WEEKEND PLANS Looking to hang with the fam or take your partner out for a night on the town? Maybe you just want to grab lunch or catch a concert with friends. Whatever your mood, these suggestions are tried and true: Photography by John Michael Simpson
Spring
Create lasting memories with a trip to the historic Pullen Park in Raleigh, which just happens to be the first public park in the state, the fifth-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. (and the 16th oldest in the world!). The kiddos will adore its rides, which include a carousel, train, pedal boats and kiddie boats. It’s best to check the schedule for the rides online first, because not all are always in operation. But the playgrounds are always a sure bet, with swings, slides, seesaws, sand diggers, shady spots and a dedicated preschool playground. Once your kids have worked up an appetite, order some snacks and sandwiches from the Pullen Café before strolling along the park’s walking trails and bridges – then
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Isla Bowman, 3, and Alayna Bowman, 7, savor their FRESH. Local Ice Cream scoops of strawberry and vanilla, respectively, in waffle cones outside the Glenwood Avenue shop.
head back to the attractions for more fun! Let your children play to their heart’s content, but leave room for ice cream – stop by FRESH. Local Ice Cream (with locations in downtown Apex and Cary and on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh), which sources its ingredients fresh every week from local dairy farms – don’t sleep on the milkshakes! The abundance that comes with springtime in the Piedmont is unparalleled. Enjoy the bounty that it brings by visiting Spring Haven Farm in Chapel Hill to visit with their baby goats! Pet, feed and snuggle all its animals, including its goats, Lola the pig, Ragnar the horse, the highland cows, Annie the donkey and all the chickens. Kids can ride the tractor train, color pictures in the barn and sit by the fire. Arrive early and make a day of it (once on the farm, you can stay as long as you like till it closes at 6 p.m.). Afterward, head into Hillsborough and pick up your own farm-fresh products from Weaver Street Market to make dinner at home, or grab some excellent wood-fired pizza from Radius Pizzeria & Pub. Speaking of farms, the Triangle’s got some of the best U-pick spots around! In Pittsboro alone, check out Chatham Oaks Farm and Phillips Farms of Chatham for U-pick strawberries (Chatham Oaks also has a veggie farm stand, while Phillips Farms also has pumpkins, hay and Christmas trees in the fall); Busy Bee Farm and Wild Abandon Farm for blueberries and blackberries; and In Good Heart Farm and Howard’s Farm & Mema’s Fruit Shack for blueberries. Visitors to Mema’s Shack can also purchase a variety of produce, including peaches, corn, tomatoes and cucumbers, and satisfy their sweet tooth