3,298 miles, 10 breweries, and 1 Mega Meet - a July '16 Trip Report *New 6/5/17 - Link to new TR!*

[katt789]

That park/treehouse area thing LOOKS AMAZING AND THE FACT THAT IT'S FOR BIG KIDS TOOOOO!!! It always makes me sad when things are all "12 and under...." I mean...sometimes we break those rules but still!!

Love all the beer & burgers! YUM!

 

[elphie101]

What a great report!! I had to click in with the Breweries in the title as beer is my DH's other non-Disney passion as well. Along for the ride!

 

[PrncessA]

Loving it! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[lauralynn0612]

Joining in! What a fun road trip to Disney!

 

[Aimros]

We might have to do an adapted version of your road trip someday... DH never wants to drive (we're in the northeast, driving straight through would be about 20-24 hours)... BUT I'm loving the balance between kid and adult stuff and that museum looks fantastic. I think I could get DH on board! Looking forward to reading about your next stops!

 

[KnK]

What a fun adventure so far. Joining in the fun.

 

[annie170]

The beer drinking babywearers are pretty funny. I've seen that a few times at tailgates.

You can't beat southern hospitality. Everytime I travel to the south, I'm always amazed how nice the people are.

Thanks, Phil. Now you have me craving donuts!

The Museum of Life and Science looked awesome! Definitely the type of place that if you lived in the area, you might get an annual membership.

I love the "future beer drinkers" area! Pretty clever.

 

[cindianne320]

What a fun day- plenty for the kids- and adults- to keep everyone happy!

 

[Dugette]

Then we tried to pack smaller bags per day (or at least stop) rather than by person so we wouldn't need to bring in 5 bags at each stop.

Very smart!

Kids of course slept during the drive so were now wide awake and excited to see Nana and Grandpa so was probably close to 1am by the time we got everyone settled

While there we didn't have any big plans. I wound up working a bit as I had a few calls that just couldn't be done earlier and then Judi had to make a run to the store as she realized she forgot to bring extras of one important clothing item (let's just say they provide her support). I also re-packed the car as we took the dog create out and were leaving one suitcase there. We also moved Peter's car seat to the backseat for the drive as well.

The first time I read this, I was picturing you doing all this stuff at 1am.

We then made dinner which included corn on the cob which Emma apparently went to town on:

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You know you have a young child when your first thought with this photo is, "Ugh, think of all the corn kernels that need to be cleaned out of that couch!"

After about 3 hours we got to our stop, which was the National Air and Space Museum. Well, there are two locations and we were going to stop at the one that is not in downtown DC, the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. As it is part of the Smithsonian, admission was free (just had to pay for parking) so thought even if we only were there for a short amount of time it would be a good stop.

Looks like a great stop!

I also appreciate the guys in the background full-on baby-wearing while drinking their beers:

Nice!

After this we headed out to finally check into our hotel, which was the Durham Marriott City Center. It was a great location and a nice hotel. Only issue we had was there was one place really in or out and that was at the valet drop off - and there was an event getting out and a lot of people were waiting for their car and a lot of them were smoking, so that was annoying to have to like push our way through with our kids - but other than that the hotel was great.

Ironic, considering the place you had just visited.

One thing I liked about this place was how it encourages playing in nature and getting dirty, etc. - but also that it's not just for kids but for parents to enjoy with them as well

This looks like a really fun museum!

 

[jhoannam]

Awesome updates, if only I could convince my husband to go on a roadtrip, but insist on flying if it's more than an 8 hour drive.

 

[ariane37]

Crap, guess I have to stay put in NY if I want to keep storing my kids in our rolling luggage...........

Love the beer drinking babywearers, too! At least there's no chance of them catching a buzz and dropping the kid!

Your trip really does sound like fun so far, for the adults and kids. I envy you that your little ones haven't hit full-on electronics stage yet My boys would have loved that museum years ago and I miss those days.

 

[Aerin75]

Phil, finally getting a chance to catch up. Our tooth fairy leaves dollar coins too!

The Air and Space museum stop was awesome! We did a trip to DC one year and left my husband to wander around the museum while we did a different sightseeing stop. We loved the shuttle, but my kiddo was too little to focus on one thing all day.

Can't wait to finish reading!

 

[Imagineer5]

I was saving a number of episodes of Connecting with Walt for the drive down and put on an episode for this stretch of the drive

I just checked out the iTunes store and found this, will have to download it for if I get any time to listen to it on my upcoming flights! sounds really cool

(We were using WAZE but once we were on the highway, nowhere else to get off and save time)

I use Google maps to do this, is Waze much better?

They had a lot of tables and games and stuff for the kids to play too. Our kids spent some time playing a card game called Exploding Kittens which was pretty funny. I also appreciate the guys in the background full-on baby-wearing while drinking their beers:

Very cool, I think I saw this on FB too. So funny about the baby wearing! whatever works, right!

But here are some pictures from their website to give you an idea of the place. It is traditional BBQ with various styles - but mostly Carolina (though apparently eastern and western Carolina BBQ are a little different) and they had several sauces on the table, all were vinegar based. The food was really good and it was a nice place. Also just really good to catch up with friend! Their kids are a bit more reserved than mine so took them a little while to fully engage but by the end of the evening the kids were all getting along great!

Sounds like a really fun dinner. I always find that by the end of a get together, Aria is getting along so well with other kids - I wish she was less shy so that they could play like that from the beginning!

After dinner they took us to a popular gathering green-space - the American Tobacco Campus. It's been converted to a lot of shops and restaurants and is where they do their "tree lighting" at Christmas time (though it is the Lucky Strikes tower that gets lit, not a tree). It was nice and the kids had fun running around a bit and we got a few pictures in (it did start raining):

This is interesting. I'm surprised they have this still around? ALl the cigarette stuff?

This is just an amazing children's museum with some inside exhibits but a lot outside - here is a map of the outside area, which is where we spent out time:

Wow this place looks amazing, like a destination in and of itself.

Next was a stream area which was Emma's absolute favorite! (and was excuse to clean the dirt off her) and then into the treehouse area which was new and really cool! There is also a train (which we would go on later) that you could see go by

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Love the treehouse!

After that we explored this wind trail where they had different exhibits set up teaching about the wind - including a radio controlled boat area. Then we did the animal trail, but there weren't too many out to see. They we did the dinosaur trail, which was fun - but I think we were getting a bit tired by that point.

So super cool

They also had a kids area (or "future beer drinkers" as they called it) that the kids spent time in while we waited for our food and a sign that I agree with

That's hilarious

had cinnamon syrup and spicy whip cream for a bit of a Mexican chocolate flavor

This look and sounds amazing

 

[TheMaxRebo]

That park/treehouse area thing LOOKS AMAZING AND THE FACT THAT IT'S FOR BIG KIDS TOOOOO!!! It always makes me sad when things are all "12 and under...." I mean...sometimes we break those rules but still!!

Love all the beer & burgers! YUM!

yeah, totally get what you mean about not being able to (supposed to) climb on things for kids. This was definitely an area that they wanted adults in there too

Can't go wrong with a good beer and burger!

What a great report!! I had to click in with the Breweries in the title as beer is my DH's other non-Disney passion as well. Along for the ride!

Thanks for joining! I think I would get along with your husband!

Loving it! Can't wait to hear more!

thank you! Hope to get more up soon

Joining in! What a fun road trip to Disney!

It did turn out to be pretty fun - still long, but fun!

We might have to do an adapted version of your road trip someday... DH never wants to drive (we're in the northeast, driving straight through would be about 20-24 hours)... BUT I'm loving the balance between kid and adult stuff and that museum looks fantastic. I think I could get DH on board! Looking forward to reading about your next stops!

We drove down more or less straight once before ... well, twice really but once was when we in college and went with a big group so a little bit different situation. We just stopped one night for a quick rest - but didn't really do anything there other than sleep. I liked this way a lot more and in some ways wish we had even more time to explore while traveling but it does make for a longer time away and 2+ weeks was already quite a bit for me to be away from work - more than I have done in a while!

What a fun adventure so far. Joining in the fun.

Thanks for joining!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

The beer drinking babywearers are pretty funny. I've seen that a few times at tailgates.

You can't beat southern hospitality. Everytime I travel to the south, I'm always amazed how nice the people are.

Thanks, Phil. Now you have me craving donuts!

The Museum of Life and Science looked awesome! Definitely the type of place that if you lived in the area, you might get an annual membership.

I love the "future beer drinkers" area! Pretty clever.

I've seen that before and also seen a lot of babies at breweries in general, just struck me how specific that was of two guys just chattin', drinking a cold one and both happen to have a baby on

I actually find people in the NE to be friendly too - it's just a different way and in much more of a hurry ... definitely different down in the South as people just took more time with each other and stuff.

Hey, no problem! And feel free to blame me if you do get a donut

If we lived close we definitely would get a membership to that museum, it was really cool. And that one girl you saw helping with the butterfly release they said actually volunteers there to help which I thought was neat

My kids definitely fit that description ... well, if it was up to Peter he would be a current beer drinker

What a fun day- plenty for the kids- and adults- to keep everyone happy!

That was the goal - to find stuff that both the parents and kids enjoyed. I think we were more successful on the way down than the way up but we did find a few things for them. I think the last stop I did hear "ugh, another brewery?!?!?" from Olivia - but as that was literally the last stop before we heard that I think we did ok

Very smart!

The first time I read this, I was picturing you doing all this stuff at 1am.

You know you have a young child when your first thought with this photo is, "Ugh, think of all the corn kernels that need to be cleaned out of that couch!"

The individual outfit bags was Judi's idea and it worked out for the most part - I think we needed slightly bigger bags, at least for my clothes though, but all in all, especially for the drives, it worked out pretty well

No, definitely not all at 1am - mostly done the next day/afternoon. And I got lucky and got the car packed just as it was starting to rain bad.

Well, the plus and minus of stopping at the in-laws is they definitely don't keep their house spotless so that wasn't a huge deal

Looks like a great stop!

Nice!

Ironic, considering the place you had just visited.

This looks like a really fun museum!

The Air and Space Museum was really cool and glad we made the stop. Plus with being free we didn't feel like we had to see everything

That was one thing I didn't like about Durham - how everything seemed to focus around the tobacco industry (which is understandable given their history). And maybe that just made me be noticeable about it or that it is just really hard to smoke in public in the NY area but it felt like there were more smokers there as well.

The Life and Science Museum was great! I had high hopes and it was definitely met - we had a great time

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Awesome updates, if only I could convince my husband to go on a roadtrip, but insist on flying if it's more than an 8 hour drive.

Normally we would have driven the distance but after the (not so much) fun of flying with 3 car seats and in the interest of saving a bit (the flights themselves aren't too bad but then adding on a rental car and parking or a rid to the airport, etc.) it seemed worth a try - and also and excuse for me to take a bit longer than usual off from work which was nice

Crap, guess I have to stay put in NY if I want to keep storing my kids in our rolling luggage...........

Love the beer drinking babywearers, too! At least there's no chance of them catching a buzz and dropping the kid!

Your trip really does sound like fun so far, for the adults and kids. I envy you that your little ones haven't hit full-on electronics stage yet My boys would have loved that museum years ago and I miss those days.

And that was only the second best sign like that I saw on the trip

Well, I guess as long as they don't get so drunk that they just fall forward and squish the baby .. but yeah, definitely helps keep an eye on the kid too ... I probably should have worn Emma (and Peter) more often

My kids do enjoy their electronics a bit and would stay on them all the time if they could ... I think they are good at doing the best with what they can though so they adapted ... I am sure it will get harder as they get older though as we do have some fits thrown when we take away the kindles, etc.

Phil, finally getting a chance to catch up. Our tooth fairy leaves dollar coins too!

The Air and Space museum stop was awesome! We did a trip to DC one year and left my husband to wander around the museum while we did a different sightseeing stop. We loved the shuttle, but my kiddo was too little to focus on one thing all day.

Can't wait to finish reading!

Nice! It seems like the way to go and at least at her current age she doesn't really get the value of $5 vs $1 do the golden coin seems more special to her

We definitely could have spent more time in the air and space museum and am glad we got to what we did. I could see my kids getting a little bored as well - though I think they would have liked to have more time to do more of the stations where they explained things to you and had little activities for them

I just checked out the iTunes store and found this, will have to download it for if I get any time to listen to it on my upcoming flights! sounds really cool

I use Google maps to do this, is Waze much better?

Connecting with Walt is amazing if you like to hear about the history of Walt and it ultimately leads up to the building of Walt Disney World ... so more that journey than about him building up the studios, etc. That is the part I love the best so was right up my alley.

We like Waze as it seems to handle traffic better and points out cops and hazards on the road. Plus you can add info when you see hazards and you get "points" so there is a gaming element to it as well

Very cool, I think I saw this on FB too. So funny about the baby wearing! whatever works, right!

Sounds like a really fun dinner. I always find that by the end of a get together, Aria is getting along so well with other kids - I wish she was less shy so that they could play like that from the beginning!

This is interesting. I'm surprised they have this still around? ALl the cigarette stuff?

Not sure if it is just the demographic (so like late twenties/early thirties so getting out of the real chugging/college days but still young that you want to go out but maybe not to dance clubs) but breweries seem to really attract people with babies

Yeah, I guess it is from Judi but I am definitely an introvert so my kids being outgoing throws me off at times and I want to reign them in some - but it helps them make friends and they had a good time

I guess it is just the history and how the city was basically built around the tobacco industry but coming from the northeast where it is hard to smoke in public places and just is being downplayed it really stood out to me

Wow this place looks amazing, like a destination in and of itself.

Love the treehouse!

So super cool

That's hilarious

This look and sounds amazing

The Life & Science museum was great! So many things to see and we didn't even do any of the inside exhibits. Just nice to have something where the kids are learning some but also active as well

The ice cream was all really good and just felt like vacation to be out and having ice cream and enjoying being together

 

[missangelalexis]

Sorry about the traffic you hit. Sounds like the brewery was a nice stop! And also sounds like a nice dinner catching up with friends! I'm sure it was a relief to finally check-in to your hotel though.

Monuts looks like a nice breakfast spot!

What a fun time at the Museum of Life & Science! Love the family selfie on the train And the butterly release sounds like a cool experience.

Sounds like a great end to your day. You guys really fit a lot into this day!

 

[PrincessCooper's Mom]

Boston terrier's are the best!!!

 

[ashleymrush]

Hey there! Joining in. After seeing your PTR, I knew that you'd be posting soon. I'm glad that I caught it early enough.

My DH and I are big brewery fans as well. I'm looking forward to hearing more about the stops that you made. Love the guys with the babies strapped on. I've seen a couple like that in the breweries here too.

Speaking of "here," I live in Concord, NC about 2 hours from Durham. I had no idea that the Life and Science Museum even existed. My best friend from high school/college lives in Raleigh so we'll have to plan a trip next time we go up. My two boys would LOVE it there. They are 7 and 4 now so they are at a perfect age to really enjoy it, I think. Can you share the cost of the museum, was it free? I always love free!

Can't wait to read what else you have in store for us!

 

[Leshaface]

Eeek so so cute and I really want one for our Pug to have a playmate. Unfortunately, Dan wants a big dog next

Judi made these neat Lego travel cases that had lego bases glued to them and then a variety of pieces for each kid that made for a good activity.

Good call, Judi!

which was the National Air and Space Museum

Such a fun museum. Those planes are just incredible!

We had posted an update on Facebook from the museum and about 20 minutes later we got a message from a DIS friend that they live only 5 minutes from the museum ... wish we had known that earlier! Then later in the day Judi's younger sister messaged us that she was at her fiance's place which was only 10 minutes from the museum ... again, wish we had known that earlier! .... so much for all that heavy planning I did for the trip!

Aw man, missing out on family and a potential DIS meet sucks!

I was saving a number of episodes of Connecting with Walt for the drive down and put on an episode for this stretch of the drive ... really love this series and recommend it to anyone looking for more history of Walt Disney World. Especially shines light on the role that Roy played - beyond just as the money guy.

Cool thanks for the rec.!

We were using WAZE

I've been hearing a lot about this lately. What is the difference between this and like Google maps?

YUM!

I also appreciate the guys in the background full-on baby-wearing while drinking their beers:

Museum of Life & Science

Oh my gosh, I want to play there!

the young girl you see in the first gif is a volunteer there - pretty neat thing to do!

No kidding? This is such a great idea for older kids to understand what 'working' is like but still having fun.