Following Foliage to Umstead Park

Our 30 for 30 is officially over, but we're still trying to check out new spots and new things to do around the Triangle.  Today, we headed to William B. Umstead State Park in Wake County to check out some of the foliage.

The trees are just starting to peak around here, and it's the perfect temperature for walking (mid-60's).  We hiked Sal's Branch Trial which is about 2.8 miles.  It intersects with Big Lake where people can rent canoes in the summer (sorry, Mom, no swimming allowed.  What's with that?  Maybe there are snakes.)

It was another place that reminded us of some of the parks we used to walk in Massachusetts.  It's nice to still be in a place that changes with the seasons and has quiet trails that are not that dissimilar from what we're used to.  The three of us are big fans of fall and all the parks are perfect places to go this time of year.

30 Days of Turning 30 Recap

It's not easy celebrating a birthday for a whole month.  I think it falls under the category of "too much of a good thing."  I do, however, think it was good for me and Tommie to push ourselves to get out more, keep track of local events, try new things, and to be more conscious of how we spend our days--before we're so old we can't remember anymore.

It's no surprise that a lot of what we do involves eating.  At least half of our 30 posts included some kind of food.  It's also promising to see that the majority of things we did cost little to no money--even some of the events we attended were free.  There are a lot of cool free things to do around Durham if you look.  Our most expensive days were spent at big events like a concert and the state fair.  

I'm sad October is over, but we can't force ourselves to have fun forever--it's tiring.  This was good practice for the upcoming months when we have a couple weeks around the holidays to do fun things with guests, and now we know a little bit more about the place we live.

30/30: Checking out City Parks

October 20th

Durham's city parks are great--and there are a lot of them.  Sandy Creek Park is close to where we live but we hadn't been to it yet assuming it was small and too close to a busy road, but we decided to venture there today and were pleasantly surprised to find a nice field with picnic areas (even a bocce court) and multiple trails to walk along the creek and woods.  

 It was the perfect fall morning to be out in the sun and crisp air.

30/30: Suspended

October 6th 

We checked out the Eno River State Park today (I'd been to the West Point on the Eno so it was nice to see the "other side").  

We walked a trail along a quiet creek then went over to the suspension bridge.

While it's sometimes hard to tell it's fall in Durham, here in the park the leaves were falling and it seemed more like October.  Part of what we like about where we live is that we can drive 15 minutes and feel like we're in another state--maybe even pretend we're in New England for a little while.

30/30: The Elves

October 3rd 

We took Maya for a walk in Forest Hills tonight.  This is a historic neighborhood with really pretty houses and nice open fields.

Ironically, earlier in the day, I came across this article from USA Today about The Tiny Door Project.  Inspired by those "evil" little elves from Keebler, itty-bitty doors are popping up on trees across the country. They list one in Elmira Park in Durham, but it's not a park we frequent.  With elves on the brain, I was excited when I spotted this tiny door tucked into a tree in Forest Hills.  

Of course, I would have been more excited if it was filled with cookies, 

Weekend in Wilmington

Last weekend, we went on a short getaway trip to Wilmington along the coast of NC.  I missed the ocean, and seafood, and I even missed my husband who spent the past month married to a grant deadline and not me.

Of course it rained most of the time we were there and we ended up watching far too many Retro Real World episodes.  Luckily, the place we rented was a cozy and comfortable place to hole up while it stormed.  Maya tested the bedding first to be sure it met standards.

During a random clearing of sunshine, we zipped over to Wrightsville Beach and took a stroll along the water, took deep gulps of salty air, and snapped pictures of surfer bums.  Well, I did that part on my own while Tommie looked on disapprovingly.

The rest of trip was filled with seafood delights of lobster, tuna, salmon, and calamari from Catch and Circa 1922. We also tried a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant Indochine, which we highly recommend.

Sometimes getting away is the only way to really leave work and home behind.  We have to do it more often.

Concert in Wilmington

Last weekend, Tommie and I went to see Passion Pit perform at Battleship Park in Wilmington, NC. 

It seems like everywhere we go, we're the old people now. The concert was mostly college kids, and while we like to pretend we can still pass as students, Tommie's feelings were hurt when someone recently told him that's just not true anymore. (At 29, we are the oldest of all all his colleagues.) On a good day we can pass as grad students.

Before the concert, we took a stroll along the riverwalk then went to our favorite nice restaurant in downtown Wilmington (Circa 1922). We had a good time as elders hanging out in Wilmington and enjoying the band in a small, outdoor venue on a pretty night. Dawson's Creek was filmed along this river and I'd like to think that it makes me cool for knowing that, but really, none of these kids even know what Dawson's Creek is.

When we found out there were multiple opening bands, which meant that Passion Pit wouldn't be on stage until 9:30 p.m., we complained about how late we were going to get home (in our defense, we did have a two-hour drive), and when a couple crazy boys started to climb the support beams holding up the tent we were under, we formed an emergency escape plan and shook our fingers at them with some middle-aged woman. Eventually, even the lead singer, at a mature 25-years-old, yelled at them to get down.

We're no spring chickens, but it's good for us to get out and try sometimes.

Roaming Around Raleigh

It became fall this weekend in North Carolina. There's a noticeable chill in the air and more leaves are falling. It seemed like a good time to venture to the State Farmer's Market in Raleigh, which is full of pumpkins, apples, and other autumnal goods.

It's really an understatement to call the this place a farmer's market...it's open seven days a week and has everything from gardening supplies, to produce, to baked goods, and even shops. We treated ourselves to homemade pumpkin pie fudge and fried seafood at the on-site restaurant.

There were apples to taste, cider to sip, and colorful dahlias to admire. I picked out a few to put on the mantel for my birthday. It might be because I'm an October birthday, but I do love this season. 

On our way home we took a walk around downtown Raleigh and stumbled on the free Museum of Natural Sciences. We only had time to check out the three-story Nature Research Center featuring a theater, critters, fossils, and research labs. Did I mention it's all FREE? A fact that instantly made it ten times more exciting to me. 

In fact, a free museum and a giant full-time farmer's market made the whole trip to Raleigh better than we imagined.

Weekend in Chicago

We didn't run the Chicago marathon this weekend, but I'm pretty sure we did walk a marathon around this city. 

Tommie and I went there to visit my old college roommate who is currently living/working in Illinois, and our other college friend flew in from Boston with her boyfriend. We were there because I had to attend a trade show for my job later that week. We all agreed it was very "grown up" of us to be meeting up in a somewhat random city.

The five of us spent most of our time around Millennium Park and Michigan Ave. We also went to The Art Institute Chicago, but I think there was actually more interesting sculptures and buildings to see just walking around.

Of course there was good food involved, treating ourselves to a nice dinner at Allium, Bandera, and other local finds. We needed to carbo load...it was marathon weekend after all.

It was fun to travel and see friends before heading off to my conference. I wish it could always be like that. Next week I will turn the odd age of 29 sitting on a plane by myself traveling to Las Vegas for another print-related trade show. If only I could find an excuse to treat myself to a birthday showing of The Thunder Down Under, but I don't think that's considered a work expense.

Sometimes The Dog Has The Most Fun

We tried to take a little escape trip this past weekend to Lake Norman in Mooresville, NC. It's only a couple hours away from Durham and I found a small cottage online for rent that was within walking distance to the shore.

We were going to take a dip in the water, read outside on the patio, let Maya sprawl out on the grass in the sun, and go out to dinner at a nice steakhouse. You know what they say about the best laid plans...

The sun never came out, and staying inside the cottage was not appealing. Tommie kept referring to the house as "arachnophobia." He didn't much care for getting hit in the face with cobwebs everywhere we turned.

The one positive was that the place had a really big fenced in yard so that in between the rain we could throw the tennis ball with Maya and kick around a soccer ball. Maya also got to sleep in bed with us, which always equals a good night sleep for her and a poor sleep for those who have to share it with the little medicine ball. The dirty furniture and dead spiders on the floor didn't bother Maya either (I think she ate a couple), but the spiral staircase did. She would climb up slowly one paw at a time then wait at the top for Tommie to rescue her.

We only made it one night and decided to come home early. One nice thing about the trip is that we realized how much we were looking forward to coming back to our place. We've only been here for a few months now but it already feels nice and comfortable and it's (mostly) cobweb-free. Maya, however, votes for a big backyard one day, and I agree. Sometimes she is the only one who enjoys herself.

Day at Duke Gardens

During past trips to Durham we would make a stop at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens--a beautiful, vast park/garden on the Duke campus that does not charge an entry fee (only pay to park during some daytime hours). It's weird to know that we are now living five minutes away!

The garden has made a lot of cosmetic and structural improvements since the last time we visited. There are more stone walls, maintained pathways, and shady benches. There is a Japanese Tea House now, and an overlook above the expanded terrace and koi pond.

One lucky couple was getting married there today. As with our garden wedding, I think about the pretty photo ops they have.

These lily pads are about five feet wide...I wish I could sit in them.

Maya is even allowed in the garden on a leash. She loves gardens...buses never drive through them.

I can see us spending some time in this place.

Day Trip to Little Washington

We didn't do anything crazy for our one-year wedding anniversary...we figured moving to North Carolina this summer was crazy enough. Plus, we've been together something like 13 years (I've lost count), so we've had many an anniversary already. 

I did manage to drag Tommie away from work on Sunday to take a day trip to Washington, North Carolina. It's a small town about two hours from Durham on the Pamlico River. They call it "the heart of the inner banks," and people in Durham call it "Little Washington"...I'm guessing because DC is "Big Washington."

We decided to bring Maya with us, and thankfully she was on her best behavior. I had read that Washington had a nice fenced-in dog park so we made our first stop there. Maya had the entire park to herself. It was Sunday morning and I guess all the other dogs were at church.

Afterwards, we grabbed brunch at a little cafe/restaurant by the river. We sat out on the back porch with Maya who poked her head out from under the table when people walked by in their Sunday best. She shared the deck cordially with another dog, and a lizard who contemplated jumping on her head.

On a cooler day, we would have liked to take a walk along the waterfront. We stopped by Goose Creek State Park on our way out and I waded in the water with Maya. We didn't stay long--children were screaming and it made the peaceful park, well, less peaceful. It did seem like a nice, well-kept park for families camping and hanging out along the river.

It was a beautiful day and good to get out and be along the water for a little bit. There are so many big and little places to check out around here.