Outer Banks Vacation: Wright Brothers National Memorial

Wright Brothers Monument

George and I visited the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a long weekend to celebrate our recent anniversary (14 years!). One of our favorite activities was visiting the Wright Brothers National Memorial, a national park in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

We visited on a beautiful, unseasonably warm afternoon. We were looking forward to the park ranger's talk in the air-conditioned auditorium, but learned when we arrived that the auditorium was being cleared out for the upcoming 2-year renovation of the visitor center. We decided to take advantage of the park ranger's talk outdoors instead, and we were glad we did! We learned a lot about Wilbur and Orville Wright, and the history of their plane building and many flying attempts. Now I want to read David McCullough's book, The Wright Brothers!

If you ever have the chance to visit the Outer Banks, the Wright Brothers National Memorial is definitely worth a stop! You'll be glad you did!

Outer Banks Daycation

George on the Beach at Kitty Hawk

George and I had a fun daycation at the Outer Banks of North Carolina last Saturday. George decided Flying Pirate Half Marathon, but wanted to pick up his race packet anyway, so we decided to make a day trip out of it!
not to run the

We started at the race expo, where we got chair massages which felt awesome! At the recommendation of one of the massage therapists, we went to lunch at the Black Pelican, which was a cute place with yummy food and a nice view. As luck would happen, there was public access to the beach, plus a bathhouse with bathrooms and outdoor showers, very close to the restaurant, so we did that next. The beach area was a little foggy at first, but cleared up before we left. It was so relaxing to hang out on the beach for a while and listen to the waves. All in all, a lovely day!

I've uploaded my photos onto Flickr, and they're available here.

Springtime in the South

Foster's Market Outdoor Seating

George and I decided to take advantage of outdoor seating for dinner at Foster's Market in Durham recently. It was such a nice evening, and surprisingly few people were there, considering it was Reunion Weekend at Duke. (Perhaps a lot of people were involved in campus events.) At any rate, it felt great outdoors (and in the shade), so we had a delightful dinner. What a nice way to start the weekend!

Staycation 2011: Prairie Ridge Ecostation, Raleigh, NC

Prairie Ridge Ecostation

Last week, George and I had a staycation, and we enjoyed seeing taking in several local sites, including the Prairie Ridge Ecostation on Reedy Creek Rd. in Raleigh, NC. It's an outpost of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and it's a delightful 40 acres of nature within the city limits of our state capital.

There's no admission fee, and it's a delightful step into nature. There's a small trail system (about a mile's worth if you walk it all), with lots of plants and birds around.

Do yourself a favor and check out the Prairie Ridge Ecostation sometime! You'll be glad you did!

Check out the rest of my photos from the Prairie Ridge Ecostation here.

Fried Pickles

Fried Pickles at Maxwell's Tavern

A couple of weekends ago, George and I stopped in Waxhaw, NC, to visit with some of our Lathem cousins before returning home. We ate an early dinner at a place called Maxwell's Tavern, and had a fun time there! One of the surprises for me was trying fried pickles! Now, I generally shy away from fried food these days (and usually leave pickles behind on my plate at restaurants), but it was ordered as an appetizer for the table, and I was compelled to try some. I was glad I did--I liked them! It was definitely a splurge of the "state fair food" variety, but it was fun to try something new around some of my favorite people.

Memorial Day Trip to Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area

This afternoon, George and I packed a lunch at drive one county over to Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, in Hillsborough, North Carolina. We had a nice lunch on one of the picnic tables at the bottom of the trails, which was very pleasant. Then we headed up the trail to the summit.









The trail is through a pretty, wooded area.














This is one of the overlooks.














Near the summit













This tower was at the top of Occoneechee Mountain. Not very scenic from the bottom of the top, but this towers are kinda fascinating to me, up close anyway.

It was a nice, relaxing way to spend an afternoon. The hike we took was not terribly long or strenuous, a good thing because it was very humid this afternoon!

Visit to Merchants Millpond State Park

Yesterday I continued my quest to visit all 100 counties in North Carolina by seeking out and finding Merchants Millpond State Park, which happens to be in Gates County. I'd been wanting to visit this state park for years, so it was exciting to finally visit and walk around for a bit. to the left is one of my favorite pictures of the day's journey. The green stuff at the bottom of the trees isn't grass.....

I drove through Halifax County on my way to Gates County, but didn't cross it off my list of counties. I only stopped long enough to take this picture, in Garysburg. I'll be back to Halifax County.

I'll post more about my visits to Nash, Northampton, Gates, and Hertford Counties (including pictures) soon on my North Carolina Odyssey Project blog. Stay tuned!

Homegrown-Homemade

A couple of evenings ago I went to hear Joe Newberry speak about his book Homegrown/Homemade: Art Roads and Farm Trails at the Regulator Bookshop in Durham. A co-worker, who gets regular emails from the Regulator about upcoming events, tipped me off about this book reading and signing, and I'm glad she did! The book chronicles places to go in rural North Carolina that deal with local arts, crafts, and food, and Peggy had heard the story about my quest to visit all 100 counties in North Carolina, so she thought I might enjoy it. I love any excuse to go to the Regulator, so off I went.

In addition to reading some from his book, Newberry also showed some slides from travels to write the book, which was edited by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension and the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. He saved time for some Q&A at the end, and also played some tunes on his banjo, guitar, and fiddle (though not all at once!). All in all, a neat way to spend an hour on a warm summer evening.

New Blog for My North Carolina Travels

I decided to start a new blog for my project to document visits to all 100 counties in North Carolina, which I started late last year. I've dubbed it the North Carolina Odyssey Project, and I've visited 6 counties so far. Initially, I was putting the posts about my little trips on this blog. When I decided to start a different blog, I experimented with transferring the posts over to the new blog. It took longer than I expected to switch one post (Alamance County) over, with all the pictures, so in the end, I decided just to supply the links for the other county posts. Then I started fresh with my trip around Orange County last Sunday afternoon.

Read all about it here. And if you have any suggestions of places I should visit, I welcome interesting ideas.

Still on Vacation

I'm still on vacation, and it feels guiltfully luxurious. This afternoon I did get some errands done, including getting an oil change and a new battery for my car. I'm thinking about going on one of my "field trips," but haven't decided which direction to go in. I'm thinking of heading west from Durham, but how far I get depends on how early I get started.

For newbies to my blog, I have a goal of visiting all 100 counties in North Carolina and documenting my travels with pictures and posts on this blog. Although I've been across the state before, I decided to start fresh with this pet project. I've dubbed it the North Carolina Odyssey Project, and I've got 5 counties under my belt.

I just had a thought--maybe down the line I'll include some videos too. I don't have a video camera, but I think the digital camera I'm using (George's) has a video feature! Hmmmm.

NC Odyssey Project: Wake County

Where: Wake County, NC

When: December 1, 2007

Yesterday, December 1, I ran in the Jingle Bell 5K Run in Raleigh, NC, (see race report here), which happens to be in Wake County. Here's to the second county in my North Carolina Odyssey Project!

Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina, and it happens to be where I went to high school. It's home to a number of academic institutions, include NC State, Shaw, Meredith, Peace, and Wake Technical Community College. Culturally, there are many things to do in the area. There are some wonderful museums, including the North Carolina Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of History, and the North Carolina Museum of Natural History. There are also music opportunities, including the NC Symphony Orchestra. Raleigh is also home to the Carolina Hurricanes, the 2006 Stanley Cup Champions.

Raleigh is considered part of the Triangle, along with Durham and Chapel Hill (and surrounding areas). I believe part of the Research Triangle Park is in Wake County as well.

Pictures above are 1) Smedes Hall, one of the main buildings on the campus of St. Mary's School, where the Jingle Bell Run started and finished, 2) The Bishop's House, also on the SMS campus, the SMS Chapel, 3) the St. Mary's Chapel, 4) a painted wolf in front of the Kenan Library on the St. Mary's campus, made as part of the Raleigh Red Wolf Project, and 5) and picture of Wade Avenue in Raleigh, taken from my car early yesterday morning (yay for light traffic!).

I enjoyed running in the Jingle Bell Run in Raleigh, partly because I got to see some of the sights there along Hillsborough Street, including part of the Capitol complex, NC State and the Bell Tower, and St. Mary's, of course.

NC Odyssey Project: Durham County

Where: Durham County, NC

When: November 30, 2007

Taking pictures of the Duke University campus is always a treat, but especially on Friday, the start of my new pet, the North Carolina Odyssey Project. Duke is Durham County's largest employer, with over 27,000 employees (larger than the town where I grew up!). Durham is Durham County's largest city, and is home to North Carolina Central University and Durham Technical Community College, as well as Duke. It's nickname is the City of Medicine, due to the top notch medical facilities in the area. You'll also find cultural things to do here, including the Durham Bulls (of the movie "Bull Durham" fame) and the American Dance Festival, as well as many activities associated with the universities.

The picture above is of Duke Chapel on West Campus at Duke.

Here are a couple of pictures of West Campus.

Durham County is also home to the Research Triangle Park, known as RTP around here. According to the website, it's the largest research park in the nation, and is home to companies and agencies such as IBM, GlaxoSmithKline, Nortel, and the EPA.

Gospel singer Shirley Caesar and author Clyde Edgerton were born in Durham.