azalea gardens

The WRAL Azalea Gardens are one of my favorite hidden spots in Raleigh. Simon and I wandered around there one morning when the azaleas were at their peak and it was beautiful. I followed Simon around while he chased bees and attempted to do somersaults in the path.

The news helicopter landed on the roof and then took off again while we were there. Simon loved watching it. 

 This mile-high wisteria we spotted on the way home was so pretty.

spring in Old Salem

I took the kids to Winston-Salem for a quick day trip back in April. We walked around Old Salem and saw lots of beautiful trees and flowers blooming. We watched the puppet show there and then headed to the children's museum for the afternoon.

I had read somewhere that Winston-Salem had the only remaining shell-shaped gas station (this was built in the 1930s) and we found it!

Tulips at Duke Gardens

Possibly my favorite thing this spring was an early morning visit to Duke Gardens when the tulips were in full bloom. I left early with Simon while Ben got the older kids off to school. It had rained the night before so the flowers were covered with rain drops and the colors were rich and saturated. We also had the place to ourselves which made it even more beautiful and peaceful. Simon was patient while I snapped a million pictures with my iphone. There were so many flowers and trees in bloom everywhere we looked.

 This was the peak of the pine pollen.