Train Ride to Raleigh

Temperatures this past week tipped into the upper 90s, and at certain points, even into triple digits! With the heat, we spent a lot of time at the pool. The first four days of the week followed the same rhythm: Emmy had a basketball camp in the morning 9AM - 11AM, and then we headed to the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Emmy enjoyed the basketball camp and picked right back up from the skills she had during the Upward season last winter. The camp was hosted by Coach Robinson and the Winston-Salem Stealers, and it was all-girls, ages 1st through 8th Grades. Emmy's friends Heidi and Smith also signed up for the camp. It was great for Emmy to brush up on her basketball skills, after several months of softball. Other big events this week included Emmy losing not one, but TWO, teeth and celebrating Aunt Megan's birthday. This time last year, we celebrated her birthday in ENGLAND, so by comparison, it was a simpler affair, with dinner at East Coast Wings and a cookie cake.  

On Friday, we checked off one of our summer to-do list items: a train ride to Raleigh. I got the idea from a few other friends who had planned similar day trips with their families, and I was excited to do it with my own crew. I purchased the Amtrak tickets a couple of weeks ago. On Friday morning, we left our house around 7:15AM and arrived at the station in Greensboro around 7:45AM. There was a short delay in departure; originally the train was supposed to depart at 8:24AM, but it departed about 15 minutes later. No biggie; the kids had fun exploring the train station. Once on board, it was about a 2-hour trip, and we arrived in Raleigh around 10:30AM. We walked the short distance to the Museum of Natural Sciences, a free museum with four levels and tons of exhibits about the coastal, Piedmont, and mountain regions of North Carolina. We covered the 1st Floor and then headed to the 4th Floor for lunch at the cafe. After lunch, we worked our way back down through the 3rd and 2nd Floors. At 3PM, we watched the T-Rex 3D movie, which was very cool (and a little scary!) We left the museum shortly after 4PM and had dinner along the walk back to the Amtrak station at The Pit. Boomer and I both realized we had eaten at the restaurant separately in the past when we have been in Raleigh for various work-related conferences. It was delicious! On the return trip to Greensboro, there was a similar short delay. We arrived back around 8:45PM, just a little later than the original time of 8:07PM. The kids stayed awake during the entire train journey, but they fell asleep on the last leg of the trip home to Kernersville. We all had a blast and loved our day traveling by train!

Yesterday, Emmy and Eli were invited to a birthday party for our friends Ellie (7) and Landon (5) Mast. The party was at HorsePower Therapeutic Riding Center in High Point. Boomer took them to the party, and I loved seeing the videos of them on the horses. (Just to clarify, Boomer did not ride, just the kids! haha) While Boomer and the kids were at the party, my mom and I went to Blowing Rock for Macy and Dalton Walter's wedding. The wedding was at Chetola, a beautiful resort nestled into the mountain landscape. The ceremony and reception were outside, overlooking the pond on the property. There was a threat of an afternoon thunderstorm, but luckily the rain held off and helped to lower the temperature to a more comfortable upper-70s. Although Boomer had been the original invited guest, I really enjoyed having Mom with me in his place. I figured she would know many more people there, which was definitely true. We both had a great time celebrating the new couple and reconnecting with all the Morganton/Burkemont folks!