Weekend Vacation... Durham North Carolina

Unfortunately, a proper vacation may not be in my future this year. However, that doesn’t mean that I won’t make the most and do the most during my weekends. A few weekends ago I road tripped to Durham, North Carolina to attend Black August in The Park. I learned about this event last year after it took place and made it my mission to attend this year. I rounded up a few of my friends, gassed and packed Sexual Chocolate (my car), then we hit the road. I haven’t gone to North Carolina in forever and this was my first time ever visiting Durham. Let’s just say I felt right at home as Durham reminded me of my Southern roots. My friends and I set an unofficial rule to find our husbands and have a great trip.

If you know anything about me, it’s that I love a good meal and a good boutique hotel. Since I proposed the trip, I also chose the cutest hotel ever. Initially, I went back and forth between   21 C Museum hotel which is a luxury hotel in Durham and Unscripted which is a boutique hotel. I won’t lie it was a hard choice but the reviews and the pool at the Unscripted hotel won me over. Overall, I felt like the Unscripted hotel would provide the fun that I was looking to have with my friends and 21 C Museum would have been more of a romantic choice. As soon as we got out of the car we had to have an impromptu photo shoot in the cute wicker chairs outside. Upon checking into the hotel, we were greeted by a super friendly Jordan who welcomed us with a glass of red wine and that’s where the fun began. The staff gave us sooo much information about what was going on at the hotel and their professionalism and friendliness carried over with every staff member we encountered. You can tell that the really enjoy their job and the environment that they work in. Our room was super cute and located on the third floor right beside the pool (can you say winning). We took a quick look around and refreshed ourselves before heading out to the festivities. Another win, unbeknown to me was that the hotel was in walking distance to the park. Now I’d like to call myself a planner, but I totally omitted getting the distance from the hotel to the park. 

By the time we arrived at the park (which was all a 7-minute walk), we could already tell that we were further South… because the heat was kicking. The festival was a little on the smaller size compared to other festivals that support and celebrate black people. The event was very chill, and I wish that we’d arrived early to take advantage of the other activities at the festival such as the parade which included a second line. We walked around roughly for an hour and the heat took a toll on us. Collectively we decided that we’d find food and enjoy the rest of our time at the hotel. Listen the hotel had all the vibes. We returned to our room which was adjacent to the pool and got dressed for the pool party. After snacking and frolicking in the water we changed clothes and headed out to dinner.  

 

We chose sushi for dinner which was fine by me because I’d been craving sushi for some time now. This restaurant came as a recommendation from an Instagram follower, had 4 ½ stars and was directly across the street from the hotel. I went with the miso soup as well as the twisted mango roll. The edamame was also really good, but the standout was the Sea Bass that my friend ordered, I’d return for that alone. After dinner was over we headed back to the hotel because we’d been told earlier that the lobby turns into a party at night. And let’s just say we arrived right in time. The DJ was cranking we got free drinks, can you say winning!!! I literally partied until about 1:00, now that may not be late for some but keep in mind this was essentially a day trip that moved at a rapid pace.

Determined to make the most of my weekend vacation, I got up grabbed breakfast and headed out to the drag show that was held at the pool. The show was extremely good and all things black. There were moments when the host said things that made me cringe. However, as a black woman I walk on eggshells daily in society; it was very refreshing to hear someone be unapologetically black at an event where we were still the minority. Not wanting to waste a minute and take advantage of the late check-out, I changed into my swimsuit and hopped back in the pool. I only got to enjoy about 45 minutes of the water before having to check out, but it was totally worth it. 

By booking this hotel we got our money’s worth and more. I didn’t get to see a lot of Durham, but please believe I’ll be back.