I visited Norfolk back in 2010 on the way to a rendevue with my father for a planned sailing trip down the east coast of America.
I rode the Greyhound Bus from Raleigh, North Carolina, up through Richmond, Virginia, where I had a layover and was able to access the internet via WiFi.
Norfolk has a large naval shipyard and i was excited to photograph the ships in port.
There were also a few tall ships and historical pieces.
The Wine Festival was taking place on the day I arrived in town.
I’ve lived in Youngsville for the past 19 years. I moved to NC in late 2007 after returning from my European trip.
My first job was as a cashier at the Kerr Drug pharmacy in Franklinton. I worked there for 9 months; during which time I was promoted to Key Cashier.
I quit that job in July of 2008, and remained unemployed until April of 2011 when I answered a Craigslist ad for a handyman job in Wake Forest. I don’t recall how long I held the position.
Later that year, in October, I was hired on as a cashier at the local CVS Pharmacy here in Youngsville.
In May of 2012, I injured my back at work and soon resigned. I would later be rehired and continue working until mid 2020. I received an 8 Years Good Service Certificate from CVS Health.
I can’t really say the town has changed much in the past to decades. The changes that can be seen are rather small, but it is a small town.
Perhaps the biggest change was the roof collapse of Griffin’s Restaurant back in 2022.
The side of the building had a wonderful mural on it. I can’t seem to find a photo from before the destruction.
I believe sometime in 2025, I mistakenly deleted a folder that had photos from 2012 and 2018, including a trip to Brooklyn, NY.
There are a bunch of churches in town including a mega-church complex just outside of town. I photographed 3 of them, the others don’t really have much architectural appeal. Some don’t even have stained glass windows.
The traffic pattern was recently updated with construction finishing sometime in 2025. The traffic is still bad though. We really need a bypass with all of the new housing developments going up.
The population has just blown up in the last 5 years.
There are many new subdivisions around the outskirts of Youngsville. Most are still under construction. I think Timberlake Preserve is the only finished one I have seen, though there could be more construction off beyond view.
These developments are massive. I’d be happy just owning a quarter acre.
Article updated on 1/19/2025 to include additional footage from the RDU Observatory Park.
With some free time at the airport while awaiting a relatives arrival, I took some photos of planes and the sculpture, and easter eggs in the airport entrance and waiting areas.
I had a bad experience with the parking area and got lost, then got charged extra. I was there for about an hour and a half, but I was charged for 3 hours.
On my return to the airport to drop off my relative, I got to take some much clearer shots of the planes at Terminal 2.
I came across Wilton while checking prices on Zillow for houses and land. When I checked the map, Wilton didn’t show up right away, so I had to futz with the zoom to get the name to show.
Its an unincorporated town with a few landmarks letting you know where you are.
The local Wilton Elementary and Wilton Grill bear the towns name.
Wilton is located in Granville county which lies along the state border with VA.
Wilton High School was originally built in 1924 and remained in operation until 1962 when the larger Granville High School was built to serve the county. The high school was then converted to an elementary and has been in operation since.
There is a local Wilton EMS / Granville EMS Station 2 is in town just down the road from the elementary school.
After I decided on a trip to Wilton, I saw that I would first pass through Franklinton and end near Creedmoor, so I incorporated those two stops into my itinerary.
The center of town lies at the intersection of NC-56 and NC-96.
Sitting on the north east corner is a 76 branded fuel station, and the Wilton Grill sits at the northwest corner.
On the south-west side of the crossing you’ll find Adriano’s Pizzeria, and across to the east is a Dollar General store.
Wilton Grill (https://www.wiltongrill.com/)
Hours: Weekdays 6:30am-8pm, Saturday 6:30am-3pm, and Sunday 7:30am-3pm.
Adriano’s Pizzeria (https://adrianospizzerianc.com/about)
Hours: Closed on Monday, Open Tuesday-Saturday 3-8pm, and 1-8pm on Sundays.
An unexpected journey today. I volunteered to return an extra turkey that had been mistakenly packed in with my mother’s regular delivery route.
It was a 45 minute drive down to Raleigh to the farmers market (1201 Agriculture Street, 27603), the traffic was considerable.
After I dropped the parcel, I decided to browse the market and take some photos to share.
I’ve only been here maybe twice before since moving to the area. We bought fertilizer at a business nearby in the commercial area.
I was probably dragged along once as well after moving here. A familial mandatory “tour” for new residents.
The perfect activity for a socially inept introvert. Smile, nod, mumble. Mission accomplished.
Thankfully, I’m far more adjusted these days. I quite enjoyed today’s activities.
I’ll have more details on my trip to Wilton and Creedmoor in a couple days. Thanks for reading.
Creedmoor is a city in Granville County.
There are several small local restaurants in town covering a significant number of cuisines. I saw Cajun, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, American, and Italian.
I realized I had been here previously last year, just after I got my Nissan LEAF. I had been driving around to potential job locations trying to get a feel for how long the drive would be and if that was something I would be up for.
I found a spot to park and walked along the City Trail for a short distance. Despite all the traffic, you could still hear the birds and insects that call the marsh their home.
I took the 50 South exit and headed down to Falls Lake State Park and one of the boat launch areas.
Knightdale is a town in Wake County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, Knightdale has a population of 19,435.
The story of Knightdale starts with exploration and discovery. The community, which goes beyond today’s boundaries, has a history that dates back to the colonial era in America (Read More).
Situated about 20 miles from my home to the north, the drive to Knightdale was pleasant from my perspective, maybe not so much for the cars stuck behind me. You see, I’m something of a speed limit zealot.
With Fall in full swing there was plenty to see. While the oaks were already bare, there were several other breeds including the odd maple that were full ablaze in orange and red.
The road conditions, however, were not great. More than once I had to navigate around busted up pavement edges and potholes.
In town, train tracks ran down the center and roads ran alongside with crossings spread far apart. I initially drove around and snapped shots of local shops, then I stopped by the local Goodwill and browsed their stock.
One of my personal rules for these trips is that I don’t bring any money. I’m just their to observe and record my surroundings.
After breakfast on Thursday, I decided to walk across town to my old house on Eddy Street.
1265 Eddy. It was part of a first time home owners project. There were six homes to be built, 3 each on two different streets. The future homeowners took part in the construction process.
I recall afternoons after school visiting the work sites where my mother was busy hammering nails and hoisting lumber.
After construction I lived in a big two-story home with a nice yard, a tree out back and my dog. I had my own room, we had a guest room for company.
A friend of my mother visiting from Canada stayed with us once. And another friend lived with us for a time in the guest room. She had a little one-eyed cat, I think it’s name was Fafnir.
I would ride my bicycle to Grant Street where I attended an alternative school program called ICE. It provided some classroom instruction for home schooled children. After graduating ICE, I attended the local high-school through my sophomore year. From then on I rode the bus most mornings, unless I slept in.
My mother worked at the nurse’s station at Jefferson hospital for a awhile but she couldn’t continue.
The housing was an inventive idea, but we couldn’t make the payments on the mortgage and sadly had to sell the home. We got very little after paying the bank back. After that we lived in a single-wide trailer outside of town on a gravel and dirt track named Hidden Trails Road.
Continued in On Walkabout: Hidden Trails Road
As you have likely heard by now Adobe, the software company, is facing yet another scandal.
A simple search for “Adobe” on Google or YouTube will bring about a long list of negative articles and videos showcasing the many failures of this firm.
The FTC, an American regulatory organization, has charged Adobe with deceiving consumers about early termination fees and inhibited cancelation of services.
They are now saying that company executives hid those fees behind multiple layers in contracts, in small print, and charged as much as half a years worth of subscription charges as an early cancelation fee.
AI is the new camera,
this headline was another recent blunder by Adobe staff.
It was such an unfortunate expression considering the vast majority of Adobe users are photographers and filmmakers whose livelihoods are being threatened by the rise of generative AI.
Changes in the terms of service for the software have suggested that Adobe intends to use the personal photos and other media that users have stored on their cloud accounts to train its new Firefly AI software.
This betrayal and theft of data has enlarged the outcry by customers and pundits of the industry.
Before that, in 2013, Adobe was hacked and at least 38 million creditcard numbers were released. It was found during the investigation that Adobe had used the same encryption password for all of the accounts.
Then there were the kickbacks to federal employees, 3 million (USD) to employees to get them to choose Adobe software for their computer systems.
The more recent scandals have shaken the confidence of common users of the software and has led to a mass drive to cancel and calls for a boycott.
Despite the online shame, Adobe’s stock price has not seen great losses and shareholders continue support the embattled company. Since it’s early IPO at 17 cents (USD) to today’s 533 dollars per share, investors remain confident.
It likely will not end with this action by the FTC. Consumer led lawsuits are on the way. Although those rarely lead to a beneficial return for affected users.
If you have suffered a loss or feel you have cheated or defrauded by Adobe your best bet in my opinion would be to send a demand letter.
You can find guides for demand letters on YouTube. Demand letters are often used to extract funds from nefarious robo-callers.
There are sure to be more scandals on the horizon unless the administration of the firm see’s a restructuring or a change of the guard.
As time will tell, bad actors make for bad leaders.
Do you use Adobe software? What do you think about this current scandal.
Do you plan on switching or sticking with Adobe? Drop me a comment.
We regularly get squirrels and deer each season. The deer are always trying to get into our vegetable garden and most years they succeed!
There are three species of rabbits native to North Carolina. In my region, we get these Eastern Cottontails.
Well, this wasn’t really a wild animal. But it did take a while to clean him up and find a nice family to adopt.
Fat Wallet Refugee 