Camping on the Roanoke River

For the past few weeks, Nick has been craving an adventure.  He started researching new places to camp fairly close to where we live.  Last weekend we decided to try out the Roanoke River and headed to eastern NC.  We went to Halifax Co which was very rural but full of cotton farms and American history.  Turns out, it was the sight of the Halifax Resolves which paved the way for the American Revolution.  It is only about 1.5 hours from Raleigh, so we had plenty of time to explore when we got there.

Nick discovered these platforms along the river.  You can travel down the river by canoe, camping along the way or just drive to one for the night.  We had to drive through this cotton field to get to the spot.  The platform was up on a bluff overlooking the river.

our home for the night

view of the river

steps to the river

When Nick and I go camping, we have a certain routine that we do (which I learned about when we first started camping together).  First you gather all your fire wood and then organize it into piles according to size.  Here is the first pile which I (thought) was organized by size-

A little while later I came back and saw that Nick had reorganized it.  If you know Nick this should make you laugh.

 Anyway, the pile turned into this relaxing fire, where I lounged and read for the afternoon.

Even though it was pretty rainy we had a great time.  The spot is a keeper and I am thankful for an adventurous husband!

Cam the Camry

As you probably know, Nick was in a pretty bad wreck before Christmas.  He was coming home from work in the Civic when another car pulled out in front of him and he t-boned (haha L & P) them.  Thank the Lord that he was totally fine besides being very sore and having a mild concussion.  Sadly, we cannot say the same for the Civic (that we affectionately called Beck) - it was totalled.

I loved that car, it was my first car and I got it while I was in college.  Nick and I have some great memories with Beck.  We drove the Civic as we left from our wedding, took it on countless road trips and never had to put any money into it other than new tires!  I am SO thankful that Beck saved Nick's life and so if we had to say goodbye to her, it was a good way for her to go.

It took quite a while for the insurance company to get their act together and get us a check (over a month) and so we had sometime to search for cars.  We were hoping to get a four door car and something with less mileage.  After getting all the money from the insurance company and doing lots of research we found Cam the Camry.  Meet Cam-

So, hopefully he will be just as gas efficient and maintenance free as Beck.  I feel like our cars have personalities.  We also have Frank the 4runner and our rental car was Eric the Elantra.  Do you name your cars?  Or do you think we are crazy for naming ours?

Raleigh Weekend

It has been a very mild winter in NC (and everywhere from what it sounds like) and while I would love to see some snow, you can't complain about 65 degrees and sunny in January!  Crazy!  One Saturday Nick and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and explore a little.  Falls Lake is just minutes from where we live, so we picked up some sushi and headed to the lake for a picnic and a hike.  Being on the lake and in the woods, it is hard to believe you are still in Raleigh.  

 


                           

On Sunday, Nick's parents came to church with us and we went out for brunch afterwards.  We had fried chicken and waffles which may sound strange but it was seriously amazing!   After brunch we strolled around downtown.  There is so much to see and do in Raleigh.  We had a great weekend enjoying all it has to offer!