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What to do for Fall Break in NC

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Betty Liu Student Contributor, Duke University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Duke chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Fall break is approaching quickly and just in time to save our brains from frying due to all this schoolwork. If you are staying on campus, here is a four-day itinerary.  Even if you are going somewhere for fall break, you’ll have to check these places out at some point.

Day 1:
 
Take a day trip to Carowinds in Charlotte, NC to add some excitement in your life. Carowinds is known as the thrill capital of the Southeast and has a variety of roller coasters, thrill rides, and water rides. It is the home of the “Intimidator,” the tallest, fastest, and longest coaster in the Southeast. It also has coasters with four consecutive 350 degree loops and a 450 degree uphill helix. If you go on October 8th and buy 4 or more tickets online, then you can get 17 dollars off each ticket. 
 
Location: 14523 Carowinds Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28273
 
Travel time: 3 hours
 

Day 2:
 
Venture out to Wilmington Beach to catch some of summer’s last rays.  Even in early October, Wilmington weather is roughly in the 80’s.  Get your last chance to get that nice summer glow that will (unfortunately) be fading soon.  Need I say more?
 
If you can stay overnight, make sure to go downtown to check out the Wilmington nightlife. 
 
Travel Time: 2.5 hours

Day 3:
 
Stay closer to Duke and go explore Eno River State Park. This state park has 10 different trails ranging from .42 miles to 3.75 miles.  The park is also home to the Eno Quarry. The quarry is not short of massive rocks for you and your friends to rest on and have a nice picnic lunch. Also, now that you have rediscovered your thrill-seeking side at Carowinds, make sure to bring your swimsuit so you can jump into the quarry to cool off after your hike.
 
Location: Howe Street in Northwest Durham (near the intersection of Hillsborough Road and Sparger Road)
 
Travel Time: 10-15 minutes

Day 4:
After running around North Carolina, take a break and go shopping at Crabtree Mall, the largest enclosed mall in the Triangle. Driving half an hour for a mall may seem ridiculous, but you’ll completely forget about the commute when you see this mall.  This mall makes Northgate and Southpointe look like a joke.  It has almost any store your heart could desire: Banana Republic, Bebe, Coach, Express, Guess, H&M,  J. Crew, Ninewest, Sephora, XXI Forever, and more. Hungry after all that shopping? Crabtree is not short of places to eat with ,PF Chang’s, Cheesecake Factory, and many more!  
 
Location: 4325 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27612
 
Travel Time: 30 minutes
 
Photo Sources:
Carowinds: http://www.themeparkcritic.com/Uploads/5971/carowinds17.jpg
 
Wilmington Beach: http://pics4.city-data.com/cpicc/cfiles43607.jpg  
 
Eno River State Park: http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/enri/main.php
 
Crabtree Mall: http://cache.marriott.com/propertyimages/r/rduee/phototour/rduee_phototour32.jpg?Log=1

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Betty Liu

Duke

Betty Liu is a senior at Duke University where she is majoring in Biomedical Engineering.  Although her main interests lie in bioengineering, she loves keeping up with the latest trends on Duke's campus. Also, she enjoys learning about new music, reading and travelling around the world. One of her life dreams is to go to all seven continents! So far, she has been to four.