This Weekend In North Carolina

Here's what is popping in NC this weekend...

It just makes me giggle...mullets everywhere!

Travel to Wilkesboro this weekend to hear Shenandoah play at the {Walker Center of Wilkes Community College}.  This country act from the 80's and 90's is known for catchy tunes like Church on Cumberland Road, Next to You Next to Me, and Two Dozen Roses.  



If you grew up with the understanding you didn't eat oysters until you were in a month that had the letter "r" in it then gear up to get a belly full of this weekend in Hickory.  This weekend there is a {Shuck & Peel Party} featuring the Extraordinares.



One of the largest fall celebrations is in Huntersville and it is celebrated regionally.  {The Renaissance Festival} goes on for the next two weekends and celebrates the life and times of the Renaissance period of Europe.  From turkey legs the size of your thigh to all the crushed velvet you can dream of this is a fun time for the family!



The Christmas Season may not quite be here but you can head to Banner Elk and get in the spirit.  {Apple Hill Farms} is hosting its Christmas Celebration beginning this weekend going through mid December.  Tour the alpaca farm and purchase some unique alpaca gifting items as well as fresh NC greenery.



What would this post be without a wine notation?  The beautiful and many times mentioned {Raffaldini Winery in Ronda} needs your help!  The reds are ready for blending and they want your input on what best suits the palate.  You must RSVP to this event.



This weekend in Charlotte you can visit the {Southern Christmas Show}.  Last year I attended this event with my mom.  It is a fun time for the girls to go out and get in the Christmas spirit.  You will get a peek at adorable tree styling for the season; taste some good food; and if you're me you'll hit up Duplin Winery's booth for some Carolina Mustard.  I can share this is a very crowded event and if you do not like crowds...stay away.



If that doesn't tickle your fancy then maybe this will.  The Charlotte Museum of History is hosting a {Back Country Beer Fest}.  This event features 4 local breweries, local food and food trucks, cornhole and more.



If you have a daughter you is all about Laura Ingalls Wilder then you should drive to Raleigh to Meredith College.  They are presenting {A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas} in Jones Hall.  You can also go ahead and let your daughter fall in love with the campus of Meredith College - a private female college very close to NCSU.



Also in Raleigh, {VeggieTales Live at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts}.  Many years ago I took my daughter to see VeggieTales Live and she really enjoyed the jam packed music show of her favorite Christian vegetable story tellers.



If you will be in my area check out these events (Winston-Salem):

Visit airtype.com Winston-Salem's own graphic media and clothier firm.

Ziggy's will have The Nappy Roots on Thursday & Corey Smith entertaining the crowd on Friday.



Old Salem begins their {Christmas Candlelight Tours} this weekend.  See the beautiful Moravian settlement at it's holiday finest and divulge in some delicious Moravian Sugar Cake for me!

Football Notes:



The Carolina Panthers are undefeated and this weekend they'll be in Texas to try to keep it up.

The NCSU Wolfpack is 6-3 so far this season.  I am happy.

I was told Duke was the ACC team to beat.  Untrue.  They were stomped by UNC last week.

Ole Miss is currently 7-3.  They play LSU this weekend.

WV is 4-4 this season.  They take on Texas on Saturday.

I pick the teams I am most familiar with so if this list looks weird to you -so be it.

That is this weekend in a nutshell from the desk of A Brownie World.  Have anything to add?  Please do!


What are you doing this weekend?

Getting Into The Great Outdoors (Our 1st Adventure)

Post 2 in this series of amateur camping.  

Not Every Day is Sunshine and Unicorns

Two weeks prior to the first camping trip... that is when I booked our site.  We had scouted out W. Kerr Scott located in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.  Immediately, we fell in love with the location and scenic views.  It was a no brainer we wanted to camp here.

I thought I had paid close attention to the weather. Part of camping in anything but an RV is having great weather to enjoy what is outside. At the time of booking the weather projections were for unseasonably cool July temperatures.  There was no mention of rain.

However, that was two weeks out.  Sad for us that meteorologists are not really psychics.  Ms. Cleo where ya at, girl?

I prepped for the trip Friday morning.  I made one and a half dozen blueberry muffins and two dozen chocolate chip cookies.  A quick Walmart run for my crack coffee addiction was pertinent.  {Guys, I have to have my coffee a minimum of two times a day if not four times a day.  Don't judge!}  I purchased an $8 basic pot to keep in the camper.

Meticulously, I went over everything I had to pack.

I made sure that we had all the grilling and grocery staples:

*Grill & Charcoal

*Grilling utensils

*Meats for grilling

*Condiments

*Disposable utensils and plates

*Beverages

*Sides

*Breads

Since it is a camper I also had to get the linens in order:

*Two sheet sets

*Blankets

*Pillows for the beds

*Towels and wash cloths for the bath house

*Toiletries

This wasn't a nudist camping colony so I packed four changes for each kid and two for the adults.  The plan was to be in our bathing suits the majority of the time we were there.

With that being said I had packed swim beach items like:

*Sand shovel and pail

*Puddle Jumper for the little guy

*Two camp chairs that we could easily tote to the beach or just set up outside the camper were also a necessity and packed

*The stroller for small human cruising was packed

*SPF, bug spray, and of course beach towels

A few fun things were thrown in like my book, a DVD player for when the kids were too restless to deal with, and of course the camera.

Lastly, tennis shoes for lots of walking and hopefully some good hiking.

And the sky became gray and clouds began to cry....

Friday it rained.  Friday it became cool.  Friday could have been the start of October for all I know.

Our goal was to be on the road by 6:45 PM.  My husband works until six each day and this event would not call for an early departure from work.  It just was not far enough away to warrant him leaving even ten minutes early from work. Plus, my oldest has tumble and cheer on Fridays and that is one thing that girl is not going to miss!

As we drove the up the highway I mentioned to my lovely spouse that "earlier in the day I had heard that this was the weather for the weekend,".  He quickly shot that down and said only a 30% chance of rain was forecasted for Saturday.  Mmm hmm.

Roughly forty minutes later we arrived to our campsite and quickly began the wet and dreary set up of the camper.  It didn't take very long to get her up and stable.  Considering this was only our third time completing this task and it took 15 minutes to do it. I was impressed!  Since Mother Nature was having a cleansing event the kids had to sit in the car while we set up.  They weren't too thrilled about that.

I'm going to be very truthful and admit something. As I prepped the inside of the camper I realized this style of camping is ONLY good for people who can spend the entire daylight and twilight period outside.  When you have a nearly two year old a pop up camper is not the way to go if the weather is wet.

As I was trying to figure out ways to neatly store everything I was silently losing it.

I like organization, cleanliness, and neatness.  Those are three things you have to throw out the window when you have young children plus bad weather and have yet to devise a plan of structure for how you will store everything in your very small camper.

Eventually, I gave up.  The kids were unleashed from their seats.  It was on.

----

There was no way we were staying inside.  After a few minutes in the camper we pulled out the stroller and took off to check out the now darkened campground.

The sky temporarily plugged it's leaking and we walked around checking out campsites, campers, and people.

It really is a nice place.  All the people were cordial and in all honesty you've never seen a cleaner more well maintained place.

I wish I would have had my camera on me for that initial stroll because the site of the lake at dusk was simply gorgeous.

When we returned to our little pad we slept.  Or tried to.

Tomorrow:  I Got A Car.