We Love Durham NC

Logolicious

The girl said of the Locopops logo... “They’re eating themselves!” I wonder what flavor they prefer.

Northgate, the Kid Fun Destination

Here is a list of kid-friendly stuff we found at Northgate today: the carousel, bouncy castle (starting tonight), train ride, outdoor ground sprinklers, pretzels, tike-sized tables in the food court, the dollar store, family restrooms (one with a nursing chair), a nice row of nursing-suitable comfy chairs at the upstairs Sears bathrooms, coin-operated rides, marble slab ice cream, fun car-shaped buggies for rent, the little shoppers club, punching balls, a nice long hallway with an incline to run down (disclaimer: I don’t think you’re supposed to run), comic books, trains table at Hungates, the movie theater. I could go on, and we could really spend hours upon hours there.

Of note, Tiger Direct is moving into the old Old Navy spot near Sears (a man I know just said yippee!), and Hungate’s is opening a separate Toy and Game store. Also, under the Cutest category were fuzzy Elmo lunchboxes (new preschooler anyone?) and black and white patent leather “Count” pocketbooks at the Hallmark.

Asian Market

Last week we triangulated our way to the Asian Market on the 15-501 service road, hidden back behind the Mayflower seafood restaurant, seeking lo mein. 50-odd kinds of noodles, but no lo mein. Not a loss, however: Scored some organic zucchini-like vegetables, bok choy, a bag of noodles, and a big bag of pot stickers (they have veggie, pork, beef, chicken, and combos). They also have squids, seaweed, spices, lots of cookies and candies, and a large Chinese-language video collection. Also found some “happy mix”–a savory snack mix in cute shapes–and at home discovered it was horseradish flavor. I ate a handful, and suddenly the back of my nose exploded with puffs of fire…hot stuff! It was such an interesting experience, I couldn’t stop. The next morning, I discovered the “salty” part of my taste buds no longer worked, and it took a good 3 days to get them back. Fun!

D Sea Dragon

Guess where we found the Northgate Mall sea dragon last week? Hint: that’s a “castle” in the background.

Yowza!

That lightning strike was in our backyard.

Habitrail Fun

The new owners of Wheels have really spiffied up the joint. There is fresh paint, there are bright new staff t-shirts, things are rearranged so as to highlight the Party Zone, and that little area in the climbing room that used to be a sad blocked-off home for squished ball pit balls is now a jumpy-castle style trampoline. The girl made it to the tippy-top today!

Turtle Pond, with Bullfrog

At the far end of Duke Gardens, opposite of the duck pond, is a much smaller pond with green water plants, turtles and their spring green babies, and a bullfrog or two. The longer you sit quietly, the more little dark green heads poke up out of the water to look at you.

Friendly Downtown

Standing in the CCB Plaza today eating my horchata locopop, a van slowed to a stop and the driver said something out the window. I figured she was asking for directions, but she instead wanted to tell me that if I was walking around and wanted something fun for the kids, that there is a turtle in Central Park. Durham folks are so friendly!

Gazpacho

The gazpacho at Grayson’s cafe at the Science Museum took the edge off today’s midday heat. Very cool, very tomato-pepper chunky, very fresh.

It’s the heat and the humidity

On our evening walk, we witnessed trees erupting in spontaneous rainshowers that never reached the ground. Yeah, it’s a steambath out there.

Festival for the Eno 2007

Headed out to the Eno today for the Festival. First stop, EEK (Environmental Education for Kids) in the Children’s Area. The Boy played with the crayfish/crawdads while the girl got her face painted (butterfly). Held a salamander. Played a ball catch game. Crafted a mask at the Common Ground Theater table. Blew bubbles. Saw Peeto the clown, very low-key and very funny. Flea circus. Lemonade and cotton candy and icees. Misting tent where the boy’s hair got frosted with water droplets. Sand sculpting. Meltdown at toilet row, right before the girl collapsed into a sweaty nap. But the boy wasn’t done, and headed over to throw a pot at the Claymaker’s tent where we also saw lots of familiar faces. One more drink and then back on the Southern line bus for the ride back to County Stadium to get the car. Exhausted! But fun memories.

Independence Day Parade in Central Park

On the 4th of July, the Scrap Exchange was on hand with lots of goodies to decorate our scooters. The Boy decorated his with sparkly silver things, and the Girl and I chose red, white, and blue scraps of parachute material for hers. We saw Benjamin Franklin (of Plumbing and forefather fame). After waiting a little extra time for the large crowd of kiddos to have a turn decorating, we set off on a parade from the Farmer’s Market, past the Scrap Exchange, into Central Park, past the turtle, over the bridge, and back to the Farmer’s Market for popsicles and a cooling spray from the fire truck–the Boy got soaked. Can’t wait for next year!