Some of you may recall that one of Shep’s Christmas gifts last year was a train ride adventure. We like to make one of our kids’ gifts each Christmas or birthday an experiential one, and for our train-loving three-year-old, we thought a local Amtrak jaunt would be a win! It was, for the whole family. I thought I’d share a few photos, if you’d like to try something similar… We caught the 10:12 train out of Cary, our local station. I bought our round-trip tickets at the counter a few minutes before – $36 for the five of us. The train ride to Durham was about 20 minutes – just enough time to enjoy the racing landscape outside the windows, call out familiar landmarks, and fiddle with the tray tables and foot rests, ha. Though we did bring the stroller for Annie – John easily hefted it into the racks overhead – we packed light otherwise. The kids carried their water bottles, and I packed a pouch, a diaper, a little baggie of wipes, and my ID and credit card in my crossbody. Aside from John’s wallet, that’s all we took! This was helpful, because we were on foot from there. We walked the 10 minutes or so from the station to Durham’s Central Park – a delight, because as you can see from the blue sky, it was an absolutely gorgeous day! 75 and breezy. Though the kids spent a few minutes on the playground, the highlight was exploring the stream running through the park (they were not the only ones – it’s designed for kid exploration!). I stole away for a few minutes to browse the farmer’s market stalls. The Durham Farmer’s Market is rightfully famous here, and it had been awhile since we visited! The beautiful block-printed

Our family has a lot of traditions, but one that I look forward to most is camping with our friends the Rays. Camping scratches all of my itches: unhurried time with friends, space for deep conversation, natural beauty, fresh air, yummy food, no technological distractions, and adventure. If any of those speaks to your soul, I’d encourage you to give camping a try, kids or no kids!! I know the thought of camping as a family can be overwhelming, but truly, you can do it! I hope these photos help convince you :) Most are by the talented Nancy Ray, with a few from my phone camera! What a cutie!!! This was our fifth year in a row camping together, so we surprised the Rays with matching custom tees from Zazzle! This year, we chose Stone Mountain State Park in North Carolina as our destination. It was great! There was less shade than at other campgrounds we’ve visited, so we opted to borrow a pop-up canopy from our neighbor, which was so helpful. BFFs :) We did two separate hikes at the park on Saturday – one to a waterfall and one to an overlook – and the girls fell asleep in their packs on both! And now for the question you’re all wondering: did the girls sleep? The answer: YES! They both slept through the night both nights, hallelujah! If you’re interested in camping but not sure where to start, stay tuned! Later this week I’m sharing the master packing list we use every time. And check out these past posts: Camping with babies (lots of tips for family camping!) Our first camping trip Our last camping trip before babies A few of our favorite camping supplies My perspective shift on camping