Tag NC

We moved to North Carolina! Yup, we’re staying in the ol’ US of A for a while and have settled in a second-tier city on the east coast called Winston Salem. The town was home to the Reynolds Family, and, of course, the seat of much tobacco growing and wealth. But it was originally a Morovian community, and much of that heritage exists today in pockets in what was once the Salem part of the two towns.

Aside from tobacco, other big businesses have sprouted in WS, including Wachovia, Hanes, Texas Pete, Krispy Kreame, and Piedmont Air. The single most facinating thing about WS is the fact that it exists on a space-time continuum, or a black hole. Sine it wasn’t a planned city, like Beijing for example, the streets in Winston Salem flow like wild rivers. One road may weave and twist and turn and possibly even cross over itself all without changing its name. Getting lost in town is easy and a sense of direction is lost on this place where even magnets give up trying to find north.

The weather shoots up and down like the ball on a mobile yoyo. We’ve been here a month and we’ve has hypothermia weather and sweaty, humid gross weather. I’ve seen people out in shorts with blue patellas, and other folks out in snowsuits scratching their heads with woolen mittens as they suffocate in the heat. And all this oscillating means things bloom, die and then try it all over again on the next warm day. This includes the plethora of oddly over sized spiders that inhabit the mounds of kudzu.

Winston-Salem isn’t a hotbed of tourism, and that’s great because it’s a well kept secret. It’s only a few hours to the mountains and only a few more to the beach, so it’s location is perfect for the weekend warrior vacationer. You’ll find a decent amount of trees in the area, in fact it’s the largest selection of diverse trees in the USA. For that reason, it’s also the hub for furniture in the country, and you’ll notice all kinds of furniture stores and outlets along the highways. Golfing is a big activity in the area, and loads of snowbirds flock south from the frigid tundra up north to enjoy mild winters in NC.

Of all the attractions in NC, our favorite was visiting with family. We were able to see a whole lot of family all at once. A fun, crazy, wild ride that included a trip to the mountains with one uncle and a trip to the beech with my mother. We also went to see Carmen in downtown W-S with one aunt, and were lucky to be able to stay with another aunt in her lovely downtown apartment. We visited friends in Wilmington, and had a party at another uncle’s place. We even got to see my aunt’s new restaurant outside of town. And of course visiting with my amazing grandparents was a joy. We got to enjoy so much family; it was a treat for us and for Gwen, who was, as always, the belle of the ball.

If you happen to find yourself in ol’ W-S don’t skip the historic old Salem area. This was pretty neat and included old structures from the original town that have been converted into nice shops. Downtown (the new part) was also thriving, and we enjoyed an amazing dinner at District, dancing at 6th and Vine and deep fried pickles at Finnegan’s Wake. W-S is great for food, and the finer things in life.

In terms of food, we ate so much southern cooking we put on several pounds in the month we were in North Carolina. We discovered Dickies southern style BBQ, the best BBQ on the planet perhaps. We also fell in love with Darel’s, more BBQ. And of course we loved Bo Jangles and all the chicken. I don’t know how anyone with constant access to this food remains slim.

We were very sad to eventually leave North Carolina and the fifty or so family members who live there. But the road is long, and we have miles to put on the car.