Tag Archives: Pettigrew

10 Coastal Escapes Made for These Times

Once again, we find ourselves in need of hikes that aid in our escape, that help to calm the mind. They won’t necessarily solve our problems, but they will give us temporary escape. Sometimes, that’s all you can ask for.

Today’s five hikes are all at the coast, and best hiked during the cooler, less buggy, less snaky months of November through mid-March. You’ll find find a different sort of escape on these hikes, a certain calm that you’ll only find here, now. The seemingly constant breeze lets the trees, the grass, the plants tell their stories. Stories that began with a colorful birth in March, that celebrated the lazy days of summer, that grew melancholy come early fall and that ended, much like they began, in an explosion of color. The circle of life lived in just eight months. But what a story to be told at season’s end. read more

Resources for a steamy weekend of cool, wet fun

We’re staring down the first steamy weekend of the summer. Frankly, I’m hard pressed to think of something to do outdoors that doesn’t involve water.

There’s swimming, of course. At your local pool (search for local parks and rec departments with pools at the North Carolina Recreation & Parks Association Web site), at a trusted swimming hole (find 76 in North Carolina at SwimmingHoles.org), at the coast (find Outer Banks beaches here, Wilmington area beaches here and assorted other beaches here. read more