Today is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I have some Irish in me so this day is definitely a chance to celebrate my Grammy's heritage. My Gram and Pop got to go back to Ireland for their 35th wedding anniversary a long time ago. After having the opportunity to listen to Gram's stories as well as see pictures of her homeland, my dream has been to go visit. I want to kiss the blarney stone and frolic in the lush green landscape. And in honor of the holiday:
An Old Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Charlotte actually had a bunch of festivities last weekend for the holiday. We made our way to the Whitewater Center for their Green River Revival festival. There was a color me green 5k trail run [which a few of our friends ran] but I opted to go to the yoga class that was offered at the same time. Long story but a trail run here screwed up my ankle before so I stick to road running and races now!
Yoga outside was amazing. The location is beautiful. It's almost like you are in a tree house. The perfect spot to have a good practice in. The Whitewater Center will be offering yoga classes every Saturday morning at 9:30 from now on. Then once River Jam starts up in May on Thursdays there will be a yoga class in the evenings for River Jam [stay tuned! I can't wait to go check these events out this summer!]
After our fun fitness events we all met up around the river for some drinks and conversation! The USNWC had bands lined up to play all day. We stuck around for them to dye the river GREEN! It was so cool to see the water completely change colors, almost like slow motion flowing along with the water because they started the dye at the levy.
The day we went was right before the snow in Charlotte so it was actually freezing out. There were even a few flurries during my yoga class! The USNWC is definitely a nice weather day activity but there is so much to do there besides white water rafting. Kudos to those people kayaking and rafting last weekend.
I can't wait to come back here and check out more of the events and outdoor activities this place has to offer. Having this place near Charlotte makes my outdoor mountain loving heart so happy.
US National Whitewater Center Details:
Location: along the catawba river [past the airport]
Budget: depends - they host free events like these festivals and yoga classes but parking is $5. you can buy a season parking pass for $40 if you plan to come often. There are free things to do like hiking and enjoying the scenery. But if you want to rent gear, rock climb, zipline, raft, kayak, buy beer, etc the prices vary. Along with parking you can get a season pass to have access to everything for $200 dollars. Or just coming for the day and want to do it all? A day pass is $60. For me the parking pass and taking advantage of the free events / hiking all year long is worth it as well as budget friendly!
Time: all the time you want - there are restaurants here or you can pack a cooler and leave it in your car so you can literally hang out here all day to explore all there is around the complex without ever getting bored.
Recommendations: Yoga, hiking, enjoy a beer on the lawn listen to some tunes and watch the kayakers! These are my favorite things.
What is your favorite way to celebrate St. Patty's Day?
No comments:
Post a Comment