EnergyExplorium

Today we took a family trip to the south end of Lake Norman, near Huntersville, where the Duke Power EnergyExplorium is located at the McGuire Nuclear Station. Lake Norman is a man-made lake built by Duke Energy in 1963. There are three power plants located on the lake--nuclear, hydroelectric, and coal.

McGuire Nuclear Power Station

Cowan's Ford Dam and Hydroelectric Plant

We learned all about how nuclear and hydroelectric energy is made and how it is transmitted to our homes. Since this is a Duke Power museum, and it is free, we learned how amazing Duke is, how well they protect the environment, and how safe everything is. In truth, I was impressed to learn that the control room operators of the nuclear plants spend one out of every five weeks in training.

Our family favorites in this museum were the generation station,


the treadmill generator (which powers up a TV),



and the plasma globe (where Carter got a nasty shock from Jonah).


It only takes an hour to go through this museum, but we had some good learning experiences in there. The kids really grasped how electricity is metered on our home and we have to pay for the lights we have on and the games we play. When we came home, Courtney ran around unplugging and turning things off. They also gave us some great workbooks to take home for each kid. Thankfully, they included an answer key workbook because I have no idea what the answers are to some of those questions.

If you do visit, make sure to plan some other activities in the area to do as well. There is a butterfly garden next to the museum as well as a 1 mile nature trail.


There are also some nice parks on the lake, and of course, there's always geocaching to be done! We took a quick side trip to this monument to General William Lee Davidson, a hero of the American Revolution. He was killed in a spot nearby that is now under water, thanks to the damming of the river to make the lake. It was for him that both Davidson County and Davidson College are named.

Climbing a Lighthouse

Each year, my family stays at a beach house in Buxton, North Carolina. Normally, I am content to just play at the beach.. digging, lounging, reading, surfing and swimming. This year, our family wanted to do some side trips too, so we decided to climb the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse which is only about one mile from where we stay. At the lighthouse, they have a rule: no carrying kids (even in a backpack), so my baby and my husband went on their own adventure to find the local airstrip. Fortunately, Sydney (my 4 year old) met the height requirement by a few millimeters and was able to come along too.



Drew (age 7) got to lead the way, and I walked right behind Sydney in case she slipped, which never happened. Since this is the tallest lighthouse in North America, there were A LOT of stairs. There were landings every few floors (where there were windows) and we could take a rest when necessary. Sydney and Drew were eager to get to the top, and it probably only took us around 10 minutes.


We made it! It was a windy and overcast day... the Atlantic Ocean is behind us but the nice woman who took this shot covered it with the railing.


Drew and Sydney comment how "the people look like little ants". It really is higher than it looks from the ground.


On the way back down. Note how thick the lighthouse walls are behind Drew.

After the climb, we went exploring in the bushes near the lighthouse. Climbing the lighthouse was a great little activity. It cost $6 per person I think, and you don't need to pay to get into the park. Since the house that we rented is only about 1 mile south of it, it was nice to look at the beacon from the light and know that we made it to the top.

Reed Gold Mine

Today our Carolina adventures took us to Reed Gold Mine, about a 1/2 hour from home. I only recently learned that the first documented gold discovery in the United States happened here in 1799. Little Conrad Reed was playing down by the Little Meadow Creek one day and brought home a 17 pound shiny rock.


His parents thought it was nice and used it as a doorstop. Three years later, John Reed took the rock to a jeweler, who gave John his asking price of $3.50--a week's worth of farm wages to John. The rock was then sold for $3,600 (or $200,000 today). Of course, John was annoyed, but he began searching his land for gold. For awhile he pulled it out of the ground like potatoes. Eventually, they went underground and the area was mined for 80 years. At the height of the Carolina Gold Rush, there were 300-600 mines in operation throughout the state.

We first walked through the museum and then took a guided tour of a renovated section of the underground mine. Our tour guide was very good and the kids had a great time. One thing that I found amazing is that John Reed didn't think mining for gold was an ethical way to earn a living, so farming was still his first priority! Of course, he died a wealthy man.


We were about 50 feet underground through the tour and it was a nice 62 degrees down there. This is looking up the shaft:


And this is us standing on the top of the same site:


The whole thing is free, except it is $2 to pan for gold.


We found two small flecks as well as a very random piece of tin foil from the 1930s.


We spent a little over two hours there, but you could spend more or less depending on what you want to do. We didn't watch the video or take the tour of the mill house where they would grind the quartz to get to the gold inside. There are also some trails to walk around and we did see the foundation and chimney of the room that pumped the water out of the mines. The Reed Gold Mine is in the middle of nowhere, but there are picnic benches on site.

This is a great place to take out-of-town visitors. I knew it was a success as we were leaving and my kids asked me when we are going back!

James K. Polk Memorial

Both Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk were born within a half an hour of where we live. Both ended up in Tennessee. Both ended up in the White House. Andrew Jackson was known as "Old Hickory" and James K. Polk, who was a big supporter of Jackson, was known as "Young Hickory."


The James K. Polk Memorial is located right behind the Carolina Place Mall in Pineville, North Carolina. It consists of a relocated family graveyard (I-485 was going to end up right on top of it), a visitors center/museum, some period buildings, and a dodgy memorial to Polk from the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Pros:

• It's free.
• It's conveniently located.
• You get an actual tour guide on the grounds.
• It's quick. You only need an hour.
  

Cons:

• Pretty much nothing there is original to the Polks. The family moved when James was 11 and no one thought to preserve the site until the early 1900s.
  
• The museum is pretty skimpy on the artifacts. I learned a lot about slaves in Mecklenburg county, but not as much about the man and his presidency as I would have liked.
  
• And that memorial from the DAR circa 1904...

Deer Valley Music Festival

New Summer Adventure #3

First just let me get something off of my chest. It was my long-held hope that the Utah Symphony performance we would be going to up there would be in mid-August featuring Elvis Costello. It was embarrassingly hard for me to let go of this when it became clear it couldn't happen. I have not really thought of Elvis Costello since my high school days; in fact, I can only put my finger on one or two songs anymore. To hear what a concert with him and a symphony would be like? I couldn't wait to see for myself! Long story short, I shed my tears as I let go of this mini-dream, that in days past would have been an easy and exciting get-away. Now I have a family, a growing family, and other people's needs and plans to consider. And that's OK.

Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture performance was an excellent plan B. It worked out perfectly to combine this concert with our overnight stay in Park City. Since we got a package deal of concert + lodging, it didn't make sense to leave our 3-month-old with a sitter 30 minutes away. I was a little anxious about bringing a baby to the concert. And the signals were mixed about whether it was allowed. Over the phone I was told it was fine, online it looked like it wasn't...? Being an outdoor venue, I wasn't overly stressed about it. I crossed my fingers and figured that if they were stinkers about it, we would go find something else to do. I understand WHY they have policies like that and I am ultra aware when I take my baby out; there are others looking for (and paying for) some cultural refinement as well.

I'm making this too long. We checked in, Peter asked about the tickets, they told us they were at will call. Five minutes before the performance, we arrived (which was a Park City traffic miracle with the arts festival also going on). At will call they did not have our tickets. We called the hotel. Oh! They have them! And they will bring them right up! (grrrr...) It was fun to feel so "on time" for a minute though. :o)

The good news is that I printed out some 1812 Overture history from Wikipedia and crammed it in the diaper bag, so we had something to read while we waited and listened to what we were missing. A half hour later we called the hotel again to see when we could expect them. To my surprise, the phone was answered by the same guy I had spoken to earlier who had just brought them up! He hadn't even looked for us in the box office area, just took them to the window. At one point I took a picture of Peter and Sean on a bench, and it was probably then, when my back was turned that he dropped them off.

In we went. We had general admission lawn seats so we were way up on the hillside. The amphitheatre setting, you're basically at the bottom of the main ski lift, with the mountains all over, is really impressive. Having the rows and rows of condo units looking over us took away from it a little bit, I thought. Surely if I owned one of those condos I would feel differently. :o)

It was a perfectly lovely evening, just the three of us and our big levi blanket. Most of the show was this harpist, and though we couldn't really see, I think her harp is painted blue. Some of her stuff was really great, she electrified her harp for part of it and really rocked out, some was a little weird. We were surprised that she actually DID finish her performance with a bizarre love song about the garbage man. I so rarely go to professional performances of any kind, though, so I was relaxed and enjoying myself. She shared with us her "congratulations" birthday song that was still in my head the next morning. Smart for a performer to have one of those, so they don't have to pay the late MJ any royalties for the traditional "Happy Birthday."

During intermission we got some hot chocolates and a pretzel, all for under ten dollars. I almost bought their huge chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich, I should have. Now that I'm thinking of that again, maybe I'll just make my own tonight. I make them smaller, so I can have three. :o)

The cool thing I had heard about the 1812 at Deer Valley is the cannons that they actually fire off at the end. It was grand and LOUD. Thankfully, we were completely on the opposite side of where they were, and they didn't scare Sean. He was a very good boy and I only had to stand up and walk him around once during the coarse of the night. The overture was about 20 minutes long. I think everything was done just before 10:00, and then we learned why people parked so far away and walked up the parking lot. We parked as close as we could to the entrance and it took us almost 30 minutes to get out onto the main roads.

Were I to go again, I think I would choose a concert with more symphony, because that was the part I enjoyed most. I would also bring in some goodies. You can bring any food in, people were hauling coolers. We saw everything from KFC to watermelons.

Landsford Canal State Park

The kids and I decided to head to South Carolina today to visit Landsford Canal State Park. I like this park because it is a good mix of nature and history.


There are two trails in the park--one that follows the Catawba river and one that follows the now-defunct canal. Both trails are easy to walk on, and I was able to use my stroller without too much trouble. We saw remains of the stone dam that led into the canal as well as the guardlock and a footbridge. There are more structures on site, including a mill site and lockkeeper's house, but we didn't get that far south on our hike. The kids enjoyed learning how the canal worked, and I was able to make it personal since one of our great-grandfathers was a lockkeeper in Yorkshire.

remains of stone dam behind the kids

My oldest standing on the guardlock

kids on the stone support for the old footbridge

There are some nice benches and picnic tables where we stopped to snack, a kid's play area, and the restrooms were clean. The park rangers were very friendly and visible, so even though we only spotted a few other visitors, I felt very safe alone with the kids.


The ford is also a place of historical significance as both American and British troops crossed the river here under Cornwallis and Sumter during the American Revolution.


There is a pair of resident bald eagles and we were able to spot their nest. The kids noticed some white feathers around the park that they are certain came from the eagles.


There is ample shade and it is cool walking along the rushing river, even on a 90 degree day like today. We'll definitely go back next May when the spider lilies are in bloom. The large white flowers bloom on the rocky shoals of the river and are apparently quite the sight.

Landsford Canal State Park is located in Catawba, South Carolina, about 45 minutes from my house. It costs $2 for adults aged 16 and up and kids are free. We spent about 2 1/2 hours there in total and had a great time! It's definitely worth the trip.

Museum of the Waxhaws & Andrew Jackson Memorial

Any time I head south to Waxhaw, I always see the signs for the Museum of the Waxhaws and Andrew Jackson Memorial and I figured it was high time to stop in and take a look since it is within half an hour of our house. I will admit, I had very low expectations. But really, this museum is a gem and I would recommend it to anyone.

The Museum of the Waxhaws is privately owned and set back a little ways just off of Hwy 75, about a 1/2 mile outside of downtown Waxhaw. The museum is small, but very well done. There is a 15 minute video that gives a nice overview of the history of the town, starting with the Waxhaw Indian tribe. The museum has a nice collection of ancient arrowheads and explains that the Indians of the area were largely destroyed by tribal warfare and smallpox about the time the colonists came south and settled the area. There is an exhibit about the Scots-Irish settlers, their faith and their farming.


Then there is a large exhibit about Andrew Jackson who was born locally (although there is a big debate about whether or not it was on the South Carolina side or the North Carolina side). He was a messenger boy in the American Revolution, and battles were fought close by.


Of course, the Civil War was also featured in the museum and I got a kick out of explaining the Confederate flag to my kids. (I can't believe we've lived here 3 years and I haven't had to do that yet!)

There is currently an exhibit about the history of schools in the area, and Jonah enjoyed trying on the dunce hat.


There is a living history farm on the property and we were able to tour houses built in the early 1800s that have been relocated there and are currently being restored.


There is an easy trail through the woods that leads to an old graveyard and also apparently an Indian settlement, although we didn't really know what we were supposed to be looking for.


The museum is only open Friday, Saturday and Sundays, and costs $5 for adults and $2 for kids 6-12. Kids 5 and under are free. It's worth every penny and is a great way to support the preservation of local history.