My Birthday in Greensboro

My birthday is March 31st and this year it fell on Easter weekend. My husband wanted to do something special for my birthday this year and decided to surprise me by taking me on a weekend getaway. For months leading up to my birthday, my anxiety was rising trying to figure out where he could be taking me. Both of us really needed a good getaway, so I was counting down the days until my birthday weekend came. 

When the day finally arrived, we left Charlotte around 5 PM. I spent the entire drive reading every sign we passed trying to figure out where we might be going. The closer we got, I started to figure it out! We were in Greensboro, North Carolina. We drove through a neighborhood and pulled into someone's driveway. I was very confused at first thinking to myself, “Whose house is this?” Tashawn continued to drive down the driveway and that’s when I noticed where we were going to be staying. We were staying in a treehouse!

I have never stayed in a treehouse before so I was very excited. The treehouse we stayed in was called The Roost. It was absolutely gorgeous inside. It gave me a rustic & modern feel, and everywhere I looked there were succulents and other beautiful flowers arranged. The Treehouse had everything we needed inside. It reminded me of a tiny home but built up in the trees. All of the wood they used inside and out was from locally sourced as well. The owners of the treehouse were so friendly and we were honored to be their guests.

After walking around the treehouse multiple times saying "Wow" at everything, Tashawn was ready to take me out. Our first stop of the night was Sticks & Stones to have a nice dinner. They specialize in pizza but have other options on the menu as well. I was happy to see that they had gluten-free and vegan options on the menu. Tashawn did his research for this trip! I would recommend this place to all my celiac & gluten-free friends! They get all their gluten-free pizza crust delivered to them to avoid the cross-contamination in the kitchen. I ordered a gluten-free pepperoni, jalapeños, and vegan cheese pizza and it was amazing! I also had a Bold Rock Apple Cider to go along with my pizza which only made it better. I was pleased with this restaurant and will be back.

We ended the night at a local bar called Boxcar right in downtown Greensboro. Boxcar is a gaming bar filled with pinball machines, Skee-ball, and a ton of old school arcade games. Being that both Tashawn and I are huge nerds this was the perfect place to end the night.

Saturday morning Tashawn and I enjoyed a nice breakfast at Dame’s Chicken & Waffles. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone that has celiac or a gluten allergy. Unfortunately, they do not have a gluten-free menu and cannot assure that cross-contamination won’t happen. Tashawns loves chicken & waffles so I didn’t mind trying it out with him. I ordered the safest thing which normally is naturally gluten free and that was the Mimi’s Sassy Shrimp. That came with jumbo shrimp sautéed with smoked chicken sausage, onion, house spices and white wine, served over cheese grits. The entrée was very tasty, however, after a couple bites, I was left feeling very sick. It could have been a mixture of gluten exposure and the amount of dairy in this meal, but I immediately developed a horrible headache and nausea. 

This is one of the problems we face with traveling. Not every restaurant will offer completely gluten-free options, so we just need to stick to our better judgment and come prepared. Being glutened is not fun! Now if you’re not dealing with any gluten allergies then I would recommend this place because the food looked amazing, Tashawn loved it, and it’s very popular in that area. They also had amazing mimosa options!

After brunch Tashawn took me to Tanger Family Bicentennial Garden. I love anything floral so this was such a great experience. The walking trails were very nice and they had a ton of different flowers and greenery spread throughout. It was such a nice day outside, so it was great to just get some fresh air and enjoy each other’s company. The garden was nicely kept up and was very gorgeous.

Our next stop that evening was at Hop’s Burger Bar. This was a quaint little burger bar that also offered gluten-free and vegan options.  I ordered the Hop’s Classic Turkey Burger on a gluten-free bun and french fries. The turkey burger was very delicious and the gluten-free bun was tasty as well! It’s hard to find a good gluten-free hamburger bun, but this one was pretty tasty. After dinner, we ended our night at Sweet Frog for the non-dairy frozen yogurt with extra toppings!

This was the first birthday where I didn’t indulge in numerous slices of birthday cake but it was all worth it. I had a great trip with my husband and it was another learning experience of traveling while gluten-free.