Save money by taking short trip

Summer excursions: Destination Durham

With these prices at the gas pumps, who can splurge on a summer road trip? So keep your money -- most of it, anyway. Head to Durham.

Start out at the Ganyard Hill Farm on Holloway Street, where Wilbur the donkey might hee-haw a hello to you. Plop a quarter in the gumball machine for a handful of corn to offer the emus and chickens. The potbellied pigs have sharp teeth, so throw their corn on the ground. If you're feeling generous, buy a whole pound of corn for $1.50 and toss a few handfuls onto the tin roof near Wilbur's stall. Then watch the goats scamper up the ramp to nibble it there.

Then head down Holloway Street toward downtown Durham and the Scrap Exchange (closed Sundays), where you can unleash both your inner artist and environmental activist. This nonprofit store carries clean, reusable industrial discards, keeping them out of landfills and providing unusual toys for crafty people. Where else can you find a computer keyboard for $2, or test tubes for a quarter? You'll also find big foam tubes, film canisters, wallpaper, plastic fruit, magnets, leftover paint, carpet remnants and other treasures, just waiting to become part of a one-eyed monster or science project.

You can buy the items individually, or fill a paper grocery bag for $7.50. The better value might be the large plastic bag for $12. If you can't decide what to take home, try open studio time from 3 to 4:30 p.m. ($5, weekdays only), when you can use anything in the "Make-n-Take" room to create an eco-friendly masterpiece.

Next, take Chapel Hill Street and Chapel Hill Road to Lakewood Shopping Center, where secondhand bounty awaits you. Two thrift stores -- Thrift World and Pennies for Change -- are here, but for something even more eclectic, check out the Duke Surplus Store (closed Sundays and Mondays).

Here, you'll find the stuff that Duke University professors and doctors can't use anymore: glass bottles and flasks, hospital gurneys, an automatic gamma counter, microscopes, an old centrifuge, even vintage floppy disks. You might also score furniture for the house, from chairs for as little as $10, to desks -- of the dorm-room variety -- for $50. File cabinets, bookcases, dining tables, couches, computers and even cars are for sale.

An inexpensive international dining experience is within walking distance at Blue Nile Ethiopian Cuisine. There, you'll be greeted by colorful baskets and ornate robes hung on the walls.

What you won't find are knives or forks. All meals are served family-style, on a giant platter. Tear off pieces of "injera," a large crepe, to grab morsels of stewed beef or spicy chicken.

And don't pass up the coffee: Move to the big, comfy pillows on the stage, and kick off your shoes. When the frankincense is burning, it's easy to let go of the "bad spirits" and invite the good ones in, says owner Ter Mehari. The restaurant opens at 5 p.m. every night except Mondays. Entrees are less than $10.