Enjoying the Outdoors: Spring Break 2019 - William B. Umstead State Park

Carefully, I researched, planned and reserved a nine night camping trip with three destinations. But it was not to be. The flu struck the morning of our Saturday departure. The girls spent more than half of spring break watching Netflix at home while waiting for chills, body aches, and fevers to pass. Once we had accepted the unfairness of the situation - we had, after all, dutifully received our flu vaccinations at the end of October - we salvaged what was left of Spring Break.

The car is always a bit full.

Leaving Thursday morning was easy since the car had been carefully packed for a Saturday departure five days earlier. We set up camp at William B. Umstead State Park. The first night camping in 2019 reminded me why I love tent camping. Cool, but not cold, sleeping weather. The rustle of spring leaves in a gentle breeze. The first night of tent camping was the best one. The other two nights were filled with heavy rain and I was very glad I had taken the time to spray waterproofing refresher on the tent.

Camp setup

I wish there was a good camping spot closer to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. From Umstead, the drive took over an hour and some roads were incredibly narrow and curvy. Like, so narrow that I don't think two school buses could pass opposite each other if they met. There is a campground near the zoo but it has very mixed reviews on Google. Lots of long term residents camp there, apparently, and I like the security and dependability of a state park. The North Carolina Zoo is huge and the ropes course is great. I tried to bring my phone for photos but the safety harness cut right into the phone and I had to leave it behind. The Air Hike, as the ropes course is called, is safe but thrilling and we will go again.

We briefly went to the Museum of Life and Sciences in Durham. From the website, it looks like the Life and Sciences museum might be a good rainy day activity, however, many of the exhibits are outside. Visiting on a day of heavy rain was not good. The museum has a train and many animal exhibits throughout the park. The museum is not advertised as a zoo but it might as well be. There is a nice casual restaurant on the premises but getting there requires going outside and the rain was pouring. Then I got delivered a veggie burger that I think was real beef but I didn't realize the mistake until the end when I took a close look at the meat.

Marbles

Despite being ages 8 and 12, my girls still liked the Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh. Plus, we got in free with reciprocity from our Maryland Science Museum membership. Reciprocity is great and I'm so glad another mommy from the bus stop told me about a Groupon sale. Having one membership has given me access to other museums. The parking lot is hard to find unless you realize in advance the museum has their own dedicated lot directly behind the building. The neighborhood surrounding Marbles wasn't super great and I did not feel completely comfortable parking the car on the street. We kept driving around, looking for parking, until we circled completely and found the lot right behind the museum. Relieved, we parked, paid, and went in. Otherwise, we could have skipped.

On Friday, the first full day of the tent camping trip, I accidentally let one of my girls drink non-potable water. As I approached the pump, there were no warning stickers visible so I took some water. Only when we went on a full walk around the campground and I approached the spigot from the opposite side did I see the rectangular warning label. So, the lesson I learned is that looking at all sides of a water spigot is very important.

Annoying pools of water on picnic table canopy

I have to do something about our picnic table canopy. The canopy is waterproof and keeps the rain off the table but the water pools in gigantic puddles on the ceiling and has to be emptied very carefully so as to not have the water come pouring down on the top of one's head.

Paperback for the tent

When the rain falls and cell phone reception is low, it's always a good idea to have a disposable paperback to read out loud to keep everyone entertained and in good spirits. Some of our favorite paperback camping reads could be A Wrinkle in Time, Scott O'Dell's Sarah Bishop or Island of the Blue Dolphins, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Cards in the tent are fun, too.