Triangle Mamas

New Hope Valley Railway

I love looking at Our State magazine and watching shows about all the out of the way secret adventures in North Carolina. The Tarheel Traveler on WRAL is one of my favorite spots to catch, and not just because of Bill's lovely guitar lick on the introduction. UNC-TV also has great shows on the out of the way, easy to over look, quaint, and very cool things to do in North Carolina.

In sitting in front of one of these, I found myself mooning over the New Hope Valley Railway. It's just a 30 minute drive from our home near North Hills, and was tons of fun for a two year old boy. That of course translates into tons of fun for the whole family.

The railway runs the first Sunday of every month. It's the only open air railway in the state. I knew I was taking a chance by booking tickets for July, but I lucked out and was granted one of the last bearable outdoor days we have here in North Carolina.

 There is a railway museum, a hot dog vendor (or maybe it was BBQ), some porta-potties, and usually some lovely small town live music in the gazebo. It's just a nice day all around. We caught the 11:00 AM train, which was the diesel engine. Papa, who had read every single sign we passed on the trip over, was happy to have something to complain about, seeing as he would have preferred the steam engine. The railway switches engines every hour.

There were lots of smiling engineers who waved at all of the children, not in the creepy zombie like Thomas the train way, but in an actual personable fashion.

I know it's last minute for the next ride, but it's probably too stinking hot to go this weekend anyway. September and October though, would be perfect months. If you've got little ones who love trains or love the outdoors, it's a great Sunday excursion.

An original Triangle Mamas post. This was not a sponsored post. Marty is not a reviewer and makes no apologies for the lack of detailed information in this post. She did bother to link to things, so there is that. You can find more of her vague and sporadic writing on her personal blog, Don't Take the Repeats. You can also follow her on Twitter, where her brevity is appreciated, or heck, just go ahead and friend her on Facebook. Y'all come back now, ya' hear?

Go On, Get Out There!

By Kelly

This past weekend the family & I ventured out on our first camping trip. It was supposed to be Mother's Day weekend, but a stomach bug postponed the trip. My hubby & I had been anxiously awaiting this trip, and had talked for a few years now about when the right time would be to take a rising 3 year old - we could not have timed it better!

For starters, we are huge fans of the NC State Parks system, and now that you are able to make reservations online & via telephone, instead of "first come, first served," it makes planning that much easier. We selected Hanging Rock State Park for it's proximity from our home (less than 2 hour drive west) & the activities. They have plenty of well appointed family campgrounds & very easy access to water, bath houses, hiking trails, etc. For those that are feeling a bit more inclined to stay closer to the indoors, they even have cabins to rent!

We have always been avid "outdoors people," with our most recent trip to the Canadian Rockies being a 5 day ultralight backpacking excursion. This trip was a serious change of pace, and a real luxury when it comes to camping - coolers, air mattresses, real food (not the dehydrated variety) - this preggo was in heaven ;)

All in all, the trip was a total success with just the right mix of downtime & adventure. After heading to bed fairly late Friday night, Wyatt slept until 8:15 on Saturday morning! Slept through all of the other kids at the campground riding around past the site on their scooters & bikes, and the early morning sounds & smells of campfires & breakfasts being made. A hike lasting a few short miles on Saturday to a waterfall kept us busy, as well as story time up at the Hanging Rock Visitor's Center. Of course there was plenty of time set aside for enjoying a campfire, as well as roasting first marshmallows.

No matter what your level of camping/outdoor experience is, I think anyone would enjoy a camping trip to one of the awesome State Parks in our system. Here are some tips I can share after going with a toddler (as a side note, I have not been paid to mention any of these products - they were just what we found to be useful!):

1) Get them their own flashlight - we selected one that was both a lantern & a flashlight. This way, we had the ones we needed, then he had his own to play with all night. We also grabbed a few glow sticks from the dollar bin, which were both entertaining & can serve as a night light in the tent.
2) We purchased a family tent that divides into 2 rooms, which definitely made it easier for all parties to sleep through the night. Wyatt knew we were right next door, but we didn't have to feel like we were right on top of each other. The tent we selected has plenty of room for more than one child on each side, plus each side had it's own door making it easier for Mom & Dad to come to bed after everyone else was asleep without disturbing them.
3) The other purchase we loved for the trip was a kid's Aerobed. Wyatt is still not in a bed, but even so, this mattress has 4 inch sides to it, so throughout all the tossing & turning each night (and there was plenty of it) he never rolled out onto the ground. It came with a fleece sheet, so all he needed was a blanket over top, or even just some warm footed PJ's this time of year in NC. I am already looking forward to using the bed again on vacations & hotel trips.
4) Although being away from all the things we rely on everyday - cell phones, PDA's, Internet, TV, etc - it was such a nice break for us. Wyatt absolutely loved all the undivided & uninterrupted attention from Mom & Dad, as any child would. We were also able to put him to task on quite a few things that he seemed to find pretty rewarding - finding different sized sticks to help with the fire, holding the tent stakes for Dad, helping hammer in the tent stakes & most importantly how to roast a good marshmallow.

Here are some favorite pics from the trip - I hope it inspires you to get out & enjoy the great outdoors with your little one(s) this spring & summer!

 
 
 

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When Kelly isn't spraying on bug spray in the great outdoors, she can be found blogging about her toddler adventures at Monkey Man.

Type A Mom Conference, Rock Star Style

Thursday morning, I said goodbye to my baby boy for the first time, and hit the road with Abby for the Type A Mom Conference in Asheville. As I confessed on my own blog, I was tentative, and made the decision to go mainly on the low cost and location.

For bloggers who aren't looking to connect with marketers or advertisers, sometimes the blogosphere, especially the mommy blogosphere becomes a little clouded, and the idea of attending a conference can be confusing.

"What? You mean you just want to write? You don't want a sponsor? You don't make money from your blog? You don't do giveaways? You don't want free products to review?"

There are a lot of us out there who don't.

There are a lot of us who do things, just because we like the idea of spreading joy and sharing good blog karma. Hopefully, our little RockBand party did just that because I know that getting to spend the weekend with the most amazing women on the internet did me a world of good.

And, no, we weren't sponsored by Nintendo or Activision. We were sponsored by our husbands who let us haul all that stuff with us to Asheville, just so we could have a good time with all the gals. I can't even say we were sponsored by the hotel, although they did bring us a nice TV into Mulligan's to use after lots of begging, boob showing, and eye batting.

Thank you to everyone who came by the bar and played with us. Also, thank you to everyone who ignored our Tweets that kept coming through saying we were getting ready to play and then didn't. We had a heck of a time finding a TV in the hotel that was made post-1973.

Triangle Mama's own Ilina, on guitar.

Triangle Mama's own Abby, on screaming vocals.

Triangle Mama's own Marty, reliving her rockstar days, but this time on drums.

We were joined by a host of others, and I would really like to link to each and every one of you, so if your picture appears here without some linky love, please leave me a comment and I'll add it. Or, of course, if I have mislabeled someone. I just couldn't meet and remember everybody who came by!

Ilina, Cutest Kid Ever, and Jessica get down with their bad selves.

MomSpark founder Amy on guitar. Heavy metal black fingernails were a bonus.

From left to right we have Gina from Moneywise Moms, who was also Julie the cruise director for a good part of the evening. She knew how to work the Wii better than anyone. That's Corrina, Down to Earth Mama, and Caroline, Morningside Mom, on background vocals, while Modern Mami and Jessica lead the choreography.

Amy, Resourceful Mommy, had a hand up as a former percussionist, or a stick up as the case may be.

Jon Bon Jovi never sounded better. This fabulous duo of Janine of Twin Mom Blog, and Jessica of Jessica Knows tore up "You Give Love a Bad Name." It was tres awesome.

Plus, Janine was also the brilliant blogger who brought up the point in the town hall meeting that now, whenever she mentions something on her blog that she likes, she feels like she has to disclose that she wasn't sponsored or paid to talk about it. Which I totally agree with, and already had to do in this post.

So thank you again, ladies, for playing with us and making this past weekend spectacular. It was an honor to spend it with you all.

Marty also blogs about her non rockstar life at Don't Take the Repeats. She rambles in 140 or less on Twitter as canape.

On the Right Path

I don't want to sleep there, I'm not particularly interested in peeing there, and I certainly don't want to cook there, but I do love the woods. I love the Black Mountains specifically, and I love streams.

I'm not sure why we don't do more hiking. We have the dogs for it. We have the kid for it. We have the love for it. We just don't get around to it.

My husband, Kevin is a doer. There is always a project either in full swing or in planning mode. It is one thing I love about him. He finishes what he starts, and he starts big things. His plans are not lightly made nor are they easy to finish. Right now, he is adding onto the house. Just he and the contractor. When he comes home from work , he works some more. On the weekends, he's building. I'm excited for the new spaces, but I think I am more excited for him to finish so that I have some of his time and attention back.

All this to say, I think this is why we don't hike. We do things together as much as possible, but this is a stage in our life where Kevin is determined to get things in order. I love him for that. I miss him, but I love him.

While we were in the mountains recently, staying in Catawba Falls Preserve, I had him back to myself one day. He wanted to know what I wanted to do, and I chose this hike. We packed a backpack full of snacks, water, and diapers. The dogs got to tag along and tap into their inner hunters. Gibson, our chocolate lab, ran out about 10 feet ahead with his tail pointed straight up. He even helped corral Little Bird when he got too far ahead of us. Our English Setter, Aja, stayed on leash and ignored her bird dogs instincts in favor of reading the mail on the ground.

We missed a turn along the way - rather, I missed a turn, and we ended up about 40 minutes off track. Luckily, we had also packed our Babyhawk, so tired Bird could ride on his daddy's back when he got tired. And after playing nekkid in the creek for awhile?

Bird was really really tired.

It was a great day with my boys, my dogs, and a trail in the mountains.

When she isn't dreaming of her own mountain getaway, Marty blogs at Don't Take the Repeats. When she has less to say, she resorts to quipping on Twitter.

Great Wolf Lodge in Concord

Occasionally, it pays to be a blogger. Some people see actual money, and others just get free diapers or shampoo which they in turn use and then tell you how much they loved it. I don't really do reviews anymore, but I could not in my right mind turn down the chance to take my family to the new Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC for their media weekend. So, in full disclosure, we stayed as their guests one night, and then stayed another night on our own dime just for fun. They didn't pay me to gush about them; I just want to.

Just a few hours from our house is a new resort. A family resort with a ginormous indoor waterpark. It's called Great Wolf Lodge, and is the 12th Lodge to open in about a decade. They are growing across the country, and Concord, NC, is the newest city to luck out with their presence.

I had received a brochure in the mail a couple of months ago, announcing the opening of the family friendly getaway. It looked pretty nice, so I went to their website. With the resort being so close to home, it seemed like the perfect place to take the kids when Mallory tracked out in April. I priced out the trip and was all set to book when Kevin reminded me that he had a huge deadline at work and wouldn't be able to go until April 23, after track out ended.

In the meantime, I told my friend Tonya about it, and after she checked out the website, she booked her family to go over Spring Break. They also did some hiking in the area and went to a local farm as well. There are plenty of things to do in the Concord/Charlotte area. Even the new Ikea is only a few exits down from Great Wolf Lodge.

Just as I was getting over pouting about our trip falling through, I got an email inviting my family to come to Great Wolf Lodge for their grand opening weekend, the weekend of April 24th. Perfect. Kevin would just be done at work, and it was a weekend Mallory was with us. I accepted in a heartbeat.

They could not have been better organized or nicer people. The hotel is beautiful, and easy to navigate. We went with a 15 month old and a 13 year old. It's not easy to find somewhere to take both children where they can both have a good time. The Great Wolf Lodge was perfect for that.

Only resort guests are allowed in the resort, meaning that the waterpark is not open to the general public. That means everyone there is registered, and there is a finite number of people who will be there at all times. It was safe enough to let Mallory go to the arcade by herself after Christopher went to bed, and small enough that when Kevin went to join her, he had no trouble finding her at all.

 The waterpark is hard to describe. It's overwhelming, but in a fun way. It took Christopher a bit to warm up to the idea of getting randomly squirted with water, but Kevin and Mallory had a blast riding the slides. 

There is more to do there, like a magic game that takes you exploring all over the resort. Things that look like decoration, like the fake bear rug hanging on the wall? Just wait until somebody runs up with their magic wand and makes it growl and its eyes light up. That will get your attention.

There is a minigolf course and an outdoor waterpark as well that we didn't even have a chance to see.The arcade is a money sucker, but we went anyway. There is a little mini carousel that Christopher enjoyed, and he liked playing SkeeBall to, which entailed him hurling balls in every direction while I attempted to protect anyone in his path.

We looked at a trip to Disney this year. It's just not feasible. After airfare, I'm just not willing to fork out all of that money for a trip that Christopher won't even remember. Great Wolf Lodge is just a short drive down I-40 though. You can do a short stay and never leave the resort, or you can do a longer stay and enjoy some of the other things that Charlotte has to offer.

I'm already looking forward to our next visit.

An original Triangle Mamas post. Marty also blogs at Don't Take the Repeats and you can follow her on Twitter if you like.

Looking for a pet sitter, Triangle dwellers?

I owe a huge shout-out to Love'm and Leave'm Pet Sitting, for saving my butt (well, technically, our cat Eliza's butt, I suppose) when my husband and I found out we had to leave town suddenly on Christmas, of all days.  Dan's grandmother Lucy passed away two days before Christmas, and we spent about twenty-four uncertain hours trying to figure out exactly when and how we would get to Massachusetts for her funeral.  It was such a sad, stressful time, I almost forgot about Eliza, and then when I remembered I was sure that it was too late to find a pet sitter for the holidays.

Fortunately, on Christmas Eve I got ahold of our stalwart pet sitters at Love'm and Leave'm, who said of course, last-minute pet sitting at Christmastime, that's no problem.  Not only did they find a sitter for me despite a skeleton holiday staff and short (one-day!) notice, they patiently put up with my four emails and three panicked phone calls when we had to change our flight plans, then change them again.  Each time I had to apologize profusely and ask them to revise our pet sitting schedule, they assured me it was easy to do and they were happy to help.

Thanks to their flexibility, patience, and compassion we were able to take off on Christmas morning to go and see Dan's family without worrying about Eliza, who we knew would be well-cared for in our absence.  If you're ever in the market for a caring, reliable pet sitter, give Love'm and Leave'm a call!

Nikki is a mother and calico cat owner who also blogs at A Small Song.

Journey Across the Mississippi

Before I met my husband, I hadn't even traveled farther East than Kansas City.  It's not that I hadn’t traveled, but being a teacher’s kid, the funds for real traveling just weren’t there.  Summer vacations for my family consisted of boulder viewings or the much preferred Kansas Museum of History (at least 5 times). 

That all changed when I met my husband.  I knew he was the one for me when unlike any man before him he offered insisted that I have dessert.  Who wouldn’t fall for a guy like that?  Problem was, he had just taken a job in North Carolina. 

And so, my barely used suitcase was officially broken in and little over a year later, I found myself newly married and bawling my way past St. Louis, over the Mississippi, and into North Carolina.  I was leaving behind my entire family and striking out on my own.

Our possessions were few… a couch, a 19 inch television (To this day, my husband insists he married me for my t.v.),  and a $35 dining table, but we had love in our hearts not to mention that fearless youthful optimism.  We began a life here in North Carolina over 7 years ago leaving behind our entire support network.  I’ll admit we’ve had our difficulties (like moving that couch up two flights of stairs or having a baby with no grandparents within driving distance), but through it all we’ve clung to each other.  And today, the Triangle has become a place we’re proud to call home.

An original Triangle Mamas post.  Abby lives in Durham and is the proud mama of a one year old boy.  Her personal mommy blog is My Sweet Babboo.