Living in the south, we are not in a Mecca of ski resorts. I grew up skiing in Vermont every winter and in my 20s stepped it up to skiing out west in Utah and Colorado. Neither of those options are quick or easy (or cheap!) from NC so we have to settle for the local ski “hills” when we want to take the kids skiing. Last year we travelled a bit further to spend a weekend in Winterplace, WV, where we both skied and snow tubed. This year we are staying more local, with a day trip to Appalachian …

We took an early November trip into the mountains to check out the Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster. We had a great – but short – time there. In order to make the trip worthwhile and to get a real taste of fall in the mountains, I wanted to do a hike as well. My criteria were simple – I was looking for a relatively short hike close to Banner Elk with a waterfall at the end. There were a few popular options but I settled on the little-known Otter Falls in Seven Devils, NC. Otter Falls is located on Skyland …

Our beach trip to Ocean Isle Beach in early October was exactly the get away that we needed. But fall is my favorite season for local and mountain activities – corn mazes, pumpkin patches, and hikes while the leaves are changing are some of my favorite things. So a weekend at the beach left us with one less weekend for fall fun. And when what was probably the last week to see the leaves change in the mountains turned out to be a total washout, I almost gave up on my fall mountain dreams this year. But old habits die …

Crowders Mountain is a surprisingly rugged state park in Gaston County, NC. Its two peaks, The Pinnacle and Crowders Mountain, are challenging to summit and the trails leading there are more strenuous than their “moderate” rating lets on. We made the mistake of coming here when the boys were 3.5 and 5.5, which is way too young for the trails to the top. The boys enjoyed the lower section of the trail, climbing along the rocks on the side of the path, and having a picnic lunch, but we realized almost immediately that we had absolutely no shot at making …

My boys have been wanting to try horseback riding for a long time now. Browsing through the recommended things to do near Life is Good Cabin in Lake James, horseback riding was among the activities. The specific stable listed on their website was closed due to Covid-19 (and wasn’t particularly close anyway) so I did a little research and found Cedar Creek Stables in Lake Lure. Since this was the boys’ first time on horses (and my first time in decades), we opted for the shorter 1 hour Creek Trail ride and chose a late afternoon reservation. The owner warned …

Lake James is located in the mountains of western NC, on the way to Asheville from Charlotte. There are tons of great trails and parks to explore within an hour of the lake, especially as you get closer to Asheville. I had hoped to do a “bigger” outing, like Chimney Rock or Mount Mitchell, but this was a “working vacation” for us so unfortunately we didn’t have time to tackle those during the week (and our weekend was spent out on the lake). Thankfully Lake James State Park was right around the corner and offered 25 miles of trails to …

With two parents that work full time, summer for our kids is a summer camp bonanza. Every year I spend the entire month of January filling out a complex spreadsheet of the different camp options for each boy for each week and then I put together the summer calendar like a 1000 piece puzzle, piece by piece making sure that everything fits together (cost, variety, location, hours). It is quite an exercise but it alleviates some of the working mom guilt knowing that I have weaved together a schedule of fun summer camps for both of them. But the summer …

By mid-June (3 months into quarantine), I was itching for something more than local parks and hikes. We had our Hilton Head beach trip coming up but I wanted to do something new and different (yet still safe in a Covid-19 world). To fill my travel void, I had been reading lots of travel articles (even more than usual!) to get ideas for US-based trips. National parks are always an appealing option, but most of the major ones are a plane ride away. I read a few interesting articles about under-rated (and therefore under-crowded) national parks and was thrilled to …

When the world went into varying levels of lockdown in March 2020 due to Covid-19, Netflix undoubtedly benefitted from the rapt audience that quarantine created and timed its release of the true crime documentary Tiger King perfectly. Equal parts fascinating and horrifying, the series told the story of Joe Exotic, the eccentric owner of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma. While the characters and the crimes took center stage in the documentary, it was impossible to ignore the plight of the tigers and other animals in the story. I will admit that after initially avoiding the series, I watched …

A few years ago we started a tradition of going on a family hike for my birthday in March. Sadly, COVID-19 has ruined a lot of traditions and plans in 2020. While quarantine and closed state and national parks kept us from a real hike, my sweet 10 year old planned a “hike” through our neighborhood, complete with a nature scavenger hunt. But by Mother’s Day, things had improved a bit and we were able to get out beyond the neighborhood for a short hike at Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill, SC. While things had started to open …