Before summer ended, we explored a new section of Crabtree Creek Trail via bike. With the hot and humid weather, we knew pushing a double stroller would be tough, so why not pull the girls by a bike trailer?! The girls were super excited about the prospect of riding in a bike trailer and despite having to cut our trip short because of a busted bike chain we had a great morning ride and even stumbled upon a new park.
After borrowing a friend’s bike trailer, we parked along the street at 2497 Ratchford Dr near the intersection of Capital Blvd and hopped on the nearby Crabtree Creek Trail at milepost 7.5. We turned left onto the wooden boardwalk heading south east along the trail. After a short ride on the boardwalk we biked under Capital Blvd and under the train tracks before coming to another long boardwalk stretching over a large pond near the intersection of Raleigh Blvd. Along this long stretch of the boardwalk are a large gazebo and marsh lands, great for stopping to check out the turtles, frogs and insects inhabiting the water.
After crossing over the pond we arrived at the busy Raleigh Blvd/Crabtree Blvd intersection. It was a bit hairy with the bike and the trailer, but we survived and crossed at the cross walk near milepost 7. Continuing on we followed the paved trail, which was mostly flat with a few hills scattered throughout. Around milepost 5 we stumbled upon a neighborhood park, Lockwood Park, at the intersection of Crabtree Blvd/Remington Rd.
Lockwood Park is small fenced-in park designed mostly for ages 5-12. It has a large climbing rock boulder, sand box with diggers, swings, and large playground with slides and various climbing structures. The playground has a rubberized surface with a picnic table and benches and a nearby open grassy field. The girls loved climbing on the boulders the best, but were also excited to get back into the bike trailer to continue on our ride.
We weren’t 5 minutes back into our ride before Bill’s bike chain completely broke in half going up a steep hill. Luckily we weren’t far from the playground, so we walked the bike and trailer back to the playground while I booked it 2.75 miles back to retrieve the car and rescue them. Despite having our bike ride cut short, we had a fun time on our first bike trailer excursion and look forward to doing it again soon!
Thumbs up: having a playground along the greenway, scenery along boardwalk over pond
Thumbs down: busy Crabtree Blvd/Raleigh Blvd intersection, lack of signage at Lockwood Park
As of this past Monday, Raleigh had 12 days of consecutive rain, tying a 
Before preschool started, we headed to Powell Drive Park to check out the playground renovations finished earlier this year. I 
The ages 2-5 playground features bright neon colors with two small ladders, musical drums, slide, tunnel, water/sand table and stepping stones. The playground’s height is short, making it the perfect size for early explorers. Nearby is the ages 5-12 playground with a large spider web rope climbing ladder, curved metal ladder, and tall slide. The big girls loved climbing to the top of the spider web rope and everyone squealed in delight while being pushed on the large, oval swing. The old tennis courts and basketball courts are adjacent to the playground area. There are some large shade trees near the tot swings, but little shade around the ages 2-5 playground. A few benches surround the perimeter of the play area and several moms with small babes had the right idea by bringing a breakfast picnic to the park!
Preschool for both girls is in full swing and the first day of Fall began last week with chilly mornings, which led me to reminisce about our summer adventures. Even though I love schedules, cool air, and pumpkin-seasoned anything I find myself longing for more pool, beach and seafood days and having more of that carefree, energetic spirit! We completed a lot of things on our 
While we spent a lot of time with friends and family over the summer, I will best remember this summer for all the amazing memories we created with my siblings, nieces, and Aunt Jeanne. It’s been a rollercoaster of a summer with lots of “firsts” and some “lasts” and I’m glad to have made it through it with them. For all these reasons and more, summer makes for endless fun and is our favorite season. But, Fall is here now and that means preschool fun, Hokies football and pumpkin beer, so come on Fall 2015!
Blue Jay Point County Park is an outdoor mecca for people of all ages! We visited Blue Jay Point County Park about a month ago after hearing so much great news about the new 
After some playground time, we headed towards the covered pavilion where the Laurel Loop nature trail begins. This was such an ideal walk for young kids – it is a well maintained unpaved trail with lots of shade, has several benches and picnic tables throughout, is only 0.2 miles, allows for a short walk by adjacent Falls Lake, and loops you back to the playground area. All of the girls from ages 18 months to 4 years old loved exploring this trail, especially finding the dozens of caterpillars along the trail.
We then headed outside to the nearby fenced-in garden area for a much deserved picnic lunch. After our lunch we walked all throughout the gardens learning about the different herbs, flowers and vegetables they’ve planted. The biggest highlight for me was the “pizza garden” where they planted lots of basil and tomatoes. The biggest highlight for the girls was spotting butterflies and checking out the resident turtles and water snake in the small pond area.
Near the end of July we ventured to the southern section of the Neuse River Trail in hopes of finding the beautiful field of sunflowers that were in bloom (from a hot tip by 
We continued south along the greenway and caught a closer glimpse of a few sunflowers still in bloom. We turned around when we reached mile post 23.75 near the 
2016 Update:
For Claire’s 2nd birthday this year we decided to take a family trip north to Langhorne, PA to visit 
Here are our thoughts on the Dry Fun Rides:
Sunday mornings in Raleigh with little ones require creativity! The few indoor play places that are open are usually crowded so that’s when we escape to the outdoors. One summer Sunday morning we decided to re-visit Historic Oak View Park in search of their vegetable garden and newer nature walking trails.
We headed down the main trail path, which has a small gravel base, making it doable with a Bob stroller. After a short 100yd walk we came to the small pond, amphitheater, and gazebo. After playing in the gazebo we walked around the Hunnicut Trail, which is a 0.4 mile loop through the woods. It was a nicely shaded and flat gravel path making it an easy walk for little ones. The forest was alive with noises from hundreds of insects and birds. We passed an old vehicle gate, presumably evidence of the old working farm’s 
If you live around the Richmond, VA area you have to check out Rockwood Park in Chesterfield County. While visiting Tech buddies in Richmond at the end of June we set out for Rockwood Park Nature Center’s annual Honeybee Festival and everyone (kids and adults) fell in love with this park!
After spending at least 30 minutes in the center, we headed outside to enjoy the bee festival activities. The friendly staff helped the kids make pipe cleaner bee crafts and plant flowers. Then they enjoyed listening to bee themed stories and having bees painted on their hands. After exhausting the storyteller’s books we headed out across the field to explore the playground area.
The playground area is made for kids mostly 5 years and up, but that didn’t stop these almost 2-year olds and 4-year old from playing. The playground has a small slide for younger kids that is connected to higher play areas by monkey bars. There are several more climbing areas connected by ladders with access to twisty and straight slides. With the recent rains the kids happily discovered the large mud puddle at the bottom of the twisty slide. Tot swings and regular swings are nearby and several benches and picnic tables are also located in the playground area. The entire area is mostly shaded by tall, mature trees and there are several more amenities (such as a dog park, pickleball courts, baseball fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, pavilions) adjacent to the playground. As someone who has spent a lot of time visiting family and friends in Chesterfield, I am excited to explore more parks in this area.
