Adventures in Charlotte
If you follow along on Instagram, I've taken on documenting our days through photography. Not only has it pushed me to learn how to photograph in different lighting scenarios, take notice of otherwise "dull" moments, and test out different editing styles, but I love the captured every day moments that we'll be able to look back on later. I can watch my children grow over the year. I can smile at their carefree attitudes. I can replay the joy that little things like bubbles and dandelions brought them.
People often comment on how we are always out doing "things", which I think is funny. You'd think that after working all week, we'd relax a bit over the weekends. But it's usually the opposite. We clean the house, we do yard work and then we get the kids out to play. We definitely keep our days busy and we love trying out new places and "adventuring" with the girls making new memories. As I said in my last post, we live life.
I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite places to go in the Charlotte area. So many of these options are free or inexpensive, so try them out!
Parks/playgrounds
This is a no brainer. We have so many amazing parks in the Charlotte and surrounding area, that we never get bored. We've gone to Freedom Park, Jetton Park, Park Rd Park and more. On weeknights, I'll go on a "run" to the neighborhood playgrounds - best way to get some exercise in and for the girls to burn some energy before bed! This is one of my favorite after dinner activities because I get good light for pictures too.
Discovery Place
We have the annual passes to DP/DPK so we take advantage of this one. Discovery Place Kids is right down the street from us and great for preschool aged kids. It's an easy option on a rainy or really hot afternoon and the kids are obsessed with it. Discovery Place Science is in the city so we make a day out of it. Last time we went, we took the kids on the light rail, stopped at fifth ward park, and grabbed coffees at 7th street market. The annual passes are definitely worth it!
Breweries
Not sure if this is a thing in all areas, or just popular here in Charlotte, but we love going to breweries with friends and many of them are kid friendly. Usually there are outside spaces for kids to run around, live music, and a few actually have an entire kids section inside. You'll find dozens of kids playing together and you'll be able to catch up with your friends over a beer. Some of our favorites are D9, Primal, and 26 Acres.
Birkdale
I've said this before, but we bought our current house for it's location to this shopping area. This is our go to spot for weekends when nothing else is going on. We often ride bikes over or walk/run there and hang out for a few hours. We grab Starbucks, lunch or ice cream, drop into some shops, and always make a stop at the bookstore (Barnes and Noble - their favorite spot!). It's also a favorite spot for dinner out on the weekends.
People often comment on how we are always out doing "things", which I think is funny. You'd think that after working all week, we'd relax a bit over the weekends. But it's usually the opposite. We clean the house, we do yard work and then we get the kids out to play. We definitely keep our days busy and we love trying out new places and "adventuring" with the girls making new memories. As I said in my last post, we live life.
I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite places to go in the Charlotte area. So many of these options are free or inexpensive, so try them out!
Parks/playgrounds
This is a no brainer. We have so many amazing parks in the Charlotte and surrounding area, that we never get bored. We've gone to Freedom Park, Jetton Park, Park Rd Park and more. On weeknights, I'll go on a "run" to the neighborhood playgrounds - best way to get some exercise in and for the girls to burn some energy before bed! This is one of my favorite after dinner activities because I get good light for pictures too.
Discovery Place
We have the annual passes to DP/DPK so we take advantage of this one. Discovery Place Kids is right down the street from us and great for preschool aged kids. It's an easy option on a rainy or really hot afternoon and the kids are obsessed with it. Discovery Place Science is in the city so we make a day out of it. Last time we went, we took the kids on the light rail, stopped at fifth ward park, and grabbed coffees at 7th street market. The annual passes are definitely worth it!
Breweries
Not sure if this is a thing in all areas, or just popular here in Charlotte, but we love going to breweries with friends and many of them are kid friendly. Usually there are outside spaces for kids to run around, live music, and a few actually have an entire kids section inside. You'll find dozens of kids playing together and you'll be able to catch up with your friends over a beer. Some of our favorites are D9, Primal, and 26 Acres.
Birkdale
I've said this before, but we bought our current house for it's location to this shopping area. This is our go to spot for weekends when nothing else is going on. We often ride bikes over or walk/run there and hang out for a few hours. We grab Starbucks, lunch or ice cream, drop into some shops, and always make a stop at the bookstore (Barnes and Noble - their favorite spot!). It's also a favorite spot for dinner out on the weekends.
Festivals
This is a Friday night or weekend activity, but there ALWAYS seems to be some sort of festival happening somewhere. They very rarely cost money to go to, and almost always have live music and kid activities like face painting and bounce houses. They are always a good time.
Zoo
Tiger World, Zootastic, Lazy 5 Ranch, NC Zoo and Columbia Zoo are all pretty cool spots to spend an afternoon or day. The first three are not really "zoos" but a sanctuary/park/ranch. They are about half the distance to get to and less expensive. Between feeding animals, wagon rides and playgrounds, they all offer an afternoon of fun. We love the NC Zoo and Columbia z=Zoo for day trips with friends.
Carrowinds
This is a new spot for us. At the end of last year, we went to Winter Fest at Carrowinds amusement park and took advantage of signing up for season passes while the kids are both free. The girls both LOVE rides, so I hope we get here often. The only tough thing about Carrowinds is that Tess is pretty short and has a hard time missing out on rides because of it.
We've also checked out the Carolina Raptor Center, various farms, aquarium, Ann Springs Close Greenway, and some local stables. Most weeknights though, we just hang out. We play outside on scooters and bikes, we draw with chalk, jump rope and chase bubbles. I know there will be so many more of these activities as the warm weather sticks around for a while and all the neighborhood kids are outside playing. And once the pool opens, I know we'll be spending a lot of time there too. Last summer we'd go at least 3-4 times a week and I'm sure it'll be the same if not more this summer. Oh,we also love splash pads during the hot months, so I keep a bag of bathing suits and towels in the car!
This is a Friday night or weekend activity, but there ALWAYS seems to be some sort of festival happening somewhere. They very rarely cost money to go to, and almost always have live music and kid activities like face painting and bounce houses. They are always a good time.
Zoo
Tiger World, Zootastic, Lazy 5 Ranch, NC Zoo and Columbia Zoo are all pretty cool spots to spend an afternoon or day. The first three are not really "zoos" but a sanctuary/park/ranch. They are about half the distance to get to and less expensive. Between feeding animals, wagon rides and playgrounds, they all offer an afternoon of fun. We love the NC Zoo and Columbia z=Zoo for day trips with friends.
Carrowinds
This is a new spot for us. At the end of last year, we went to Winter Fest at Carrowinds amusement park and took advantage of signing up for season passes while the kids are both free. The girls both LOVE rides, so I hope we get here often. The only tough thing about Carrowinds is that Tess is pretty short and has a hard time missing out on rides because of it.
We've also checked out the Carolina Raptor Center, various farms, aquarium, Ann Springs Close Greenway, and some local stables. Most weeknights though, we just hang out. We play outside on scooters and bikes, we draw with chalk, jump rope and chase bubbles. I know there will be so many more of these activities as the warm weather sticks around for a while and all the neighborhood kids are outside playing. And once the pool opens, I know we'll be spending a lot of time there too. Last summer we'd go at least 3-4 times a week and I'm sure it'll be the same if not more this summer. Oh,we also love splash pads during the hot months, so I keep a bag of bathing suits and towels in the car!
So tell me, what are some of your favorite activities and spots in the Charlotte area?
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