Durham: When We Need an Urban Fix

 We’re often asked how we get by in a small town after leaving the culture, restaurants, stores and major events in Washington, D.C. Our answer: We’ve got Durham. It’s only 50 miles away.

 

         When one of us has a medical appointment at Duke or elsewhere, we are sure to stop off at Costco or Whole Foods to stock up on some of the things we can’t find in South Boston, VA. In Arlington, we lived only three blocks from a Costco, but now we seem to buy a lot more there than we ever did.

 

         Do you ever go into a Costco store? There is something about everything that says, “Buy me, buy me!” I don’t know how they do it. We bring a cooler and get loads and loads of frozen goods, vegetables and paper products that we expect to use—some day.

 

         Daytime events are wonderful. I even found a noontime weekday  jazz series at North Star Church of the Arts. The Durham Bulls Triple-A baseball games are cheaper and easier to manage than Washington Nationals games. And just imagine: four Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) sports teams and a major league hockey team (the Hurricanes) within 80 miles. I’d love to go to a Duke basketball game, but tickets I saw advertised were outrageously priced. 

 

         If it is a night event, sometimes I will stay overnight rather than drive back in the dark. I can pay for it out of money I saved by not paying rent anymore in Arlington. There are terrific shows at the Durham Performing Arts Center, the Carolina Theater and the Duke Cathedral. Last week I saw the Duke university Jazz Ensemble at Baldwin Auditorium for $10, with headliner Cyrus Chestnut, a top-flight pianist.

 

         Pickett loves the Duke Gardens, a beautiful park with flowers blooming through much of the year. There is lots to see at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh and the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. We seek out  unique restaurants, such as Bleu Olive and Indian Monsoon, and Pickett likes Mateo, which serves tapas. We love Indian food, and have probably eaten more in Durham than we used to in Washington.

 

         The Raleigh-Durham airport is a reasonable 62 miles from Cluster Springs and even has nonstop flights to San Francisco. There is decent passenger rail service from Lynchburg and Danville. Durham is also an option, but the trains to D.C. are slower.

 

         I miss a lot of people in Washington but haven’t been back much. There is a lot to do down here.