Winston-Salem

March 25, 2011

Hawthorne Inn and Convention Center, Winston-Salem. Arrived late in the afternoon and strolled at leisure through Old Salem, handsome and well-kept, reminding one rather of New England, or the old section of any old Eastern town. I arrived there around 5:30 and everything closes at 5, so I saw a lot of manicured exteriors. A woman with 18th century Moravian costume billowing over her ample hips and breast waved to me from the door of her bakery shop, which she closed and locked as I approached. Wandered up Main to 5th, and the over to Marshall, to encompass what the map said is the “arts district.” Saw a few “arts cafes,” all of them empty at the hour I arrived. Until I got to the bus station I did not encounter one single pedestrian. One blesses Asheville for being alive all night long.

All the cherries in the world are in bloom. The forests along the highway flame with redbud.

The hotel restaurant turns out to have the best fish chowder I have ever tasted. How can one prepare for such a thing?