I'm sorry, we don't do transfers anymore
According to the website, you were able to get on at the airport, pay there, and not have to pay when you got on the bus to Chapel Hill. Now this wouldn't normally be a problem; I carry enough money to pay for a bus fare. Except that for some reason, all the buses only take exact change and I only had a $20 note.
Which left me stranded in the middle of the Research Triangle Park. I set off to find somewhere to get some change. It turns out that the Park is a really bad place to attempt this. Nothing. No, wait, there was an abandoned cafe, which looked as if it had been vacant for at least six months. I did think about locating the RedHat building and throwing myself at their mercy, but thought it probably wasn't the best of ideas. Which left me with one option: walk to Durham.
Americans do not believe in paving either side of a major road. I was unfortunately on the wrong side of the road, and the prospect of crossing a busy four-lane highway didn't really appeal to me that much. Mind you, going across the Interstate bridge by walking on the road part didn't either, but I had no choice in that. And then, just for giggles, it started to rain.
An hour later, I made it to the Durham city limits (incidentally, I passed the hotel that we stayed in back in August), and dove into the first fast-food outlet that presented itself. Then all I had to do was buy enough food to get me single dollar bills. This sounds easy, but sales tax meant I had to visit the counter twice before I had what I needed. Then all I had to do was find a bus stop, wait twenty minutes for a bus to sharply brake in front of me, and I was on the way back to Chapel Hill.
Today's lessons: always carry plenty of change. And never trust the Internet...