While we were visiting Chris's family in the Virginia/D.C. area this Thanksgiving, Chris and I took an overnight road trip to North Carolina sans children. The drive was the perfect distance: four hours, and through fall colors at that. It was a very quiet and peaceful drive without the kids, and I had fun finding local radio stations along the way, especially the college stations that popped up as we arrived in Chapel Hill.
I had visited this area once before. My mom and I drove through here during spring break one year because I was hoping to live there after college. I majored in English and wanted to go into publishing, but the idea of New York scared me to death. So I was planning on either Boston (a little publishing) or Chapel Hill (grad school). I ended up doing neither, coming back to Kansas City for a fellowship writing and editing greeting cards. This trip to the triangle area was much easier than last time, thanks to our trusty new GPS. If you don't know where you are going in North Carolina, all you are going to see is a bunch of trees and whatever you happen to stumble upon five feet off the road.
Anyway, we stayed at the new aloft in Chapel Hill. Here are the very important food and beverage highlights.
- lunch at a Mediterranean place on Franklin in Chapel Hill (yummy)
- dinner at Acme in Carborro (new take on Southern food; good, but not blow-me-away good)
- drink at Whiskey in downtown Durham (this is what all bars should be like)
- breakfast at Elmo's near Duke (biscuits and gravy, grits, very full tummy)
We also had coffee (well, OF COURSE) but I don't remember where. It seems like we were able to do a lot in the short time we were there, and yet the whole trip was very relaxing. I attribute this to childlessness and the GPS.
I'd like to thank Chris's mom, grandma and sister for watching the girls while we got to do this!
