It’s been really great to have my mom here with me these past few days. I am very thankful that she made the trip up to spend time with me and Finn and for her presence. It’s been a comfort.
We have enjoyed some adventures since she’s bene here, both in Charlotte and in Asheville. I’ll fill you in on our time in Charlotte in this post and our quick trip to Asheville in the next post.
Carolina Raptor Center
Friday afternoon was feeling a little long so my mom googled things to do in Charlotte and came up with the Carolina Raptor Center. Since we are both huge animal lovers, and I’d never been there before, it sounded like the perfect thing to check out.
The Carolina Raptor Center is located in the Huntersville area at Latta Nature Preserve. Their medical center treats around 1,000 birds every year and releases almost 70% of them back into the wild. They also have a nature trail that is 0.75 miles long where they house the birds that are permanent residents of the center. Obviously, they do a ton of work with local youth and their education programs reach over 27,000 students each year.
On the day of our visit there was only one other family on the trail so it made for a very peaceful and serene experience. We loved reading about all of the different birds and saw everything from eagles to hawks to vultures to owls and more.
It was Finn’s first educational outing! 🙂
SATURDAY STUFF
My friend Heather was in town for work and wanted to meet Finn so we visited new to me coffee shop Basal for coffee and conversation. It was great catching up with her. Heather is an amazing travel agent so if you need any assistance planning your next trip, she’s your girl!
Later that day I took my mom to a halotherapy session at The Salt Pad. The owner kindly invited me back with a friend after I shared about my first experience on Instagram a couple of weeks ago. It was so nice of him to invite me back and I knew I had to bring my mom along to try it!
We stopped by Cupcrazed after our session where I had a funfetti cake pop and picked up some cupcakes for later.
I snuck in a quick run in the rain later that evening.
And then cooked us a delicious dinner of skillet balsamic peach pork chops with feta and basil. I was grateful for some hands-on help with Finn so that I could cook this dinner.
The evening ended on the couch. Finn was seriously eying my cupcake, huh?
Next post will be all about our quick trip to Asheville. I’ll have that up first thing Tuesday morning.
What a sweet weekend with your Mama and Finn!! The Raptor Center sounds incredible and I’m looking forward to hearing about Asheville since I’ve never been 🙂
LOE that your momma is here! Nothing better!! Your family seems so supportive!! Love that for you, especially during this time. Is Finn ever with his dad? Do you just leave that off the blog? I pray he does, to some extent, get some time with him for their bonding, and to give you a much deserved break! Gosh!
Too bad you can’t read Finn’s mind. He wants to grab that cupcake really bad. Lol. So glad that you get to spend time with your Mom too. Even when your older, it’s still great to spend as much time as you can with your parents. I know, I’m speaking from experience! Your very fortunate to have your grandmother still in your life too. Finn and you have a great day!
Haha, sometimes I totally wish I could read Finn’s mind. And RE: family…I’ve found that the older I get and the more life experience I get behind me, the more important family becomes.
I’m so glad that your mom was able to come visit, and that you have such a supportive family overall! Nothing better than your mom when you’re feeling down. Also, that pork chop meal looks absolutely delicious.
Thanks Rachel, I am so grateful she was able to spend this time with us.