Paul and I had such a good time on our weekend trip to Charlotte that we decided to do another long weekend away. But since one has to be sensible about costs, we decided to go someplace a little closer. Thus, the romantic, long-weekend vacation trip to Durham!

We started out Thursday evening, celebrating our official 3 month anniversary, by taking lil E to see the classic movie ET.  It was playing on an outdoor screen in Duke Gardens, so we brought a picnic and spent a fantastic evening with fresh air, popcorn, and cute aliens.

We took the day off on Friday so we could get an early start… and then, of course, we slept in.   We met up with Rocio for lunch at Dos Perros. Honestly, my tacos were awesome, but no better than the ones I get at our favorite taqueria (Los Comales). The desserts, though, were astonishing. Lime-jalepeno sorbet: Rocio tasted mine and said, “Holy crap.” I tasted it and did a happy dance with my spoon in the air. Jalepenos are the dessert-pepper for sure.
Go here for desserts.

Go here for tacos.
After lunch we went to the Eno, because after all these years of living in Durham neither Paul not I had ever gone swimming at Bobbitt hole.

I’m hooked – it’s perfect. No photos, but let’s just say I also managed to cross off a minor item on the list of things to do before you die list.

We went to “an amazing local restaurant”  for fresh homemade pasta with a tomato-fennel sauce (Paul’s an outstanding cook).  We spent the evening mingling with the “3rd Friday” downtown Durham crowd, viewing art galleries, people-watching, and ending up at Central Park for a weird outdoor film about France.

Saturday we slept in more (my hedonistic laziness is contagious) and then went on a quest… for postcards!

Tragic! Durham has no postcards. I see a serious opportunity here.  Somebody needs to step up and become Durham’s primary postcardopher. Postcarditor?

Just for example, why isn’t there a series of postcards showing all the marvelous murals?

Next: the new art museum in Raleigh. (This museum counts as part of Durham because I said so.)  I very much wish photos could capture the sense of open space and light.  They also do really interesting things by placing ancient works and modern works near each other.  It’s a wonderful space.

Back to Durham to meet up with Katherine at the wonderful junk shop where they’ve made a jungle of wild animals out of strange old bits of bikes, cars, and bedframes.  Lots of time for talking about our future dreams, making castles out of clouds, and taking time to notice the things we usually rush past.

We’ll definitely have to “visit” Durham again soon!