Nature Preserve

The girls and I visited the turtles at a local nature preserve. From the dock, we counted 11 turtles swimming and sticking their heads out of the water. We especially loved seeing the baby turtles swimming with their mamas. It was a hot day, but we enjoyed getting outside for some fresh air, exercise, and nature!

River Bike Ride

Tal took the girls on a bike ride, while I enjoyed having some alone time. In one hour, they had the best time biking 2.18 miles on a paved trail along the river and dam.

 

On their way home, Tal and the girls picked up some of my favorite treats: Caramel M&Ms and honey roasted almonds. They also wrote some sweet messages inside a card:

Waterfalls

Savannah's friend Sky went hiking with us on two trails at the waterfall park. We arrived early, so we could swim and play before it got too hot outside. The girls enjoyed climbing on the rocks, playing in the water and sand, and looking at a crawfish. Since the water levels were low, many rocks were exposed, so the girls were able to cross the streams easily.

 Sky, Savannah, and Hadley

 

 

 

The girls spent a long time looking at a crawfish on a rock. 

They'd never seen a crawfish before! 

 

  

 

Sky found a long stick:

Sadly, we discovered that one of our favorite trails at the park has closed permanently for safety reasons. We are heartbroken and will miss seeing the beautiful waterfalls and wading in the water. Below are some photos that we took on the trail a couple weeks ago:

Art Walk

The girls and I had a playdate with our friends Amanda and Tyson, whom we hadn't seen in 6 months due to the pandemic.  On the paved greenway, we walked 3.5 miles round-trip around the outdoor art sculptures at the NC Museum of Art, over a couple creeks, and across the longest pedestrian bridge in NC.

The pedestrian bridge was 660 feet long and 55 feet high and crossed over a busy interstate. We'd driven under the pedestrian bridge many times, but this was our first time walking across the bridge and seeing the traffic below. We enjoyed seeing the bridge from a different perspective!

After our walk, we were hot, tired, and hungry. We enjoyed eating a tailgate lunch in our cars!

Outdoor Art Sculptures

Brown eagle or hawk?

Tyson (5), Hadley (5), and Savannah (11)

Pedestrian Bridge

View from the pedestrian bridge

Amanda and Tyson

Hadley wanted to take my picture:

Tailgate Lunch