Thursday, November 25, 2010

Bladen County, North Carolina

On October 10, which happened to be 10/10/10, George and I headed to Bladen County, North Carolina, to "see that we could see." We headed toward White Lake, a popular destination in Bladen County, and this blueberry farm was one of the first things we came upon. I thought this sign was charming!



I had never been to White Lake before, though I've heard of it for years. It was fun to finally arrive!






Once we got close to the lake itself, we were intrigued, and thought we'd come upon a road race!






It turns out that the event was something called the American Triple-T, which was a three-day event of running, biking, and swimming. George had the great idea to park when we spotted the Finish Line, and to walk around and see what we found. It was fun to cheer for the athletes crossing the finish line after completing this amazing feat!



While we were near the finish line area, we walked around and took some pictures of the actual White Lake. As you can see, it's a very pretty lake! It has a sandy white bottom (hence, the name) and is fed by underground springs.






Here's another pretty picture of White Lake. Some of the triathlon athletes stepped of the walkway and bank on the far right of this picture and cooled themselves (and especially their legs) off in the lake. George wished he had brought his bathing suit along so he could've joined them. (He would have, too. George is a polar bear, for sure.)




Next, we headed toward Kelly, North Carolina, so that we could cross the Cape Fear River using the inland cable ferry, Elwell Ferry. The Wikipedia link for the Elwell Ferry tells some interesting history about Click here for a good shot 0f the ferry without a car on it.




Here's a picture of the ferry ride from inside my car!

After we left Kelly, George and I visited Elizabethtown, the county seat of Bladen County. We enjoyed Sunday lunch at a local spot after walking around downtown for a bit. It was a fun day trip!

The rest of my pictures from Bladen County are here.



Thursday, November 4, 2010

Chad and Brad's 100-County Countdown

Here's a shoutout for my running friend Brad, and a challenge he and Chad have taken on that sounds like so much fun! They're RUNNING in every county in North Carolina! What a fun idea--I wish I'd thought of it! :D They're ahead of me in the county count, and they've written some fun race reports! Check it out at Chad and Brad's 100-County Countdown.

Meanwhile, I have SEVEN county posts to write and share here! It's been a busy, but fun and interesting couple of months! I'll be back soon with some pictures and posts.