Downtown Arts District, Friday, Jan. 24

Selfie in downtown Winston-Salem

Today we slept in, having not slept well all night.  So we missed breakfast--which was fine, sleep was more important!  Then went to the desk to report that the message light kept blinking (with no messages) and we couldn't get the drain of the shower to unplug.  Then we asked if he knew of anywhere with quirky, fun little shops to look at.  He replied that he's from Asheville, where they have those all over, but that Winston-Salem has nothing like that that he knows of.  All big box.  Well, we drove to the UNCSA to make sure we knew where we were going before tomorrow; good decision, because the map that we looked at the night before was wrong!  We figured it out fairly easily by just driving in the direction we felt it should be and went directly there!  We drove around campus a bit, then decided to drive in the downtown area.  Pretty small, but we happened on Trade St., the heart of the Downtown Arts District, parked and walked.  Cutest little shops!  One shop was called an art gallery, with clothing and accessories, handmade--you were paying for the art, not the items!  Way out of my price range, but beautiful--the products as well as the shop.  And the shop owner was very interesting to talk to.  Many really interesting shops and galleries to visit!  We stopped for a snack at Finnigan's Wake--a pub with stained glass windows--very cute and great service.  Shared an appetizer. Visited many galleries, some vintage and thrift shops.  In one shop, sister2sister, we met the shopowner, a woman from Kenya that started it as an organization and it grew into a shop.  She goes to Kenya and makes and buys crafts with the women there, beading and other things, then brings it back and uses the money to feed the children of the villages.  She is even building a children's home for the many orphans now.  What a wonderful woman.  Her husband is legally blind, but refused to give up and is working in the North Dakota oil fields and writing a book.  We shared a lot about climate, weather, and children.  Unfortunately, I couldn't afford anything in her shop. At one of the textile galleries, they had a table of 75% off and I found a great hat (I needed a new winter hat) and Anneliese found cute chicken earrings; we bought both!  Then drove around a bit more, and went back to the hotel for Anneliese to do homework and for me to check emails.  After we facebook the family, Anneliese wants to eat at Olive Garden (which is why we had a snack earlier instead of a meal).   Fun day with my daughter!  :)