Durham, NC
These were my initial impressions of Durham, North Carolina, as written in an email to a friend. So far, so good!
Greetings from Durham, NC! I arrived about 6 hours ago and right now am at my friend Dan’s place. So far I have been really impressed… I’m not really too sure what I expected, but it is very beautiful, very pleasant out here. Very wooded & picturesque, with beautiful homes, a nice downtown, and something of a “small town in the country” feel despite having 100,000 people. People seem very friendly here (people have smiled and greeted me just walking down the street) though honestly, not very Southern. I mean, no one has a Southern accent out here at all, you might as well be in California!
So far we’ve been to an excellent fish & seafood restaurant that Dan frequents and then a cake & cafe place called “The Madhatter”, plus did a quick tour of Duke University. Even the weather has been a surprise (cool yet pleasant), though the next few days something of a “mixed” storm (rain and snow) is supposed to come in (which may be something of an abnormal event, something like 1 in 20 years event according to a radio report…) I really like the homes here too… newish and modern with yet something of a southern flair. Tomorrow I will probably take some photos. Anyhow, that’s the news for now… take care out there and have a wonderful week!