Introduction
One of the things I love most about Sydney is how active she is. As a former collegiate cross country runner, a day rarely passes where Sydney isn’t partaking in some form of vigorous exercise. That being said, a lifetime of intense running can take a bit of a toll on one’s body, so some days Sydney opts to skip the run and instead we go for a walk around our beautiful city of Raleigh, North Carolina. Wednesday was one such evening. As I was wrapping up work for the day, Sydney emphatically burst into my office and declared that we should, “Get outside and enjoy this beautiful fall weather.” I grumbled a bit, as I had not yet disconnected from the stresses of my workday and I knew I still needed to revisit some tasks later in the evening, but Sydney would hear none of it. “It’ll be a short little walk, but you need to get up and stretch your legs!” I begrudgingly assented and out the door we went.
Pullen Park
Now, this little bout of exposition serves a purpose, and that purpose is to help you understand the following: when Sydney says a “short little walk,” that doesn’t necessarily mean a casual saunter around the neighborhood. A few brisk miles later, to our pleasant surprise, we found ourselves approaching the entrance of Pullen Park, “the first public park in North Carolina, the 5th oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. and 16th oldest in the world.” (Credit: https://raleighnc.gov/parks/pullen-park) Pullen Park features a miniature train, kiddie and paddle boats (seasonal availability), swings, an old-timey carousel, tennis courts, a baseball and softball field, and even its own theatre! Although we were just passing through on our evening walk, I strongly recommend a stop by Pullen Park to anyone visiting Raleigh looking for a fun, family-friendly afternoon. Check out the short clip below for a few of the shots taken as we strolled through. A special shoutout to the Grass Lion standing guard over the park and all the youngsters playing there.
Food, Drink, and Home
After touring Pullen Park, we decided to snag a slice at Trophy Brewing Co. to reward ourselves for a bit of activity. As the name suggests, Trophy started as a brewery, and the draft list alone is worth the visit. However, the specialty pizzas are really exceptional. I certainly appreciate the creativity they put into building interesting, unique flavor combinations that I just haven’t come across anywhere else. I had a small “Local Celebrity,” a beer-bbq-based pizza sporting a delicious smoked brisket, and Sydney landed on “The Indoor Kid,” a fun take on the classic pairing of spinach and mushrooms.
After finishing what we could and packing up our leftovers, we completed our return trek in the now-darkness. The days are growing ever shorter here in North Carolina as fall marches on, and the evenings have a bit of a nip that wasn’t present just a few short weeks ago. We picked up the pace to keep warm and scurried back to the embrace of home, returning from our “short little walk” about 3.5 hours later. My thanks to Sydney for always providing the spark to have an adventure, even on an otherwise mundane Wednesday.