A Grandparent is a Little Bit Parent, a Little Bit Teacher, and a Little Bit Best Friend

Author of quote unknown

Our third and last stop on our road trip to Virginia and North Carolina was my dad's house. My dad lives about an hour north of Charlotte in a small town that is somewhat rural. It is about a 7 hour drive from our house and this is the second time we've been down there since we moved to Maryland. He has also been to visit us several times. It is nice having family kind of close, even if it is two states away.

We spent time relaxing, just hanging out, and watching movies but we spent one day at this really cool local park called Dan Nicholas Park . Everything at the park is very affordable and there are more activities than you can fit into one day. It was especially hot and humid that day but we spent at least 5 hours there.

Here are some of the highlights:

We got to pan for gemstones. You bought an $8 ticket that gave you 1 bucket of gemstones, 1 carousel ride, and 1 train ride, sweet! The bucket was full of sand and you had to pan for gemstones and pull them out. After you are done you can bring what you find inside and they will tell you what gemstones you found.

My kids loved this! It was definitely the highlight of their day and we would do it again!

They had several of these painted peek-a-boo cutouts for pictures, this was near the petting zoo and nature preserve.

A Carousel ride is always fun!

This is what my 10 year old does when he is waiting for his sisters to finish lunch, play on toddler toys and pretend he is being "held up".

We also got to try the paddle boats on the lake. Every time I do these I remember how much work it is.

You could also feed the ducks. These baby ducks were too cute for me not to snap a shot.

They also had three of the best playgrounds I had ever seen. One with more climbing stuff, one more traditional, and one for toddlers.

Overall we had a great time, both at the park and visiting my dad and his wife.