SOLO ROADTRIP: RALEIGH & DURHAM [NC]
so things are gonna go in a new direction for awhile. i have not finished my solo trip to europe (from october!), but i'm working on it. i really don't have an excuse, but lately i have had things thrown at me and that has kept me busy. adulting i guess. i just got back from another trip and i really want to spend my time talking about that because it's fresh (i learned from my euro trip).
due to a series of unfortunate events, i ended up going on a road trip through the south (or southeast, whichever you prefer) alone. at first i planned on just cancelling altogether but could not get any credit for the flight (damn me for finding such a good deal) and about 75% of my hotels. it was either spend a lot of money on my own and enjoy myself or lose money and get absolutely nothing out of it. i chose the former. i was the most scared about driving, but that proved to not be so bad (los angeles has prepared me). it did take some adjusting to being stuck at the hotel alone and bored, but i think that was just because of the jitters.
overall, i really enjoyed my trip. much more than i thought. even though europe was fun, it was stressful. for this trip, i did not need to worry about language or transportation (i rented a car), so i was able to relax more. also, i think i found my type of people. i like the southern sensibility. the history is complicated, but the people are kind (except atlanta, sorry atlanta). i also loved the accent (unpopular opinion, but the carolina accent is my favorite american accent) and the terms and phrases used by locals. also, as the dixie chicks once sang about, i enjoyed those 'wide open spaces.'
i woke up in the wee hours of the morning for my 7 am flight to raleigh, north carolina. on a side note, the flight attendant said no "wacky-tobacky" (i love that word). once landing, i took my first solo lyft ride (i had only shared rides in dc and once with a co-worker). i was a little nervous, but billy was good company to the rental center. he warned me about millipedes and cicadas. once i got my wonderful little red nissan versa i made my way to downtown durham for dinner.
this is when i discovered how great the country radio stations are in this region. in socal, there is only one station and it only plays contemporary country (mostly bro-country and country/rap) except a couple hours of throwback songs on sunday mornings. here they also play bluegrass and 90s classics. also there was a jazz station which was fun.
for dinner i went to a little place called toast, a local italian spot. i ordered 3 types of crostini (pesto, mozarella, & tomato; caponata, goat cheese, & pine nuts; avocado, lemon, & grana padano) with a salad.
i then checked into the hotel, stopped at the grocery store, and called it a night. the hotel room did not have a fridge, so i converted the safe into an ice cooler. the first night was rough. i prefer taking red-eye flights and being sleep deprived because by the end of your first day you can easily pass out. i stayed up late, found out bad news about a job promotion, and had the cops stop by (apparently there was a dv complaint made in the neighboring room).
my room for the next two nights.
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the next day i started my morning late (due to the lack of sleep). i made my first intimidating drive to downtown raleigh and it really was not too bad. first stop was the north carolina museum of history (fyi. it's free!). it was a good way to spend a couple hours, except all the high schoolers who were there. they are the worst. i really enjoyed the temporary exhibit on wwi. the room was set up like trenches.
they also had a section where you can take a picture as a soldier and it is displayed on a wall of frames with others. thats was fun.
i also found out the state flower was dogwood, which also happened to be in bloom. it's a beautiful flowered tree. i saw them all over both carolinas.
i then walked through downtown. it was so empty for being a state capitol. i was going to pick up a bite, but there was a power outage in the neighborhood so that was out of the question. i then made my way back towards durham and had to go through the north carolina state university area (sooo many roundabouts), so i found a bougie coffee shop to stop at. there was a deal, on their 'broo hoos.'
i don't know what it really was. it was some kind of iced cold brew with chocolate and sprinkles. i enjoyed it.
i then made my way to bennett place, where the largest surrender of confederate soldiers occurred during the civil war. because it was their anniversary month, there were reenactors demonstrating the way of life on the farm and soldier things. i ended up not staying very long and just took a short walk.
next stop was duke homestead. i really enjoyed this site. it is run by state parks and consists of a museum and original or reconstructed historical structures. after the civil war, washington duke created the largest tobacco farm in the country. eventually they moved to where duke university and the american tobacco historic district is today (obviously the university was named after him).
the tour was great. the docent grew up on a tobacco farm in the area and is a retired history teacher (he also has a wonderful carolina drawl). i took the tour with some old lady iowans that adopted me into their group. that was nice. the most resonating thing i learned is that durham was the city of tobacco and became the city of medicine. ironic, right?
with the guided tour, you get to see inside the duke home.
i found out that there was some cotton growing on the property. i had never seen a cotton plant so i ran in the field and ended up not getting to close because of the hissing cicadas. they jump and are loud. i don't like them.
i woke up in the wee hours of the morning for my 7 am flight to raleigh, north carolina. on a side note, the flight attendant said no "wacky-tobacky" (i love that word). once landing, i took my first solo lyft ride (i had only shared rides in dc and once with a co-worker). i was a little nervous, but billy was good company to the rental center. he warned me about millipedes and cicadas. once i got my wonderful little red nissan versa i made my way to downtown durham for dinner.
my only company for the next 10 days.
this is when i discovered how great the country radio stations are in this region. in socal, there is only one station and it only plays contemporary country (mostly bro-country and country/rap) except a couple hours of throwback songs on sunday mornings. here they also play bluegrass and 90s classics. also there was a jazz station which was fun.
for dinner i went to a little place called toast, a local italian spot. i ordered 3 types of crostini (pesto, mozarella, & tomato; caponata, goat cheese, & pine nuts; avocado, lemon, & grana padano) with a salad.
da dish
i realized i was close to the american tobacco histroric district, which is very misleading. it's not very historic. it is really just a business district with old looking buildings that also houses duke university.
i then checked into the hotel, stopped at the grocery store, and called it a night. the hotel room did not have a fridge, so i converted the safe into an ice cooler. the first night was rough. i prefer taking red-eye flights and being sleep deprived because by the end of your first day you can easily pass out. i stayed up late, found out bad news about a job promotion, and had the cops stop by (apparently there was a dv complaint made in the neighboring room).
my room for the next two nights.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
view outside my hotel room.
they also had a section where you can take a picture as a soldier and it is displayed on a wall of frames with others. thats was fun.
who is that goober?
north carolina takes pride in the fact that the wright brothers made and flew the first airplane here.
i also found out the state flower was dogwood, which also happened to be in bloom. it's a beautiful flowered tree. i saw them all over both carolinas.
i then walked through downtown. it was so empty for being a state capitol. i was going to pick up a bite, but there was a power outage in the neighborhood so that was out of the question. i then made my way back towards durham and had to go through the north carolina state university area (sooo many roundabouts), so i found a bougie coffee shop to stop at. there was a deal, on their 'broo hoos.'
i don't know what it really was. it was some kind of iced cold brew with chocolate and sprinkles. i enjoyed it.
the tour was great. the docent grew up on a tobacco farm in the area and is a retired history teacher (he also has a wonderful carolina drawl). i took the tour with some old lady iowans that adopted me into their group. that was nice. the most resonating thing i learned is that durham was the city of tobacco and became the city of medicine. ironic, right?
our wonderful tour guide with some dried tobacco.
i love wildflowers.
i called it a pretty early night. i stopped at popeyes (when it comes to food and traveling, i eat out of convenience). i also watched station 19. i was pretty entertained.
now for a song! i'm gonna stick with country, because it's an obvious choice and i mostly listened to this genre during this trip. i heard this song on the radio and was confused. i knew it was chris stapleton but i had no idea he was featured in a timberlake song. here is 'say something.' enjoy!