We can’t get enough of the movie, How to Train Your Dragon. We love that the main dragon character, Toothless, shares so many mannerisms with little Ava.  For Halloween this year we decided to go all-out with movie-themed costumes and dragon decorations all over the yard.  Ava was really excited when trick-or-treaters came to the door, and greeted them in her Toothless costume.

We’ve been hearing amazing things about the fall foliage here in North Carolina, and we’re just starting to see hints of color in Durham.  We thought it would be fun to take a quick, one-night trip to the mountains for some hiking and camping.  We headed to Morrow Mountain.  It’s a state park that’s only about two hours away, and it has several miles of hiking trails, along with fishing, canoeing, and equestrian trails.  Like most state park camping in the state, their campsites are pet-friendly.

The first night that we arrived, we decided to go fishing in the Pee-Dee river.  There were a number of trails that went right along the river, and you can also rent canoes from the park’s boathouse until 5pm.

We didn’t catch anything, but the view was fantastic.

The following day, we wanted to explore some of the extensive hiking trails in the area.  Unlike some of the bigger parks in the area, the trails were very peaceful and solitary.  We only saw one other couple while we were out, and spotted several deer along the trail.

We also drove up to the mountain’s lookout, which was very busy that day.  Although the Piedmont hadn’t quite reached its peak colors yet, it was still a beautiful view.

Before leaving the Outer Banks, we wanted to stop by the sand dunes at Jockey’s Ridge.  This is the birthplace of flight, and is where the Wright Brothers spent many years developing and testing aircraft.

The dunes were small, but it would still be easy to get lost.  Walking around them gives the illusion that you’re in a great desert, although water and cities are actually very near.  It’s a great place for kite flying and hang gliding.

When we first got to North Carolina, everyone was talking about the amazing Outer Banks, which is basically a long strip of little islands that runs down the coast of North Carolina.  We were really excited to visit the ocean because it’s something so distant in Iowa.  We made reservations to go over the 4th of July weekend.  Unfortunately for us, that very weekend a hurricane decided to travel up the coast.

We had made reservations at Frisco Woods Campground in the town of Frisco.  Fortunately, they allow you to move your reservation date a single time without penalty.  We chose to go to Frisco Woods because they are pet-friendly and have air conditioned cabins.  This would allow us to go to the beach or out to dinner without having to worry about Ava.

Reading the reviews online, I was a little concerned about the campground.  It seemed like people loved or hated the place.  We were very pleasantly surprised by the amenities, especially considering that this was a campground in a really popular tourist destination.  The bathrooms were modern and clean, the pool area was also well-maintained.  The cabins were simple and the mattresses were just sheets of foam, but they were clean, well-lit, and air conditioned.  You could rent kayaks and buy forgotten necessities at the campground store.  A restaurant and shipwreck museum were located nearby.

The management there was very helpful.  Our last day at the campsite, a family with five unruly children stayed in the cabin next to us.  Their dog was running off-leash, the kids were teasing Ava, and they were playing swords next to my brand new car at the top of their lungs.  The management was very understanding of the situation and allowed us to move to a different cabin.

The sound-side beach at the campground was a little murky and fishy-smelling.  There was also a row of tent-campers very close to the shore.  We decided it would be more fun to go to the beach along the ocean.  Because it was late in the season, the beaches were pretty quiet, or even empty.  We were lucky to have sunny weather in the 80’s so we could sit out and enjoy ourselves all day long.  Ava didn’t like to go into the surf, so she spent most of her vacation lounging on the beach or sniffing at washed-up crabs.

On the way home, we stopped at a sound-side beach for a few hours.  People there were partaking in all sorts of activities: wind surfing, kite surfing, kayaking, and swimming.  We decided to try our hand at fishing and had a lot of bites with our shrimp bait.  Ava was content to watch us from the beach, but did get into the calmer waters with us to cool off.

The stormy weather we’ve been having has been knocking down lots of branches from our trees.  Ava doesn’t like to play with toys outside, but she LOVES the pears and sticks scattered around the yard.  She was beside herself when she came across this monster find.

Ava used to be quite aloof, and would immediately wander away from us when let outside.  Now, after many months, Ava likes to stick nearby when we’re all outside relaxing.

Ava is enjoying these last warm days of summer and getting in some color before autumn arrives.