Enjoying the weekend and exploring NC

Shawn and I didn't do much this week except work and school, but last Sunday we did decide to do a bit of exploring. I wanted to see what other outdoor activities we had around us, and since the weather had decided to cooperate by providing a beautiful sunny 65 plus degree day, it seemed silly not to explore.

I went online and starting searching for "outdoor activities in Durham." I always come back to the same Durham visitors' center web site, and I have yet to be disappointed. I read through some of the different parks and hiking trails, and we decided to check out Lake Crabtree, which is only a short 15 minute drive from us.

Bella was so excited, she got ready to go really quickly.

Lake Crabtree was actually much bigger than I expected. The park area had various picnicking spots, playground equipment, boat rentals and fishing piers. We walked along the water on the paved path (with Bella underfoot) and then climbed to the top of the observation tower.

We then looked into what other offerings the park had. There were two sand volleyball courts, and the boat rentals sound like a fun option for the spring/summer. They have kayaks, canoes, row boats and sailboats for very reasonable rates. The park also had a number of hiking and mountain biking trails for riders of various levels. Shawn and I do not have mountain bikes yet, but it sounds like something that may be happening in the future.

There was a small sandy beach area too. Bella enjoyed running through it. It was her first experience with sand and she seemed to enjoy it.

After enjoying the area and the beautiful scenery (even though on one side of the lake you can still see tall buildings), we headed back to the house. We ate lunch out back in our Adirondack chairs before I went inside to do some work. Shawn then washed the car (one of his favorite nice weather activities) and in the evening we had our neighbors come over for a nice barbecue. We are pretty happy with the January weather so far--now if only it would get into the 70s and stay there!