If you live in the eastern part of the state, Irene promises more adventure than you’d care to handle. Thus, it’s a good weekend to head west.
Coast
We’re going to bypass the coast this weekend for obvious reasons. If you live Down East, you’re probably not thinking about where the nearest 5K is, or whether there’s a group paddle nearby. If you don’t live Down East, the region probably isn’t high on your list of recreation destinations.
Sail the not-so-high seas, run with the lions and tigers and bears, take a long bike ride in the mountains. You’ve got all sorts of options in North Carolina this weekend.
Coast
You’ve taken the local learn-to-sail class on the local lake, and it was fun. It also made you wonder what it would be like to sail the high seas. Or if not “high” — because, frankly, that sounds a little scary — then at least the salty spray, because that taste in your mouth is what tells you you’re really sailing. Sunday, you have a chance to get a sense of that Columbusian sense of adventure at the North Carolina Maritime Museum’s Adult Learn to Sail program. “Learn the basics aboard stable sailboats” — doesn’t get much more reassuring than that. The course runs from 1-5 p.m. $95. Reservations are required.
Live the pyrate life, learn tennis, lift your way to a 5K PR in Black Mountain … .
Coast
This weekend’s Beaufort Pyrate Invasion may not, at first blush, seem to be about being active. Not “The Hysterically Correct Pirate Show” Saturday at noon, not the pirate invasion at 1:30, not necessarily the trial and hanging at 3 p.m. and probably not the Party with the Pirates from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. featuring BBQ and grog. But, the events, which begin Friday at 4 p.m. when the pirates come ashore, are at different locations, which means you’ll end up doing a lot of walking, and as we all know, walking is good for you (provided you keep to a minimum the walks to and from the BBQ and grog table).
While Durham officials circle their wagons and privately mull how to come up with another $2 million to build a pivotal pedestrian bridge over I-40, thereby completing the 22-mile American Tobacco Trail, others outside the city are more candid with possible solutions.
We’ve added two more greenways to our greenway guide, both of which offer a potential day of escape, especially for young families.
Smithfield: Buffalo Creek Greenway. When we stumbled across this work-in-progress in spring 2010, we were surprised by the audacity of such a project (a $1.2 million, 3.3-mile greenway) in a relatively small town (population 13,000ish). The greenway joins the city’s historic center with new development on the north side of town. Starting at Bob Wallace Kiddie Park (and Riverside Cemetery, worth a visit in itself), the greenway skirts the Neuse River (passing the Neuse Little Theatre), then follows Buffalo Creek out to Smithfield Community Park, home of the new (2009) Smithfield Recreation & Aquatics Center, complete with indoor pool and splash park, indoor track, racquetball, basketball courts and more. Meanwhile, back downtown Smithfield’s wide streets and minimal traffic make exploring by bike enjoyable even for the newest of peddlers. Destinations include the Ava Gardner Museum and 75-year-old Howell Theatre and $3 movies.