Vermont Relocation Vacation {11/3-11/4: North Carolina on My Mind}

Gregg had some meetings and Cal had some lessons to do Tuesday (November 3rd) morning, so Uncle Ryan played legos and cars with Sam for a couple hours while we did our work. Cal and I quit early so we could go explore the nearby woods with Ryan and Sam. (Have I mentioned how much I love the flexibility of home school?! I may never go back!) We wandered along the trail to the pond and visited "the ravine" and then back over to the railroad tracks (which Sam was super excited to check out), down to the switch house (the tracks are no longer used by trains), down the block, around the corner, down Magnolia Street to see multiple specimens, and then back home for a snack. It was a great walk and it was such a beautiful day!

Morning stories and snuggles.

Still obsessed with the fungus folk.

Don't they look cute in their new Davidson hoodies
gifted to them by Uncle Ryan and Aunt Lea? So nice!

New seed pod sighting! Ryan called these
"gumballs" which I thought was clever.
They're from the sweet gum tree.

More mushrooms.

And still more.

Heather tells me this is a tulip tree leaf.

Giant magnolia on Magnolia street.

Heather wasn't sure about this one, but it
looks cool!

Camelia! (I was surprised to see flowers
blooming in November, but it was a really
lovely surprise!)

Going home through the backyard
to see their garden area.

Fig!

Ryan introduced Cal to the wild chive
(aka garlic grass) growing along the path
in the woods. She was able to spot it everywhere
and picked some to garnish her fancy mac n cheese
lunch with. (Lea gave her some crunchy onions
to go on top, too.)

After Gregg's meetings were done, he took the rest of the day off and we headed out on a bike ride to check out the neighborhood and Lake Davidson.

It was still and calm and grogeous!

And still more fungi!

We rode back through Davidson campus to
see the sights there.

Our next stop was Ben and Jerry's (which
is a must for any bike ride through Davidson
with Ryan), but since it was election day, it was
closed (didn't even think of that!). So we went
next door to The Pickled Peach for "emergency
cookies" to get us through the half mile back home.

Cal got the Hello Dolly Bar (aka seven layer
or magic cookie bar - I love these things, so
I was happy she shared a few bites with me!).

Apple hand pie for Gregg and snickerdoodle
for Sam (not surprise choices for either of them).

Ryan went for the brown butter pumpkin
cookie (it was like a pumpkin snickerdoodle
and was super yum!). (I sneaked bites from
everyone else!)

Spotted on Lea's car as we entered through
the garage. :D

Ryan ordered amazing BBQ for dinner that night and he and Gregg and Sam went to pick it up. While the boys were gone, Lea dug in her scrap fabric boxes and found some material for Callie to make a pillow. She walked her through the process and pushed the foot pedal and after pausing for dinner (brisket, beans, pulled pork sandwiches, hush puppies and mac and cheese - boy howdy it was a delicious feast!) they finished up at the dining room table (since Sam fell asleep early in the sewing room, poor tired boy).

We spent the evening after the kids were in bed talking and learning so much about immigration and universal healthcare and watching the election numbers start to trickle in. Gregg and I mentioned earlier that it had been such a beautiful peaceful day, and we tried not to get too caught up in the election doomscrolling that evening. (It turned out both Lea and I didn't sleep well that night after all. Too much politics for us!)

On Wednesday (November 4th), we still didn't know any outcomes of the election, and while Lea was tracking things and updating us with the numbers pretty closely, we tried to check only a few times a day. (What was the point in getting worked up?) Gregg and Cal took the whole day off and after breakfast (let me tell you, they know how to do breakfast!), we took Gregg on the same walk we had explored yesterday, only we went all the way to the depot on the tracks instead of just the switch house).

I have seen versions of these signs all over
on our trip, and Ryan and Lea had one in
their yard, too, so I snapped a pic. I like it.

Railway folks.

Cool bark spotted on our walk.

More camelias, I'm gussing?

Back on Magnolia Street.

Here's the Blanchard Magnolia Ryan and 
the girls planted last year in their front yard.

Blooming roses in November!

We came back to the house for snacks and then headed out again to the golf course to try out the driving range and putting green. The kids had a blast!

After golf was lunch and after lunch was some quiet time and after quiet time was the long awaited kayaking! Ryan and Lea have three kayaks that they keep in a locker stand thing in the woods on the shore of the lake. So we drove over to the launch point, pulled down the boats, and hopped in for a tour of the lake. Cal paddled herself in the green kids kayak, Gregg took the small blue one, and Sam, Ryan and I were in the long double kayak. We had a great time paddling over to the island and then further to check out the bald eagle nest (it was empty). Sam liked seeing a plane land and then take off from the lake and some jet skiers zipping around on the water.

Sam took a spin on the green kayak by himself after
we got back to shore. Both kids did awesome maneuvering
that thing!

After boating, we met Lea at Pickled Peach for sandwiches for dinner followed by Ben and Jerry's next door for dessert. It had been another simply perfect fall day! We all took showers and the kids were tucked into bed and we re-loaded the car and ordered groceries for the road and then the adults visited again on the couch for a while before heading to bed. We woke up early the next morning (not really on purpose - it's just what we do, apparently) and hit the road before breakfast. On to the next state (and home beyond)! We sure enjoyed our time in North Carolina!