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Duke Gardens with Friends
At the end of March, the kids had a day off school for a teacher workday. After seeing an Instagram post about a “Bloom Walk” in Duke Gardens, I gave the boys a heads up that we would be making a trip, and I tagged my friend Erika on the post, hoping she would see it and hadn’t already booked her day. Friday morning she messaged me and we made plans to pack snacks and hit the road at about the same time. I have never seen the garden as busy as it was that day. The weather was perfect and the lots were completely full. We were directed a…
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A Hike in William B Umstead State Park
Our Hike, marked in Red Crayon On New Year’s Day the weather was amazing, so we took an impromptu hike with friends in William B. Umstead State Park. We forged our own path and traveled along Sal’s Branch for awhile before cutting down through the woods, across the power lines and down to the rim of Big Lake. We worked our way down to the boat ramp, across the junction between the two lakes, and then back into the woods beside Sycamore Lake where we explored Camps Crabtree and Lapihio, quiet headwater streams and came on a small group of deer. Umstead trails can be busy if not crowded on good weather…
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Wild Spaces at The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville
Back in August I traveled to Asheville, NC for the EcoStream Conference. I first dropped off my boys with my parents in Whitetop, VA, then drove down a little early so I could explore the North Carolina Arboretum. I’m pretty sure I went to a workshop at the arboretum over a decade ago when I was just barely pregnant with my first, but back then I hadn’t been bitten by the gardening bug. If anything I was too nauseous and nervous to take in the surroundings. So this visit was essentially a first exploration of the space. The vast gardens were very impressive, such as the heritage and bonsai gardens,…
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Doughton Park Camping 2018
How nearly every Blue Ridge Parkway adventure begins and ends: a stone arch We planned this trip three weeks out when we were looking to camp in Hanging Rock during an October weekend. Every single reservable campsite was booked for every single weekend in October. When I relayed this information to my friend Sarah, who had felt me out on whether we would want to try a joint family trip, she suggested checking out Doughton Park, which I had never heard of. This is a national park, and camping reservations can be made through recreation.gov. To our good fortune, there were still three or four spots still available. We grabbed…
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Milburnie Dam Demolition Part 2
Saturday morning, we opted to skip the Christmas parade, and Joe and the kids played video games instead. By 10:30 am, I was chomping at the bit to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. Joe had not yet seen the Milburnie Dam demolition, so we went out for a hike. I love being in the woods with Joe, because he always finds new things to explore. We went around the dam to the side I had not yet ventured to and came on a cypress grove full of cypress knees, frogs and lizards. Don’t let the pictures fool you — Joe and I enjoyed the nature hike far more…
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Sunday Stroll at Lake Johnson
Shortly after we unloaded the car from church, I demanded everyone pack up a snack because we were going on a hike. Joe picked the place, Lake Johnson, which was strategically half way to his favorite pizza place, Michelangelo’s in Apex. Lake Johnson was a spot we discovered in college. We once drove there with my Camry packed to the brim with friends to watch the meteor showers. We also used to take Scoops there when he was a toddler to see the geese and ducks. Today we went to explore. After such a great weekend at Stone Mountain, my expectations weren’t high, but we each discovered something wonderful —…