Live your adventure.

A friend and I decided that this year was going to be a different year. We resolved to make the most of it and really make up for where we thought our 2016s were lacking. A little #ExploreMore2017 resolution to get us going.

Something thing I hadn’t done yet living in North Carolina was walk the 5.5 mile route down the Cape Fear River Trail. I’d done pieces before but my dogs were tired and rather than overdo it for them, we kept it incomplete. But now we’re a full month into 2017, and my status has changed. I’ve walked the full trail and back, and then some.

We started out on the trails at Clark Park then just decided: why not? So with sore quads, aching feet (the result of being unprepared for the distance and choosing the wrong shoes), a dog, and a friend, 10.14 miles of Cape Fear River Trail is checked off my NC bucket list.

 

  

In light of the #ExploreMore2017 resolution, I also compiled a list of places I plan to travel to through this year—cities, mountains, parks, lakes, coastlines—mostly in NC and mostly within a 4.5 hour drive from my home.

Bucket list:

• Wilmington
• Winston-Salem
• Boone
• New Bern
• Bryson City
• South Mountain state park
• Eno River state park
• William B Umstead state park
• Sugarloaf Trail, Carolina state beach
• Ocracoke Island
• Blowing Rock
• Sliding Rock
• Reed Gold Mine
• Linville Falls
• Mount Mitchell
• Chimney Rock
• Jordan Lake
• Waccamaw Lake
• Shenandoah National Park
• Devil’s Tramping Ground, Bennett
• Land of Oz theme park
• Stone Mountain state park
• Topsail Beach
• Kure Beach
• Corolla Beach
• Bald Head Island
• Oak Island
• Jockey’s Ridge
• Grandfather Mountain
• Morrow Mountain state park
• Badin Lake
• Croatan National Forest
• Edisto Beach state park
• Table Rock state park
• Lynches River county park
• Sesquicentennial state park
• Paris Mountain state park
• Jones Gap state park
• Poinsett state park

Have you been to any of these places or know anyone who has? Would you recommend any? Is there anything not on my list that should be? Let me know! I’m always looking for more places to go to next.