Hot!

We made it to North Carolina after a long morning of travel. Luckily, Sam was a champ and handled it all well, including being woken up at 4:45 to be hussled into the car to get to the airport on time. "I need go back to sleep," she said, rubbing her eyes, as we drove down Rt. 1 in the dark. So cute :-) Our flight went off without a hitch, and Sam was easily entertained by the snacks, the tray table, the sights out the window and the other passengers the whole time. We did a bit of running around the airport, and made a stop at a very cool Raleigh park before making the final 1:15 journey to my parent's place. It was a gorgeous day - sunny and warm. The park was filled with people out enjoying the beautiful morning, and we had fun taking a little train ride, swinging on the swings and playing in one of the many playground areas there.

On the train

Holding on tight "to be safe" (Sam's words)

This is fun!

Whee!

Yeah!

I like this one!

Higher!

That's better!

On the seesaws

The park trip and all the travel tuckered Sam out, and after we got to my parent's house, she took a nice 2+ hour nap. Hurray! It was too nice not to run, so I snuck out for a quick 4-miler in my parent's community. The loop I ran included 2+ miles on a wide, flat gravel path, pretty much like a mellow Acadia National Park carriage road. It was a good respite from the pavement. The run was just what I needed after a long morning, and really felt good. It also felt HOT! :-)

Lots of bird sightings today so far: Lots of little yellow rumped warblers flitting around my parent's backyard, along with mockingbirds and robins. At least three Great Blue Herons along the ponds. A red-tailed hawk. A tufted titmouse. A large group of buzzards circling lazily in the warm air. A hairy woodpecker. A belted kingfisher. And best of all, three pairs of bluebirds "talking" to each other in a tree along the golf course where my dad, Sam and I took a walk at dusk. What fun!