Summer Trip to Hickory

When the kids are all grown up and think back to the summers of their childhood, my hope is that they will think of Hickory. They will remember our road trips there each summer. They will remember Tweetsie, Kool Park, ice cream, movies, and fun grandparents who loved spending time with them. 

It's something we all look forward to each summer, and this year, our trip was scheduled around my parents' travel schedule. They headed to Norway and Barbados! We were excited for them, and equally excited for them to come home so we could come see them. 

When I asked Addie what was on her summer bucket list, guess what her number one wish was? To go to Hickory to walk the dogs! I told her to aim a little higher, but that we could definitely do that. :) So we made that wish happen right away, and the dogs were good little participants. Even Sawyer got in on the dog-walking action...

All cleaned up and hanging out on Mimi's lovely deck...a favorite way to spend a summer night.

My husband and my sister had never experienced Kool Park before, and I was excited to see their reaction. I knew it was going to come as a real shock to the Raleigh boy! But he shocked me by joining his daughter by entering the pool for the first time via the 15' high dive! Here is Collins being brave...

I couldn't believe Brian whipped out this jump first thing! Addie was screaming for him so loudly from the other end of the pool. :)

Sawyer loved Kool Park. He had fun climbing all over the rocks and into the little tidal pools, and before the day was over, he was swimming and going down the water slide. And his Mama went too. :)

Everyone was being brave that day. Luke jumped off the 5' rock wall (which doesn't look scary from this angle but was felt high when you were doing it)...

Addie went off the high dive...

and so did her Mimi!! I bet Mimi was the only Grandmother that went off the high dive that day- I was proud of her. 

We really maxed out Kool Park that day. Everyone loved it and went home thoroughly tired, hungry, and happy. Luckily, our lunch included one of these...the official drink of my teenage years! When Shells BBQ closed down, it was a sad day for Hickory because I thought the Cherry Vanilla Sundrop Slush died with it. Little did I know that Charlie Granger's (a new hot dog joint in town) serves an exact replica. I got us a large load of hot dogs, BBQ sandwiches and slushies, and we pigged out on Mom's deck. The perfect way to end our Kool Park day. 

Okay, I feel super dumb because I had no idea that Hickory had an Aviation Museum and a super cool one at that! Look at these planes parked out behind the airport terminal...there were 17 cool old naval planes. The boys were in heaven. Unfortunately, the actual heavens opened up right as we were touring them, so we had to take cover under the wing of the plane and then make a run for it inside. Luke wanted more time with the planes but had to settle for a Blue Angel toy plane. I'm sure they will go back the next time we go to Hickory. Especially since they are planning to build an expansion/new hanger for the planes.

Our night ended with a tasty dinner, a competitive game of Rumikub, a dance party, and a compiled list of dance songs we need to hear at Natalie and Hannah's wedding. :)

We had the most fun day on Sunday with Poppy and Nana starting with Breakfast at Wimbledon! Poppy cooked for us, and we watched a tense tennis final. Then we headed over to the "best jump park ever" where Addie entertained us with her Wipeout Ball dancing and Luke overcame his fear of big kids jumping on him. Sawyer was thoroughly entertained by the foam balls. :)

After a yummy lunch downtown, we headed to the Catawba Science Center which was just so cute. I used to love this place when I was little, so it was fun for me to see it now as an adult. The kids loved the aquarium, the energy exhibit, and the exploring around.

After our full day, all we wanted to do was go back to Poppy's and Nana's to relax. We ended up getting cozy and watching an afternoon movie. The perfect way to end our fun day.

On Monday we headed up the mountain and straight into a cloud which dropped us at Tweetsie Railroad!

In normal Tweetsie style, we rode each ride multiple times with no lines at all. It's pretty cool to step on the fastest Ferris Wheel on the East Coast when it's just you and your daughter as the only participants and you just spin and spin and spin. :) Addie tried to figure out the fastest Tilt-a-Whirl without luck, Luke learned to drive the race cars, Sawyer was mesmerized by the Mouse Train, and Collins admitted that the Free Fall ride was "terrifying". It was all a huge success until Luke got scared to board the Tweetsie train at the end and Sawyer had to be carried out of the park after the most epic of meltdowns. :) But these things happen with little boys, and we won't soon forget our five hours of mountain amusement park fun!

We got to have dinner with Baba which I always treasure, and she found out that the kids had never been to Cracker Barrel before. So she said, "Well do you want to go for breakfast tomorrow?" Well, that was a definite yes, and the kids walked away thrilled with their mini syrup bottles.

After a fun park playdate with Poppy, it was finally time to hit the road. Collins had developed some skin issues while we were in Hickory, and we had to head to the doctor to get it checked out. We missed out on a Carolina Theatre show and Udderly Ridiculous outing on this trip to Hickory, but we will do those next time. We had the best time on our Summer Hickory Trip! I will always be grateful for this time spent together and the fun memories we made.