Greenville, NC

Yes, its been over 6 months since I last made an entry. My computer hard drive crashed, we bought a new one, had trouble loading the operating system, blah, blah, blah. Our son, James,  finally whisked it away to be rescued by some geeks that he knows from work. It finally works, but I still can't figure out how to get sound to come out of the speakers. I have to wait for someone more tech savvy than myself to come visit.

Our daughter got engaged to a wonderful young man in August. Since then I have been in the throws(sp?) of wedding planning, bridal gown shopping, celebrating, guest list writing, Pinterest surfing, experimenting with various crafty decorations (Modge Podge is my friend), and reading about how to pull this all together without losing my mind. My new moniker is M.O.B., which stands for Mother of Bride.  Fortunately, my daughter is very organized, efficient, and low maintenance. Her fiance is humble and easy to get along with. I haven't caught him rolling his eyes at me or muttering under his breath yet. I am trying hard not to be a Monster-in-Law.  My husband has resigned himself that it is often in his best interest not to offer his opinion unless asked--and then to be very, very, careful. So far, we all like each other. I think. Needless to say, I have been busy. I am so very grateful to be alive and healthy during this time. Sadly, my Mom passed away when I was engaged. She was not able to be part of any of the wedding planning. I am thrilled and excited by every detail and I am relishing every moment. My daughter has humored me so far. I just hope she is enjoying this time. I haven't caught her rolling her eyes yet either, but I can tell by her voice when I've asked too  many wedding questions for one day.

Okay, none of that has anything to do with today's subject. It merely explains my long absence from blogging. I decided to switch to a location way across the country from our Alaska adventures to tell you about a few places in a mid size city in eastern North Carolina. One of my friends told me to blog about something closer to home, because she is never going to Alaska. I'll get to the restaurant and hotel reviews eventually.

Our youngest son graduated from East Carolina University in the beginning of May, 2012. Go Pirates! Arrrrgh! The average high temperature in Greenville, North Carolina in the beginning of May is eighty degrees. It was ninety-five degrees the weekend of his graduation. Pat wanted to attend not one, not two, but three graduation ceremonies. We dutifully attended ceremonies for the Construction Management class, the College of Technology and Computer Science, and the main University ceremony. Each of our three offspring had now officially graduated from college in four years. That means that we had three college graduations in five years, plus a grad school graduation in August and another one this coming May. We had made our last tuition payments, monthly living expense payments, etc, and we would have gladly attended any number of ceremonies to mark the occasion.  The ceremonies for his major and his college were indoors and air conditioned. The main graduation was outside on the football field. Yes, the graduation was in the morning, but by the time it was over, the heat was almost unbearable. We climbed up as high as we could get on the bleachers to where there was a little bit of shade. I was impressed to see that some of his room mates had actually rolled out of bed to attend the ceremony. They had also made the climb to the top for the shade. The sunlight was probably too much for their college student eyes at that hour.

After the main graduation, we headed to a pretty part of campus for a family photo session. Our middle son has a photography/media business on the side, so he was recruited to do the honors. We went back to our hotel for a poolside lunch of Subway sandwiches, junk food, and desserts.  We were all feeling just zapped by the heat. The College of Technology and Computer Science ceremony was not until later that day.

So you get the picture. A bunch of hot, sweaty, tired people on a very long, busy, happy day. After all the ceremonies were complete, we went to dinner at Cafe Duo. We had never heard of it and didn't know anyone who had eaten there. Months before, I had gently nudged---no, requested---no, encouraged---okay, nagged, my Patrick to start looking for a nice restaurant for us to enjoy a post graduation dinner at. He checked the two or three nice restaurants he knew of, we searched online for others, and were coming up short. He had been to one place that he liked, but it had changed hands and wasn't getting good reviews. I think it ended up closing. One of his professors recommended another one, but it was already full for that night. I've been down this road with two other offspring, which is why I asked (badgered) him to start looking in January. We aren't the type of people that like big chain restaurants, so he had his work cut out for him.  He happened to see Cafe Duo when he was out checking out some of the other places. it was fairly new, and it looked nice. He talked to someone there and called me about it. We looked on line, it had a nice menu, good reviews, and had reservations available. Bingo!

Let me just say this. IT WAS WONDERFUL! We went on what was probably the most crowded night of the year in Greenville. The service was fantastic, the food was delicious, the drinks refreshing. It was far above anything we had experienced in our previous visits to Greenville. Patrick and his girlfriend recognized the waiter from another restaurant that they had been to for a special occasion. He was professional, but warm and friendly. Everyone loved whatever they ordered. I admit that I did not have high hopes for a dinner of this quality in Greenville. It was such a pleasant surprise. They had the air conditioning cranked up so it was nice and cool without being cold. If I had to choose something negative to say, the only thing I can think of is that they could use more bathrooms. There was just one for each gender. On a crowded night like this, there was a bit of a line. The door at the end of the corridor where the restrooms are located opens  to the outside seating area. They were propped open for some reason that night. The hot, humid air was coming in and heading straight down that hall way where we were lined up waiting for the loo. Maybe they were trying to cool off the folks that opted to eat outside, or maybe they were open for the convenience of the wait staff. Whatever the reason, it made the wait on that line very uncomfortable. The restaurant is fairly small, and this is probably not a problem on a normal night. ECU is a fairly large university, so this was probably a huge crowd for them. Overall, we could not have asked for a better dining experience. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in Greenville, North Carolina looking for a good restaurant.

Cafe Duo is tucked away in a strip on Red Banks Road. You could pass right by it without realizing that it is a nice place it since there are so few nice restaurants in town. Their website describes it as "A neighborhood casual restaurant locally owned and operated by a duo of chefs".

We have stayed in several lodging facilities in Greenville. None were awful, but some were better than others. Some were chains, some were privately owned. The best of the best was the 5th Street Manor. I swear it was called the 5th Street Inn when we stayed there, but their website now says Manor. I hope nothing else has changed. We had the good fortune to stay there twice. It is almost impossible to get a room there during football season. The alumni group has it booked up for every game. If you visit at a different time you have a better chance. I don't know how we managed to get in during football season, but I am so glad that we did. 5th Street Manor is located on the edge of campus near the chancellor's house on the corner of East Fifth Street and Library Street. It is in the historical district and is registered in National Historic Places. Convenient to campus and near many sorority and fraternity houses, it is surprisingly quiet. Picture a B&B. Cozy, comfy, soft hues, old fashioned charm, good mattresses, great breakfast, a nice little porch to sit in and sip wine. Add a really nice owner, super friendly staff. You have the 5th Street Manor in a nutshell. 

 The city of Greenville is a college town. It has a fantastic medical center and a great university. It is often overlooked and overshadowed by the other great college towns and universities in North Carolina. You know them. The ones with the famous football and basketball teams. ECU has those too. Well, a good football team at least. ECU is a large university that has a small college feel. The atmosphere is friendly. Yes, it has a reputation as a party school, but so does every other university or college. ECU churns out great health care providers, teachers, project engineers, and more. Our son landed a great job months before his graduation as a result of recruiters coming to the campus career fair.  Beyond the school and the hospital, it doesn't hold much interest for me. You may disagree. Eastern North Carolina is brutal in the summer. Hot, humid, buggy. If I'm not at the beach, I don't see the point of being there. I had to give a shout out to the university and a few worthwhile businesses though. 

If you happen to be in Greenville and have a little extra time, be sure to take the short drive to Washington, NC. This little waterfront town is worth a stop. It is so quaint with its little shops, restaurants, waterfront area. Washington, NC boasts being the first city to be named for George Washington. I have no idea if that's true, but its a cute little place.

Another worthwhile drive from Greenville is Goose Creek State Park. DO NOT VISIT DURING HOT WEATHER!!! The mosquitoes will eat you alive!!!!! We made that mistake and had to run for the car to escape them. During cool weather, it is a very pretty place to take a walk, camp, enjoy the water. 

That was longer than I intended, but I didn't really think that Greenville warranted more than one entry so I didn't want to split it into two. Besides, its a wet and snowy morning. Its a good day to sit at the computer.