Tracked Out Together

Nicholas is currently tracked out.  With year round school they get 3 weeks off between quarters.  He goes to the Y for the day, pretty much like your standard day camp.  I took the day off work (to recover from my race, which surprisingly wasn't really needed) to spend quality time with just him.
We started the morning at It's A Grind - the coffee shop Nancy Botwin goes to in Weeds.  Pumpkin latte and hot chocolate, yum.  Then off to Durant Park.  Travis and I went last weekend and it seemed like a place that should have lots of geocaches.  I checked the site earlier this week and of course the park was loaded with them.  And some clearly marked as kid friendly.
Nicholas and I made our way to three caches.  The GPS I have is sucky at best.  One time I was 40 feet away and standing practically on top of it.  Another time I was 400 feet away.  So either the coordinates are off or I need a better GPS that can handle tree cover.  I have found more than a few over the years and have a general idea of standard hiding places. In a nature park a clue of "near a fallen log" is kind of cruel.  There are 8 more in that park that we will tackle another day.  No sense in rushing through them.  Nicholas was very happy to leave better prizes than the ones he took.  He hopes the next finder likes it.
Next we went downtown for lunch.  We went to Adrian's favorite restaurant, Spize, to make him jealous.  And it didn't disappoint.  We attempted to go to Marbles Kids Museum.  Um, it was closed.  What?  I never thought to check.  And Nicholas was not pleased.  We decided to go to the state museums instead.  We walked around the Capitol.  Nothing makes that boy happier than old canons.  He ran from one to the other.  Checked out statues and the veterans memorial.  Over to the history museum.  Luckily NC has a lot of history.  We started in the NC Sports Hall of Fame.  Then through military section.  He loves weapons and uniforms almost as much as canons.  By the time we got to the recreated old pharmacy he was getting creeped out by all the old stuff.  That can only be cured with retail therapy in the gift shop.  I made notes to myself for lots of Christmas ideas.
We had a great day spending time together, just the two of us at our own pace.

That's my boy!  He's picking trash out of the lake.

Whale Rock.  The creek has carved a channel over a bazillion years.

Yummy lunch.  I heart sweet chili sauce.

Doesn't everyone do a mirror pose with a statue?

A Civil War dude.  First fallen, I think.

WW I, WW II, and Korean War memorial.

Never Give Up!

Did you know football jerseys used to be onesies?  That gave us a big laugh.