Short & Sweet - Our Spontaneous Trip to Raleigh

When Chris texted me Thursday morning saying that he had an idea of something for us to do over the weekend, I thought he meant something around town, dinner or shopping.  I never thought he meant going on a trip.  Little did I know he had already looked up tickets to the Rangers/Hurricanes game and found a fantastic hotel in Raleigh for the weekend.  After much debating Thursday night whether we should go or not, we finally decided to go and enjoy a weekend away.  We figured it would truly be the last good getaway before he starts studying for the Step 2 of his Board exam after the holidays.

We had been to Raleigh once before for a Rangers/Hurricanes game, but apparently visited the wrong area.  We were, to say the least, less than impressed with the area last time we visited.  The area we stayed in this weekend was called North Hills and it was amazing!  It had little shopping areas all over, really nice hotels, great restaurants and a Harris Teeter right across the street.  We enjoyed a great dinner at Yard House Friday night (pictures below) and walked around a bit afterwards and enjoyed the lights in the area.

When we woke up Saturday morning and saw that it was snowing/sprinkling rain, we were at a loss of what to do until the hockey game that evening.  All the little shopping areas around the hotel were outside and were meant to be enjoyed in dry weather.  Chris did a little researching online and found Crabtree Valley Mall about 5 minutes away.  What did we have to lose?  Well, apparently money :)  This mall was by far the best mall either of us have ever been to!  It had all the right stores, high end to browse and window shop in, clothing stores that fit our personalities, and plenty of restaurants to choose from for lunch.  Traffic was a nightmare getting off the exit, but what mall isn't a nightmare of cars the Saturday before Christmas???

After a full day (and I mean full day of 5+ hours) of shopping, we hurried back to the hotel and changed for the Rangers game.  We got there early enough to go down to the glass and watch them warm-up, which in my opinion is the best part of going to the games!  Chris is a die-hard Rangers fan, and after dating him for almost 3 years, I can say that I am as well.  It has sucked me in and I was up yelling and screaming when they scored with all the other Rangers fans in the arena.  The game ended up going into a shootout, which I absolutely love to watch!  Terribly nerve-wracking, but thrilling at the same time!  The Rangers won with Mats Zuccarello's goal in the shootout.  After only paying $90 for seats about 10 rows off the glass, I can say it was an amazing night!

After the game ended, we walked around the shopping centers by our hotel and enjoyed the Christmas lights!  Great area to stay in, I highly recommend North Hills to anyone visiting Raleigh.  On top of that, I really highly recommend the Hyatt House in North Hills to anyone needing a place to stay!  The nicest hotel I've ever stayed in - full studio apartment with kitchen and massive bathroom.