Every Wednesday through Thanksgiving, GetGoingNC.com will feature a hike in North Carolina that just about anyone can do. It won’t be a long hike (though we may throw in a recommendation for going long), it won’t be strenuous hike (there could be a hill-climb option as well). The hikes will be timed to coincide with the changing colors of fall. This week, the 1.4-mile Cedar Point Tideland Trail in the Croatan National Forest.
The common cold: Lace up or stay in bed?
Early on during a backpacking trip a couple weeks ago I felt a cold coming on. Pulling my clogged-up and sniffling self out of the tent the second morning into a mid-30 degree chill, I thought I was going to have to pull the plug on my adventure. “If I can just make it to Hot Springs,” I told myself, “I can make it back to the car.”
Exploring the state’s little gems
Yesterday I may have been a tad premature with my early morning proclamation that the sun, after a week’s hiatus, had returned. But eventually, at least here in Cary, it was out in full force by mid-afternoon. At which point, after a morning of vigorous wet-leaf raking, we piled the family into the minivan and spend the remainder at the day at one of our favorite, off-the-beaten-path parklands: Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve.
Look! Up in the sky!
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s … what the heck is it?
Oh, yeah, I remember now: the Sun.
After an extended vacation, during which we were sat by our dour Aunt Ida (what was with all those slobbery kisses?). After nearly a week, Ida has finally packed her bags and left, ol’ Sol has returned and it’s safe to go back outside. And just in time for the weekend!
So, take advantage of the sun’s return. Hit your local state park. Take a bike ride on your favorite greenway. Get lost in a national forest.
Whatever, just get outside and get going.
5Ks vs. candy for grades
OK, time for a current events quiz. What was the most disturbing aspect of a Goldsboro middle school principal’s decision to allow kids to earn grades by selling candy for a fundraiser. Was it:
a) That the parent advisory council that pitched the scheme felt so pressured to raise money to supplement programs once funded by the school district that they resorted to the candy-for-grades scheme?