When I wrote for newspapers, about a tenth of the information I gathered in any given day made it into print. There was limited space in the paper and I was competing with other reporters for that coveted real estate. Thus, lots of interesting stuff wound up on the cutting room floor. Then along came blogs and just like that I had a home for all my news that didn’t fit into print.
‘Tis the season to save your sanity by getting out
This weekend, avoid alligators, avoid trails, but don’t avoid the first big weekend of the Southeast ski season.
Coast
Remember the old Peter, Paul & Mary hit, “Where Have All the Reptiles Gone?” No, wait. That wasn’t PP&M in the 1960s. That’s Lake Waccamaw State Park this Sunday at 2 p.m., when a ranger explains why the park’s alligators are no longer on the prowl, why the turtles aren’t out catching some rays … basically why the entire reptile population is laying low. A great opportunity to learn a little something, then take a long (Lakeshore Trail, 5 miles) or short (Sand Ridge Trail, 0.75 mile) hike to look for the reptiles that aren’t supposed to be there.
Footing the bill for a truly happy holidays
Happy holidays! Here’s hoping you survive them!
If you’re looking for a time of year that’s hardest on your body, you’d be hard-pressed to beat the one that kicked off with pants-unbuckling Thanksgiving and ends with a cold pack on your head New Year’s Day. Think about the damage alone done by the one-two punch of Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
90 Second Escape: Walking Lake Johnson
Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.
This is one weekend where you better have plans to move
In a post turkey-mashed potatoes-giblets-and-gravy-with-cranberry sauce-sandwich world, you gotta move. Here are some options.
Coast
In our quest to find not-as-demanding active benefit events (see Tuesday’s Tour de Toys post), we bring you Saturday’s Jingle Bell Walk in Pine Knoll Shores. This two-mile walk through the Beacon’s Reach area of Pine Knoll Shores is sponsored by St. Francis by the Sea and benefits the Boys & Girls Clubs of Coastal Carolina. The walk begins at 9 a.m. from the Beacon’s Reach Management Association Building on Sunny Shores Drive off NC 58. $25 for adults, $10 ages 13-16, kids under 12 are free. More info here.