Blooming Garden Inn

Enter the Blooming Garden Inn, 7¼ x 9¼ watercolor

When I was told we might be walking at 8:10 on Saturday morning for the 5K and Family Fun Walk, an annual fundraiser for the brain tumor center at Duke University, immediate alarm clock anxiety set in. My friend Chris had asked if I could meet at the hotel of her and her friend Ronni’s at 7:15. I knew I’d have to find a place to stay nearby. That’s when I went online and found the Blooming Garden Inn.

Upon entering the front room, innkeeper Frank Pokrass introduced me to pet German shepherd Savannah. The room then immediately reminded me of some place in Savannah, Georgia. Frank and his wife Dolly Pokrass are collectors, have been all over the world, so the B&B they run in Durham is filled with all kinds of interesting furniture and collectibles. Normally, I paint my room when I travel, but Frank and Dolly made me feel so much at home, that I knew it would be okay to set up and paint in the inn’s living room.