Hanging Rock State Park

Today we went hiking at Hanging Rock State Park, located about 100 miles from Durham, just north of Winston-Salem. The park is nestled among the Sauratown Mountains with peaks ranging from 1,700 feet to more than 2,500 feet. Named for the Saura Indians, the Sauratown Mountains were once much larger, but have eroded significantly over the years. Still, coming from the hills of the midwest, they were definitely mountains to us!

The park has over 18 miles of trails, so we left bright and early and arrived at the park just before 10am. We mapped out our 8-mile route to cover a couple of waterfalls, the signature Hanging Rock, and a long wooded trail leading to several other vistas. A cloudy morning, the sun hadn't yet burned off the haze as we headed out on Indian Creek Trail to see Hidden Falls and Window Falls. Only a half mile into the trail and accessible by families, they were nice little falls, but I suspect they are more impressive in the spring.




After the falls, we retraced our steps back to the parking and to the Hanging Rock trailhead. The trail starts out as a wide paved path and turns to gravel after about 1/4 mile. After about a half mile, the trails gets steep and we're climbing over roots, boards and boulders. We climb for a half mile straight up, panting and sweating to the top of Hanging Rock, but the view was well worth it.




We did our best to take photos that didn't reflect how massively busy the trail and the vista was. That's what we get for hiking on a holiday! Kids were running everywhere with their parents yelling after them. Peaceful it was not, so we'll definitely be going back.

After hanging rock, we scrambled down the trail and connected with the Wolf Rock Trail, a longer less accessible and therefore more peaceful trail. Another rocky hilly trail, our ankles and hips were beginning to get sore from walking on uneven ground. The only wildlife we encountered were tiny lizards and the biggest, grossest centipede thing we've ever seen. Once we reached Wolf Rock, we stopped for lunch.


Huge black ravens soared past us and we could just make out the skyline of Winston-Salem on the horizon, nearly 25 miles away. After lunch we continued down the trail another mile or so, still clambering over rocks and roots until we got to another nice vista, but by this time our feet were beginning to fail us so we turned around and headed back. All in all we hiked somewhere around 6.5 miles and left room for another visit this fall when the leaves are changing and the trails are less crowded.

Labor Day

It's Labor Day weekend! But what does that mean? It signals the end of summer and the beginning of another school year. It means BBQs and three-day weekends and back-to-school shopping. But do we really know what we are celebrating? It dawned on me that I never really understood what Labor Day was and why it was a federal holiday. Are we honoring labor with a day off? Seems a bit hypocritical. What if we celebrated Independence Day by becoming more dependent? Or if we celebrated Thanksgiving by by fasting?

Labor Day does in fact have its roots buried in the labor movement. Apparently the first labor day parade was held in New York City in September of 1882. Thousands of workers and their families took a hiatus from work and marched through the streets in honor of American workers. A year later, the Central Labor Union held their own celebration and selected the first Monday of September as Labor Day in 1884. Several states recognized the day, but it wasn't until 1894 that it became a federal holiday - and this is where politics comes into play.

On May 11, 1894, workers at Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest cut wages and the firing of union representatives. Union leaders soon got involved and the protest reached across America. The American Railway Union called a boycott of all Pullman cars and the work of 50,000 rail workers screeched to a halt and things got ugly in Chicago. On July 4th (ironically) President Grover Cleveland dispatched troops to combat the rising upheaval. After several riots and a lot of bloodshed, the crowds were dispersed and the strike came to a close. The event brought workers' and union rights into the homes of every American and congress decided that something needed to be done to appease the masses and recognize the struggles of the working man. It was within days of the end of the Pullman strike that congress declared the first Monday of September, Labor Day, a federal holiday.

This is pretty significant stuff! It makes me wonder why I never learned this in school. Why didn't we have Labor Day pageants that depicted the 12 hour days and horrible conditions American workers used to face? Why aren't more speeches made about the labor movement and what it meant to America?

I don't have the answers to those questions but we all know how ironic a Labor Day celebration is in the face of the country's worst every unemployment rates so maybe it makes sense that instead of orating speeches on the sacrifices made during the labor movement we don our bathing suits, grab a beer and put a few burgers on the grill. And if you actually have a job right now, enjoying your day off.

Bull City Not a Black Sheep

To many, Durham is the black sheep (or bull) of the triangle. Not as metropolitan or cosmopolitan as Raleigh and not as pretentious and yuppie as Chapel Hill, Durham is a little more blue collar and a little more rough around the edges. But there's a lot more to Durham that most people realize. Tobacco town is bursting with character with mouth-watering restaurants, a minor league baseball stadium, a farmer's market and community dedicated to local food, the American Tobacco trail for biking and running, an old reconditioned movie theater, revamped tobacco warehouses that now house lofts, restaurants, offices and shops, a new multi-million dollar performing arts center and of course, a little university you might have heard of. I love this town. It's just big enough to offer all of the cultural events I'm looking for, yet small enough to feel like a community.

And they take their Bull City name seriously! Here are just a few shots of the Bulls about town:






There's an energy and a friendliness here that I've never experienced. Durham is a growing town proud of its heritage and welcomes YA'LL to be a part of it. I'm sold.

Eat and Run

Durham's Doughman race gives whole new meaning to the term "eat and run."

I first heard of the race when Nicole received a text from a friend of hers explaining that Man vs. Food, a show on the Travel Channel, has a show dedicated to Durham. I had never seen the show before, but apparently it's a half hour of the host visiting the most outrageous and artery clogging restaurants/food places in a particular city. Carolina is known for their pork bbq, so of course a trip to the BBQ Shack in Durham was a necessity but the real star of the show was Man vs. Food team's participation in the race.

In May 2009, Durham held the second annual Doughman race to benefit a Durham inner city gardeners program called Seeds. The program gets the youth of Durham involved in planting, cultivating and harvesting crops in an environmentally and socially sustainable place. Through the program these kids develop a myriad of skills directly related to the gardening process and gain an understanding of environmental stewardship, nutrition, health, and economics all while improving their self-confidence and growing their leadership skills. Pretty cool stuff.

The race is termed a "quadathlon" incorporating the three typical events of running, biking and swimming and throwing in the fourth major event - eating. Run in relay style, teams of four alternate an eating leg and an athletic leg. For example, teammate #1 begins the race by eating crab macaroni and cheese, runs 2 miles, strips down to his/her bathing suit, swims the length of a pool and tags teammate #2 who then proceeds to bike to the next eating destination, down a "Bull City BLT" with homemade potato chips, bikes a few more miles and tags teammate #3 and so on. Teammate #4 has the task of eating the "Portable Defibrillator," a 1/4 pound local beef patty loaded with cheese, local meat chili, bacon, 1/4 hot dog and coleslaw on a fresh, locally baked bun. The sandwich is so mammoth, no sides are necessary.

Once the last team member finishes his or her leg, all four team members together scarf down four "Daisy Cakes," cupcakes of various flavors including strawberry shortcake and cinnamon cream cheese with candied bacon. Only once that is completed, all four together can run across the finish line.

The rules are very simple. Two team members are allowed to be vegan or vegetarian, all four team members must cross the finish line together, and the website specifically states that "vomiting is strictly discouraged". Yeah, right, tell that to my gut! I think it's safe to say that this is one race I will not be training for, but if you are so inclined, the site even gives prospective teams a training guide. Week one, get up, eat a donut and walk to the mailbox...

Yet Another Reason to Love Ben & Jerry's!

Vermont, the forgotten state. The little slice of a state you have to go through to get to Maine. That state with the smallest state capital. (five bucks if you can name it without looking it up). New Hampshire's reverse twin, known for skiing, maple syrup, the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory and, it's largest employer, Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Well, folks, Vermont just got a whole lot sweeter in the LGBT community this week as they became the sixth state to allow and recognize same sex marriage.

((((APPLAUSE))))

In celebration of this step toward equality, Ben & Jerry's has re-named their Chubby Hubby ice cream to Hubby Hubby for the month of September. If you happen to find yourself in Vermont, you can visit any B&J store and order up a Hubby Hubby sundae. Don't look for the new labels in stores though, the change is symbolic only. It would cost far too much and take far too long to roll out an entirely new look just for the month of September, but kudos to a company like Ben & Jerry's for wanting to shed even more light on what's going right in this country.

Equality and ice cream for all!

Wanna Be My Friend?

Do you remember the first friend you ever made? I'm willing to bet that you don't because there was probably nothing memorable about it. You're four years old playing in your sandbox and over walks the neighbor kid who plops down alongside you and next thing you know you're best buds. Or maybe you are five and at your first day of school and the little girl with pigtails comes up to you and says she likes your lunchbox and you eat lunch together every day for the next 13 years.

Making friends used to be so easy! You could walk up to another kid and say "hey, wanna be friends?", she'd say "ok" and off you went skipping and holding hands. Why can't it be like that when we are adults? Somewhere between lunchboxes and 401K's making friends gets complicated. There are so many factors... do they share the same political and religious views? Are they single, married, divorced, gay, straight, bi, transgendered, yuppie, hippie, with kids, without kids, geeky, sporty, trendy, a smoker, a drinker. It's exhausting. Why can't I go up to some nice looking person at the coffee shop, plop down next to her and say "Hey, wanna be friends?" Well, I could... if I don't mind odd looks and rejection.

There was a period in my life a few years ago during which I needed to make some new friends so I hopped on the myspace bus and managed to find some pretty amazing people who I'm glad to say are still in my life (and some that I'm glad are not!). It wasn't easy putting myself out there, but hiding behind a keyboard before an actual face-to-face meeting suited me well. But I was also different then, or at least in a different situation that I am now. I was single and I was in my 20s, both very important factors. It's easier to make friends when you are single because you tend to go out a lot in large groups of people, talk to everyone you meet and everyone wants to date you.

Now I'm in my 30s and I don't live that lifestyle. I'd much rather be home watching jeopardy and grilling than going to the bar. Leave for the bar at 11? Yeah right, I'm in bed by ten, sister! So I have the option to join clubs. They have clubs for everything now from reading books to meditation to various sports and hobbies. I've looked into them but just haven't found my niche. Where's the group for cool, laid-back chicks who like to do a ton of fun things and just need people to do them with?

So I got back on myspace, but I'm not having much luck there. I look through profiles of people in my area and send a few messages that basically say "hey, wanna be my friend?" but not in so many words. Next I tried an ad on craigslist and I've had a few bites in the first day I posted it, so we'll see where that leads. I joined a kickball league that starts next week. At least I feel like I'm doing something. I realize that people aren't going to come knock on my door. Oh if there were only door-to-door friendship salespeople! With warranties! If one friend doesn't work out, exchange her for another or get your money back!

I would love an encyclopedia of new friends of all shapes, sizes, and colors to hang with and learn from who will knock on my door on a random Tuesday night and ask Nicole if I can come out and play.

If I don't know you and you're reading this, wanna be my friend??

Bull Durham

Tonight we went to a Durham Bulls minor league baseball game. They made five errors and lost 10-2. Maybe we should have stayed home and watched the movie!

Some say it's the best baseball movie of all-time, and while not a fan of baseball or movies about baseball, I'd have to agree. It perfectly marries male bonding, sports, sex and romance, mixing them all together in a way that appeals to men and women alike. Just crude enough for the men, just romantic enough for the women.

Also, for a movie to stand the test of time, it's gotta be quotable. Bull Durham gives us such beauties as "Man that ball got outta here in a hurry. I mean anything travels that far oughta have a damn stewardess on it, don't you think?" And who could forget Costner's rousing soliloquy in which he says "I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days".

Ask anyone here, Durham is proud of their movie legacy. The city hosted Costner and his band in 2008 to celebrate the movie's 20th anniversary. The movie was largely filmed in downtown Durham at the athletic park, the former home of the city's minor league baseball team for 68 years; an old stadium nothing like the fancy new digs the Bulls currently play in. But one aspect still remains - the famous Durham Bull sitting high atop left field that wags his tail up and down and blows smoke from his nostrils every time the Bulls score a home run. Unfortunately of the two games I've been to this season, the opposing team scored all the home runs so I've had to settle for watching scenes like this one:



Not certain is actually makes mooing noises... maybe we'll find out next season.