Weddingbee Blog

(We have just said goodbye to the piggies and hit the road)

As we made our way south on the confusing freeways of the Eastern US, it began to get darker and darker. But it wasn’t nighttime, it was STORM TIME! Slowly, slowly we inched toward another state. After driving through three major rainstorms, we finally made it to Greensboro, North Carolina. There were several moments when I thought we might not make it—the rain was intense and I couldn’t see more than two feet in front of the car. Everyone else was driving like it was nothing, but we slowed down to about 10 MPH. Yes, we were those people, the annoying Californian tourists who don’t know how to drive in the rain!

We found our hotel, the Proximity, easily enough from the freeway, parked, and ran through the rain to the front desk. We were kindly upgraded to the top floor and we made our way to the room, dripping all over the elevator.

We were stunned when we opened the door to our room. The view was fantastic! Even with the rain splattering against the windows, we were able to see what seemed like the entire city.

(the best corner of our room, the reading corner and lovely window)

After settling in, we decided to brave the weather and check out the local vegan restaurant. Although it wasn’t my favorite meal of the trip, Mr. Sprinkle really seemed to enjoy the faux “drumsticks” that they served and the vegan boba tea was ridiculously amazing. We even went back in the morning for a second round.

(Enjoying mango tea. Please excuse my rain soaked hairdo and odd facial expression!)

As much as I like the rain, I was hoping for the sun to suddenly break through, but I couldn’t tell Mr. S about that desire (he would think I was insane; he knows I love the rain). Just like Mr. Sprinkle had a few honeymoon surprises for me back in Schuyler, I had a big one for him. I had planned an early morning adventure for us: a private, sunrise, hot air balloon ride! Mr. S was obsessed with hot air balloons as a child, and I knew he had never been on one. When researching Greensboro, months before our honeymoon, I found out that balloon rides are a major attraction there.

Unfortunately, I received a phone call that afternoon that our flight was canceled due to bad weather, and I had to let Mr. S know that the surprise wasn’t happening. We took this as an opportunity to drink at the lounge, since we wouldn’t have to be up at 4AM to take a giant balloon into the sky.

(Delicious cocktails and fries, double ketchup! At the Print Works Bistro)

The next morning I was able to watch an episode of “Seinfeld” from the tub (ultimate luxury!) while Mr. S packed up our room. Our stop in Greensboro was short and semi-sweet. The real reason we stopped there at all was to break up the long drive between our first B&B and our second B&B, and to check out this whole “super green hotel” thing.

(stock photo of our room, the Loft King Spa. Source)

(view from one of the large windows)

Well, just how green was it, you might be wondering? Frankly, the hotel itself was stunning. The decor was beautiful, the rooms exceptional, and the garden (or what we saw of the garden through the windows) was amazing. But, I don’t know how green you can be when everything is made of leather (at least it was all made locally!) and you serve pretty much only animal products. We ordered the only vegan items on the menu while we were there, which happened to be french fries in the evening and home fries in the morning! For a green hotel, we expected more veggie options. I will say that the water powered elevator was extremely fast and the solar powered hot water made the bath a wonderful experience! Also, the floor to ceiling windows made the room bright without using any electricity. It is definitely worth staying there if you are in the area, and they have excellent midweek rates! It is exciting that they are doing what they can to make traveling a less wasteful practice.

When we got back on the road it was still raining, which meant we skipped a few sites (world’s largest dresser, anyone?) so we could make it to our last stop in good time…