Williams Park is a bustling playground in the center of North Raleigh adjacent to Lynn Road Elementary School. It is located at 1525 Lynn Road and some of the photos are from when Ashley was much younger and some are from this Spring. As you can see, having a friend to climb through tunnels with, chase through the soccer field, and swing with is the best way to spend an early Spring afternoon!
In addition to the large playground area (complete with shady canopies), Williams Park has a large open field with soccer goals surrounded by a short walking path, tot swings, sand volleyball courts, youth swings, tennis courts, a large shelter area, and some shaded sitting areas. The playground surface is made of wood chips and sand. The playground areas are a series of small climbing structures with slides that are connected by monkey bars. For younger ones, that means lots of repetitive trips down the same slides or that they’ll need your help getting to the other play areas. Since Ashley was just beginning to climb ladders at this time, she needed my help getting up to the higher slides too.
If you take a walk along the trail at the park, you’ll find a small plaque memorializing the park to Peter P. Williams Jr. According to a News & Observer article, his father donated the land for the park in honor of his son. I always enjoy when I can find some tidbits on the history of a park!
Thumbs up: great shade, close parent-sitting areas throughout the playground
Thumbs down: I’ve been here in the past and seen where drainage can be an issue
Today, Chatham Manor and its grounds are still beautiful and a symbol of the South. The entrance through the gardens is surrounded by a large brick wall. We visited at the beginning of Virginia’s spring season so the gardens were popping with daffodils. Other than the main house, there is a fish pond, kitchen, dairy barn, and greenhouse. The main house has exhibits that are open to visitors (our little visitor was not interested in walking through the house that day) but the other structures on the property are not open to the public. The back of the property overlooks the river, providing gorgeous views of downtown Fredericksburg. You can also see a replica cannon and pontoon bridge, similar to what General Burnside’s Union army used to cross the river in 1862.
With our weekly trips (if not more frequent) to Shelley Lake for 
A few months ago we headed to the Buffaloe Road Aquatic Center for a birthday party of one of Ashley’s friends. I’ve been wanting to take Ashley here all winter and couldn’t wait to take her and celebrate with friends. Having not been in an indoor pool much this winter, I knew Ashley would act like a maniac and she did not disappoint!
A few months ago we ventured south to Garner, NC to take in our first 
A few months ago Ashley and I explored Cedar Hills Park, just a fews minutes from our new neighborhood. Cedar Hills is located in North Raleigh at 
The playground has a wood chip base with a small sandbox play area. There are two playgrounds – one for tots and one for the older kids. Cedar Hills also has plenty of swings for everyone – four tot swings and four big kid swings. There are a few benches along the perimeter of the playground. Adjacent to the playground are the tennis courts, complete with a backboard for single play. The basketball courts are also nearby. The park sits amongst a dense forest, which is a great backdrop for the 18-hole frisbee golf course. Each time we’ve visited this park, the playground has been rather empty while the frisbee golf has been pretty busy.
Another part of our Nags Head vacation involved a rainy day trip to the 
After the saltwater exhibits, we visited the 285,000 gallon, 81 degree Deep Ocean tank! This fish tank is home to several different species of fish and sharks, including sand tiger sharks, sandbar sharks, nurse sharks and more! We happened to arrive at the perfect time when a diver was swimming with the sharks and answering questions from the audience. In addition to this program, there are several other 
So, last September (yes, I’m super slack) we headed on our annual trip to Nags Head with family and friends. This trip was super special because my aunt, who used to live in Charlottesville and now lives in CA, made a trip back east to spend the week with us. Being that she used to be the one taking us on adventures to the beach when we were young it was nice to experience it with her again.
The lighthouse is operated by the National Park Service and open to the public for walking tours during the summer months so for only $7 I climbed the 240+ spiral staircase steps while Bill and Ashley scoped out the grounds and toured the light keeper’s quarters. As you can imagine, the stairway in the lighthouse is very narrow and rather steep, making two-way traffic crowded. At each “floor” there is a landing pad to rest with windows providing great views. But, the real views are when you get to the top of the lighthouse and skirt along the balcony. The railing is about 4ft high, allowing for great picture taking and breath-taking views for miles, which reminded me of views from the top of 
This week we took advantage of the gorgeous Monday weather and headed over to Green Road Park before meeting a friend for lunch. Green Road is a large, open park with very nice amenities. It is located at 4201 Green Road between Wake Forest Rd and Capital Blvd. It has a large community center, two baseball fields, six sand volleyball courts, two basketball courts, four tennis courts with a backboard for individual play, a pavilion, and a large playground area with nearby restrooms. We didn’t have a chance to visit the community center, but the 
