When Gabe and I 1st got married we spent at least one weekend a month taking mini weekend getaway trips to any place that was within driving distance! We went to DC, Asheville, New York City, Pennsylvania and several other places. We rented an Airbnb or stayed at local hotels and I would spend the week before we left digging through Pinterest for the best stops to make. We went all over the east coast and created some of the best memories as newly weds.
Fast forward to 2020 when the pandemic hit and we moved a few times and our weekend trips were put on hold. We missed traveling, as I am sure many do, and were getting eager to get out and about and see more places (other than Florida haha). Gabe texted me one day while at work with a link to a hotel in Durham, NC and said “Want to go?”.
We planned a weekend getaway, booked the hotel, found the best shopping and eating spots and started counting down the days! We spent two nights and two days between the two cities and I would say this is the perfect spot for a quick getaway.
I didn’t take as many pictures as I had planned but I guess that is a good sign that I wasn’t thinking about my phone constantly! We started in Durham and spent half of our time at The Southpoint Mall shopping. This mall is great and has several large department stores and typical brands as well as lots of restaurants. The Nordstrom is amazing and we dined at Maggiano’s for dinner and Cheesecake Factory for dessert.
We also spent some time on the campus of Duke University and the Duke Gardens. There is miles of campus and gardens to walk that are absolutely stunning. The chapel on campus is a must see and if you are able to visit on a Sunday morning you will get to enjoy the bells as well.
We also drove through Chapel Hill and The University of North Carolina, which is another quaint area with many shops and restaurants near Durham. I would recommend parking and walking through both of these areas to enjoy everything there is to offer. We also found that they have scooters all over town that you can hop on and ride which is a super fun way to see the city!
We went to Raleigh on our way home and spent a few hours at The Village District. There’s lots of shops and restaurants here as well and the area is very clean and friendly.
While this is not our favorite location we have visited on one of the many weekend trips we have taken, we are just thankful to get back into traveling and seeing the world again!
