North Carolina

We normally go to North Carolina every summer, usually in August. We stay at the beach and visit my Pop Pop and it is probably my favorite annual tradition. This year, since we are expecting a baby at the beginning of August, we knew we wouldn't be able to go when we normally do. Also, my Pop Pop had been having some health issues recently so we decided we'd rather visit sooner than later and so...we went down the first week of March.

My brief view of the cold, but beautiful ocean

We will definitely miss being here this summer,
but there's always next year

Needless to say, we didn't stay by the beach or even see much of it, but we had a nice time visiting with everyone anyway. On the way down, we stopped in Winston-Salem, NC. It is a very cute town with nice shops and restaurants. On Saturday morning, we decided to check out "Old Salem" before getting on the road to Hampstead. It is a historic neighborhood, similar to Williamsburg, with many historical buildings and people dressed in period costumes. You can pay to have a guided tour, but we didn't want to spend that much time so we just walked around on her own. I'd like to go back again some time and spend more exploring. Here are some pictures from our visit to Old Salem.

Once we finally arrived in Hampstead, we spent a lot of time visiting with Pop Pop, Florence, Steven, and of course, all the dogs. Olivia really got a kick out of them. In addition to visiting with everyone, we fit in some other excursions including: a trip out to Topsail Island to run/walk along the boardwalk over the Intracoastal Waterway, play at the park, and a massage for me; a trip down to Wilmington to go to the Children's Museum; and a visit to Poplar Grove Plantation. See the pictures below.

We stopped again in Winston-Salem on the way back home and had fun checking out their Children's Museum. See pictures below.