Love, Erika

NC Zoo

 

Fun in Boston

My friends Candy and Christina and I decided to take a trip to Boston for the Boston Flower Show. It was an awesome day--we headed out early and caught the Boston Express bus from Londonderry and enjoyed a stress-free ride right into South Station. No traffic, no parking, no hassle...perfect!   We were a little bit like country come to town trying to figure out how to purchase T tickets and get to the World Trade Center, but we figured it out eventually and made it there.

One of my favorite things we saw was this tiny little diorama thingy.... a miniature garden! Every detail was so perfect. So cute! I just love the waterhose all snaked around the garden.

After spending a few hours at the Flower Show, it was time to get our grub on! We had researched ahead of time to find a restaurant near where we would be, and thanks to Yelp reviews and other innernets indications, we went to Lucky's Lounge. It was not entirely within "quick" walking distance of the World Trade Center as we had read, but we did find it-eventually-but not because of their abundant signage!! It was pretty obscure to find.

This place had a really cool vibe to it..... usually when places try to be all vintage/retro they end up looking just weird. But in this case it really felt authentic, like it hadn't changed much in 50 years.

I ordered the Lucky Burger for my meal, and the Boston Cream Pie for dessert....should I be offended that the waitress brought me THREE spoons for my dessert, when everybody else in my party had ordered their own dessert as well? Hmm.

 

The Dixie Classic Fair

I was so psyched during my trip home to North Carolina in early October because it coincided with the Dixie Classic Fair dates! It was the fair that I grew up going to because we lived in Kernersville during those years, so I have a lot of early memories of fairs there. And these days I have always had a secret wish to take off one evening and head to the fair by myself just so I can take pictures. With kids in tow, it doesn't leave much time or opportunity for creativity, so it's been many years since I got to satisfy my love of fair pictures (and I'm still not there!).

Unfortunately it was not to be the case this time either, even though I was going with all adults. Too bad it drizzled rain most of the time! That was a real bummer although we still had a great time and I managed to salvage a few shots all the while sheilding my camera from the rain inside a plastic Target bag that I found in my mom's car en route.

Fair food! What in the world would I choose as my fair indulgence this year, in the South? I hardly knew what kinds of things they had there anymore, it's been so long. I've about had it with pizza and sausage & peppers because you can get that ANYWHERE. Ugh. What would be the perfect regional fare at the fair? There were certainly a zillion BBQ stands everywhere and that would have been great, but I could get that elsewhere. And I definitely was not going to be one of these..... certainly not something you can get anywhere else but I wasn't into it. :) Two great tastes that taste weird together.

My mom had the perfect idea--Moravian chicken pie, complete with a thick slice of pound cake.  It was more than perfect!  It was served up in the brick buildings near the main entrance where all the churches and civic organizations house their food offerings. Too bad I never got a pic of the chicken pie (but it was soooo good and fresh), but I had the pound cake tucked safely in my pocket just waiting for a shelter from the rain. :) That baby wasn't going anywhere.

Here's Jill and Derek enjoying their bloomin' onion. It was a good one! And who's the so-called photographer who left the lemonade straw in the middle of the frame? Ooops.

And lastly, the funnel cake that nearly did us all in. (so nice to be able to call it "funnel cake" or "elephant ear"... the only names that make sense to me! In New England it's just "fried dough".)

I was very interested in all the food competitions...... rows and rows of cookies, poundcakes, biscuits, and breads all lined up with tags and ribbons. I want that job!

One of the last things we saw was the vegetable barns and agricultural products....including bees! This honey display was very beautiful with the light behind it.

Sugarland!

Even though Sugarland wasn't there when we went to school in Chapel Hill, it is quickly becoming one of our must-go places anytime we head back there to meet up. Because, yeah..... a cupcake shop on Franklin St probably would have been the absolute worst thing for us back then (if we could afford the $3.25 cupcakes). We were already well on our way to hardening our arteries with Taco Bell and Pokey Stix. But then, with all the walking we did, we probably worked it all off....... I can justify it 100 different ways!

On to the pictures! We all chose our indulgences.

I had a lemon cupcake, set off with a Jimmy Buffett lime gelato martini. Awesome!

Gracie chose pumpkin gelato and it was finger-lickin' and elbow-lickin' good!  That girl was AFTER that gelato. :D She was actually still talking about it the next morning when I saw her.

Quiet little Ella was really tired at this point I think.... I think we wore her out! After an hour long photo session with lots of walking, a dinner at the Brewery, dessert..... she was out in no time at all once we got back in the car. :)

Pretty Jenny! I was so happy to see her!  No outing is complete without her.

Return to Storyland: The Redemption

This weekend we went back to Storyland. Last time we went, it was POURING down rain all weekend long and it made for a very soggy and miserable time. We knew we needed to go back one more time this year, in good weather, to redeem ourselves with a good visit. And we did!  It was such a treat to actually be able to take my camera into the park and not have to fight to keep it dry.

This vintage milking cow is one of those things that's been around for 50 years or more.....

The antique cars are a classic ride at Storyland, being the very first one inside the park. The lines are always very long, so we only do it ONCE. The kids have a hard time waiting in line that long. Drew loves to drive although he can't reach the gas pedal.  It's kind of a sickening ride when he drives. ;)

I love this shot..... that's Parker in the orange shirt up on the bridge.

I had no idea how much they were going to fight over this dang $4.35 slushie. Sheesh!!! I guess they really liked it. And we were TOTALLY sharing that drink back and forth between me, Drew, and impetigo-infested Parker. We didn't have any clue what it was that he had.

And speaking of which, here are the kids all wallowing all over the very public ball pit, Parker spreading his impetigo germs all over the place. I had no idea what he had, I swear! I never even heard of it until we got back home and took him to the doctor on Monday.

 

A couple of Storyland classics..... the train, and the Old Woman in the Shoe. And yes, there is actually an old woman in the shoe, handing out stickers. I was shocked and amazed that Drew actually went in there and got a sticker from her (both days!).  

Parker was, and has been, always obsessed with the train. Even before we went, somehow he remembered our trip in June and when I mentioned Storyland was always talking about "train tracks." I really don't know HOW he remembered that, but it's amazing talking to a two-year old that doesn't have a language delay because oftentimes they really DO know what they're talking about!!! I'm astounded.  

In fact, ever since we've been home, he's been talking about the traintracks, and also the flamingo, hippopotamus, alligator, and monkeys..... all of which are things that we saw from the train during our many rides around the park. I can't believe he really remembered all those things and is still talking about it, even a week later!  It really was his favorite thing, last time and this time, so who am I to question? The heart wants what the heart wants.

 

As we left, we had to let the kids run under the tunnel that connects each side of Rt. 16...... even though we didn't park on the other side of the road, they were still fascinated by the tunnel and had to check it out.... as kids do, crazy obsessed about "tunnels" and running to the other side of them, no matter how bland or uninteresting they are. I think they need to paint a mural in there. :)

 

We stayed at a different motel this time, in North Conway, and it (like the other one) had outstanding ratings on Trip Advisor and was just great. They even recommended a restaurant, Muddy Moose, sort of across the street that we actually walked to, and it was very kid-friendly. In fact the whole place was filled with kids. Drew did much better this time, alternating his time between coloring and Angry Birds. It was much less stressful than the last time we tried to take them out in public. All in all, pretty good, but not something we'll be doing again any time soon. That's my nice big Blue Moon beer there......

Odiorne

Yesterday we went to Odiorne State Park because there's lots to do there, including a big playground, tidepools and rocks to explore at the water, trails to walk around and the Seacoast Science Center. The kids are getting so big, and so easy to take along to places like this. It took LONG ENOUGH for us to get to this point. It seems Parker and Drew have both arrived at this nice easy place at the same time. Phew.

Drew loves his hat. Wore it all day yesterday. Sadly, the hat is now gone and got lost in our travels. Probably got left behind at the Science Center, that was the last place we saw it. Such a bummer!! 

 
 
 
 

 

On the way home we had lunch in Maine at the Dog House. We quickly had to correct ourselves and tell Drew it was the HOT Dog House, because he started to think there were really going to be dogs there. Haha. Everything will be fine as long as we manage his expectations. :)

This was my super messy smeared up foot-long chili dog. With beans in it, which is typical for a New England chili dog. ;)  But it was good anyway.

 

And hey there's me!!!  I made it onto my own blog.
 
 
It was a fun day! Will update later with some pics of Parker. He was there too. :)

Museum of Science, Boston

For one of our day trips while Dawn and her kids were here, we went to Boston to visit the Museum of Science. Parker stayed home with Grammie and we just went with Drew. Dave and I couldn't believe how liberating it was with only one kid. Only ONE!  How easy. Nothing could be easier.   It was nice to just have Drew, although the museum (and the lengthy drive in Boston traffic) was just about too much for him. He didn't really understand anything he was looking at, he just wanted to run amok, overstimulated, excited, and later, just completely exhausted.

But anyway, we had a good time and it was nice to take a trip somewhere..... anywhere, other than my little corner of New Hampshire.

Random photos with no particular order......

 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Storyland, Continued...

More from our trip to Storyland..... most of the shots on this post were done with the little point n' shoot because I pretty much gave up and put the big camera away due to the relentless downpours. Bummer.

The motel experience was funny. It was pretty much as you'd expect, a small room, tiny bathroom and 2 very excited little kids just going nuts in there. We stayed at the North Colony Motel in Bartlett only 4 miles away from Storyland and it was perfect for our needs. I always shop around for motels/hotels and restaurants on Trip Advisor, and this motel got perfect ratings for cleanliness and price, which I really liked. I never go wrong with Trip Advisor!  We brought the Pack N Play which hasn't seen the light of day since Parker was a little baby, but it came in handy for our motel stay. We just needed something to keep him contained, and it barely did. I guess we all got a few hours of sleep that night, and it was all we needed.

Here's me the next morning after a Dunkin's run. COFFEE!  Putting back on the wet clothes from the day before (because they didn't dry much at all overnight) was gross and uncomfortable. I had packed as many changes of clothes as I possibly could for all of us, but it just wasn't enough.

I shall not remark about this one.

We got some of the plastic ponchos to help keep us dry and were thinking that Drew wouldn't wear one, but he DID! He thought it was really cool. Poor Parker, we had gotten one for him too but he is way too small for it, so he just had to be open to the elements. Rough day for Parker.

We get back to Storyland that morning and it's POURING. Harder than it did the day before. It was just ridiculous. And miserable. Poor Parker.
 

We made it all the way to lunch time..... kept contemplating leaving as it POURED so hard, but then it would let up, and then downpour again. A really miserable and cold experience. But we were determined to press on.  Lunch was burgers that we took to a big pavilion out of the rain. Wearing our winter coats, giant plastic bags, and pushing around a huge double rental stroller, we found our way to table to eat. Ugh. Did I say misery?

Our only family picture was taken by a high schooler employee pushing around a broom. :)

Finally, it was time to head home. As you can see here, Parker was out like a light before we were even out of the Bartlett city limits. Both of them slept on the way home.

When we got back home, the unpacking was a little daunting. Two days worth of wet, heavy clothing in multiple changes, and soggy shoes. I was doing laundry for days.

A Soggy & Soaked Time at Storyland! (Day 1)

I'm proud to say we have just completed our first out-of-town overnight trip as a family! We went up to Storyland in Glen and did the works-- which included an afternoon at the park, dinner at a restaurant, slept in a motel, and then fnished up the next day at Storyland again before heading back on the road (it's a 2.5 hour drive).  It all went really, really well..... except for the restaurant. LOL. Drew still can't handle a restaurant although Parker was great.

Aaaaaaannnnnnd the big villain of the trip was the weather. It POURED down rain both days we were there. Relentlessly. And it was COLD, the temp never topped 60 degrees. So that was really, really disappointing for our first family trip. I had visions of sunshine and happy times, but that was not to be. We were soaked and cold but kids being kids, they didn't notice much. Except for when Parker was completely drenched and was shivering and his teeth were chattering. Yeah, that wasn't fun. He did however get a new outfit from the Storyland gift shop because of it!!  We would have done anything to get that kid into some dry clothes.

The park is so cute, and so well done. I believe it opened in 1954 and so it still has this really neat retro feel about it, but they've updated things and added more rides and attractions. It's all geared towards little kids, and everything is built so that adults can ride with the kids. So cute. Which means that some of the rides were slow enough even for ME!!! LOL. Yes, I did a couple of things, even one or two that scared me. ha ha.

 

The Bamboo Chutes area was my favorite. While Dave and Drew went endlessly down the log flume ride, Parker and I hung out and I enjoyed the Asian-style landscaping and architecture and Parker LOVED the singing Bamboo sticks. I really liked it too, and I had the song stuck in my head whenever I closed my eyes to sleep. We stood there and listened to it sing SO MANY TIMES. I even found a video on You Tube that somebody made, so you can share the joy too!! :)

He was happy to just stand there in the rain, mesmerized by the bamboo sticks swaying back and forth singing their happy little song of peace & harmony. :)

 

 

We weren't sure if Drew was going to want to ride anything, but turns out he is a daredevil!!  He rode EVERYTHING a zillion times with Dave. The best thing about the rain was that the lines were very short and they were able to get right on. They rode the roller coaster, the log flume, the raft ride, the Crazy Barn.... all kinds of things!  Parker and I mostly hung out and watched. But Parker really liked the train that goes all around the park so we rode that quite a bit. He would yell "CHOO CHOO!!!" any time we saw it coming and he would scream and pitch a fit if we didn't get on. :) 

This is Storyland's "waterpark" area with the big sprayground and all kinds of things. On this day, the entire park was a water park, so it made no difference whatsoever if they went in there fully clothed. We were all so seriously drenched it wasn't even funny.

That night for supper we went to the Red Parka in Glen. Ugh. It was hard. Drew was exhausted, but not so exhausted that he could sit there in his chair. He was all over the place, couldn't wait patiently for his food (which he didn't eat anyway), sucked down his first milk in 30 seconds and asked a million times for more..... it was not a relaxing meal. Parker, however, was wonderful and we barely knew he was there. Needless to say, I was ready for a couple of these! :)  And afterward we were ready to get OUT of there as fast as we could.

Vacation Food is the Best

So I basically went on a personal vendetta against Weight Watchers the week I was in NC and threw caution (and moderation) to the wind. Bah!!!  To hell with it.

The first day alone we hit up Hursey's BBQ..... had to get my hushpuppies fix.  I still after all these years can't get used to not having any in New England.  What is UP.

 
Found the coolest frozen yogurt place in the Burlington Holly Hill Mall called YoZone. It's a total make-your-own sundae bar!  You grab a bowl and put whatever flavors and combinations of frozen yogurt in it, with a wall o' toppings to choose from.... everything from fruits and nuts to chocolates and candies and cereals and sauces. You pay by weight on the way out and voila!!! Fantastic.

Panera bagels for breakfast every morning ensured I got my blood sugar spike early in the day. :)  And then my mom and I were on a mission to get gourmet cupcakes from several different bakeries in Greensboro. We were very successful (whether that is a good thing, I'm not sure). Easy on the eyes but a little rough on the waistline. I won't pretend that I didn't walk around downtown Greensboro in a sugar coma after eating the below red velvet cake at 11am on an empty stomach.

 
 

We needed to stop for lunch quickly so I could get some protein into me to balance out the sugar. Fincastle's was the answer. I had a Fincastle burger and a Green Drink. Classic and perfect. The green drink has pineapple in it. My idea of health food at its best.

 
If any of you scrapbookers have that now-vintage Paperkuts Power Team book from 2006 (or 2005?) there is a layout I did in my chapter about the story behind Fincastles. LOL. Blast from the PAST.

 

On a different day, my mom and I had Brixx Pizza for lunch and it was delicious. I was kinda food-ed out at that point so I went with something really light and refreshing, the margherita pizza, and it was AWESOME. So perfect. It hit the spot and did not make me feel gross (so that I had the room of course, to go home and pig out on cupcakes....priorities)

 

And speaking of those cupcakes, let me not keep you in suspense any longer. I bought beautiful and expensive cupcakes at Delicious and Maxie B's in Greensboro and they were fantastic. A few tasting notes: Maxie B's is the REAL THING. Their buttercream icing is to die for, thick and filling and awesome. Delicious was great too, but much lighter. Their icing was MUCH lighter in taste and I'm not even sure it was buttercream, but it was great too, and both bakeries have such great things to choose from and gorgeous decorations. Hard to choose a favorite based on just a few cupcakes, but I'm gonna go with Maxie B's based on what I tasted. Such punchy flavor in the pink lemonade cupcake!

 
 

On a different night, we went up to Wholly Guacamole one night for Mexican food, and it was of course delicious. I don't know that I ever met mexican food that I didn't like. Cheese, beans, chicken, sauce, what's not to like? Supremely comforting.  Camera phone to the rescue!

 
And let's not forget, another Mexican food meal an hour down the road in Chapel Hill-our old favorite Bandido's!!  I regret to say that none of us (me or my friends) have ever worn the sombrero. Gotta work on that.

 

In the end, I gained exactly 1 pound when I got back home for my weekly weigh-in day. :) I should be a 
professional eater!