An off-day in Raleigh: What to do?

The crew spent a lovely off-day in Raleigh today. Good weather, and most importantly, good food. After some early work for our various journalism outlets, brunch was spent at the universal breakfast place, IHOP. Jeremy in particular enjoyed a rather large steak omelet, and yours truly had a great couple of pancakes. Now seems like a perfect time to note that, despite John's pictures over the past few days, I am NOT a person to stuff my face at any occasion. He just happened to catch me at a bad time :(

After breakfast, it was press conference time, at which John and I represented the WMUC name. It was an easy distinction to make that coach Brenda Frese seemed very ready for the game against a talented Louisville team, while Jeff Walz, Angel McCoughtry and the Cardinals seemed a little nervous throughout their press conference. Whether that manifests itself on the court or not will have to be decided tomorrow. But we'll leave that for another post.

After the press conferences and a little relaxation time, dinner was at the "Raleigh Times Bar", about the only place in Raleigh that seemed to be open on a Sunday afternoon. And let me tell you, the place did not disappoint. The decor was perfect; an old-school, warehouse-type feel with old newspaper articles adorning the walls.


When you're appealing to three journalism students, you're in a good spot. Joined by friends of the station Aaron Kraut and Adam Fried, we enjoyed a truly great meal, in a spot where it has been a little tough to find anything appealing in the immediate area. For those of you scoring at home, chalk John Willmott up as 2 for 2 in coming up with clutch food decisions.

Tomorrow comes gameday, and with it the necessary breakfast stop at Biscuitville. The plan is to check back in with our pregame thoughts before the game. There's also talk of a crew golf game, to enjoy the beautiful weather. We'll check back in tomorrow. Until then...

--HD