We originally set out to visit the wooden playground at Kelly Road Park, but with the road detour on Olive Chapel Rd/Kelly Rd it looked like the park was going to be closed, so we instead stumbled upon the smaller Kelly Glen Park not too far away. After some super helpful back and forth tweeting with the Town of Apex (they even tweeted me a hand sketched map, must’ve known I was not from these parts), we learned that Kelly Road Park was open so we’ll definitely be back to Apex soon!
Kelly Glen Park is located at 1701 Kelly Glen Dr near a neighborhood cul-de-sac just outside I-540 in Apex. There is a lot of construction along the nearby Kelly Rd bridge so parking is available in the cul-de-sac. After parking, we followed the short, winding paved path past the pavilion to the playground. The playground is designed for ages 5-12, but only has one opening at a tall height and Claire did a good job climbing around with my assistance. The playground has several slides and a tall ladder and features several hand crank-operated marble games. There is also a pair of nearby low-to-the-ground tot swings that both girls really enjoyed. Even though Ashley is way TOO big for these swings, she loved running for a “take-off” while sitting in the swing. Before leaving the park the girls spent quite a bit of time watching the nearby construction from the fence.
After the park we headed back towards Raleigh with a stop in downtown Apex for lunch at Anna’s Pizzeria. I’ve been wanting to try Anna’s for awhile now and I’m so glad we did. Despite the busy lunch crowd, we had attentive service and a great lunch of pepperoni pizza and garlic knots. With so many restaurants and shops in downtown Apex I look forward to returning soon!
Thumbs up: helpful tweets from Town of Apex staff, tot swings, exploring downtown Apex
Thumbs down: in-your-face road closed signs made Kelly Rd Park seem closed even though it wasn’t, noisy construction
This fall we wanted to further explore Falls Lake so we set off with intentions to start closer to the dam and finish 
The playground is designed for ages 5-12 and includes a few slides, climbing structures, tic-tac-toe, and several nearby picnic tables and benches. It’s a small playground, but the perfect size for a park with so many more activities. After taking in the views from the top of the dam, we walked down the unpaved trail adjacent to the playground where we got up close and personal with the beginning of the Neuse River. The girls enjoyed throwing rocks in the water while we saw fishermen and birds. There’s also a small parking lot, canoe launch, restrooms, information map, picnic tables, and access to the start of the Neuse River Trail greenway at the bottom of the dam.
Even though the House Creek Trail was completed only 2 years ago, the trail’s history dates back to 1973 when it was a mere 350ft unpaved foot path and the foundation of the Capital Area Greenway. House Creek Trail is a north/south connection between Reedy Creek Trail (near Meredith College/Wade Ave) and Crabtree Creek Trail (near Crabtree Valley Mall). Having explored all other parts of House Creek Trail, I was excited to visit this last stretch and get some more mileage in before the City of Oaks 10k back in November.
This greenway parallels the eastern side of the 440-beltline until the pedestrian crossover at Glen Eden Rd. Even though you can hear and see the 440-beltline traffic, with the expansive tree lines on both sides of the trail, I sometimes felt like I was miles away in middle earth. Occasionally I passed other bikers and walkers, but for the most part on this chilly October morning it was just me and Claire. Before coming to the Lake Boone Trail tunnel, we passed the small Horton St apartment complex and a designated greenway parking lot located behind Martin Middle School. It was around this time (mile post 2.0) that I also spotted a random basketball pole and hoop in the nearby creek, making me question the history of this area.
This Fall, we visited Bill’s parents in Howard County, MD and made a morning trip to the nearby Western Regional Park. Western Regional Park is located at 
After exhausting our climbing skills, we explored the nearby paved trail in search for the other playground. At the end of our short walk we saw a large lighted multipurpose artificial turf field with field hockey, soccer and football goals, a large open field, small mobile concessions, fenced-in basketball, community center, baseball fields, a line of porta-johns, tennis courts, and a playground. Unfortunately the playground was being resurfaced while we were there so it was closed, but looked like it offered a lot for all ages and was fenced in! The multipurpose field conditions were pristine – the grass was a luscious green color and very well maintained. Another interesting feature of this park is the natural area preserved next to the sports fields; I imagine the spectators enjoy some depth to the typically flat parks.
There’s also a separate smaller basketball art sculpture for the younger kids. The girls had such fun shooting baskets and watching the ball spiral down the ramp. If you forget your basketball or don’t have one, the friendly staff at the community center will let your borrow their ball.
In early Fall we headed out to Durant Nature Preserve with some friends to enjoy their weekly Wee Walkers program (Thursdays from 10-11am). Having never visited Durant Nature Preserve before I’m glad I attended an organized program that guides you and the kiddos on a short walk through the park because this nature park is huge! Durant Nature Preserve is located at 
We hiked along the eastern side of the park following the Pine Ridge Connector, Pine Ridge Trail and Lakeside unpaved trails. Our guide stopped several times along the trail to point out a variety of flora and fauna. We saw a little bit of everything: wasp nests, leaf poppers, water striders, water frogs, mushrooms, mosquito fish, poplar tulip leaves, muscadine grapes, dogwood berries and a real turtle! The kids (ranging in ages from under 1 to 5 years old) were most impressed by the turtle walking along the trail, but it’s been fun to see how Ashley gets excited when she sees dogwood berries in the backyard! The neat part about the Wee Walkers program is that each program is different because it’s based on what’s going on in nature that week and it’s FREE…what a deal!
Unfortunately, our visit to Jockey’s Ridge did not go as swimmingly as I would have liked. As with most things I plan with two small children, my expectations exceed reality and this was one of those examples. Knowing the sand is at least 10 degrees hotter than the outside temperature we got an early start to our trip and were in the parking lot area by 9:30am. After a short stop inside the visitor’s center, Bill and I set off with both girls to find the top of the dunes. We made our way to the end of the wooden walkway near the large group of visitors that were catching their breath from just coming off the dunes. We followed some of the other visitors along the loosely marked 
