When most people hear the city “Greenville”, they think of Greenville, South Carolina. HOWEVER, both of the Carolina’s have a Greenville to call their own! A little less well-known than its South Carolina counterpart, Greenville, North Carolina plays homage to East Carolina University (ECU). It is also one of the fastest growing and up-and-coming cities in the United States and has even been ranked by Best Places and Liveability as one of the best places to live. One of my best friends, Bryn, who spent her summer interning up by me in Arlington, Virginia is finishing out her Senior year of college at ECU. SO, me and my friends Alanna and Hannah decided to make the trek for a day down to Greenville to spend some time with Bryn and see a football game versus the Naval Academy!
The majority of our visit was spent visiting with Bryn in her gorgeous dorm, exploring ECU’s campus including a meal at the dining hall and seeing Bryn’s most-frequented spots, and going to the ECU-Navy football game. At the same time, we ALSO walked a bit around the gorgeous downtown of Greenville (which I hope to explore more so in the Spring when I visit Bryn again!) at night, ate at the well-known pre-tailgate restaurant known as Sup Dogs (they also have a location in Chapel Hill, North Carolina by the University of North Carolina), and visited Pink – a Lilly Pulitzer Signature Store located in Greenville. I shared ALL of my adventures on my Instagram (follow me @_thepinkchickadee!).
I left bright and early for Greenville, North Carolina that Saturday morning of the game. To my surprise living in the Washington, DC area (the traffic here is THE WORST), I ran into NO TRAFFIC. It was, indeed, my first-ever 1+ hour drive on I-95 with NO traffic. The drive to Greenville, North Carolina from Northern Virginia is mostly a straight-shot south on I-95 for a good 3-4 hours. Parking at ECU is FREE on the weekends at the parking deck near the Student Center. Generally speaking, ECU’s Campus Police don’t check on cars parked on campus or charge for parking on the weekend, making it very easy and free to park on campus on the weekends. Needless to say, when I made it to Greenville, I was excited to be able to enjoy the town and be reunited with Bryn along with Hannah and Alanna who arrived just minutes after I did.
Walking on campus was a BLAST – I got to see the Pirate statue, the gorgeous well that holds the superstition that if you walk under it as an undergrad you won’t graduate within 4 years, eat at the dining hall with Bryn and her ECU friends, shop at the Campus Store, and get an iced Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. I got A LOT of steps in and enjoyed the gorgeous on-campus environment. Similarly speaking, I loved getting to walk down the gorgeous streets of downtown Greenville. While a small town, it offered a lot of places to eat, drink, and historical views (I LOVED seeing the town’s community library there!). We also visited Pink in Greenville and chatted with the super sweet owner of the store. Visiting Pink was a highlight for me while in Greenville, as I’ve been connected with the owners of the store on Instagram for over 2 years now. We have definitely become friends online and now in real life, too! *Of course* we grabbed some Lilly Pulitzer goodies to bring back home with us AND got some photos in the store!!!
Well, the main reason for our visit was to go to the ECU-Navy football game. A fun fact about me and my family is that my Great-Grandad, Grandad, Great Uncle, Great Aunt’s, and Uncle’s all have served or are serving in the Navy. My Grandad was in the same graduating class as John McCain and calls him “Johnny”. And, well, I have never been to a Navy football game, so I decided on this weekend to see Navy play, even if it was in Greenville, North Carolina. Bryn got us student seating guest tickets for $40/each, while hers was free or much cheaper (I cannot remember LOL!) being a student there. We had a GREAT TIME! Afterwards, we went to Insomnia Cookies in downtown Greenville.
I am SO blessed to have been able *FINALLY* visit Bryn at her college campus and see her college town! It was great to be able to see her for the first-time ever since she interned up here by me in Arlington, Virginia. Here’s to my next adventure in Greenville and beyond!!
XOXO – Katie <3