Our trip to Raleigh last week was such fun! My brother-in-law and his girlfriend J. recently bought a home down there and we drove down so that Drew could help him set some things up. J.’s parents will use it as a winter home and other family members can enjoy it as well.
I’d been to Florida (Miami and Orlando) and Washington, D.C. (for a tradeshow) before, as well as Baltimore (also for a tradeshow), but I can’t say that I ever really got a feel for the south, so I was looking forward to this trip. I was not, however, looking forward to the extremely long drive down there. I can take three hours in a car, max, so this was a real challenge for me. But I managed 😉 We saw plenty of broken down cars, and plenty of RVs, including one that seemed like it was having some major issues. I wonder if there are special trucks for rv towing? There has to be, I guess.
Although we didn’t do too much exploring this time, I did get to finally go to a Chick-Fil-A. I’ve heard about this fast-food restaurant from bloggers living in the south and the midwest. I have to say… it was really good! The chicken sandwich was so much better than McDonald’s or Burger King, and the peach shake I had was so yummy. I also liked that the toys in the kids’ meals were actually activity books — not something associated with a movie or TV show. That was refreshing.
We spent time swimming, hanging out at the playground, and visiting with a family friend who lives in the same housing development. And what’s a vacation without a trip to urgent care? Jake was roughousing with our friend’s son and he got headbutted in the eybrow. Boys will be boys, right? Luckily, it didn’t require stitches, just some superglue. He made out with late-night McD’s and a set of three new Bakugan toys, so he felt better really fast.
We also had breakfast at the State Farmer’s Market. Drew was in biscuit and molasses heaven! My omelet was really good, too. The omelet itself was cooked paper-thin so I really got to enjoy the filling. Next time I’ll remember the stroller when we go so that we can check out the booths. I had no idea how huge it would be.
All in all the trip was quite fun. Everyone down there is so nice. It was a bit like culture-shock for me, LOL! Looking forward to going back down later this year 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the trip. Ben’s family lives in and around Raleigh and his little brother just started classes at UNC. Perhaps we can meet up down there some time in the future. 🙂
P.S. I hate the drive down on I-95. The worst section is between DC and Fredericksburg, VA. What should take 45 minutes usually takes us 2 hours.
Now you have a glimpse of what we have to do several times a year in order to see our families in Indiana ~ but it’s 12 hours to get to my inlaws’ and 15 hours to my parents’! *sigh* I hate that long drive. I blame it on Ohio ~ it’s SUCH a long state to drive through.
Glad you had a great time and got to try CFA for the first time! Peach shake ~ sounds yummy. I love the waffle fries. 🙂
My inlaws rave about the Outer Banks. I’d like to see that sometime. Our good friend Staci is from the Raleigh area and went to Wake Forest.
🙂 I’m glad you liked Chick-Fil-A. I try not to eat fast food, but, when I do, it’s usually there. They are a Christian based franchise chain, which is why they aren’t open on Sundays and have books in the kid meals.