Category: UNC-Chapel Hill Location (Page 1 of 3)

Visited 10/4/24, 9:00 am – 1 pm

Overall rating : 4

The entrance to the Art Library is located on the first floor of the Hanes Art Center, next to the Ackland Art Museum. Enter the building through the east entrance (facing Swain Lot) or the main entrance (facing Kenan Music Building).

The study space is nice and has impressive windows looking out over the courtyard. I didn’t find the downstairs particularly hospitable, I felt a bit like I was imposing, perhaps that has to do with I’m staff and considerably older than anyone there. I went to the upstairs and worked for several hours in a grad student cubicle, near a rarely found power outlet (my laptop seems to not hold much of a charge these days). The view was nice… but the carrels are older and tall, so they block the view of the campus. This is probably for good reason, to help the art history student focus on Vasari’s historys of the great Renaissance artists, maybe? Still, overall a nice place on a nice part of North campus.

The wifi was solid and I did get a bunch of work done. Not too many students before noon, as I’d expect on a Friday.

Comfort: 4

Electricity: 3

View: 4

Wifi: 5

First Floor

Second Floor

Outdoor Space

Study spot on the 2nd floor of Sloane Art Library. One of the few outlets was here on that pole. The carrels kinda get in the way of the view (this is both good and bad, imho)

Study carrel. Note obstructed view of chapel

First floor of Sloane Art Library. Nice desks and chairs, but lacking more power for my pathetic laptop battery.

The lovely outside entrance of Sloane Art Libary.

Visited: 9/6/24, 9:30 am – 1pm

Overal rating 3.25

Directions; Find the elevators in FedEx Global on the ground floor (note: coffee shop on ground floor!), go to the 4th floor. There are two parts of the rooftop, one to the right (with beehives) and one straight ahead. I went to the one straight ahead.

I had read about this location in Sophia Raspanti’s “11 Hidden Study Spots To Check Out!” post on Carolina Housing, so I was dying to check it out. How can I resist a rooftop? It’s pretty bare-bones, metal chairs and tables that are somewhat weathered, and there is only one outlet, with no power. The rooftop has a wall so it’s hard to see much off the edge, although the trees are nice. It’s reasonably quiet, too. The wifi was spotty, and no power outside, so if you have an aging laptop like I do, you’ve gotta not use power-hungry apps! The garden wasn’t so great, it didn’t look tended. There was a beehive or two, which was nice, but I didn’t inspect them closely. There is a small enclosed lobby right when you get out of the elevator, I believe this has power and a couple of tables, but there’s a conference room right there, so you might get interrupted if there’s an event. I noticed that while I was there, in the morning, it was nice and cool in the shade. I believe this is a west-facing patio, so I’d imagine by midday it’ll get sunny, so it might be hotter in the afternoon.

Comfort: 3

Electricity: 1

View: 3

Wifi: 3

FedEx Global Rooftop

FedEx Global Rooftop

Visited: 8/23/24 9am – 1pm

Overall rating: 5

Behind Meantime Coffee in the Campus Y is a card-access room called the Anne Queen Room. It’s primarily restricted to staff and faculty, is a reasonably quiet place, and is in a fantastic location on campus. Very high ceilings and long wooden tables, and a good variety of desk spaces and comfy chairs. I’d think a quiet zoom call with headphones would be okay: several people were doing so when I was there.

The tall windows allow for a lot of light to pour into the space, and I love the cream colored walls and dark trim. It’s a little less formal than other places, so it’s relaxing. Lots of power outlets around. This was an impressive first stop in my location adventure!

Anne Queen Room at the Campus Y

Comfort: 5

Electricity: 5

View: 5

Wifi: 5

Visited: 9/20/24, 9:30 am – 1pm

Overal rating 4.5

A lovely oaken walled location on the main quad and right between Morehead Planetarium and Franklin St. The large lobby is filled with comfy couches and big chairs, and several old wooden desks. The walls are all old polished oak and there are candelabras lighting the space. The floor is an old patterend wood  floor, and the ceilings are high and have recessed white panels. The space is mostly illuminated with large arched windows with old wavy glass, and you can look out on Morehead Planatarium and the Chapel just beyond it.

Here’s some info on Graham Memorial, built in 1931, “the building originally functioned as a student union. In consideration of the student union as the center of student life on campus, the building committee selected the site of the burned University Inn on McCorkle Place. The completed student union included the Horace Williams Library, a barber shop, a bowling alley, and game room, as well as offices for student publications.” In 1968 this became the Dramatic Arts Department, and then in 1992 became the Johnson Center for Undergraduate Excellence.

Comfort: 4

Electricity: 5

View: 5

Wifi: 4

Graham Memoiral

Graham Memorial, one of the two oaken desks you’ll find

Graham Memorial

(ratings: 1 is not very good, 5 is excellent)

In my 24 (!) years at UNC I’ve mostly worked on the edge of campus—at the amazing School of Government—and I’ve made a point to explore the lovely and expansive campus. Coming back from the covid pandemic allowed me the flexibiltiy to work remotely, and although my current department, UNC Creative, is 4-days a week in the office, I take one day a week to work somewhere on campus and enjoy the facilities and amenities that UNC-Chapel Hill has to offer. I’ve got a rudimentary and not-so-scientifc method of ranking each location by comfort, noise level, power for laptops, wifi, and accessibility. Please send suggestions my way!

Gig posters and hungry kids at Big Bad Wolf near Nashville, TN

Cool tour bus for Hall of The Elders, from Atlanta, who are headed for the Van’s Warped Tour.

July 8, 2017

Our last day! Pretty much a big blast across Tennessee. We woke up and had a quick breakfast, then packed the car and were on our way. The trees got taller, the air more humid, and we passed through Nashville around lunch. We couldn’t agree on where to stop for lunch (Lynne and I voted for the downtown farmer’s market that our good friend Melissa suggested), so we we headed east of town and found a great bbq place called “Big Bad Wolf”  on Yelp. I didn’t actually vote for this place because of the BBQ, but more for the amazing gig posters they have on the walls that I saw in the Yelp photos. Turns out this BBQ was delicious and the staff was really friendly. Their sign was being fixed so it was a little hard to find, but it was worth it. Delicious brisket sandwich, and kids enjoyed their mac-n-cheese, and hamburgers. I took several photos of the screen printed posters, and talked to the employees… turns out they cater quite a bit to the Ryman Auditorium and several other venues in Nashville, so they get autographed posters all the time. The owner supposedly has amassed quite a collection at home.

We were back on the road and continued our long journey home, finally arriving at 1am. It was indeed a slog, but it was nice to be home. I really wanted to camp this night, but thinking about the setup/tear down times I think we made the better decision by coming home.

We stopped for our last tank of gas somewhere near Greensboro, and saw a schoolbus painted with Pikachu and with the words @halloftheelders on it, which I assumed was probably a band of some sort. Desmond loved the look of the van so he hopped out to take a look. I was indeed correct, Hall Of The Elders is a band, and are headed to New Jersey for the Van’s Warped Tour.

That’s about it! We’ll hopefully wrap up our favorite memories in the next week or two.

Keychain the kids got me: “Daddy, you’re hashtag one Dad!”

Keychain the kids got me.

Chicken Vindaloo at Kountry Xpress in Mulberry, AR

Kountry Xpress in Mulberry, AR. Unassuming truck stop, but golly what great Indian cuisine.

Our meal at Kountry Xpress in Mulberry, AR. Lynne had the Paneer Korma and we split the onion naan.

July 7, 2017

We woke up in Amarillo a bit early, packed up, and went to the Big Texan Steak Ranch for breakfast. We’d been here several times before; the first time way back in the 90s with our Uncle Clyde and Aunt Sybil, and we’ve always found an excuse to come back every time we pass through Amarillo. It’s a maze of Western kitsch and we love every inch of it. Sadly we weren’t around in the evening, or we would have ordered steaks. We had a good time and took a bunch of photos, then headed out East to see how far we could get.

We had decided, as a group, that we’d vote on how we’d spend our last few days of the trip. Granted, we’ve been gone for 2-1/2 weeks, so the kids were grumbling and kinda fed up with all the driving. Lynne and I wanted to go camping for our last night on the road, in the Great Smokies. But reading the crowd and judging how we felt, we all decided to press on and get back to Chapel Hill. It was a wise decision in the end, but it was quite a haul.

Our trip took us from the high plains of the panhandle, with wind power and large cattle ranches, through the slow hills of Oklahoma where the trees started to get larger and the air more humid.

By the time we go to Fort Smith, Arkansas, we were getting pretty hungry. Lynne did a Yelp search for a good local place to eat, and found something called Kountry Xpress. Turns out, the place is an Indian restaurant, and the ratings on both Yelp and TripAdvisor were outstanding! So, we just had to give it a go. The truck stop itself is pretty uninspiring, just a gas station with the regular truck stop gear and things, but right when you walk in you get the amazing aroma of Indian spices. We were skeptical but ordered Chicken Vindaloo (me) and Paneer Korma (Lynne), and some fried chicken and macaroni and cheese for the kiddos. It took a while to get the food, which was OK with us since we were so tired of being in the car, and when it did come it was truly outstanding. Thank goodness we made the effort, this was the best food we’ve had in quite some time, and rivals any of the Indian restaurants back home.

Onward through the night, we made it to Little Rock and pressed on, finally getting to West Memphis by around 11:30 at night. We pretty much just went right to bed, exhausted.

Wind power in Colorado

The Jr. Rangers rest under a tree at Bent’s Old Fort, Colorado

The encroaching storm on the plains of Colorado

Wind power in Oklahoma

Gretchen points to where we are in Oklahoma, Lynne is looking for the Santa Fe Trail

Kids at hotel in La Junta, Colorado

Desmond at Bent’s Old Fort, Colorado

Outside Bent’s Old Fort, Colorado

Bent’s Old Fort, Colorado

Antique game of checkers at Bent’s Old Fort, Colorado

Bent’s Old Fort, Colorado

The lightning storm outside Amarillo TX

July 4, 2017
La Junta is a small Colorado town with a lot of railroads, and some farms. It’s very flat, with the smells of feedlots and cattle drifting through  town. After the hotel breakfast we stopped at our usual, Sonic, for cherry limeades. We took the north route through town, crossed the Arkansas River, and took a right to Bent’s Old Fort. This was a trading fort on the northern leg of the Santa Fe Trail, about 100 miles north of the Cimarron branch, and was operational from the 1830s through the 1880s. It’s at an interesting place between the high plains and the mountains, and between Native, Mexican, and American territories. We got there probably around 11 o’clock in the morning, put our sunscreen on and went for a short walk to the fort. I had been there before, in 1976 when I was 10, right after the fort was renovated. It still looks pretty much the same as I remembered; a stucco exterior, two-story, and a large courtyard. There were all kinds of items relevant to the period–buckskins, knives, wagon wheels– and people in period garb explaining the functions and activities of an early 19th century trading post. There is a functional blacksmith workshop, a carpentry room, as well as a kitchen and livery with horses and chickens. It’s fascinating to see this place in almost working order. When I was a youngster this place sparked my imagination, I remember writing stories about the Santa Fe trail and the frontier and Bent’s Old Fort. The kids did Jr. Ranger packets, and there were a lot of 4th of July activities; a parade of sorts, the firing of the fort canon, and a reading of the Declaration of Independence in its entirety by one of the people in period garb. We had a good time exploring all the rooms on both levels of the fort. We talked to a nice family from Ulysses, Kansas, who also take their kids to national parks and monuments to engage them in their nation’s history.

It got hot, well into the 90s, and we realized it was almost 3! Time to go, unfortunately.
We headed east to Lemar, took a right and after a quick subway sandwich, headed south through the panhandle of Oklahoma and into Texas. It was really really flat. We did see traces of the Santa Fe Trail cut into the grassy landscape. As we descended south into Texas, large gray clouds were gathering on the horizon. We saw lightning scattering inside the clouds, the winds picked up, and by the time we were just north of Amarillo we saw the most incredible lightning storm we’d ever seen, with flashes almost every second. In the midst of all of this, several towns had fireworks bursting above, which was an odd but amazing sight to see. The rains started in earnest on the outskirts of Amarillo, which made driving difficult. It wasn’t as bad as some Southern storms, however.
We checked into our hotel around 11:30 and went to bed, exhausted.

The Great Sand Dunes National Park

Mariah and Desmond take Fifi for a walk at the Great Sand Dunes

Charlotte at the Great Sand Dunes

Spanish Peaks, CO

July 3, 2017
It’s our time to say goodbye to Lynne’s parents and hit the road, so we woke up early and packed the car, and had a quick breakfast at the hotel. Papa (Lynne’s father) helped “grade” the twins’ last Jr. Ranger packets, these were the Night Sky badges that the ranger at Dinosaur National Monument gave to us, and made us promise to check their packets once the kids were finished. They passed with flying colors, according to Papa!
Charlotte and Mariah planned to come to the Great Sand Dunes with us, so we drove in a caravan down I 70, and took a right on route 24, and drove down the twisty roads through Minturn and Burma Vista, passed beautiful 14,000 foot peaks and abandoned mining towns, and passed several busses carrying river rafts and thrill-seekers. Lynne and Charlotte ride in one car, and I took Mariah and the twins in the Family Sport Wagon. I chose some tunes for Mariah to listen to, she’s been asking quite a bit about new music. At one point the subject changed to favorite albums, and of course I had to play the new remix of the Beatle’s Sgt. Peppers, and what a better time than driving several hours through such expansive and beautiful scenery. (The remix is absolutely phenomenal, by the way). Plus, I had the kids’ attention and they couldn’t escape, so their ears were mine for a short while.
I had a good time catching up with my niece Mariah, she’s a young artist and is interested in so many similar things; music, art, comics, and travel.
An interesting (?) note about our music; we have listened to quite a bit of music on this trip, but not as much as I would’ve liked. Lynne and I like to listen to location-specific music that goes with the terrain we drive through. For instance, In South Dakota and Iowa Lynne and I listened to a bunch of George Jones, and truck driving and CB music of the 1970s (which I have been collecting for years). In Wyoming, we listened to a bunch of western swing music, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, and the like. In southern Wyoming, when we got out of the Tetons and Jackson hole, we listen to all of Rank and File’s “Sundown” record. I hadn’t listen to that album in maybe 20 years or so, and it still stands up, it’s great. I’d argue that it pre-dated alt-country by 10 years or more. After that, on a lark, Lynne and I listened to a bunch of Elton John from the early 1970s, most especially Tumbleweed Junction, and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. On the drive to the Great Sand Dunes I played a selection of tunes I thought Mariah would like, including Band of Horses, Telekinesis, and Depeche Mode. For some reason, the twins really enjoyed the song “Shake the Disease” and even sing along with it for a bit! That was quite a surprise.
We all met up at the great Sand Dunes, a collection of sand at the base of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, where there’s a visitor center and a little creek that runs off to the side. The kids got Jr Ranger packets and got to work while I snapped some photos and smelled the fresh mountain air.
We took a quick stop at the creek, then struggled through the sand while the kids built dams in the sandy creek bed. After an hour or so we went back to the visitor center, kids got the Ranger badges just in time for the visitor center close. We had a quick snack outside, and said goodbye to Charlotte and Mariah. We headed south and turned left to Walsenburg, while Charlotte turned right and went to Alamosa.
We drove around a gigantic mountain, through the beautiful plains, then through a canyon that took us past the Spanish peaks. We went through the little town of Walsenburg, which seemed a little rundown and worse for the wear. I had been through Walsenburg years before on a crazy bike trip I took with my father and brother back in 1981. We rode from Trinidad to Pueblo, Colorado, the next day to La Junta, and the final day back to Trinidad. We passed through Walsenburg for a quick lunch on the way north to Pueblo. This was in the time long before lycra shorts and fancy helmets, and even before panniers and multiple water bottles. Most of the riding we did was on freeways–roads are few and far between in these parts.
We arrived at La Junta around 9, and since it was Monday almost all the restaurants are closed except for Sonic. That was OK, we got some burgers and tater tot’s, and of course some cherry limeade’s to drink, and took them to the motel where we stayed up late watching American Pickers.

Sampson family at Sylvan Lake CO

Cousins at Sylvan Lake, CO

Sylvan Lake, CO

Sampson sisters, Sylvan Lake CO

Cousins screenin’ at Grand Avenue Grill, Eagle CO

Cousins goofin’ at Grand Avenue Grill, Eagle CO

Gretchen and Grammy at Grand Avenue Grill, Eagle CO

Yeah! Family time!

Desmond braiding Lynne’s hair at the Rusty Boot, Eagle CO

Sketching at Bonfire Brewery, Eagle, CO

Lynne and Laura Sampson at Sampson Cycles, Glenwood Springs CO

Delicious tacos at Slope and Hatch, Glenwood Springs CO

Daddy and Desi at Glenwood Springs CO

Kids after the big green tube, Glenwood Springs CO

June 30-July 2, 2017
We were in Eagle, Colorado for three days, a nice break from the stop-and-go travel, and a good place to have a family reunion. Lynne’s parents Tom and Arlene came up from Phoenix, Lynne’s sister Charlotte and her daughter Mariah drove from Santa Fe, and Laura and Joe from next door in Gypsum. Desmond and Gretchen were happy to rest a few days and hang out with their cousin Mariah and her little dog Fifi, and see their grandparents and aunts. I took some time to sketch some journal illustrations, and update this blog, and Lynne loved seeing and catching up with her family.
FRIDAY. After our hotel breakfast and dog walking we went up in the mountains for a picnic at Sylvan Lake. It’s a gorgeous camping and picnic spot perched at 9000 ft. above sea level and surrounded by dark green pines and breezy aspen groves. We were there a few hours, Gretchen and I, along with Aunt Charlotte and Aunt Laura, walked around the lake. Gretchen took off her shoes and walked through streams and over mountain rocks, telling me that she “takes the road less travelled”. It was a lovely afternoon, I really miss western mountains. That night we ate at the Grand Avenue Grill and hung out, enjoying the clean mountain air.
SATURDAY. We took it easy this morning, I took Desmond and Gretchen to the hotel steam room, which they thought was crazy, and then for a swim. We walked to the Eagle Diner for a snack. Joe joined us at the diner, and spent the rest of the day with us. Back at the hotel the cousins bopped around and played video games, and then we all went to a city park to relax in the view of the mountains. Later that night we went to the Rusty Boot, a cyclist-themed bar and restaurant with excellent salads and deserts. After that we went back to the hotel. I decided to wander to the local Bonfire Brewery, where I did some sketching on the back porch next to an actual propane bonfire, drank a couple of beers, then took a slow stroll back to the hotel under the starry sky.
SUNDAY. Charlotte and Mariah went to the Denver ComicCon, Tom and Arlene opted to relax in Eagle, the rest of us and Laura went to Glenwood Springs. Another amazing drive through Glenwood Canyon, and we parked in downtown Glenwood Springs. By chance we parked in front of the Sampson bicycle shop (http://www.sampsonsports.com/), so we went inside to check it out. Eric Sampson happened to be there, so we talked to him and took a few photos of these titanium racing cycles, then he sent us to a great home-in-the-Wall taco joint called Slope and Hatch where we had some amazingly tasty fresh tacos. After that we milled around Glenwood Springs, Aunt Laura bought a few books for the kids, then we all went to the huge hot springs and soaked a while. The pools are enormous, the hottest one is about the size of an Olympic swimming pool, and the other cooler pool is twice that size. The kids went down the fun yet terrifying green slide that’s in yet another pool. We swam some more, then showered up and left. Back to Eagle, then a quick dinner at The Eagle Diner with the family. We chatted some more with Laura and then bid her adieu, and went to bed very tired.