Hello, hello!
We had the best day ever at the water park yesterday. I seriously LOVE water parks. You’re never too old to act like a kid every once in awhile, as far as I’m concerned :)
We went to Wet ‘n Wild in Greensboro, NC — about an hour away from Chapel Hill. It’s apparently the biggest water park in NC and it was awesome! There were a TON of different slides to choose from. Ever since I was little I’ve always loved roller coasters and water slides — the scarier, the better! My favorites are the kind with super steep drops ;) I wish I’d gotten some photos, but I didn’t want to destroy my camera in the water!
Matt and I packed a cooler full of lunch stuff for the park:
- Sandwiches
- Baby carrots
- Kiwis & apples
- Honest Tea for me, Vitamin Water for him
We left the cooler in the car while we were in the park (you can’t bring food inside).
We didn’t have any good sandwich stuff on hand so we picked a couple up from the co-op grocery store near us on the water. I got this vegan chicken salad sandwich, just because it sounded interesting. It was tasty!
We ate half our sandwiches and an apple before going into the park (we arrived just before noon), and afternoon snacks included a hot dog and Dippin’ Dots :) We had planned on coming back out to the car to eat the rest of the food at some point in the afternoon, but our friends didn’t bring any food so we decided we’d rather not leave the park and just eat the rest on the way home instead! I’m a big believer in being healthy meaning that you don’t ALWAYS have to be healthy — it’s important to remember to just roll with it sometimes. Plus, Dippin’ Dots are kind of my favorite thing ever ;)
They actually ended up closing the park at 3:30 due to looming thunderstorms, which meant we got a “rain check” free day pass to come back another day! It was pretty awesome considering we had already done all the slides at least once (most more than that) by that point and probably wouldn’t have stayed much longer anyway! Total win. Water park, we will be back!
Dinner was veggie-tastic — Matt made us a variation of Pad Thai with noodles, a spicy peanut-y sauce, chicken, green beans, squash, onions, peppers, and zucchini.
Delish! Enjoyed outside on our porch — water for me, beer for Matt :)
Dessert was some amazingly juicy cantaloupe:
Isn’t summer cantaloupe the best? SO refreshing.
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In between the water park and dinner I spent some time relaxing and finished reading my friend Tina’s book!
I really enjoyed her book — entitled Carrots ‘n’ Cake, just like her blog. If you haven’t read it already, please pick up a copy! It’s very much like her blog — read-able, down to earth, and filled with great tips for living a balanced lifestyle. Tina is great about eating healthy food while still allowing indulgences, and her book explains how she stays healthy amidst happy hours, cocktail parties, travel, and other tempting situations. She also shares previous struggles with food and how she has learned to better manage her tendencies to binge eat and over-do it, particularly when sweets and alcohol are involved. I also love that the book is peppered with recipes and some of her favorite workouts, both strength and running-related. I can’t wait to try some of them out!
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Time to get back to the grind — this weekend went by way too quickly, didn’t it?! I just had a great 4-ish mile run with my friend Lauren, and now have class all day followed by a meeting. Have a great day, friends!
p.s. Don’t forget to send me your “perch” photos! I’m putting together a fun post with all of them :)
I cannot wait until our work has a free day at our water park. Free and water slides? What’s not to like?!
Whoa that is AWESOME! Have fun!
Ah, great to see that Wet n’ Wild is worthwhile!! We’ve been toying around with going there for the day in the near future, but didn’t know anyone who had been!! Sounds like it’ll be worth the trip from the Triangle.
Definitely! :)
I love Wet ‘n’ Wild! I get rain check passes almost every time I go. Love when that happens :-) Glad you had fun!
Sounds like such a fun day :)
2 things I love, but not together: dippin dots, and yuengling!
Ahhh…Wet ‘n Wild! Ours is called Hurricane Harbor now, but I’ve been thinking about going back lately. You may have just inspired me to do so…LOL.
We have a Wet n Wild in Houston (I used to live there). That was THE place to go in the summer!
I can’t tell you the last time I was at a Water Park! How fun that you guys went! Love the Pad Thai for dinner – I need to make that again soon!
:)
Hi! I love your blog. It’s so fun and accessible and has helped to inspire me to work out more. I’m going to be starting my MPH at UNC (HBHE) in the fall and I can’t wait! Chapel Hill is awesome and I can’t wait to live there. I have a totally unrelated question: where do you get your hair cut? Your hair looks similiar to mine and I need to find a place to get a haircut when I move down. Thanks!
Aw, thanks Aubrey! :) We’ll have to meet up when you get here. I actually still get my hair cut up in DC whenever I’m up there – I can’t bring myself to leave my lady there! My hair is really hard to cut with the wave/fluffy factor, and she does a great job :) I get my hair highlighted down here at the Aveda Training Institute though – super cheap and awesome.
Yay! This totally sounds like the perfect Anne weekend!
Whoa! So jealous of your lunch bag!
I am constantly cramming so much into my little Built bag from The Container Store…one of these days the zipper is going to split!
vegan chicken salad. me = confused.
and btw, i definitely want to go with you guys next time you go to the water park…
Haha it’s basically “soy protein” instead of chicken… whatever that is. It was a very similar texture weirdly.
And you should totally come next time! Rain checks rule.
I totally agree with you Anne about your never to old to act like a kid now and then. My kids are always asking me “mama, when are you going to grow up” and I always say ” if it means acting old like you guys, then never”. I enjoy taking the kids to Water World. I don’t swim but I am not afraid to wade out with the little ones.
Your veggie-tastic dinner and Matt’s beer looks great.
What a beautiful site! I’ve heard that C & C had a book out – great accomplishment. Not sure if I would get it though, most reviewers have mentioned it reads a lot like her blog. But I’m a fan of anyone who follows their dreams to write! Lord knows I wish it.
I clicked over from ELR re: your comment on the cleanse. I am SO happy you said that! If I ever said that, I’d be pounced on so quickly. I’m sick of reading about people thinking they need to cleanse – although I don’t really get that impression from ELR’s experience – so I’m talking about a bunch of other blogs really. Especially because cleanses can actually do more harm. People are always thinking they need to eliminate something in their diet or foods are bad (even healthy ones!). What they don’t get that is really – they just need to eat. Food. And not make a big deal of it. Usually it’s a case of eating too much of certain foods. When you re-adjust it works better. Plus, cleansing can actually eliminate the good bacteria in your gut if your continuously doing it – so obviously people are still going to have digestive “issues” and complain when not on one!
Okay -off my soapbox ;)
…and I love the purple. :)
Thanks for stopping by! :) Glad to hear you agree – I think her post was really good about disclaimers and everything, but I just wanted to make sure I got in my 2 cents since she has a lot of readers!
I totally love what you said about being healthy but rolling with life. It is so true! Getting all caught up in what you’ll eat when you’re out for a great day at a water park would take away from the fun! You have such a good, healthy attitude. :)
I can’t wait to read Tina’s book, thanks for the great review!