Groundhog Day 2015

The day we returned from the beach to Sara and Ben's house was Groundhog's Day... and my birthday. Because of that, I got to choose where we stopped for lunch. I didn't want to eat at an ordinary fast food chain so Sara used her phone to see what was around. We stopped at a sweet little restaurant in some little town. The restaurant where we ate was in a building that was probably a department store or something in the past. We sat at a table that was maybe in an area that used to be for the window displays. We were the window display for a bit.

It was decorated in a very eclectic manner. Along the front in the window was a whole little Christmas scene, complete with fake snow.  I guess they weren't in a hurry to take it down. On another wall they had framed pictures that had Winnie-the-Pooh quotes on them. A few of the walls had words from old hymns painted on them. It was kind of sweet. Our waitress had on a t-shirt that said, "I'm not perfect but I'm forgiven." 

That may look like a tender moment between me and Mike but do you know why my hand is on his? I was holding it down because he kept grabbing my nose!

For dinner that night we were at Sara and Ben's and they cooked a delicious dinner for us. What was really sweet was that Sara went and changed into a pretty dress. The reason that was so touching was the dress had been made by and belonged to my Grandma Rose. It looked beautiful on Sara and I thought it was a sweet gesture to wear it for my birthday.

We completed the day by playing a game that was new to us, TICKET TO RIDE. Have you played it? I really enjoyed it and look forward to our next time to play it. 

My birthday was quite memorable and it just made me so happy to spend it with Ben and Sara.

OBX

Our second day in North Carolina was sooooo, so exciting! I had recently become rather fascinated with the Outer Banks. If you are cool and in the know, you spell it OBX. You needed to know that.

The OBX is a long, skinny strip of land that runs about 200 miles long. It looks like land that broke off of North Carolina and part of Virginia. It includes places you've heard of.... Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, Hatteras Island, Rodanthe and more. It is somewhere I really wanted to visit and last Saturday that dream came true!

We had about a 3 hour road trip to the OBX.  We crossed some long bridges, including one over Alligator River. We saw lots of swampy places that I didn't want to wade through!

We stopped for lunch on Roanoke Island, eating in the little town of Manteo. Andy Griffith used to live in Manteo and so did my brother and his wife for awhile. That's interesting, isn't it? It is a charming little place. This time of year a lot of places were closed but we enjoyed ourselves all the same.

Our Oldest Son, Ben

Ben and Lots of Seagulls

From there we crossed more water to head toward our hotel in Kill Devil Hills. That is actually the name of a town. I read that rum or gin or something alcoholic was once referred to as Kill Devil. There used to be a lot of pirates in the area and there was something about the alcohol being hidden in the sand hills there.

Before we got to our hotel we stopped at a state park where we could wander through sand dunes. This was not far from the sand dunes where the Wright Brothers made the first flight. I'm telling you, we were surrounded by history.  It was a fun place to wander after having ridden in the car for awhile.

Our daughter-in-law, Sara, got a little ride from Ben. 

I'm not sure how he knew where he was going.

The rest must have done her some good as she was pretty light on  her feet after that!

 I love that Sara has such a great sense of fun and adventure!

It was a place of unique beauty.

 There were weird piles of sand.

 It was really a unique place.

 It felt very much like a dessert but when we got up high on the dunes

we could clearly see that we were on a skinny strip of land with

ocean on both sides of us. 

I loved it!

We had to stop and empty a lot of sand out of our shoes but we were soon moving on to our hotel.

I almost burst into tears when I went out on the little deck off our room and saw 

how close we were to the ocean!

That is exactly what I wanted, an ocean view!

From Forest to Hockey Rink

Mike and I just returned this week from a wonderful vacation in North Carolina. We went there to visit Ben and Sara, our son and daughter-in-law. We had a great time there! I took a lot of photos, not all of which turned out quite as I'd hoped. Still, I have some good ones to share.

We always enjoy pleasant hikes near Ben and Sara's house and that was our first order of business. These photos were taken as we were walking into Duke Forest. It was pretty cool and windy but still so pretty and I was so happy to be with Ben and Sara. Their little dog, J-rake, led the way when allowed. I was impressed when Ben called out, "J-rake, Caboose!" That cool little dog stopped, walked backwards a few steps as we walked forward and then walked behind us all.

I enjoyed this area where the layers of grasses, little evergreens and then bigger trees lined up in order. The contrast was pleasing to me.

Just a pretty, crisp day and a stroll with our far-away kids. I felt so happy.

Later that evening we went to see the St. Louis Blues play the Carolina Hurricanes. We're talking hockey here people.  I'm not exactly a hockey fan but I was pleased we got to attend as I AM a Mike fan and this made him very happy.  I don't know that Ben and Sara are hockey fans in general but they seemed to have fun. For some ridiculous reason they felt  that since they live in North Carolina, they ought to cheer for the North Carolina team. They are lucky we acknowledged them at all!

The hockey game started right off with the St. Louis Blues making two goals. For those of you who follow hockey, you know that sometimes those games can go a looooooong time without a score. As it turned out, it was a pretty exciting game and I had fun as well.

And, yes, the Blues won!

I'll stop here for now but the vacation got even better the next day!

North Carolina - Day 4

Monday was to be our last full day in North Carolina.  Ben and Sara had to work so we asked Sara to drop us off at her Park 'N Ride.  She sweetly stayed with us until we were securely on our bus heading for downtown Raleigh.  Mike and I both enjoy visiting historical parts of cities so we decided to make a day of it.

The first place we toured was the State Capital.  It turns out that most of the business of the state is now done in a nearby legislative building but the governor's office is still in the capital.  The rest of the building is kind of like a museum.  It was smaller than any capital I've toured but it certainly had a lot more history than capitals in the West.

You won't see a monument like this one in Wyoming!

From there we went to tour the legislative building.

It was a big, open building with a crisp, clean feel to it.  It was pretty and much more functional.

The Capital and Legislative Building are the top and bottom anchors to a big open square.  The sides of the square are the North Carolina Natural History Museum and the North Carolina Museum of History.  We also watched a movie, "Space Junk".  It was about all the garbage, such as old satellites, floating around in space.  It was quite interesting but it was dark and we were sitting still with 3-D glasses on.  There may or may not have been some napping.

We enjoyed the time together being tourists.

 Ben and Sara took us to downtown Durham where we enjoyed a nice dinner, followed by a stroll through an old tobacco plant now converted into offices, shops and restaurants. 

This last photo was taken not far from where we parked.  

It's kind of cool, huh?

So, we found North Carolina to be a really pretty state with a lot of history and character.  

It was a nice trip and we were so very glad to get to spend time with Ben and Sara.

North Carolina - Day 3

Sunday was our third day in North Carolina.  I guess you all realize that I don't post about our trips until after our return.  I hope you don't mind.

So, after going to church in Raleigh we enjoyed a lovely afternoon with Ben and Sara.  They took us to downtown Durham where we enjoyed a lovely meal at a place I think was called Otis and Parker's.  It was a charming little store and restaurant built in an old tobacco plant.  Do you call it a plant?  Factory maybe?  It was lovely and again we ate outside.  I love that!

After our lunch we walked around a bit then went to Sara Duke Gardens?  Oh my!  That was a gorgeous place.  Feast your eyes!

It totally cemented my love for magnolia trees.  Why can't we have those in Wyoming?  I'd read about them in books but I did not understand the magnitude of their beauty!  They are huge and the magnolia flowers are the size of dinner plates!  The best part is the branches grow in such a way as to form a big, open area hidden underneath.  I took many, many photos of one of the magnolia trees.  I'll try to hold back and not post them all.

Yes, I love Magnolia Trees!

North Carolina Adventure - Day 2

On Saturday we left the city and headed to the coast.  I am drawn to the ocean.  I don't know why as I certainly did not grow up near one.  The power of the water there just thrills me, though.  It was a couple hours to get there but sooooo worth the drive!  We ate lunch along the way then headed to the beach.  Here, let me show you...

 Sara and Ben

 Me

Mike and I... I just love eating outside!  

 I loved the dog!

Cowboys at the beach.  I wonder if they took the hats off to swim.

 Ben was determined to teach Sara to body surf.  I tried it but you won't be seeing those photos!

The beach was absolutely littered with shells.  It was so pretty.

That's me (bottom right) waiting for the waves.  We didn't know it but there was a tropical storm, Alberto, off the coast.  The waves looked a LOT bigger close up.  It was fun but rough.  Nevertheless, I was just so happy to be there.

From the beach we drove to Wilmington, a town full of American History.  I really enjoyed looking at old houses.  Many had little historical signs telling about the original occupants... so cool!

Such a fun day!

North Carolina Adventure - Day 1

Last night Mike and I just returned from an extra long week-end trip.  Friday we went to Durham, North Carolina to see our oldest son and our daughter-in-law, Ben and Sara.  We'd never been to North Carolina so it was pretty exciting.  They've lived there for a year now so it was most definitely time to make the trip.

After our long flight it was fun to enjoy this nice leisurely walk with Ben and Sara through Duke Forest.  Yes, I am wearing a giant leaf in my hair.  Ben thought it appropriate for the adventure.

It was so wonderful to be able to go see them!   They live too far away but they are happy and busy.  You other parents know how hard it can be with grown kids.  You spend their childhood teaching them how to spread their wings but sometimes when they do that, they fly away!  Well, it is as it should be and we are happy for the opportunities they have encountered.

I'm so proud of Ben.  He's confident and smart and is making a nice life there with Sara.  I miss them but it felt so much better for me to be able to see where they live now.   Over and over I kept thinking how grateful I am that we live in a time when it is not beyond our reach to travel back and forth to see each other.  I thought of my great-grandparents who actually left North Carolina about a century ago and ended up in Wyoming.  I'm guessing that when they left they said good-bye to their relatives with very little hope of seeing them again.

There is a perk to having children live far away; we get to visit and learn about their surroundings.  This Southern orest felt much different than a forest in the Wyoming mountains.  It had it's own sort of beauty.  Much of Wyoming is prairie and we can see for miles and miles.  North Carolina has trees EVERYWHERE!  It was most definitely an adventure for us.

There were a lot of flowers growing wild.  Ben picked one for me, just as he used to do when he was a little boy.  Sweet, huh?

We had dinner at a little cafe with tables outside.  The evening was lovely.  We ended the day on the deck at their house, which is also nestled into the woods.  

What a pleasure it was to be there.