From Here To There: Raleigh, NC
In October we went to Raleigh for a week, and if it hadn’t already won my heart, it truly did this time around. There are just so many things to do, especially if you want to be outside or drink beer. I have been thinking about getting back to Raleigh since the day we got on the plane to leave last year, and I knew when we came back we needed to spend more time there (it helps that one of my best friends lives there).
A few weeks before our wedding, I got an email from Southwest about a huge sale they were having. I called Dave right away and asked if he would be fine with going in October, he quickly agreed and I was off to buy our flights! But, the sale was so huge that the website was down for hours, talk about frustrating when you are trying to buy tickets to your favorite city! After several attempts, I finally purchased them and marked it in my calendar. This meant 4 months of dreaming of hanging out with Cara for an entire week! This had never happened in our friendship (ps long-distance friendships are no fun).
When we got there, we were totally exhausted. We went to a wedding the night before and those drinks were too good not to enjoy. Thankfully I napped on the plane ride and after some freshening up when we got to the house, we were off to one of the most amazing Pizza places I have ever been to…but that is a story for another post…along with all of the other amazing places we ate.
One of my favorites parts was the abundance of food trucks and farmers markets. They were all over the place. There are a few farmers markets and food truck rallies around Baltimore, but nowhere near the amount in Raleigh. I could eat all of my meals from fresh food at a farmers market, or a food truck. There were so many good ones!
After some amazing food, we went to Box Car. The trend of a bar and arcade smashed together is awesome, and we had a great time playing old school games while enjoying some drinks. I also somehow won ski ball, I don’t understand how because I am normally terrible. Side note- I couldn’t believe how inexpensive parking was throughout the city. It would be at least 4x the rate in Baltimore. Another win for NC!
Throughout the week we played lots of games, hung out at the house, got caught up on Nashville and just spent time relaxing. It was great working while our friends were at their offices, and then having a night o hang out with people we don’t get to see very often. Like a staycation but still in another city.
We mixed up our nights in with some fun nights out, one of them being an outing to CineBowl which is a movie theatre, bowling alley, restaurant and arcade. When is Baltimore going to get one of these? We happened to go on ladies night, so us gals were free, and it was inexpensive for the guys. I appreciated being able to watch the Thursday Night Football game on a huge screen. I wouldn’t mind watching a Ravens game there one day.
It was such a great trip, and I am already counting down the days until our next visit to Raleigh. Who knows, maybe it won’t just be a visit.
p.s. see that beautiful gal up there ^^ her birthday is tomorrow! Cara, I am so incredibly thankful for your friendship, words of wisdom, eagerness to chat about terrible (and awesome) tv shows, and your love for red wine so I can have all of the white. You truly are my person, and I wouldn’t be able to do this life without ya! <3
