A Walk In The Park

Sunday did not go as planned for me. After two weeks of rain and Saturday being stuck inside all day cleaning while my husband worked. I was ready to get out. I wanted to get away.

I skipped church Sunday because I thought we were going to go somewhere. My husband had the day off and it was beautiful outside. I told him how I would love to go to a big camper show in Hickory. 

Well it did not happen. We sat around here til noon and I was getting upset. He did not feel like going to the camper show after he learned it was an inside event and would be a crowd of people. He suggested we go a few miles down the road to a little town called Cramerton and go for a walk at Goat Island Park. This was not on my agenda but the day was wasting away. 

Goat Island Park has a mile long greenway down the Carolina Thread Trail along with a park, Frisbee Golf, Kayaking, fishing and more. 

Before our walk we stopped by an Ice Cream coffee shop called Floyd and Blackies and got some ice cream. 

I got an Affogato. This is where they pour a shot of espresso over a scoop of ice cream. I chose some sugar free butter pecan. Nick grabbed an ice coffee. Both were delicious. 

During our walk we saw lots of turtles sun bathing on logs. 

While crossing over the “muddy” South Fork river, we could see kayakers relaxing in the sun.

As we continued off the trail a bit, we come to a dead end where there was nice pier. We stood and watched some kids having fun on a rope swing. 

The boys would swing out and drop in the water while the girls giggled from the sidelines. 

It turned out to be a nice day. When we got home we cooked some salmon steaks for dinner and spent the rest of the evening resting before having to start the week over on Monday. 

A Walk Down South End

My daughter was on a one week furlough with her job due to Covid-19. They are making each employee take one week off without pay. This was a scary moment for her but she took it as a little vacation and tried to enjoy it the best she could. She spent time around her pool, and took some shopping trips. 

One day during her furlough week, we went to visit her for lunch. It was a beautiful day so we took a walk around South End Charlotte. We walked the Light rail trail. This is a sidewalk that runs along each side of the light rail and it goes from one end of town to the other. There are many restaurants and shops along the trail. You will also see a lot of people jogging or walking their dogs. 

We love walking to places when we visit. We all decided to walk to a nearby place called Eight and Sand Kitchen for lunch. The menu consist of soups, salads and sandwiches. Everything is made fresh and the atmosphere is clean and relaxing. 

This place offers more healthy options so we thought it would be a great place to stop in. We each ordered a sandwich. I chose the Pistachio Pesto Caprese.

 

My daughter got some kind of chicken sandwich and my husband opt for the club sandwich. Everything was delicious. 

After lunch we walk about a mile to a little ice cream shop called Jeni’s Ice Cream. It’s a pretty popular place around the area. They have a variety of unique flavors. 

Just look at all those different flavor combinations! 

I got a half and half single scoop. My flavors of choice was goat cheese red cherries and caramel pecan sticky buns. 

They scooped it into a fresh made buttercrisp waffle cone that was still warm when they handed it to me. I had to eat my ice cream pretty quick. 

It is alway nice to get out and walk to places without having to fight traffic or find parking spaces. 

Though times are bad right now, we felt safe as everyone we passed was nice and respectful to others. 

No mask required. 

Out For Ice Cream

Sunday, I wanted some ice cream. My husband suggested Sweet Frogs yogurt shop that we often visit. They had some specials going on if I had an account loaded on the phone app. After several attempts, I could not get the app to work. I was so frustrated. That's when my husband suggested we ride down to Cramerton to a little creamery we have only heard about. I was on board in a jiffy.

Cramerton is a small town where I attended middle school at the base of a small mountain. I have not been through there in years. 

We arrived at the small creamery and coffee house called Floyd and Blackies. Walking in was so inviting as there was no crowd and the atmosphere was set for comfort of a cozy coffee house. We made our ice cream choice as we stood in line. They carried my favorite brand, Hershey's Ice Cream, with several different flavors to choose from. 

I would have loved to try them all but choices are not something I'm good with so I went with my typical favorite of Salted Caramel Truffle. Nick had Raspberry Roadrunner. One scoop in a waffle cone hit the spot. 

We decided to go for a walk around the little town while we slurped the melting ice cream from the rim of our cones. The temperature was soaring in the upper 90’s.

Out back was a place to picnic by the muddy river. There was canoe rentals for the brave ones. 

Looking over the trees I saw a foot bridge and suggested we go a little further to see where it lead us. It was a nice little half mile walk to a park called Goat Island Park. A place I have always heard of but never knew where it was. 

Well, we just so happened to accidentally enter into it. There were sand boxes, a play ground and picnic areas for families. Throughout the park was a disk golf course. 

Our ice cream was gone by now and we headed back to the car then rode around more to find some new eating places to try in the future. It was a nice little afternoon outing.