Last month the kids and I had the chance to explore the beautiful rolling hills and southern hospitality of Greensboro and High Point, North Carolina! Both cities have a rich design history (did you know denim was created in Greensboro?) and you’ll find traces of that history and a nod to design all through out both cities!
In recent years these two cities have invested enormously in their communities! Their intentionality has put both cities on the map for being a top living destination for young families and working professionals!! In fact the Greensboro - High Point area was voted one of the most diverse cities in the U.S. (WalletHub2019) and voted the #1 best City for a small business (ZenBusiness 2020). We personally loved the all of the activities and public spaces created for families to play and enjoy time with each other and the outdoors!
We arrived in Greensboro just in time for lunch and stopped at the Porterhouse Grill to fuel up for the day! Their famous burgers were enormous and they had the most creative burger menu I’ve ever seen! Our favorite was the Napoleon Dynamite which included -you guessed it, tator tots as one of it’s toppings! With full stomachs we began our tour of Greenboro!
We began the tour at Labeuar Park, a multifunctional outdoor area with the most epic playground at it’s center! There was so much here to explore, as the park also included interactive fountains, game tables open to the public, an amphitheater. The City Park is surrounded by the Greensboro Cultural Center featuring multiple exhibits from local artists, the Greensboro Public Library, and the Greensboro Children’s Museum!
The younger kids loved exploring all there was to see at the Children’s Museum and especially loved the gigantic outdoor climbing exhibit which was fun for big kids as well!
We spent the entire afternoon exploring the City Center, yet didn’t even feel like we scratched the surface of all there was to see! We had to wrap our city center tour up short, because we had tickets for the Greensboro Grasshoppers baseball game, so decided that we’d just have to visit again to continue our exploration!
At the Greensboro Grasshopper game, we spent the evening enjoying an all American baseball game! For dinner we filled up with classic ballpark food while we enjoyed the excitement of the game! It was so nice to be out enjoying a sporting event again after spending an entire year without doing so!
After a long fun packed day, but we were tired and ready to crash! We checked into the Proximity Hotel, a AAA diamond luxury hotel, and the soft bedding and beautiful spacious bathrooms were a welcome relief after a long day of fun!
There were so many reasons to love this gorgeous hotel, but what makes it truly special is Proximity’s Environmental consciousness and responsibility! The hotel is Employee owned, and has also been awarded one of the Greenest hotels in the country!
After an amazing night’s sleep we walked downstairs to grab breakfast at Print Works Bistro, a modern French restaurant adjoined to the Proximity hotel! I ordered the Quiche Lorraine which was amazing, and the kids haven’t stop raving about the house made cinnamon rolls with warm caramel sauce!
A quick 20 minute drive led us to Kersey Valley Attractions, an adventure park in Archdale, NC offering laser tag, ax throwing, and one of the largest closed-course ziplines in the country! The kids and I tried our best to beat one of their escape rooms, but sadly ran out of time before we were able to escape! It was a fun family challenge though, and everyone from the oldest to youngest had a great time!
After our adventure we headed to High Point, NC, to explore the city for the rest of the day! Our first stop was Blue Rock Pizza and tap, a popular lunch spot known for their over the top pizzas and rock and roll memorabilia!
With full stomachs we headed into the city! High Point, NC is home to the world famous High Point Market, the largest furnishing industry market in the world! Because of that, the home furnishing shopping in the city is unparalleled! As a designer, spending an afternoon exploring these shops was an absolutely dream! Some of my favorite discoveries were the beautiful goods from Red Egg’s flagship store, and the eclectic collection of home goods from coHAB space.
I also was able to take a tour of the newly opened Congdon Yards, a public workspace right in the center of town! Designed to perfection and open to the public, this enormous workspace is the perfect set up for a client meeting in one of their varied meeting environments, or simple grab a coffee and your laptop and get some work done out of the house! Congdon Yards is also home to the Generator, an innovative furniture workshop which offers state of the art manufacturing to large and small furniture makers! I left Congdon Yards inspired by the innovation behind the vision of this workspace!
After shopping, we grabbed burgers and the most epic milk shakes from Small Batch before heading next door to Distractions Art where we spent a relaxing evening creating our own works of art! We each painted our own mug to bring home and remind us of our time in High Point!
The next morning we headed to the Greensboro Farmers Market and were lucky enough to catch their Blueberry Pancake Celebration with chefs Alex and Tim Amoroso who prepared light and fluffy pancakes topped with local blueberries! We enjoyed them picnic style, and enjoyed live music as we ate!
Our last stop was Scent Workshop in Greensboro, where we were taught the art of fragrance making! Each of us created our own signature scent based upon our own personal story! We used our scents to create a candle that represents the emotions and inspiration that we put into our fragrance! This activity was a huge hit for all of us, and we can’t wait to visit again someday!
Our visit to the Greensboro-Highpoint area is one that we will remember forever! The heart and soul of the city truly shined, and the community intentionality made us feel so at home! We can’t wait to visit again!
