Keep Calm and Soldier On

Sunday morning started out like any other. A kitchen clean-up, coffee, breakfast and milling around. We had the back door cracked and Andrew had re-filled the bird feeder, so we sat looking out at the hints of green grass and chirping birds, as a cool breeze rushed through the house.

“I can’t stay inside today. Let’s go somewhere. The beach. The Biltmore. Something closer. And let’s bring the dogs,” I said.

Andrew had been sitting at the kitchen table and started Googling.

“Okay. We’re going to Uwharrie National Forest,” he said.

We left the house 30 minutes later, the VUE filled to the brim with eager people and puppies.

We stopped for an early lunch in Pinehurst at the only thing open at 11 o’clock on a Sunday morning (thanks, The South)- Li’l Dino’s Deli, a deli with a drive through, which I’ve decided is genius, whose sandwich offerings were a generous 8 inches or 16 inches. Andrew chose the Li’l Dino, all the way (does anyone know what all the way means??), and I had the meatball hero. Both were awesome! I suspect Li’l Dino himself is a North Carolina transplant by way of New York, because there was real Italian meats and real Italian sauce. If you ever find yourself passing through Pinehurst, NC (perhaps for a US Open), pay my pal Li’l Dino a visit and try the sweet tea! You won’t regret it.

What we though would be an hour and a half drive ended up being closer to two and a half hours, by the time we got to the Robins Branch Road Trailhead. That was fine by us, since we had the windows rolled down the whole time, soaking up all 70 of the degrees this first day of March had to offer.

We started off for our trail, Andrew with his backpack of water and snacks (that I insisted on), me with Madeline on my back in the Becco and the dogs, just happy to be out of the car and off-leash. Less than half a mile into the woods, we came the start of our hike- Hannah’s Creek Trail.

This trail was perfect for us- about three miles out and back, not too steep (just a few rolling hills), soft ground and gorgeous scenery- a dome of trees overhead for much of the trail, ferns (apparently this trail gets called Fern Gully), huge boulders and a creek perfect for the dogs to cool down in. We passed a few other hikers, young and old, lots of dogs and even a few riders on horseback, but for the most part we found ourselves alone on the trail with no one in sight. It was intimate and relaxing- exactly what we needed after a busy week.

When we made it back to the car, we pulled off our shoes and socks, wiggled our toes and rolled the windows back down for the lovely drive home to Fort Bragg. As a treat, we even stopped at McDonalds for dipped and un-dipped ice cream cones!

If all Sundays could be like yesterday- good weather, good food, hiking in nature with the ones I love and ice cream- I could never complain.