Now That's a Water Park

August 03, 2015 by Erica McCarthy

Huntersville, North Carolina

After our slumber part at Kristin and Travis’s house just outside of Charlotte, Travis gave us the tip to stop by the White Water Center on our way out of town. Having grown up in small towns with water parks filled with color tubes to slide town, wave pools that should not be legal and urine for water…our expectations were low.

We rolled up to the most spectacular water park we’ve ever set eyes on. The park, originally made for Olympic Training, had the exact opposite of what we expected and was dog friendly! Complete with a beer garden, there was no shortage of activities to do: white water rafting, kayaking, rock climbing, ropes courses, and mountain biking were just a few of the highlights.

The water park was the perfect stop for a 98 degree day, but what made North Carolina worthwhile was hanging out Erica’s close friends Ashley Bourn and Kristin Fields. Kristin and her husband made us all an incredible BBQ meal complete with homemade sauce and moscow mules. Their daughter, Brooklyn, is also amazing and has the perfect name.

Spotted: The Peachoid Watertower in Gaffney, SC
Creepiest Roadside Shop: Bedtime Stores, an Adult Store

Our First Time

August 03, 2015 by Erica McCarthy

Front Royal, Virginia

I had grand dreams of our first time…camping on our road trip that is. It also happened to be our first day on the road and we were a bit overzealous with the pavement we were planning to cover. Our goal was to make it from Rhode Island to Shenandoah National Park before the sunset, a quick 9 HOUR drive. Tim said if he had learned one thing on his previous road trip in Australia, it was that you should never set up camp and cook in the dark. Ready, set, drive!

We rolled into Virginia at 8:15 as the sun was setting, found out the National Park was full and had very little cell phone service. Tim’s words of wisdom quickly changed to, everything looks the same once it gets dark….and he was right. He found us a camp site down the road, with the perfect name, Gooney Creek. We set up camp with the last few minutes of daylight, cooked chicken and rice by headlamp and enjoyed a glass of wine from Sonoma Valley. Here’s to our no plan game plan!

Cheapest Gas: $2.19 (somewhere in Virginia)

Find Your Center of Gravity

August 02, 2015 by Erica McCarthy

Narragansett, Rhode Island

On our second day at the beach, we met Joe Depitrio, a sculptor and "rock balancer". For years, the McCarthy’s have seen Joe’s work–rocks balancing on their tip toes–wondering who was peppering the rocky beaches with these awe inspiring acts defying gravity. The mystery was finally solved and worth the wait.

We introduced ourselves to Joe and asked him a few questions. In return, he offered up his words of wisdom. We asked him how he started his balancing act and he told us like all good things, in an effort to impress a woman. He didn’t get the girl but he’s been balancing stones around the world ever since. We questioned his method and asked what’s the trick? He responded with the trick to life is finding your center of gravity with a solid foundation and once you do that anything is possible. He continued to explain that rocks have been around for millions of years and have been taken for granted. That they are beautiful and unique, just like people.

At the end of the day, he rode off on his motorcycle shaped like a horse and tipped his cowboy hat. Little did he know we’d spend the rest of the night talking about him. His words are so applicable to the beginning of our new chapter as we set off for the west coast. We spent the past few weeks strengthening the foundation of relationships with friends and family and are using this road trip to take a step back and find our balance. It also confirmed the fact that some of our best memories on this trip are going to be those conversations that happen by just saying hello and the things we find by stopping on the side of the road.

While Joe was definitely a highlight, we had a great few days in Narragansett with the McCarthy's eating as much seafood as we could find, soaking up the rays and clocking as much family time as possible. If you are heading to the area, we highly recommend grabbing a picnic table at Iggy’s Doughboys and Chowder House and eating just about anything on the menu. We also stopped by the Cliff Walk in Newport to take our final view of the Atlantic Ocean and gawk at mansions we'll never own. It was worth the drive and the cliff walking.

Bridges Crossed: 3
Tunnels Driven Through: 2