It's the Middle of Summer, but Here's Spring Break!

One-eyed Paul the Pirate

We decided to spend most of Ally's spring break in Selma. Chris had to work to help pay for our exploits, but we managed to have fun with his dad as our chaperone instead.

Our first order of business was a trip to the beach at Fort Macon. This is one of Grampy's favorite spots.




The weather was cold and overcast, so we only stayed for an hour or two. But that was enough time to collect seashells, dig a few holes, and enjoy the waves. True to past trips, Ally and Cora insisted on putting their feet in the freezing-cold water. . . which means they ended up wet beyond their knees.

Of course, the sun finally came to stay just as soon as we loaded up the car and were leaving the parking lot. We had a beautiful sun-shiny ride home. We contemplated turning around and just being beach bums for a few days, but figured Grammy Norma would worry if we didn't show up for dinner.

We spent the following days chillin' at the house. Chillin' because it was so cold. The girls and I slept in each morning while Grampy went and worked out at the gym for three hours. Ally and Cora read through their collection of old kids' books, blew bubbles on the front lawn, rode bikes in the garage, and raided their kitchen pantry. In the afternoons Grampy took us to an awesome park, an indoor splash pool at the gym, and Hill's of Snow for some tasty sno-cones. We also spent a little time with cousins Nate and Maddie.

Pink and Purple: still the colors of choice

Since Chris had dropped us off at his parents' and fled town, we had to find a way home. When planning this trip we looked up Amtrak just for fun and realized they had a perfectly-timed train running from Selma to Greensboro. Kids travel for half price, so the cost was comparable to having Chris drive all the way out to pick us back up-- and trains don't have to deal with Raleigh's/I-40's rush hour traffic/accidents/delays/construction. I've wanted to travel by train with the girls for awhile, so this was the perfect excuse.

Grampy was kind enough to take us down to the station. The train was running about an hour late, so we had plenty of time to explore every exhibit in the small but historic building.

* * * Let's interrupt this travelog for a bit of history:

When we first moved to Greensboro, we found a historical marker on an old downtown building. It states: "In this store Lunsford Richardson (1854-1919) during his joint ownership from 1890 to 1898 developed a line of home remedies of which Vicks Vaporub became world-renowned for the relief of the common cold."
This plaque led me to believe my current hometown is the birthplace of Vicks, and I filed that little fact away in my head and --on occasion-- shared it with people.

While perusing the Selma train station and brushing up on my Johnston County NC history, I found this sign posted on the wall:

Mr. Richardson probably never imagined he'd be so famous that two places would claim him as a hometown hero and try to take credit for birthing his smelly health remedy.  Anyway, back to recording our Spring Break Trip * * *

Eventually the train arrived. The girls quickly gave Grampy some good-bye kisses on the platform . . in the pouring rain. . . even under an umbrella (how romantic!). . . and then we boarded our locomotive.

Although both Ally and Cora easily fit within the carry-on luggage dimensions, I made them walk up the stairs themselves. We were escorted to our seats, and then we waved at Grampy from the window as we pulled out.


We loved traveling by train. The seats were clean and even wider than first class looks on an airplane. Ally and Cora had plenty of leg room, as did I. We enjoyed watching the scenery, walking between seats, eating snacks, coloring, sending texts to Daddy, and playing on the tablet.

All was going well until, about a mile beyond the Cary station, the train came to a dead stop. . . in the woods. Fortunately, by taking the train, we were able to avoid all the hassle of rush hour traffic around Raleigh. Unfortunately, what we didn't avoid was a downed tree that fell perfectly across a particular track and impeded our progress. Go figure!

Although the incident added an additional hour to our travel, the girls were good sports about it and so was I. We appreciated being able to walk around instead of being stuck buckled into a stationary car. Daddy was waiting to pick us up when we arrived. He took us home and tucked us into bed.

The next day (Friday) was still Spring Break, but it deserves a separate entry. It was Ally's birthday, and we had another adventure to take!