Everyday Expressions: [north] Carolina

I’ve always loved flying. The take off, steep climbing to the tippy tops of fluffy clouds, looking down over a patchwork of earth tones, the city lights upon approach for landing at night.

These past few weeks I was able to take a couple of flights on my vacation to and from North Carolina. I had never been to either of the Carolinas before so I was pretty excited. That, and the fact that I was spending all my vacation time with my sister and brother-in-law J

I determined that I wasn’t going to pay the extra $50-some bucks to check baggage, so with a little help from some YouTube videos and some significant work, I stuffed everything into my carry-on suitcase and backpack. One last stop for a pack of gum and I was ready to go. How fun to fly to the land where aviation first began!

Over the next 10 days, I had a spectacular time. Some days were more eventful than others, but I enjoyed them all. A few highlights included touring the capitol, the executive mansion, spending time at the North Carolina Museums of History and Science, spending time on Duke’s campus and viewing Duke Chapel, touring Duke’s Homestead, visiting the North Carolina Art Museum, and weekend trips to Old Salem and the Outer Banks (Wright Brothers’ National Historic Site, Fort Raleigh, Jockey Ridge sand dunes). I was able to be there over Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter as well. It was wonderful celebrating such an important week of Christianity with my family.

Thanks to K & N, I was also introduced to old humorous episodes of Iron Chef, was educated in some classic video games, was able to explore the greenways and IBM’s campus, and played my fair share of Yahtzee, Nine Card, Uno, and Rummy.

Since my rigorous master’s program is fast approaching, it was great to just get away for a bit, relax, have my family pour love into my life, and be refreshed, valued, and supported. There will be many changes in my near future and, at times, it seems a little more than I can take, but one day at a time I’m trusting in God’s good plan for my future. It’s gonna be ok.

I'll close out this post with some pics from the trip. Enjoy!

The "Roman" George Washington, wearing a toga.
Raleigh, NC. Capitol building.

Tourist pic, North Carolina Museum of History

World traveler ;) North Carolina Museum of Science

Duke Chapel

Winston-Salem, Old Salem. Getting ready to cross the bridge from the present to the past.

The "garden" and some houses in the background. Part of Old Salem.

Eating at the "tavern"

The apothecary. So glad medicine has made so many advances since then.
I would have hated to be a patient in the 1700s.

Working on our second 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of the trip.
This one was a photomosaic of Van Gogh's Starry Night
- so difficult. But, as you can tell, we're having fun.
And, yes, we did finish before I left.

Lunch on the Outer Banks. Found this well-rated gem online.
Would never have stopped here by the looks of it, but it was quite authentic.
Yay for seafood on the coast!