Winter Days: Chapel Hill, NC

The kids and I fit in a quick trip to Chapel Hill to see old friends to end our winter break with a bang. Yesterday morning we made it to the North Carolina Botanical Gardens. Do you frequent gardens in winter? North Carolina is temperate enough to be outside in winter for several hours at a time so while the two hours might have numbed our fingers, no one asked for an early exit. 

In summer when the forest fills out with foliage the framework of the woods is hidden, but in winter the structure becomes very observable. The topography is easier to examine. The shape, direction, and spread of the woody growth in on display.

The water gardens were covered in a thin layer of ice--

 --and everything else seemed to be covered with frosty crystals.

 We were pleasantly surprised by unique features: a water garden, gathering spots, and the chess garden, too.

 Of course, we ran the trails, thankful that our kids were visible hundreds of yards in front of us in their colorful coats, unhidden by summer leaves and camouflage.

 Later that afternoon we were there (not coincidentally) to celebrate the birthday of our very special friend, one of our preschool friends from last year. This guy "K" is one cool kid, and his new neighborhood showed up on the lawn in the common area for cake, balloon animals, all kids of multi-wheeled ride-on toys, and a few other party hits.

 Have you ever buddy-bounced on a yoga ball? Definitely the source of lots of laughter.

 And the stomp rocket was a giant success.

 We ate at Elmo's Diner last night, the friendliest of family-friendly restaurants. I give the Sweet Potato and Black Bean burritos five stars.

We still miss the P Family. "Rainy," the mom, was my running partner for nearly a year and still have such fond memories of our shared conversations and conclusions. Can't wait to see them again.

But the all-star of the trip might have been their Chesapeake Bay retriever named Banjo who had us all considering the option of dog ownership. The night of our arrival the kids ran from him in terror, but they were his biggest fans by day three. 

I might have sung "In my mind, I'm goin' to Carolina . . ." over and over on the way home today. It is yet another of James Taylor's songs that still plays effortlessly in my mind twenty years after I first really learned to love his music.