w-s (winston-salem, while-snowing)

so after knowing my friend becca for at least three years i thought it was pitiful that i had still not visited her hometown. so on our way down to greenville (sc, not nc) my mom and i stopped in winston-salem. we couldn't have asked for a more perfect tour guide than becca who, not only has lived there all her life, but is an avid historic preservationist (read: she knows about buildings).

just as we pulled into the city it began to snow. this is evidentally pretty rare and, while it was nothing compared to the massive snowstorms up north, we felt pretty lucky to see the city a way few people do. during our initial driving tour becca told us that winston-salem is home to not only cigarettes but krispy kreme donuts. in other words, the birthplace of the leading causes of death. hmm, maybe not something you'd put on a billboard. after driving through the downtown we stopped near this cute little square (see: gazebo) for a delightful lunch of soup and sandwiches perfect for a winter day.

the city is also home to the historic salem college, which we drove through around dusk. the fresh snow and the streetlights added nicely to the effect. other fun sights along the way included a giant teapot and washington park, where becca spent many fondly-remembered childhood hours. we also stopped at a used bookstore (that also had movies and vinyl records, good find) and a delightful moravian bakery. their trademarks are their paper-thin yet delicious cookies and many-pointed moravian stars. apparently there was a significant moravian population in winston. and thank goodness! they make a delicious coffee cake.

after a quick power nap at the hotel we braced ourselves to go back out into the storm. (i'm using the word loosely, here). the town was looking pretty quiet but luckily the mexican place next door was still hopping. and by hopping, i mean they let us eat there and were waiting at the door when we left. still, we enjoyed (too much) delicious mexican food as well horchatas/flavored margaritas. at that point becca and i decided to venture out and see if there was any nightlife to be had. it seems the snow scared most of the businesspeople (and customers presumably) away; it was more or less a ghost town. still, we had a nice walk through the downtown and marveled at the wachovia building (it dominates the skyline) and the christmas trees in the square below (not pictured: massive christmas tree that topped in the wind).

the next morning the snow had stopped and without much difficulty we were able to get our car out of the snowy lot. but before we left we just had to stop at (another) bakery, ollie's. this town loves their pastries. i like that in a city. there we enjoyed some chai tea and delicious croissants. and on the way out we were greeted by ollie himself. (coming to work in the snow at his age, quite a champ.)

we were sorry to go but felt privileged to get to see the city at such a unique time. it's more than tobacco and donuts!