Back in June I headed home for two celebrations: what would’ve been my mom’s 58th birthday and the 40th Anniversary of Curtis Park. As mentioned in my earlier post on Curtis Park, this is the park where I spent so many summers swimming and creating fun memories with family and friends. Returning to a childhood place (after a long time has passed) definitely felt weird – the layout of the pool is as I remembered but the people are new (to me). It was comforting to see a few former co-workers from when I used to work as a teenager and through college summers. And I got to see an old childhood friend, Heather, who also works with the County of Stafford Parks & Rec.
It was a beautiful day to swim and celebrate the history of this pool! With little ones we camped out in the large baby pool area, which had some great water features for littles – mushroom water fountain, small water spouts, and climbing dolphins fountains. The edge of the baby pool has been updated with a brick surround, which was a simple, but classy upgrade. We arrived right when the pool opened at noon so we immediately grabbed the shady spots in the baby pool area and loved that they provided so many kid-size chairs and picnic tables.
After a lot of time in the baby pool we headed to the big pool where Ashley got to show off her swimming skills to my aunt, who also came in from CA for the big celebrations. I’m happy to report that the diving boards were available to use so several of us (even my brother) showcased our diving talents. Several friends from Stafford also joined us and commented several times about how weird it felt to be back at Curtis Park after over a decade had passed. Off in the grassy areas they set up several craft areas and had a huge water bounce house. Near the concession area they set up a large grill and offered free meals to the first 100 people through the door. The whole area was a bustling hub of kids and parents having a great time.
One of my favorite pieces of the day was the sweet poster my childhood friend and Parks & Rec staff member, Heather, made as a tribute to my mom. It hung right outside the baby pool area and it was neat to see people stop and look at the old photos of her during the 10+ years she worked at Curtis Park. I loved catching up with old friends and co-workers, seeing how the pool area has evolved over the years, creating new pool memories with my girls and nieces, and feeling the love from my mom who I felt was with us throughout the day.
Thumbs up: renovated bathroom area, fun baby pool area, diving board/deep-end open swim area, family-friendly community, concession area
Thumbs down: nothing to report
On the heels of family visiting at the end of May, my aunt offered to watch the girls while Bill and I headed out for a date night. Instead of gorging ourselves at a new restaurant, we decided to dust off our bikes and chomp away at another segment of the Neuse River Trail between the Bedford neighborhood and US-401 (followed by beers at a new brewery, 
milepost 3.5 – look over the river to spot old gas or electricity lines running across an old steel bridge
At the end of May family visited us for the weekend so we headed out on Sunday morning with my aunt, sis-in-law, and niece to explore a new park in northeast Raleigh, Spring Forest Road Park. I’d been wanting to check this place out ever since I heard earlier this year that it was going to be one of the parks to host the Hot Air Balloon Festival. With such a massive open area surrounded by a walking trail and shade trees it’s no wonder it was chosen for such a festival.
We passed several small groups of folks walking that morning and noticed signs advertising walking programs held through the City of Raleigh/Wake County on their information boards. They also advertised several zumba and kickboxing evening classes held here, which sound like a fun place to meet up with neighbors and friends in the evening. The paved trail is 1/2 mile loop with a few small hills and passes through some shady spots. The surrounding open space must be one of the largest open fields in the whole park system, especially if it was large enough to house a hot air balloon festival. We also passed a baseball field before returning to the parking lot where the large pavilion with restrooms and tennis courts with backboards are located. Several types of flowers were in bloom and the trees were full of leaves throughout the park making you forget it’s just a short distance from busy Capital Blvd.
Today would’ve been my Aunt Pam’s 59th birthday. For as far back as I can remember, she lived in a large ranch house off a very long gravel road in Carbondale, KS, but she grew up 30 minutes from there in 
Despite Harveyville’s decrease in population over the years (my dad recalls a total population around 300 when he graduated high school in 1971), it was very comforting to explore a small town, especially one where my dad and aunt grew up in. Harveyville is all of 0.13 square miles, so it was hard to get lost. We drove to my dad and aunt’s childhood home, which is now home to the pastor who delivered my aunt’s funeral service. It’s a lovely two-story home with an enclosed front porch. My dad recalled the strangeness of having to visit the pastor at his home to discuss my aunt’s services, but I’m sure being in his childhood home again helped with the healing of losing his sister. While driving around Harveyville, I started to imagine a simpler life with simpler expectations, regular community/family gatherings, finishing high school with your same preschool friends, and working as a teenager in one of the local shops or farms.
After seeing their childhood home, we passed the new church that was rebuilt after being flattened during the 
Just across from the park is Harveyville Grade School and Harveyville High School, where my dad was part of the last graduating class in 1971. It’s a beautiful brick building full of windows on the front with a large bell out front and a water tower in the grasslands behind the building. At a closer glimpse, I noticed dogs barking behind a fenced-in area attached to the high school. Being the curious type, I walked up the steps of the school and noticed the lobby was full of sewing materials and I heard voices coming from inside. I knocked on the front doors of the school and a sweet woman about my age greeted me at the door to tell me they were preparing for a weekend-long felting retreat. She gave me free reign to explore the school as she was super busy. Old classrooms were turned into shared guest rooms, bathrooms were updated to include showers, and the gorgeous gym contained all the tables, chairs and supplies needed for a felting retreat. The Harveyville Schools are now home to the 
This summer we explored Eno River State Park in Durham over Memorial Day weekend. Despite a 40 minute drive and a lot of preschooler crying when we first arrived because there was no playground in sight, we enjoyed the short hike across the swaying footbridge and to the river.
After we reached the bank of the river, we followed the trail over a narrow suspension footbridge that seemed like a much, much less dramatic version of the foot bridge Indiana Jones crossed in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It’s less than a 15ft drop to the river, but with large openings in the sides of the bridge I walked Ashley slowly across the bridge, trying to reiterate the importance of no jumping on the bridge.
On our hike back we stopped in one of the several swimming holes to splash around a bit, promising to bring the girls back again soon with bathing suits in tow. Other than over 25 miles of hiking, Eno River State Park offers fishing, camping, canoeing, educational programs, the annual 
In early May I took some time by myself to visit Haywood Hall, a recommendation from friends who were married there over 10 years ago and a lesser known public garden in the Triangle according to 
The house faces south and on an early May afternoon the front lawn was mostly shaded. Both sides of the gorgeous brick herringbone path were outlined with yellow and orange flowers and remnants of previously bloomed daffodils and azaleas. A white picket fence outlines the perimeter of the property with large oak and magnolia trees, small patches of grass and shady spots for benches and walks on the front lawn.
I followed the brick path towards the side property where a white tent for special events was erected over a large brick patio with nearby pergolas. Another brick path leads to the back of the house and the outside restroom facilities, where a kitty was sunning. Roses and irises were in bloom and hostas were beginning to pop out. I followed another brick path to the gazebo shaded by nearby trees where I noticed several bricks surrounding the gazebo and pathways contained personalized messages. In visiting Haywood Hall’s 
After my mom’s sudden 
Curtis Park features an olympic-size outdoor swimming pool with a large baby pool with splash umbrella and zero-depth entry, 18-hole 
Past the open field is a large parking lot with access to the pools, nature trails and large pavilion on top of the hill overlooking the pool. Further down the main road is the large lake for fishing and boating and more nature trails. The main fishing pier and boat ramp is accessible from the other side of the lake on Stony Hill Rd (you must exit the park). After our playground time we picnicked on top of the hill, which offers the best views of the park. The girls enjoyed chasing each other while taking in the site of the drained pool below. The Olympic-size pool has depths of 3ft and 4ft in the shallower end to 12ft in the deep end. The baby pool features a zero-depth entry and splash umbrella. The deep end has two diving board blocks, but with it being out of season when we visited I’m not sure if they actually allow diving. I have very vivid memories of jumping off the since removed 3-meter springboard and 5-meter platform boards during off hours. Being the daughter of the Aquatics Director had its perks!
Towards the end of March we headed out to Neuse River Trail to explore the area surrounding Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve, in anticipation of the 
This portion of the greenway continues to be relatively flat and shady. The areas surrounding the greenway are mostly dense forest to one side with the river to the other. We saw quite a few fisherman on both banks of the river with most of them concentrated in spots near US-401. Our run back to the car was much faster than the run out so we took advantage of happy little faces and retrieved a balance bike, scooter and helmets from the car and let the girls ride on the greenway. It wasn’t a busy morning on the trail, so the girls had a carefree time riding. Ashley biked south on the greenway all the way to milepost 9 where we crossed over a small bridge with a shallow creek below, perfect for spotting turtles. Claire enjoyed her first scooter ride where we pushed her from behind as she cruised along. They were troopers for such a long morning run of about 4 miles and then some bike time.
