"Adventure is our life!"

After our week at the beach, we have settled back in for our last two weeks of summer in Kernersville. I realized that time was running out for a few of our 'staple' summer adventures, so this week we went to Reynolda Gardens, got donuts at Dough Joe's, played at Harmon Park, and had pretzels from Patriot Pretzel. We have always enjoyed these outings in the past, and we did once again this year.

Boomer and I had not one, but TWO, date nights this week. We had dinner on Monday evening at Rooster's in Winston-Salem after a meeting with our financial advisor. It was a good meeting where we discussed some long-term planning for retirement and for Emmy and Eli; we worked up an appetite and debriefed over our meal afterward. On Thursday, we had a double date with Seth and Jenny Alyn Key to Top Golf. Of course Boomer dominated and won two out of the three games. He is annoyingly good at everything! While Mommy and Daddy were off having fun, the kiddos were in good hands at Grammy and Grandpa's. 

With our remaining days, we have been chipping away on the last items on our Summer To-Do List. On Friday, we went to the Milk Bar in Walnut Cove and combined it with a hike at Hanging Rock State Park. We arrived at the Visitors Center around 9:30AM and set off on the Hanging Rock Trail just before 10AM. Ordinarily 1.3 miles to the summit, the trail had a detour, which extended the route to 1.8 miles (3.6 miles total!) The ascent was moderate and uphill, but with perfectly timed water and snack breaks, my crew stayed in good spirits. When we were about halfway to the top, two other hikers warned us about a rattlesnake on the trail. Sure enough, we saw it and even heard its rattle! There was a bit of fear and trepidation for continuing forward, but as a positive, the sighting put a pep in all of our steps, and we arrived to the top much faster in the second half than in the first. There was a beautiful view and a nice breeze at the summit. On the way back down, we saw two deer cross the path just in front of us. After the snake and the deer, Emmy remarked "Adventure is our life!" which became the new tagline for the day. After returning back to the Visitor Center, we did the shorter 0.4 mile hike to the Upper Cascade Falls, where the kids put their feet in the cool mountain water. Eli took a spill and got his shorts wet, and while I brought plenty of snacks, I was not prepared with a set of spare clothes. It was a funny picture of Eli falling asleep in his underwear on the drive back down to Walnut Cove, while Boomer dried his shorts out the window. Once in Walnut Cove, we stopped for a late lunch around 2PM at the Milk Bar. I got the pimento cheese burger, while Boomer got the catfish nuggets. And of course there was ice cream, too!  

On Saturday, we went to the Charlotte FC match vs. Toronto. I added this one to our Summer To-Do List after last year's trip to Manchester United, which peaked all of our interest in soccer. Grammy, Grandpa, and the Houstons came along, and we made it an outing for all ten of us. Even though the match didn't start until 7:30PM, we left Kernersville around 2:30PM to allow plenty of time for eating, parking, and navigating to the stadium. I reached out to some friends ahead of time for recommendations, and they were spot on with their suggestions. We had an early dinner beforehand at Midwood Smokehouse on Central Avenue, a restaurant made famous from having visitors like Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, Justin Timberlake, and Bill Murray. Boomer and I shared the four meat platter with sweet potato fries and bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers. It was plenty of food for 2! After eating, we headed to Bank of America. Luckily once in the stadium, our seats were in the shade, but temperatures were still in the 90s for almost the entire match. We stayed hydrated and were glad for any bit of a breeze. It was exciting when Charlotte FC scored twice within 10 minutes in the second half. They kept Toronto from scoring and won 2-0. 

(Eli showing off the Kerwin Vargas bobblehead giveaway)

While we enjoyed the soccer match, baseball still reigns in the Kennedy household. Is it normal for a 5-year-old to practice the MLB logos, instead of the ABCs? Asking for a friend... :) Boomer recently unearthed an old baseball game from his childhood, and he and Eli have enjoyed playing it. We also got pictures back from Emmy's Allstar team. Her serious face makes me chuckle. Pretty soon we will be back at the ballfield again.