Summer Solstice

In celebration of the summer solstice, [pause] ...

Wikipedia: The summer solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's semi-axis in a given hemisphere is most inclined towards the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. This happens twice each year, at which times the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky as seen from the North or South Pole respectively.

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...we attended the Museum of Life and Science's Summer Solstice AfterHours event last night. I posted about the Science of Wine event we attended there, but with the warmth of summer and allure of foodtrucks, beer, and live music, all of the museum's recent events have been immersed in the outdoors. We tasted the delicious local Cackalacky spice sauce (and brought a bottle home with us), enjoyed some yummy IPAs (and a PBR or two), took a stroll through the butterfly house, dressed up as dinosaurs on the Dinosaur Trail (yes, this will be publicly posted), and visited the black bears, red wolves, and playful lemurs in the Explore the Wild exhibit. Oh how I love these mid-week night outs. 

Here's a gorgeous butterfly we passed in the Magic Wings Butterfly House. First day of summer, indeed!

Science of Wine

Last week Ryan and I attended the "Science of Wine" at the Museum of Life & Science in Durham, NC. And it was awesome. Local wineries and shops had fabulous talks, demonstrations, and endless tastings of their wines; we participated in experiments, learned about the chemistry of wine, took a class on tasting, and drank to our heart's content. We even tasted varieties of mead! Ryan was happy; he felt a little like Beowulf.

We fell in love with the museum itself years ago, and have taken Aiden there many times. They have indoor exhibits including a butterfly house, an insectarium, multiple contraptions, and weather-related exhibits (you get to feel clouds!). Outdoors, there's a farmyard, dinosaur trail, railway, wildlife area (with black bears, red wolves, and exotic lemurs), and a park.

I feel so lucky to live in an area that offers such cool and intellectually stimulating events like this. It's also just nice to get out on a weeknight and take part in community events that you're not normally exposed to. We'll definitely be attending many more of these Museum AfterHours events in the future. And you know what makes it even better? The "Science of Beer" is in September!

Here's Ryan stomping grapes at the event. And that, right there ladies and gentlemen, is why I married him. :) Nothing is better than a guy who makes you laugh.

Biweekly Round-Up!

So there have been lots of fun activities in the past couple weeks! We showered Tara, one of my best friends, in anticipation of her upcoming nuptials in November. It was a fiesta-themed shower based on her destination wedding in Mexico, which we'll be attending in a few weeks. Our passports, tickets, and reservations are all ready to go! We'll be spending four days/three nights in the Iberostar Paraíso Maya all-inclusive resort on the beachfront of Playa del Paraíso, between Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen. And can you say "lazy river around the resort"? YES. That's where you'll find me when I'm not doting on the bride. Here's a photo of me with Tara and Katie at the shower. We've been best friends since about 7th grade. Unbelievable.

Clockwise from top left: Tara, me, and Katie

Ryan and I also attended the North Carolina State Fair last week. I have an odd love for this event... always have. People from all over the state (under whatever rocks they live beneath) emerge to convene at this melting pot of crisp fall weather, fried food, rickety rides, and bizarre spectacles. This year Ryan and I pigged out on the following (yes, all of it): giant turkey leg, roasted corn, lemonade, philly cheesesteak, al's french fries, deep-fried twinkie, root beer float, and a vanilla milkshake. We strolled around the stables to see all the cows, visited the art exhibit and craft vendors, and took our annual exhilarating ride on the Fire Ball. I can't stop laughing for about ten minutes after I exit this ride...so scary, but so much fun.

In the cow stables at the NC State Fair

The "Fire Ball" ride at the fair

Finally, this weekend we went up to Norfolk, Virginia to attend Aiden's fall festival. Activities and rides, cotton candy and popcorn, craft vendors... you name it. Aiden had a great time running around with his class buddies, and we got to sit outside on this sunny fall day, picnic, and see how many blow-up prizes Aiden could win (I think he got a microphone, an M&M guy, oversized blow-up shoes, a giant flower, and a fish... and probably more). On Sunday we took a trip to Newport News, VA, to visit the Virginia Living Museum, which exhibits more than 250 species of animals and plants native to Virginia (including sea otters, red wolves, and bald eagles!). It also had tons of cool indoor and outdoor exhibits, gardens, and a planetarium show that we attended on the Virginia skies. All in all, it was a great way to spend a Sunday with the family.

Ryan and Aiden at the fall festival (with his inflatable prizes)

Posing with the statue outside the Virginia Living Museum

Aiden inside a giant turtle shell, with his little round head

Coastal Bliss (Pun intended)

Indian Beach, NC: My own personal Nicholas Sparks novel.

A couple years ago, Ryan's parents bought a condo in Indian Beach, a small beach town nestled in between Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach. The large porch looks right over the sound, which always strikes a serenity chord with me. You can just sit on the porch or the large dock down below, wine in hand, with a cool breeze and a beautiful sunset. Heaven. During the day, you can fish or use the shrimp nets or crab cages to collect your next meal, or just sit and relax with your legs hanging off the dock.

Aiden spent the first part of the week here with his Nana and Papa, and then Ryan and I joined them for the latter half of the week through the weekend. They had already done lots of swimming, fishing, and kayaking, so it was our turn to join in the fun. We caught eleven crabs the first day (!), and were able to keep nine of them for size purposes; Ryan steamed them and we had a delicious, succulent lunch!

Besides going to the ocean, spending time at the pool, and fishing/crabbing off the dock, we took a 20-minute drive to Beaufort, NC to visit the NC Maritime Museum, which now has a special exhibit: Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge. It's so neat to see these old artifacts and trinkets that were handled by someone so well-known in our country's history. Seeing it in the flesh also brings this fable-like story to life; this really happened and these people really existed. What a world that must have been.

We finished the afternoon with some ice cream and a stroll through the Old Burying Ground, a historical burial site of individuals spanning centuries of North Carolina history. As you walk along the paths lined by gnarly trees and some hardly recognizable graves, you can peruse all the various tombstones, many with fascinating stories behind them. One tombstone of an English sailor is engraved as so:

     The form that fills this silent grave,
     once tossed on ocean's rolling wave,
     but in a port securely fast
     he's dropped his anchor here at last.  

Following our trip into Beaufort, we had a fabulous dinner out on the deck at The Ruddy Duck Tavern in Morehead City. Burgers, pasta, fish tacos... you name it! Looking right over the water with the boats happily passing by just added to the lovely and calming atmosphere.

Anyways, it was another great trip to the North Carolina beach with Ryan's family. We always look forward to genuinely relaxing while we're there, and this trip was no exception.

The only hard part about taking off to the beach for the weekend was Moose's failed attempts to try and come with us.