Me n' Mary took an absolute-last-moment-of-the-year trip up to Greensboro for no real reason other than we felt like taking a trip and had these days off to do it!
The initial thought was Winston-Salem, but so many things there were closed for the holidays, and while we ran into a few roadblocks in that vein in Greensboro, it turned out to be kind of the perfect little getaway.
I was lucky enough to spot that there was an event at the Greensboro Science Center called Winter Wonderlights, which is a big light display outside in the zoo area that takes place on certain nights during the winter. The night of the 30th was one of those nights, so after checking into the hotel and grabbing some Japanese for dinner, we got ourselves a hot chocolate and explored:
There was this crazy sphere that played music and showcased dancing animals, which felt like a fever dream:
Was quite a spectacle!
That was all on the docket for the night. We turned in at the hotel and went to sleep. The next morning, the plan was to get a coffee and breakfast early, then check out of the hotel and make our way to the day's destinations, but literally like 5 or 6 coffee shops we tried were closed for the New Year's Eve holiday. Even though they said "open" on the maps app!
Because of this, we decided to check out first, then make our way to things on foot, since once we left the parking garage, there was no going back.
With a bit more searching, finally, we found a place called Awoo Coffee that was open, and we had a sip and a bite.
On the way there, we passed this place:
This was the Woolworth's lunch counter, the site of the infamous Greensboro sit-ins, a landmark event in the Civil Rights era of American history. The place is now a museum, and while it would have been interesting to see, the setup was a little unworkable with our plans - apparently you can only go in by taking a 90 minute guided tour. You can't just walk in and explore on your own. So we skipped it, but I still appreciated seeing it!
The museum we did end up seeing was the Greensboro History Museum, back near our hotel:
Was a great little spot with a few interesting displays:
And an exhibit on democracy, which included a fun activity where you spin a wheel, pick a word, and then select images (on playing cards) that you think exemplifies that word.
We played a couple rounds, which sparked some interesting discussions!
Heading out from the museum, we returned to the car and made our way to a Starbucks for a quick bite, and to use the WiFi. Then, we went to a couple thrift shops - Mary's a big thrifter. And we made a pretty good find or two!
And then, with our treasures in hand, we departed to return to the Charlotte area and ring in the new year. Happy birthday, 2025!
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