After seven years in the South, I have come to love SO many things about our sweet, sweet adopted homeland (despite what you may have been thinking after my last post!). Some of the 15 I’m sharing today are about the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill), some are specific to North Carolina, and a few are about the South in general, but I’m grateful for all of them. Here goes!

1. Vibrant churches. I’ll start here because though all of these reasons are fun, this one has been truly life changing. It’s amazing to live in a place where the default is that people are actively engaged in living out their faith, and to have access to earnest, active, flourishing church communities. I have learned and grown SO much by being around the Christians I’ve met since moving here.
2. Biscuits and barbecue. Y’all, the food in the South can’t be beat. Biscuits and (Eastern North Carolina) barbecue are two of my favorite examples, but there’s also fried chicken, pimento cheese, deviled eggs, hushpuppies, red velvet cake… the list goes on, and it’s all finger licking good.
3. Amazing restaurants. The Triangle is overflowing with amazing, innovative restaurants that are constantly striving for excellence. (And I’m not the only one who thinks so: Southern Living named Durham the tastiest town in the South a few years ago!) Between the empires of Ashley Christensen (Poole’s Diner, Chuck’s, Beasley’s, Joule, Fox Liquor Bar, Death & Taxes), Andrea Reusing (Lantern, The Durham), and Matt Kelly (Vin Rouge, Mateo Tapas, Mothers & Sons, Lucky’s Deli), you’ve got more quality spots than most towns can claim.

4. Bluegrass and country. I never listened to either genre before moving South, and now they’re two of my favorites! The Triangle is a great place to listen to bluegrass, especially; I got to see Steve Martin and Edie Brickell play with the Steep Canyon Rangers at Wide-Open Bluegrass a few years ago.
5. Warm ocean. This one’s pretty simple, but worth mentioning: the ocean is C-O-L-D in the north, and W-A-R-M in the South. Makes beach days even more pleasant :)
6. Greenways. The Triangle has miles and miles and miles of greenways, which are perfect for bike riding and evening walks. There’s one in our neighborhood, and we also love the American Tobacco Trail – 22+ miles of trails that wind through three counties.
7. Proximity to mountains. There are plenty of mountains in New England, but they’re all pretty far away from where we lived in Connecticut. Here, we can get to Boone in about two hours and Asheville in four — perfect, since hiking is one of our favorite activities!
8. Weekend trips. The Triangle is a fantastic launching pad for weekend trips! Greenville, Asheville, Charlottesville, Atlanta, Beaufort SC and NC, Charleston, Richmond, Wilmington, and so many more destinations are all options for weekend exploring. (Another one of our favorite activities!)
9. Community events. With three world-class universities, enterprising businesses, and awesome arts organizations in the area, our calendar is stocked with fun and often low-cost activities. Festivals, Durham Bulls games, antique fairs, pop-up shops, outdoor concerts, choral performances, and outdoor movies are a few of my favorites.

10. Duke basketball. Speaking of world-class universities :) John has been a Duke fan since middle school, and it’s a pinch-me kind of thing to live so close to Cameron. Tickets are still hard to come by, but we’ve been to several games since moving here!
11. Swimming holes. I’d never been in an honest-to-goodness swimming hole until I got to NC, but they are delightful — the perfect antidote to blisteringly hot summer days.
12. Warmer winters and springs. I think this is the classic reason to love the South, and definitely the one that most convinces John! We have four solid seasons, but cut out the bitterest cold and the rainiest, most depressing days of “spring” that New England gets in March and April. Instead, we might have a 70 degree day in January, and switch on reliably delightful days in mid-March. John is also very proud of the fact that the sun never goes down before 5pm here.
13. Southern architecture. Creaky farmhouses, gracious front porches, snuggly bungalows, plantation drama… yep, the South sizes up pretty well against New England.
14. Great chains. The mall near my house in Connecticut is sad and the butt of many jokes, so the opportunities that come with living in a more metro area still kind of blow my mind. Pretty much every awesome chain you can think of, including Whole Foods, Anthro, Crate & Barrel, J.Crew, Madewell, West Elm, and Sephora, is an easy drive. And of course, NO list of great Southern brands would be complete without mentioning Chick-fil-a — I could write an entire post about all the reasons I love them!
15. Innovation. (Almost) nothing ever changes in my corner of Connecticut, which is both a blessing and a curse. The opposite is true in the Triangle, where things are always changing, growing, trying, failing, building, and experimenting. Sometimes it can feel like a whirlwind, but it’s also exciting, exhilarating, and inspiring. One of my favorite examples? The American Tobacco Campus, which was transformed from urban blight to one of my favorite spaces in Durham a few years ago.

I’d love to hear: What’s your favorite part about the South? Did any of my reasons particularly resonate with you?

June has been on an impressive number of road trips in her short life. Over the last six months, she’s driven to Charleston (4.5 hours), Atlanta (6 hours), Hilton Head (5 hours), Cashiers (5 hours), White Sulphur Springs (4.5 hours), and Maine (14.5 hours!!). And that’s just the straight driving time — all of those trips were longer with stops! We’ve learned a few things along the way about taking a road trip with a three- to six-month-old, and I’d love to share our tips with you today…

1. Don’t take the scenic route. This one pains me, because seeking out interesting and beautiful routes is in my blood! (It’s one of my Dad’s favorite things.) But, our main strategy for a successful road trip at this age is to have June napping for as much of it as possible. If we time it right, she has been known to take a three and a half hour nap in the car! (Gold, people!!) Stopping or even changing the sound in the car by dramatically slowing our speed is something that will wake her up, so we stick to the most direct highway route for long, uninterrupted stretches of road.
2. Consolidate stops. We try to make sure that when we do stop, we take care of everything: feeding June, feeding ourselves, a stretch break, a bathroom break, and a gas fill-up. That way, we don’t have to risk waking her up an hour into a nap because our tank is running low.
3. Dress her lightly. June tends to get very sweaty in her car seat, even with the AC blasting, so I always make sure she’s wearing her lightest outfit – usually a thin bubble. This helps her stay cool and comfy!

4. Picnic for meals. We learned early on that expecting June to sit in our laps or in a high chair when we stopped for meals was not realistic – all she wanted to do was roll! (And I don’t blame her.) So, instead of eating in a restaurant, we always pack a picnic blanket, get food to go (usually from Chick-fil-a!), and eat outside. Even at side-of-the-highway fast food restaurants there’s almost always a little grass and a tree for shade. So far we’ve been lucky to avoid rain on our travel days, but in the case of rain or cold, I’d probably bring our blanket into the kids’ play area and let her roll around in there while we ate.
5. Ride in the back. When June is awake, we try to have one adult riding in the back with her, to help her stay busy and happy. We can read to her, hand her different toys, sing, make funny faces, etc. And on the subject of toys, we’ve found that while she’s still interested in her usual suspects on a road trip, she particularly seems to like “unusual” toys: popular items in the past have included an empty water bottle, her stroller fan (she loves to have it blow on her face!), and a board book (smacking the cover with her palm kept her occupied for a good 45 minutes on our last trip!).
6. Keep your schedule loose. The only time I was stressed on our drive to Maine was when I thought we were going to arrive in time for a cocktail party but the traffic was making that less and less likely. If at all possible, try not to have a time you NEED to arrive — that way, if you have to make extra stops because someone’s screaming or has a diaper issue or just CANNOT be in the car seat anymore, it’s no big deal. It’s just part of the adventure!

7. Plan a really good destination. This especially applies if you’re on a multi-day road trip. On our recent trip to Maine, we stayed with John’s sisters and brothers-in-law halfway through, and seeing them at the end of a long day of travel was the best! Then, on our way home, we stayed at an AMAZING waterfront Airbnb with a tree swing, soaker tub, and several small water craft :) We ate takeout pizza on the dock while the sun set the night we arrived, and took a family canoe trip in the morning before we got back on the road! We loved having something so fun to look forward to even though we were leaving our “real” vacation.

I know road trips with kids of any age can seem intimidating, so I hope these tips help! If you have tips that work for your littles (or even remember a good tip from when you were little!), I’d love to hear!!

There’s always a bit of nervousness when introducing someone new to the Island, because it’s so very close to my heart and my family’s heart. It’s a different sort of place, and it’s not right for everyone, which makes it all the more rewarding when the guests that do come understand that uniqueness, and love it, too.

Last week I had the joy of making one of the most special Island introductions ever, to my daughter. The week wasn’t perfect — it didn’t have to be. That wasn’t the goal. I just wanted her to love it in her own way, and despite a nasty cold and only being six months old, I think she did :)

Swinging at the playground, riding in the boat, taking walks, meeting family (SO MUCH FAMILY), singing songs, grinning at her big cousin Tegan, taking a million baths to try to loosen the snot (ha!), reading books, rolling around on the grass, getting cuddled by everyone… it was a good week.

The neat thing is that since we usually only go to Maine once a year, our experience with June next year will be quite different! She’ll be walking and talking and eating solid food!

My parents made sure that I got the chance to go to this Island every year of my life, and I hope to do the same for June. I can only hope she gets as much joy, peace, and character formation out of it as I have. I can’t wait for all the adventures in store at our special place :)

Up next: a few tips from our epic road trip!

P.S. Maine 2015 and a little Maine film

I may have mentioned before that John and I have a three-year vacation rotation for our big trip of the year. It goes: Michigan (2013 trip here), domestic (2014 trip, to California, here), and international (2015 trip, to France, here). (Why Michigan? John’s family has a cabin there, so though we don’t make it every year, we try to go regularly!)

According to our rotation we were slated to go to Michigan this year, but we wanted to go with John’s siblings and parents and couldn’t find a date that worked for everyone. So, we’re postponing until 2017. We’re actually going to do both Michigan AND our domestic trip next year, so it will be a big one! On tap for our domestic travels? THE SOUTHWEST!

We are headed to a corner of the country neither of us have ever visited, and we are excited!! Truly, the photos kind of make the southwest look like another planet. And in some ways, it seems just as foreign. We know very little about the area, and there are so many possible things to see and do!

Even though we’ve got a long lead on our trip, we want to get a jump on planning, because many of the sites require permits and/or guides. But like I said, we’re not at all familiar with this area, so here’s where I’d love your help:

— If you’re familiar with Arizona and Utah, what time of year do you think is best to visit? We’re considering the week around Memorial Day, but I’m worried it might be too hot.
— Any must-dos? So far we have the Grand Canyon, Zion (the Narrows!), Antelope Canyon, and Bryce Canyon on the tentative list.
— Any blog posts or Instagram accounts I should check out for inspiration?

Already so excited!! I’d love to hear your advice and recommendations!

All photos via the Department of Interior’s fantastic Instagram account