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 …

We turned our visit to the Biltmore House Christmas Lights into a weekend away in Asheville. We explored the River Arts District, visited the Pinball Museum, and tried some new restaurants. Despite a full Saturday, we wanted to do one more outing before hitting the road on Sunday and decided to check out the North Carolina Arboretum. The NC Arboretum is a 434 acre public garden located in the Pisgah National Forest. It offers 65 acres of gardens, more than 10 miles of hiking and biking trails, a bonsai exhibit, and much more. While we were there they were putting …

We’ve been to the Biltmore a few times but have wanted to go at Christmas time for several years. A two month long event, Christmas at Biltmore is a holiday celebration that includes music, lights, and decorations. Tickets are for a timed entry and must be purchased in advance – waaaay in advance. We have tried to buy tickets in late October in years past, only to find that the only tickets still available were 10pm entries on weekdays. So plan ahead! But if you just can’t plan that far ahead, you can adjust your expectations instead. With a busy …

When we decided to go on our first family camping adventure, we admittedly knew next to nothing about planning a camping trip. If we had known even a little bit, we would have known better than to wait until 3 days before the weekend to try to book a camping site… in the North Carolina mountains… in the fall. Whoops. Turns out camping in the NC mountains on a crisp fall weekend is high on many people’s list of things to do. So when my husband called the camp site he had carefully researched to make a reservation, they tried …