. The cake was a little dry, but still pretty good.

Overall, my meal was great and once my waitresses appeared, she took very good care of me. The only thing I wasn’t crazy over was their open room configuration. It didn’t block out the noise of guests coming in and to the front desk. In this case, there was a girls basketball team who had all come in at once and they were in the lounge area just outside the restaurant watching TV. They were loud and quite annoying. But the place itself is still recommended.

For more information you can go to www.ramada.com and look under Raleigh.

I learned of Josh by the way of two young relatives. I heard them talking about him all the time, but I assumed he was just another over annoyingly, overrated, and under talented boy singer like Justin Timberlake.

One night on the way home from work I had Delilah on the radio and I heard The Prayer with Josh and Charlotte Church. I knew her angelic voice and was just sobbing by the end of the song. Then I heard Delilah name the song by Josh and Charlotte. Josh Groban? Could this be the same Josh Groban my young cousins had gone on about?

I was coming down I-85 near the Speedway Blvd. Exit. In moves that belonged on the racetrack, I quickly cut across 4 lanes of traffic to make the exit and head towards the mall. I slid my van into the parking lot and made a mad dash for FYE. I then almost attacked the poor clerk in such a way Vic Mackey and the strike team from The Shield would have impressed! After apologizing to the poor guy, he directed me to the classical section and Josh where by I picked up a copy of his first CD Josh Groban and made a mad dash for the cash register to check out. I quickly ran home and drew a bubble bath. I turned on my Jacuzzi jets, turned my CD player on full blast, and for more than an hour I listed to the moist beautiful voice I had heard in a long time. Oh, and somewhere along the line I did notice this guy was absolutely gorgeous.

Josh’s professional start began in 1997 at Grey Davis’ Inaugural Event. Producer David E. Kelly heard his remarkable voice and saw the audience’s reaction to him, so we wrote him into his popular TV show Ally McBeal . A year later he stood in for the equally talented Andrea Bocilli to perform The Prayer with Celine Dion at The Grammy’s. Rosie O’Donnell saw his riveting performance and promptly had him to perform on her show. He has been going strong ever since then.

Josh is often credit as being a classical singer. But his music ranges from classical and opera to pop and Broadway. He has preformed at the Olympics, the Superbowl, and the Oscars (where he should have preformed by himself and not with the annoying Beyonce). He also sang last year at the Kennedy Center Honors. He preformed Music of the Night from the Phantom of the Opera when Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber was honored. He will also be performing at the Concert for Diana next month with Sarah Brightman. His first PBS Special in 2002 resulted with the #1 selling CD of the year. This hot 26 year old has received the love and adoration of millions of fans throughout the world. From his self titled debut album to his current Awake CD, millions of fans have fallen in love with his powerful and angelic voice. Me included.

What is most unexpected about Josh’s fan is the diversity. Go to a Josh Groban concert and you see young squealing pre-teens, not known for their musical taste, to those who qualify for senior discounts. As witnessed by 5 women who sat beside of me. It was a great grandmother, grandmother, mom, and her 2 daughters. They screamed and shouted for Josh and during his more somber songs, they all sat holding hands and moving to the music. Unlike many other musicians, I don’t think Josh’s fans can be pegged into any particular statistic.

What is also surprising is that Josh performs at major concert arenas. I saw him at the RBC Center which is where the Hurricanes play. I also found out from my waitress, that they moved the women’s basket ball game to another venue to allow a bigger arena for Josh and his fans! Normally singers given the label "classical" singer perform at performing arts centers, not at the places Bono and U2 perform at. Over the years I have had the honor to see Charlotte Church, Sarah Brightman, Rene Flemming, Linda Eder, and Yo Yo Ma perform. And I have seen them perform at the performing arts center with about 2500 fans. On April 15, 2000 I did have the immense honor of seeing Luciano Pavarotti perform and now he performed at the Charlotte Colsieum before a crowd of more than 10,000 fans. But he’s Pavarotti .

I had the great opportunity to see Josh in 2005 when he was in town. So there was no way I was missing Josh again. His new Awake CD is a delight and if you have never heard Josh, now would be the time to start listing. Two of his songs, Lullaby and Weeping are preformed with the equally talented Ladysmith Black Mambazo and features the hit You Are Loved . For almost 2 hours Josh sang a mixture of classics and opera arias. Josh doesn’t use a lot of pyrotechnics and stage props in his show. When you have his voice you don’t need to. During the pop song "Machine" there is a nifty video playing. He started out the Night with "You are Loved ". He also performed the beautiful African inspired song "Stone in Her Heart" with his opening act Angelique Kidjo. Her voice is as smooth a silk and rich. She sounds a lot like Tsidii Leloka (she played Sukeena in Stephen Kings’ Rose Red ) who played the original Rafiki in the The Lion King . During "In Her Eyes" Josh appeared out in the audience and made his way through the throngs of yelling and screaming fans back to the stage. He came down our aisle and yes I was lucky enough to shake his hand and get a peck on the cheek! The night ended with the emotionally stirring "You Raise Me Up" with a local choir for back up. Josh preformed the song at Superbowl XXXVIII to honor the crew of the spaceship Columbia disaster. When you go see Josh make sure you bring Kleenex, you will need them.

Also performing with Josh were cellist, Colette Alexander, and violinist, Lucia Micarelli. Lucia played with him when I saw him in 2005. She has been performing professionally since the age of 6! Both women are astoundingly talented. During a break, Lucia, Colette, and the rest of the band performed the song "Cashmere" by Led Zeppelin . Leaving me thinking "dang those girls have skills!". Imagine this hard hitting rock song performed to perfection by an orchestra and Lucia’s violin replacing Robert Plants vocals. Amazing! The show was just mind-blowing and Josh and his crew received several standing ovations. The only thing missing was Josh performing ‘To Where You Are". This hauntingly beautiful song was written by Richard Marx (yes of 80’s fame Richard Marx) in tribute to the families and victims of 9/11. We played this solemn song last year at my grandmother’s funeral and there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.

If you have never heard of Josh, I recommend you go out and buy his CD’s immediately. This young mans voice is truly the voice of an angel. His songs are so passionate and he pours all of that passion into his concerts as well. If Josh is coming to your town, make sure you go see him. For more information on Josh you can go to www.joshgroban.com

Very highly recommended

Nothing makes you feel more like a big shot, than when you get to say while in Raleigh, you went and hung at the Governor’s mansion. Well, in Raleigh, you, too, can come spend some time in the Executive Mansion.

Like many of the original states along the seaboard, the first capital city was located along the coast and later relocated to a more centralized location to allow access to all citizens. North Carolina was such a state. Originally, New Bern, NC, was our state capital and Tyron Palace was the original Governor's Mansion. New Bern is a beautiful and historical town located along the NC coast about three hours from Raleigh. The spectacular Tryon Palace is still open to the public and can be toured while in town.

Our "new" governor’s residence was built in 1891. This grand Victorian mansion sits in the capital area within walking distance of the state capital. It was designed by well-known architects, Samuel Sloan and AG Bauer. More than two dozen NC governors and their families have called this elegant building home. The Executive Mansion is one of the oldest in the country that was specifically built for and used as a home for the governor.

I parked nearby and walked up to the gate, hit the buzzer, gave them my name, and told them I was there for the tour. They let me on in and told me to go to the tented area in the front. When I did, there were several staff members all clad in business suits there and a metal detector. They checked my purse and I had to pass through the detector. After being given the OK, one staffer told me that the rest of the group I was touring with was arriving and the first group was running late. Then the gentleman told me I could walk around the front gardens or just stay inside the tented area. Given the fact it was raining, I chose to stay put. I was also told that the group coming was a school group and they hoped I liked children. I made the comment that I really didn’t and the stern looking gentleman moved aside and got on the radio. I thought "oh great, since I don’t like children I can’t go".

Within a few minutes the screaming mimmies arrived. The security staff told the teacher we were about ready to go. Someone came to get us but pulled me out and escorted me on in the house first. I took a big gulp and wondered what the heck was going on. I was ushered to the library. Then, in came the kids who got their speech on how to behave themselves. The employees were great and seemed to take great pains to distance me from the kids and yet still have it so I could hear everything. At one room the kids were asking so many questions that I couldn’t hear a thing the docent was telling us. One very kind female employee came over and gave me a history on the room and pointed out important things in the room. When we finished, they told me to wait and let the kids go out first. Then they asked if I missed anything and the same female employee from before took the time to point out several things that had not been talked about on the tour. The very kind gesture was much appreciated.

The tour here is kept to the main floor. When you first arrive you are received in the Entrance Hall, which is a great way to be received. There are two large, white Corinthian columns, and your eyes are drawn to the lovely heart pine staircase and chandeliers. You also get to visit the State Dining Room, the Gentleman’s Parlor, the Ladies Parlor, the Library, and you end with the elegant and scrumptious Ballroom.

Each room is beautifully decorated and furnished in spectacular antiques. The long and exquisite dining room table is made of mahogany. There are beautiful Chippendale chairs thought the rooms. In the library you will find a collection of NC Literature. In the dining room, there is a magnificent Australian crystal chandelier and in the ball room hangs a glorious Sheffield crystal chandelier. On many of the hand-hooked rungs you can see symbols of our great state. Presidents Taft, Roosevelt, and Truman have visited this handsome home. So have legendary stars such as Katherine Hepburn. To keep it in modern times for the youngsters, when we went to the dining room we were told basketball legend and fellow Tarheel, Michael Jordan, actor/activist Michael J. Fox, and actor-turned-Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger have dined here. While touring the home you are reminded that this is still home to a family by the basketball court you can see in the back that his son, Michael, and his friends use. Today this stunning mansion is home to our current governor, Mike Easley and his wife, Mary, and son, Michael.

The mansion makes extensive use of rich and gorgeous wood. The staircase on the main floor is intricately carved. The floor plan has pretty much remained the same since it was built. The plan allows for ease in adjusting the room from private use to public use. The exterior of the home is noted for its pitched roof, a cupola, a pattered chimney, and its porches and pavilions.

The mansion is highlighted in the 1991 movie Once Around starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, and Danny Aiello. There was a reception held for the cast of the movie and also in attendance was former first lady, Barbara Bush. In 1988, UNC-TV produced a 30-minute documentary on the home's history.

The mansion is open to the public to tour, but you must make reservations in advance. You can call 919-807-7950 to make reservations for groups of 10 or more or 919-807-7948 for smaller groups. You need to make reservations at least two weeks in advanced. There is no charge to tour the mansion. For more information you can go to www.ncdcr.gov.

You cannot park at the mansion except for handicapped parking. There are several pay lots within walking distance. I parked off the street nearby. If parking off the street, make sure to read the signs and see if parking is allowed and the time limit. As you can tell, photos are allowed inside. Also, if you go back out the front of the mansion and turn right and keep going you will run into some beautiful and historic homes. Only minutes away, you can see our current Lieutenant Governor, Beverly Perdue's, home. While you can’t visit, you can admire this historical gem from the street.

Resources :

As always one of the handiest books on the planet. Bob Vila’s Guide to Historic Homes of the South by, of course, Bob Vila. The book was printed in 1993, so you will have to find a copy at a used book seller or Amazon.


Film Junkie’s Guide to NC by Connie Nelson and Floyd Harris . Available from your favorite bookstore or directly from the publisher at www.blairpub.com.

Keep looking through my photos as I have other pictures of the marvelous home.


It was a true honor to visit this incredible home and I really appreciated the time the staff gave to me to make sure I didn’t get lost in the sea of kids. If you’re in town then you really must come and see this incredible home for yourself.

Very highly recommended.