We decided on a last minute hike at Lake Johnson late Friday evening. We have hiked this trail dozens of times, since it is a convenient location, very close to home. I didn’t really expect much in terms of discovery, but it turned out to be a spectacular hike nonetheless!
อาทิตย์นี้หยุดยาวไม่มีอะไรทำ เลยชวนกันไปเดินป่าเย็นวันศุกร์ที่ Lake Johnson ซึ่งที่นี่ไปเดินกันมาหลายสิบรอบแล้วเพราะสะดวกสบายอยู่ใกล้บ้าน ไม่ได้คิดว่าจะได้เจออะไรแปลกใหม่น่าสนใจ แต่ปรากฎว่าธรรมชาติยังอุตส่าห์หาเรื่องมาทำให้เราประหลาดใจอีกจนได้
We just needed an exercise and wanted to do something quick and easy. We also wanted to avoid the crowd at the same time, so we tried to get there as late as we could. That turned out to be the perfect decision. What set this particular hike apart from all the other times, was the presence of fireflies! Hundreds, maybe thousands of them, everywhere! We set out about half an hour before sunset. As soon as we hit the trail, we started noticing specks of lights flashing up all around us. The closer to dusk it got, the easier it was to spot them. Having lived in big cities my entire life, I never got a chance to see real fireflies until I moved here to North Carolina. We would spot a few here and there when we were out in the evening around our house. But this is the first time I have seen so many of them together at the same time! Too bad it was just impossible to photograph them. 😔 Maybe if I had one of those big beefy cameras…🤔
By the time we got back to the car it was almost completely dark out. The moon was high up and beautiful. We were in such a rush when we left the house that neither of us remembered to bring our Apple Watch, so no workout shot this time! 😆 We estimated that we did around 2.5-3 miles in a little over an hour.
This is the last post on my Winston-Salem series, where I’d like to showcase several eye candies from all around town. Before this trip, I never realized that Winston-Salem has such a vibrant arts scene or that it is recognized as the City of Arts and Innovation. There are artworks to be explored literally everywhere in town!
Starting off with what the locals call ARTivity on the Green, which is located right by Trade Street. This is Winston-Salem’s very first public park. It is packed full with colorful murals. Right in the middle is the bright red sculpture in the shape of stacks with different heights. These were said to signify the city’s past industrial background.
เริ่มต้นกันที่จุดเด่นใจกลางเมืองที่มีชื่อว่า ARTivity on the Green บนถนน Trade Street ที่นี่เป็นสวนสาธารณะแห่งแรกของเมือง Winston-Salem นอกจากจะมีสตรีทอาร์ตสีสวยให้ชมกันอยู่รายรอบแล้ว ตรงกลางสวนยังมีผลงานประติมากรรมสีแดงสะดุดตาเป็นท่อเหล็กสูงต่ำต่างระดับที่ทำไว้เพื่อตั้งใจสื่อถึงภูมิหลังทางอุตสาหกรรมของเมืองนี้
Nearby on Trade Street, more street arts can be found in abundance, within just a few blocks of one another!
ถัดมาบนถนน Trade Street มีผนังหลากสีหลายลายให้ดูไม่ซ้ำกัน ยังไม่นับผลงานประดับยอดตึกเก๋ๆอีกหลายชิ้น
This one was right across from Benton Convention Center.
ตรงข้าม Benton Convention Center
And this one was by the parking spots at Slappy’s Chicken.
ที่จอดรถร้าน Slappy’s Chicken
Beautiful lamp post, right by Cardinal Hotel.
เสาไฟฟ้าเยื้องๆกับโรงแรม Cardinal
This one was near Winston Tower.
ใกล้ Winston Tower
And these were right outside the lot downtown where we parked, just around the corner from Trade Street.
หน้าลานจอดรถที่เราไปจอดกันในดาวทาวน์ ใกล้ๆถนน Trade Street
At Fiddlin’ Fish Brewing Company…
ที่โรงเบียร์ Fiddlin’ Fish Brewing Company
At Wise Man Brewing.
อีกโรงเบียร์ Wise Man Brewing
Now, moving on to what I consider the highlight of this post: Art-o-mats! I had never heard of them before I started doing research for this trip. Winston-Salem used to be one of the biggest tobacco producers in the country. As a result, there used to be these cigarette vending machines everywhere in town. When smoking started to become a thing of the past, these machines were decommissioned and they just sat around collecting dust, until a local artist came up with this genius idea to turn them into arts dispensing machines! We went to Delurk Gallery, the studio where Clark Whittington produces his unique pieces that are now displayed all over the world.
The first one above was a surprise find, right outside our room at Wherehouse Art Hotel! And the other one was inside Krankies, the coffee shop downstairs!
รูปแรกข้างบนนี้ไปเจอะเข้าโดยไม่ได้ตั้งใจ เพราะว่าตั้งอยู่หน้าห้องพักของเราที่โรงแรม Wherehouse Art ส่วนอีกอันนั่นอยู่ในร้านกาแฟ Krankies ชั้นล่างตึกเดียวกัน
This one was inside Mary’s Diner, on Trade Street.
อันนี้อยู่ในร้านอาหาร Mary’s Diner บนถนน Trade Street
And this one was inside Wise Man Brewing.
ในโรงเบียร์ Wise Man Brewing
This one was at Benton Center, where we attended the Big Sip Festival. We actually ended up purchasing this original piece of artwork in the picture and brought it home with us as a souvenir! It was a painting by David Philips Hodge, which reminds us of the California sea and dessert. 😊
ส่วนอันสุดท้ายนี้ไปเจอที่ศูนย์ประชุม Benton Center ที่เราไปร่วมงาน Big Sip Festival กัน เราไปเจอผลงานศิลปะที่ถูกใจจากศิลปินชื่อคุณ David Philips Hodge เลยได้อุดหนุนกลับบ้านมาเป็นที่ระลึกหนึ่งชิ้น ตามที่เห็นในรูป 😊
Last but not least, since I happened to snap this picture during our trip to Winston-Salem… I’d like to offer it as a tribute to the ongoing countrywide protests for social & racial injustice. Here’s to the hope that since justice did prevail then, it would do so now!
My dearest husband double-booked us again this weekend. Coincidentally, our hiking group’s last choice of destination for Spring Series this Sunday happened to be a relatively familiar section of Eno River State Park. So, we happily opted to explore a new trail on our own on a Saturday hike at Carvers Creek State Park in Fayetteville instead!
สัปดาห์นี้คุณสามีนัดซ้อนอีกแล้ว แต่ประจวบเหมาะที่กลุ่มเพื่อนรักการเดินป่าของเรามีกำหนดไปเดินป่ากันที่ Eno River State Park ช่วงที่เราไปกันมาหลายครั้งแล้ว เลยถือโอกาสได้ไปบุกเบิกเส้นทางเดินป่าสายใหม่ที่เรายังไม่เคยไปกันที่ Carvers Creek State Park ในเมือง Fayetteville แทน
I discovered this close by new-to-us park just a few months ago, when I happened upon these pictures of a dried out millpond full of cypress trees with exposed root systems. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before so I happily added it to our to-do list right before the quarantine started. Fast forward to this weekend, when we were looking for a new destination to explore, this park came to mind. However, after careful research, we determined that the section I wanted to see is likely going to be crowded on an early Saturday afternoon with perfect weather in the lower 80s. 😞 Instead, we opted for more obscure trails at the eastern Sandhills Access, hoping to avoid the throng of people. We started off at Longleaf Pine trail, then continued on the the Fox Squirrel Loop before circling back to finish off Longleaf Pine. Each section was clearly marked with different shaped and colored blazes, very easy to navigate!
เมื่อหลายเดือนก่อนตอนเรากำลังหาที่เที่ยวแห่งใหม่ใกล้บ้าน เผอิญไปเจอรูปหนองน้ำแห้งผากจนมีรากอูมของต้นสนโผล่ขึ้นมาให้เห็น ดูแล้วแปลกตาดีแท้ เลยคอยเล็งไว้ว่าจะหาโอกาสไปดูของจริง มาวันเสาร์นี้เลยได้โอกาสกะจะไปให้เห็นเป็นบุญตา แต่พอไปหาข้อมูลดูแล้วเราทั้งคู่เห็นพ้องต้องกันว่าคนคงจะต้องเยอะแน่ๆ 😞 ด้วยความที่อากาศกำลังสบายอยู่ที่ 80 องศาฟาเรนไฮต์ หรือประมาณยี่สิบกว่าไม่ถึงสามสิบองศาเซลเซียสดี สุดท้ายเลยตกลงกันว่าน่าจะลองไปที่อีกฟากของ park เดียวกันด้าน Sandhills Access ฝั่งตะวันออกที่ดูไม่ค่อยฮอตฮิตเท่าไหร่ เราเริ่มออกเดินกันที่เส้นทางเดินป่า Longleaf Pine จากนั้นจึงต่อไปยังเส้น Fox Squirrel Loop แล้วจึงวนกลับมาจบลงที่ Longleaf Pine อีกที แต่ละเส้นมีหมุดปักคอยบอกทางเป็นคนละสี คนละรูปทรงเรขาคณิต เดินง่ายไม่มีการหลงแน่นอน
The parking lot was empty when we arrived, as predicted! 😉
The trail, though not my first choice, was surprisingly refreshing, with a terrain that’s very different from our usual hikes in the Triangle area. It was a forest of longleaf pines, as the name suggested, along wide double-tracked trails, filled with sand! Yes, not dirt, or rocks, but sand! 🧐 Apparently, this area is what they called the Sandhills region, which scientists believe used to be where the oceans receded, millions of years ago! 😳
There were signs of controlled burns all along the edges, where we could spot charred trunks and pinecones with burnt tips. This is a technique used to maintain the livelihood of this complex and endangered ecosystem, to stimulate soil enrichment and promote new growth.
…followed by a squirrel spotting, on none other than Fox Squirrel Loop Trail! 😆
…กับไปเจอเจ้ากระรอกตัวนี้บนเส้น Fox Squirrel Loop เค้าตั้งชื่อทางไว้เหมาะเจาะจริงๆ 😆
We took a short detour to check out a beautiful pond at the end of Little Pond Spur Trail.
แวะอ้อมไปดูสระน้ำในรูป จากแยก Little Pond Spur
Though the weather started out nice, I felt overheated by the end of the hike. 🥵 My heart rate was up into the 170-180 ranges by the time we finished. We clocked in at 5.69 miles, which took us just north of 2 hours. I’m not sure if we’ll be hiking again this summer, with the heat getting more and more intense every day… Maybe we can start out a little earlier in the day…will see! 😉
Welcome back to the third installment of my Winston-Salem series. This one features different places we deem worth seeing around town. The last time I came here, the only one tourist spot I knew of (and hence the only thing my friends and I ended up seeing during that trip) was the infamous Old Salem historic district. It turns out this beautiful old town has a lot more to offer that just that!
ขอต้อนรับกลับมาสู่ตอนที่สามของซีรี่ส์นำเที่ยวเมือง Winston-Salem ซึ่งรอบนี้จะพาไปชมสถานที่น่าเที่ยวต่างๆของเมืองเก่าแก่แห่งนี้ เมื่อคราวที่แล้วที่มาที่นี่รู้จักอยู่แค่ที่เด่นดังที่เดียวก็คือเมืองเก่า Old Salem เลยได้เห็นกันแค่นั้น พอมาสืบเสาะเอาจริงจังถึงได้รู้ว่าเมืองนี้ยังมีของดีให้ดูอีกเยอะแยะ
First up was a cool relic in the form of a seashell. 😆 We checked out the last Shell Oil Clamshell station in town, located in a quiet residential neighborhood at the corner of Sprague and Peachtree Streets. It’s obviously been a long time since it has gone out of business but the location was pretty well preserved. The two tall pumps still sit out front and the clamshell structure houses a little store whose front door and windows offer you a peek inside to get a glimpse of how business might be conducted back then.
From there we headed over to UNCSA – University of North Carolina School of the Arts campus. I admit this is a rather odd destination, but it was a beautiful place, very fitting for its purpose. The best part was how deserted it was on a late Friday afternoon. I enjoyed spending time walking around admiring this section in the middle where they have a miniature movie studio. My favorite was the sign Joel spotted above, right next to a large green dumpster! 😂
ต่อไปเป็น UNCSA – University of North Carolina School of the Arts มหาวิทยาลัยศิลป์ของรัฐนอร์ทแคโรไลน่า ซึ่งดูเผินๆไม่น่าจะมานับเป็นสถานที่ท่องเที่ยวได้ แต่เผอิญไปรู้มาว่าเค้ามีโรงถ่ายหนังขนาดย่อมๆตั้งอยู่ในนั้น เราเลยเข้าไปลองเดินเที่ยวกันดู วันนั้นที่ไปเป็นบ่ายวันศุกร์ คนแทบจะไม่มีให้เห็นซักคน เลยได้ถ่ายรูปกันอย่างสบายๆ มีช่วงตึกสั้นๆที่เค้าเอามาจัดตกแต่งไว้ได้บรรยากาศประมาณหนังฮอลลีวู๊ดเก่าๆ เพิ่งจะรู้ว่าที่นี่เป็นโรงเรียนสอนการถ่ายทำภาพยนตร์ระดับต้นๆของประเทศเลยทีเดียว คุณสามีตาดีแอบไปเห็นป้ายนี้ที่เค้าติดไว้ตรงถังขยะอันโตข้างโรงเก็บของด้านหลังที่เขียนว่า ถังใบนี้สงวนไว้สำหรับของวิเศษเหลือใช้จากการถ่ายทำภาพยนตร์โดยเฉพาะ 😂
We headed to the Stevens Center downtown, which is UNCSA’s largest performance venue, hoping to check out its majestic interior. Unfortunately, we found out it was closed to public when we got there, so I could only get pictures of the building from the outside. 😔
We took a mini coffee break at the Camino Bakery in Brookstown, and spotted this cool looking guitar store nearby. Not far from it was the Winston-Salem visitor center, housed in the old cotton mill building.
About 15 minutes drive from town is the Bethabara Historic District which was an old Moravian settlement that came before Old Salem. There were only a few buildings left to be seen, including an old church, dye shop, distillery, and community garden. All were well-preserved to reflect the lives of the old settlers from hundreds of years ago.
จากตัวเมืองขับรถออกไปประมาณ 15 นาทีเป็นย่านประวัติศาสตร์ที่มีชื่อว่า Bethabara ที่นี่เป็นที่ๆชาวโมราเวียรุ่นแรกๆอพยพมาตั้งรกราก ก่อนที่จะย้ายไปยังเมืองเก่าที่ Old Salem ถึงเค้าจะอนุรักษ์ไว้อย่างดี แต่ก็มีแค่ไม่กี่ตึกเหลือไว้ให้เห็น มีโบสถ์เก่าแก่ ร้านย้อมผ้า โรงกลั่นสุรา และสวนสหกรณ์ชุมชน พอจะให้เห็นภาพชีวิตความเป็นอยู่จากเมื่อหลายร้อยปีก่อน
Last stop of the day was Quarry Park, which offers a wonderful view of the downtown skyline. We arrived there just after sunset, which made the already stunning vista even better! It didn’t hurt that we were pretty much the only people there! 😊
เราไปจบรายการทัวร์วันแรกกันที่ Quarry Park จากที่นี่ท่านสามารถมองเห็นวิวตึกสูงในดาวน์ทาวน์ได้อย่างชัดเจน เราไปถึงตอนพระอาทิตย์ตกพอดิบพอดี แสงกำลังสวยจับตา แถมคนก็ไม่มี เหมาะแก่การถ่ายรูปเป็นอย่างยิ่ง 😊
We spent the next morning exploring the infamous Old Salem. There was a fee if you want to get inside some of the buildings on the ground. We didn’t have a lot of time, so we were just planning on checking out the buildings from the outside, which apparently you can do for free. It was actually a little sad there weren’t more people there. 😢 I heard that their flagship restaurant, The Tavern (pictured above), which supposedly served really great food, just closed down this past December due to lack of business. But management did announce they plan to have a new business open there by next Christmas. Unfortunately, with the current ongoing quarantine situation, that may no longer be the case. 😔
เช้าวันรุ่งขึ้นเราไปแวะที่สถานที่ท่องเที่ยวชื่อดังประจำเมืองที่เรียกกันว่า Old Salem เค้าเก็บค่าผ่านประตูสำหรับเข้าชมด้านในตัวตึก แต่เรามีเวลาน้อย เลยตั้งใจไปเดินดูกันแค่ด้านนอก ซึ่งเปิดให้ชมฟรีไม่ต้องเสียตังค์ ไปถึงแทบจะไม่มีคนเลยทั้งๆที่เป็นวันเสาร์ ดูแล้วบรรยากาศน่าเศร้าเล็กน้อย 😢 ก่อนไปอ่านเจอว่า The Tavern ร้านอาหารประจำชื่อดังของที่นี่ (ในรูปด้านบน) เพิ่งจะประกาศปิดตัวไปเมื่อปลายปีที่แล้วหลังจากเปิดให้บริการมาตั้งแต่ปีค.ศ. 1972 ทีมผู้บริหารบอกว่าขอปิดปรับปรุงและมีแผนจะเปิดให้บริการอีกครั้งก่อนวันคริสมาสต์ปลายปีนี้ แต่มาเจอพิษโควิดเข้าอย่างนี้จะได้เปิดกันรึเปล่าก็ไม่รู้ 😔
This marker for an old well was right in front of the Old Salem visitor center.
ป้ายบอกตำแหน่งบ่อน้ำเก่าหน้าศูนย์บริการนักท่องเที่ยวของ Old Salem
This beautiful wooden bridge connects the visitor center and the parking lot across the street with the main streets of Old Salem.
สะพานไม้อันนี้เชื่อมต่อระหว่างตึกที่ขายตั๋วและลานจอดรถกับถนนหลักของ Old Salem
This is a living history museum that replicates the lives of early Moravian settlement from the 1700s. The buildings here were restored to reflect their old shining glory, 70% of which were original.
This little plaque in the heart of town commemorates the very first official celebration of our Independence Day, on July 4, 1783. It was placed there on July 4th, 1966, on the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the city of Winston-Salem.
Beautiful architecture can be seen everywhere around this old part of town. Some of my favorites include the statues of these three ominous-looking creatures, this prominent-looking door on one of the mansions, and these uniquely-shaped banister tips.
We stopped by C. Winkler Bakery to sample some of their freshly baked goodies. This was one of the few places on the premise that you can enter without tickets. Unfortunately, we were not very impressed with anything we got from here. 😬
เราไปแวะชิมขนมอบใหม่ๆจากร้านเบเกอรี่ C. Winkler ที่นี่เป็นหนึ่งในจำนวนไม่กี่แห่งที่เราสามารถเข้าไปชมด้านในได้โดยไม่ต้องมีตั๋ว แต่ขอบอกว่าซื้อของเค้ามาลองหลายอย่าง กินแล้วไม่อร่อยซักอย่าง 😬
My most favorite section of Old Salem was the Salem Moravian God’s Acre, the cemetery located at the north end of the property. Those of you who know me well will remember my strange obsession with old graveyards, so this should hardly come as a surprise! 😊 Lush green grass interspersed with orderly white headstones create a beautiful landscape against the bright blue sky backdrop, giving the sense of humble serenity one can experience while walking around this peaceful forever resting place. The departed were buried chronologically according to the time they were laid to rest. Men, women, and children were separated into different sections. The children one was the most heartbreaking to see…
This Mickey Tin Coffee Pot sits just one street over from the cemetery. Built by the Mickey tinsmith brothers to promote their shop back in 1858, it was quite a site to be seen from the street!
We drove around to see old buildings in Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, Queen Anne styles, some date back to the 1800s, and others were a more modern interpretation. Most were located within what they call the West End Historic District.
ก่อนกลับเราขับรถวนดูบ้านเก่าๆสไตล์ Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, และ สไตล์ Queen Anne ซึ่งหาดูได้ทั่วเมือง ส่วนใหญ่ตั้งอยู่ในย่านประวัติศาสตร์ West End บางแห่งสร้างขึ้นตั้งแต่สมัยช่วงต้นคริสต์ศตวรรษที่ 19 แต่บางหลังก็เป็นบ้านใหม่ที่สร้างให้ดูเป็นสไตล์ย้อนยุค
Downtown Winston-Salem also houses other historic structures such as this R. J. Reynolds smokestack, right across from Bailey Park, next to the Wake Forest Biotech campus. The glowing red little building in the last picture is the Reynolds Building, which is the inspiration behind the infamous Empire State Building in New York City. Built in 1929 by the same architecture firm, it won the Building of the Year Award that led them to commission the Empire State job a few years later. Rumor has it that the staff of the Empire State send the Reynolds a Father’s Day card every year! 😂
ใจกลางเมือง Winston-Salem ยังมีสิ่งก่อสร้างเก่าแก่ให้เห็นอีกหลายแห่ง เช่น ปล่องไฟของโรงงานยาสูบ R. J. Reynolds ซึ่งตั้งอยู่ตรงข้ามสวนสาธารณะ Bailey Park ไม่ไกลจากศูนย์ Biotech ของมหาวิทยาลัย Wake Forest ตึกยอดสีแดงที่เห็นในรูปสุดท้ายนั่นคือตึก Reynolds ซึ่งเป็นต้นแบบของตึก Empire State ในนิวยอร์ค ตึกนี้สร้างขึ้นเมื่อปีค.ศ. 1929 (ก่อนหน้าตึก Empire State ไม่กี่ปี) โดยบริษัทสถาปนิกเจ้าเดียวกัน หลังจากที่ได้รับรางวัลตึกยอดเยี่ยมประจำปี บริษัทนี้ถึงได้รับการว่าจ้างให้ไปสร้างตึก Empire State ซึ่งขึ้นชื่อโด่งดังกลายเป็นสัญลักษณ์ของเมืองนิวยอร์คในเวลาต่อมา เค้าว่ากันว่าพนักงานประจำตึก Empire State ส่งการ์ดอวยพรวันพ่อมาให้กับพนักงานประจำตึก Reynolds เป็นประจำทุกปี 😂
We were back to regular schedule this weekend with our next-to-last hike of the Spring Series. This was our first time hiking at Raven Rock State Park, which is located about half an hour south from us, in a town called Fuquay-Varina. The park has a few different access points. We met at the Avents Creek Access by the north entrance of the park to start our hike with the group.
เรากลับมาเดินป่าตามกำหนดการเดิมอีกครั้งตามโปรแกรมเดินป่าฤดูใบไม้ผลิกับกลุ่มเพื่อนผู้รักการเดินป่าของเรา อาทิตย์นี้เราไปรวมกลุ่มกันที่ Raven Rock State Park ซึ่งตั้งอยู่ที่เมือง Fuquay-Varina ใช้เวลาขับรถจากบ้านไปประมาณครึ่งชั่วโมง จุดนัดหมายอยู่ที่ Avents Creek Access ซึ่งตั้งอยู่ทางตอนเหนือของอุทยานแห่งชาติแห่งนี้
This particular trail is a horse trail, as evident by the multiple horse trailers we saw in the parking lot, and shortly later, the honorable occupants themselves returning to their awaited chariots! 😆 I am a little disappointed to report that we did not have any other horse encounters on the route, other than this big crowd we saw at the beginning. 😔
Almost a mile in, we ran into quite a few families happily enjoying themselves at Avents Creek. There was a small waterfall further back on the right. Here, we took off our shoes and waded across barefoot. The water came up to almost my knees at its deepest, but it was so nicely cool and clear – such a welcome amidst the heat! 😉
เดินไปได้เกือบไมล์ก็ถึง Avents Creek ซึ่งหลายครอบครัวเล่นน้ำกันอยู่อย่างสนุกสนาน มองขึ้นไปทางขวามีน้ำตกเล็กๆให้เห็นอยู่ไกลๆ น้ำที่นี่ค่อนข้างลึกเกือบถึงเข่า เลยต้องถอดรองเท้าลงไปลุยกัน 😉 น้ำเย็นเจี๊ยบและใสแจ๋ว มองลงไปมีปลาตัวเล็กๆว่ายวนให้เห็นอยู่ประปราย
Big trees provide ample shade along the trail, despite the high temperature.
The original plan was to start off with the West Loop, then continue on to the East Loop. But due to the rather intense heat, and the few steep inclines we came upon along the West Loop trail, all of us unanimously gave up and decided to forgo the second half of the hike altogether! 🥵
This weekend, we went hiking on Saturday instead of Sunday, because Joel had double-booked our usual Sunday hiking time slot, and I don’t feel brave enough to venture out by myself just yet. 🙄 We did follow this Sunday’s hike plan but did the hike on our own on Day Hike Section T of the Mountains-to-Sea trail at Falls Lake, with the starting point on Red Mill Road in north Durham.
อาทิตย์นี้เราไปเดินป่ากันวันเสาร์แทนที่จะเป็นวันอาทิตย์อย่างเคย เพราะคุณสามีเกิดไปมีนัดทำกิจกรรมอื่นกับเพื่อนไว้เวลาเดียวกัน ตัวเราเองก็ยังกลัวๆกล้าไม่อยากออกไปเผชิญโลก (โรค) ตามลำพัง 🙄 เลยตัดสินใจไปเดินกันเองก่อนกำหนดหนึ่งวัน โดยใช้แผนเดิมตามกำหนดการที่ว่าไว้คือช่วง T ของเส้นทางเดินป่า Mountains-to-Sea ที่ Falls Lake โดยมีจุดเริ่มต้นอยู่ที่ถนน Red Mill ทางตอนเหนือของเมือง Durham
It was a pleasant hike with plenty of shade. The temperature was quite high at 86 F when we started off, but cooled down considerably as soon as we hit the trail. As promised by Joe, our hike leader, we had the whole trail to ourselves, only running into one couple with a dog and a baby on our way back. We followed the easy-to-spot white blazes along the trail for about 2 miles, then turned around and headed back to the car.
Some people prefer a point-to-point or a loop hike, so you never tread on the same path twice, but personally, I do enjoy an out-an-back hike just as much. To me, the view on the way back is always different, even though it was on the same path. Things can really look quite different from a different perspective! I usually notice a lot of things I never saw coming from the other direction. This hike was no different – plenty of interesting stuff to see both on the way there, and back! 😉
We could have gone further, but decided to turn back when the trail got too sloppy. We clocked in at 3.75 miles, which took us a little less than 2 hours. We are totally content and looking forward to be back out on another trail next weekend!
It felt so good to finally be out hiking again this weekend! Our Spring Hiking Series is back on the calendar after a long hiatus due to COVID-19. The state of North Carolina started relaxing its stay-at-home mandate earlier this month, and our group decided it was time to resume our beloved activity. Precautions are still in place, nonetheless. We all showed up with our masks 😷 on while greeting each other at the beginning of the hike. The masks came off once we started the hike, each family unit separated by decent distance as recommended by the CDC.
We met up at Butner Game Lands in north Durham, a destination carefully chosen by our group leader, Joe Miller, to minimize the chance of us running into a crowd. It was the perfect location! The temperature was on the high side in the 80s, but it was cloudy most of the time so it did not feel that hot even though the trail was mostly unshaded. As promised, we did not run in to anybody the entire hike!
อาทิตย์นี้เรานัดเจอกันที่ Butner Game Lands ซึ่งตั้งอยู่ทางตอนเหนือของเมือง Durham คุณ Joe Miller ผู้นำกลุ่มของเราแกอุตส่าห์ไปสรรหาทำเลนี้มาเพื่อการหลบเลี่ยงผู้คนโดยเฉพาะ แล้วก็เป็นไปตามที่แกสัญญาไว้จริงๆ เดินตลอดทางไม่เจอคนอื่นซักคน อากาศค่อนข้างร้อนเล็กน้อยอยู่ที่ประมาณยี่สิบกว่าองศาปลายๆ เกือบๆสามสิบ แต่ท้องฟ้ามีเมฆปกคลุมเลยไม่ร้อนจัด ทั้งๆที่ตลอดทางไม่มีร่มไม้ไว้ให้บังแดดเลย
This was our first time here. It was an interesting location, with an equally intriguing history behind it, all of which we learned, again, courtesy of Joe. While building Falls Lake in the 1960s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers replaced the rich wildlife habitat wetlands they took away with this new home for the animals. This large gamelands include a series of waterfowl impoundments, as well as meadows and forest habitat areas for various types of games.
The path we took was a wide double-track gravel road that went through a lush meadow, passing by a swampy area, then ran alongside a river. All were nice and flat, mostly exposed to the bright afternoon sun, but we all came prepared with wide-brimmed hats for this very purpose! 😆
We ended up having to cut our intended 5-mile hike a little short due to the looming rain clouds! 😓 This was not in the original forecast when we checked. It just popped up on us, out of nowhere! An article I happened upon recently explained that meteorologists usually rely on a lot of satellite data via the numerous commercial flights that crowded our air space any given time of the day. Now that many of those flights were canceled due to the pandemic, they are operating with a lot more limited information, which could help explain the lower level of forecast accuracy these days! 🙄
All in all, we clocked in at a little under 3 miles – not a bad start after a long break! It was a perfect call and timing too, as raindrop started coming down, right when we got back to our cars! 😆
Drove past this cute little horse farm and couldn’t help stopping by to snap a picture of this little guy, who continued to graze happily, oblivious to the drizzles of rain, thunders and lightnings in the background, when all his buddies already retreated to safety at the nearby stable. 😆
This is my second post in the Winston-Salem series, featuring our gastronomic journey through this beautiful old town. One of the main reasons we picked Winston-Salem as our destination was because of the Big Sip Festival. This is an annual event, where local venues gather to showcase their craft beverage offerings. We were lucky that this took place right at the very end of February. Had it been scheduled just a few weeks later, it would surely have been canceled, like all other events around town, because of coronavirus!
นี่เป็นโพสต์ลำดับที่สองของซีรี่ส์นำเที่ยวเมือง Winston-Salem ซึ่งเราจะพาไปชิมของอร่อยๆที่ได้มีโอกาสไปลิ้มลองกันมาในเมืองเก่าแก่แห่งนี้ ที่เราเลือกมาที่นี่นั้นมีต้นสายปลายเหตุมาจากที่คุณสามีไปอ่านเจอว่าเค้ากำลังจะจัดเทศกาลที่มีชื่อว่า Big Sip Festival ซึ่งเป็นเทศกาลประจำปีที่เหล่าบรรดาผู้ประกอบกิจการค้าเครื่องดื่มท้องถิ่นแถบนี้มารวมตัวกันเพื่อนำเสนอสินค้าตัวใหม่สู่ผู้บริโภคอย่างเราๆ โชคดีที่ว่างานนี้จัดขึ้นตอนปลายเดือนกุมภา ถ้าเลทไปอีกไม่กี่อาทิตย์คงจะได้ถูกแคนเซิลกันตามระเบียบ ด้วยอภินันทนาการจากพิษโควิด-19
The event took place at Benton Convention Center, right in the heart of downtown. We opted for the earlier admission round at 1 pm, hoping to avoid the crowd, which turned out to be a good call. We waited about 20 minutes in line before it was our turn to get in.
งานนี้จัดขึ้นที่ศูนย์ประชุม Benton Convention Center ซึ่งตั้งอยู่ใจกลางเมือง เค้ามีรอบให้เข้าชมสองรอบ เราเลือกรอบเช้าบ่ายโมง ด้วยความหวังว่าคนคงจะยังไม่เยอะนัก ไปถึงคนก็ไม่เยอะจริงๆ เข้าแถวรออยู่ประมาณซักยี่สิบนาทีก็ได้เดินเข้างาน
There was a decent number of people but I wouldn’t call it too crowded, which was very nice. Some booths were more packed than others, but we didn’t have to wait that long to get samples of anything. There were so many interesting concoctions being offered, and these guy were generous with their pours! 😆 I had to dump some (they have waste buckets everywhere, I imagine for this very purpose) in my attempt not to get too boozy. 😅
My most favorite drink of the day was this heavenly mixture called the ‘Morning After’ from Cultivated Cocktails Distillery in Asheville. It was coffee liqueur, mixed with salted cocoa nibs, syrup, lavender water, and cream – aka perfection! 😍It was so addictive I went back a couple of times to keep getting more and more. 😊
Aside from craft beverages, they also have a mac & cheese cook off at this same event. We sampled all the creative inventions from participating local restaurants. Each has its own flair, from 5 different kinds of cheeses to Mexican style with nacho chip, topped with cracklins, or southern style with pulled pork barbecue – all delicious in their own unique ways!
Besides the festival, we also got to check out other popular eating spots around town. First up was Slappy’s Chicken, where we tried their famous juicy fried chicken with spicy homemade sauce. The chicken was as good as advertised, as were their sides!
Spotted this cool building on 4th Street while walking from Foothills to Mozelle’s.
เดินผ่านตึกสวยตึกนี้บนถนน 4th Street ระหว่างทางที่เดินจากร้านเบียร์ไปร้านอาหาร เลยอดถ่ายรูปเก็บไว้ไม่ได้
Next, we had dinner at Mozelle’s. Everybody said not to miss their tomato pie, so of course that’s what we ordered! It was very good, although I have to say not quite as good as Joel’s homemade tomato pie with our home grown tomatoes, but it was pretty darn close. 😊Their other dishes were really good too. We got the brussel sprouts appetizer and the lemony chopped kale salad, both of which were super yummie. 😋
The next night we switched gears to Mexican, with dinner at Crafted. The service here was top-notch, despite how crowded it was. And food was really good too. We had the stuffed avocado, which came highly recommended, and certainly did not disappoint. They had a wide variety of choices for tacos – the two we picked were both delicious!
For our last meal in town, we stopped by at 18 Malaysia, because I was craving Asian food, 🙄and this seems to be one of the best choices in town. It was a bit out of the way, but proved to be well worth the detour. After eating in, I ordered a bunch of to-gos so I could eat off of it for lunch when we got home! 😊
มื้อสุดท้ายก่อนกลับ เราเกิดความอยากอาหารที่คุ้นปากขึ้นมา 🙄ก็ไปเจอร้าน 18 Malaysia ของประเทศเพื่อนบ้านที่เรทติ้งดูดีไม่น้อย ถึงจะออกนอกเส้นทางไปเล็กน้อย แต่ก็คุ้มค่ากับการเสียเวลา อาหารอร่อยจนกินเสร็จแล้วยังแอบสั่งตุนกลับบ้านไว้ไปกินเป็นมื้อเที่ยงต่ออีกรอบ 😊
During the one-week break in between our Winter and Spring Hiking Series, we took the opportunity to go on a mini weekend trip to Winston-Salem. I had been there once, years ago, with friends in college, but don’t really remember much about it. Joel, on the other hand, had never been. This was right before the coronavirus outbreak situation became serious in this country. Looking back on it, we were so glad we decided to go! We don’t know how long it will be until we can safely take another trip anywhere again… 😔
Despite it being a short weekend trip, the weather was perfect so I took a bunch of pictures 😊. I was debating on how to organize these, and ended up deciding to break them up into 4 different posts; stays, eats, sees, and arts. This post is the first in the series.
I’m starting with this place we did *not* stay at, but totally wish we did 😆! The Graylyn Estate came highly recommended by numerous travel guides I read about on Winston-Salem. We considered booking a room here, but it was a little further from downtown, where we would like to be, and also the price point was a little higher than what we were planning on spending. We did however make a trip there, just to see what the fuss was all about. And I get it. The place was immaculate. It would probably have been well worth the price tag they are charging, judging from what we saw.
The property sits on a large piece of land, with a little pond on one side. The stone bridge at the end added to the picturesque quality. This spot would be perfect for a morning or evening stroll. This is one of the largest private residences in North Carolina, second only to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.
Now, moving on to the place we actually stayed at… Right before the trip, I got a referral email from a dear friend who just found out we had never stayed at an airbnb. I browsed through the list of offerings in Winston-Salem and this particular tiny house caught my attention. I showed it to Joel and he was on board, so we went ahead and booked it. Initially we planned to stay for both Friday and Saturday nights, but by the time we decided on it, Saturday night was already taken. We reasoned that it was probably for the best, since this place too was quite a bit away from downtown. We decided we could stay for one night, just to get a taste of what it was like, then move downtown for the second night. As it turned out, one night in the tiny house was more than what we needed! 😝
We stopped by to check in on Friday afternoon. This place was only 10 minutes drive from town, but felt like a world away! There were two different tiny houses on the property, which was some kind of a farm. The red barn was also another airbnb rental.
Having seen tiny houses on TV, this was the first time we had seen one in person. It was indeed tiny, as advertised! There was just barely enough space for the essentials, not to mention room for the both of us. Joel has had his fair share of practice from our numerous trips to Asian countries, so he was quite an expert on how to maneuver one’s self in tiny spaces. 😆I, on the other hand, kept bumping into things as I moved around. I was a little apprehensive when I first found out that the place came with a compose toilet. But I convinced myself it would be ok, we were only staying there for one night after all. Without going into too much details, all I’d say is that it was quite an experience, and I was so grateful for my dearest husband who took care of ‘cleaning things up’ as the manual instructed before we checked out. 😝
We left to do some more sightseeings, then grabbed dinner in town. By the time we got back, it was freezing cold. Even inside. With the heater on high! 🥶Joel immediately set about trying to start the fire in the little Kimberly fireplace they had installed in there. There were detailed instructions in the manual on how to do that. It took us over an hour before we successfully started the fire and had the place finally heated up. Then came the question, how do we keep the fire going through the cold, cold night…? 🙄 Joel wanted to set the alarm for every hour so he could get up and tend to the fire. The problem with that is the fact that our bed sits on the loft, with these steep steps and no banister! I was worried he would tumble and fell down half asleep 😬. In the end, we decided to just leave it and hope for the best. 😅
We spent our second night in Winston-Salem in this place called Wherehouse Art Hotel, right in the heart of town. This was another airbnb property, but it couldn’t be more different. It was such a perfect eclipse of an experience! 😆 I guess that was the beauty of airbnb – they have everything to suit every taste!
We stayed in the Screening Room. The entire place, including our room, felt more like an art museum than a hotel. The room was very spacious, especially compared to what we had the night before. It was very wildly decorated. The walls were beautifully painted. Every piece of furniture was a piece of art form. It was an eclectic symphony of mismatches that somehow seemed to fit beautifully together in that one space.
Since we seemed to be the only ones there, I peeked around and took a snap of some of the other rooms they had to offer there, all equally beautifully decorated!
Haydee, our lovely host, met us at the front to check us in and showed us around. She told us this staircase that leads to the hotel part of the building was once a chimney! Again, this area was artfully painted and the walls were adorn with many pieces of art work, most, if not all of them are for sale. That last one with the connected hearts was Joel’s favorite! 😏
North Carolina finally announced a statewide stay-at-home order this week. We are not supposed to leave the house for anything other than essentials. Thus, it didn’t come as a surprise that our Spring Hiking Series got canceled on Thursday. 😭Even though gatherings are highly discouraged, outdoor activities are still recognized as one of the so-called essentials. So, we decided to hike by ourselves, while doing our best to keep proper distance from other people.
We picked Lake Johnson Park in Raleigh as our destination, given that it is a short 5 minute drive away from home. The facilities were all closed, but the trails remained open. The parking lot was quite full, but we managed to find a spot, so we decided to give it a shot. We picked the unpaved trail on the west side of the lake, hoping that it wouldn’t be too crowded.
เราเลือกไปกันที่ Lake Johnson Park ในเมือง Raleigh เพราะว่าอยู่ใกล้บ้าน ขับรถไปแค่ห้านาทีเท่านั้น ทุกอย่างปิดหมดรวมทั้งห้องน้ำและที่เช่าเรือ ยกเว้นแต่ทางเดินที่ยังเปิดให้คนมาเดินกัน ลานจอดรถค่อนข้างแน่นขนัดตอนเราไปถึง แต่ก็ยังมีที่เหลืออยู่ เลยจอดกันลงไปดูลาดเลา ดูแล้วทางลูกรังฝั่งตะวันตกของทะเลสาบท่าจะไม่ค่อยมีคน เลยตกลงไปลองกันดู
As expected, most people appeared to stick to the paved trail on the other side. We ran into maybe 15-20 people at most during the entire hike. Everybody tried their best to keep proper distances from each other. We deliberately went late, hoping to minimize the chance of crowd. An unexpected bonus is that we got a beautiful view of the sun setting on the lake right around the time we were getting done. 😍
All in all, we clocked in at 3.60 miles, finishing in a little over an hour. While nobody knows how long this shutdown will last, I hope at the very least we can keep on with our hiking routine as a means to keep our sanity intact! 😣
