Raleigh / Durham - June 2013

Keith and John

We had not seen the NC gang in a while so we decided to take advantage of being on the East coast for work by making a weekend trip down to Raleigh/Durham.  Keith had to be in Boston to visit some properties and Shawna was supposed to be in Hartford, although last minute plans to present to a client in Denver had her flying into NC from CO.  This time the Snarrs were also able to join us from Charlotte so it was quite the reunion!

Accommodations:
Chez Douglas / Gontarz - We stayed at John and JoAnna's place.  Always comfortable, always hospitable and always cheap!

JoAnna and Shawna

Activities:
Shawna arrive very late on Thursday night and was quite impressed that John and JoAnna still came to pick her up.  We stayed up for a few minutes to catch up but then went to bed to rest up for the weekend.  Keith flew into DC for 12 hours to see Steve who was in town from Australia for a week on business.  So the two of them met for dinner at the Old Ebbitt with some of Steve's work colleagues, had a few drinks at the hotel bar, and then Keith crashed in Steve's room at 2am.  Keith then woke up at 5:45am, had a quick shower to wake up, and drove to BWI to fly into Raleigh on Friday around noon.

On Friday, Shawna worked from John's house and Keith went to lunch at Pei Wei with Stephanie for a brief catch up.  That afternoon, we all went to Trali for a few drinks so that Shawna could meet up with Beth and catch up on all of the BCBSNC gossip.  That evening, we drove what was the first of many trips to Durham. We met up with the Artins and Snarrs (sans kids as Kayley offered up to babysit all of the kids) at Pizzeria Toro for dinner.  It took us a while to get a table so we had a few drinks at the bar and then finally sat down to a yummy meal.  After a few phone calls from the kids, the Artins and Snarrs decided it was probably time to go rescue them so we then went home and crashed.

Tom and Keith

On Saturday, we slept in which was much needed and then met everyone at Wa Duke for a walk.  The walk was not strenuous with hangovers and kids slowing us down!  We went over to Cosmic Cantina for burritos and tacos and then went back to John's house for a nap.  That evening, we drove back to Durham as the Artins were hosting supper club.  We got to see Steve, Amy, Phil, Joyce, Kim and Jonathan as well.  The food was bar-b-cue with burgers, sausages, chicken, salads and pies for dessert.  We stayed up drinking and catching up and had a great time.

Shawna and Kate

On Sunday, we slept in again - apparently, we were pooped!  We drove back to Durham to have brunch at the Artins' house.  At first, we were going to meet at a restaurant but with all the kids and it being Father's Day, we quickly came to our senses and determined that would not be a good idea.  The Artins made yummy pancakes and eggs and we were able to relax and chat some more.  After our farewells to the Artins and Snarrs, we returned to John's house to see all of his old childhood and high school photos in preparation for the Douglas Childhood Appreciation tour to Michigan this Fall.  We all agreed that John is likely the most improved as he has come a long way from his childhood photos!!  John and JoAnna dropped us off at the airport -- Shawna flew back to Denver while Keith flew to Nashville for a work meeting.

Restaurants / Bars:
Trali - A great Irish pub in Brier Creek.  We had a few beers here.

Pizzeria Toro - A new pizza place in downtown Durham.  We had several salads and pizzas - they were all very good.

Chez Artin - The Artins hosted us for dinner and brunch and as usual it was all very tasty!