At Hanging Rock State Park
We had a lot of good family time in 2015. The biggest family time item was our trip to Alaska, which will be discussed in a future blog post. But we also didn’t have to go far to have a fun time together.
Thumbs up for Thunder Road
In May, we took a family trip over to Charlotte for a day at Carowinds. Hallie’s friend Suzanna joined us for a day of roller coasters and water flumes. It was fun showing the kids around the park where I once worked, though it’s changing rapidly. Many of the attractions have been removed to make room for others. Also, we discovered after we left that the park’s premier wooden roller coaster, Thunder Road, would be dismantled later that summer. I’m so glad the kids got a chance to ride it while it was still around. For the record, they really enjoyed it, proclaiming it their favorite. The apples don’t fall from the tree, do they?
Hiking Umstead Park
In June, we spent a few days in a cabin in one of North Carolina’s best parks, Hanging Rock State Park. We hiked the trails, swam at the lake, played games back in the cabin, and generally had a great time. Both kids hiked this park like champs. We wore ourselves out but there’s no better feeling than going all-out in nature. Look at those smiles if you don’t believe me!
Skipping over Alaska trip in August, we next hit the road for our “Cabin Christmas” at Fairy Stone State Park in southwestern Virginia where we met Kelly’s family for the holiday. It was unseasonably warm at Christmas so rather than snow activities, we hiked and biked around the park and played football in a field. Though it was a drizzly, foggy time while were there, we appreciated the outdoor time and family time.