Saturday, February 25, 2017

Christmas in Raleigh

Post covers Dec 23, 2016 to Jan 3, 2017.

After all the trials of making it to Raleigh, we were relieved to settle in to the Raleigh Oaks RV Resort. The staff was helpful as we checked in and the spot we got was towards the front but traffic noise on the county road in front of the park wasn't an issue. There is a train nearby but for us it wasn't close enough to be a noise issue. The only loud noise we experienced the whole time there was from a couple of Air Force cargo planes that must have been doing a low approach (made Alan recall some of his Air Force time). The park is a mix of permanent residents and travelers. All of the residents kept their spaces nice and tidy and there was none of the trashy look that some parks allow permanent residents to have. There are two fenced in dog areas and plenty of room to walk the babies. We had no issues with anyone else's dogs as everyone was respectful and kept their babies leashed when not in the dog areas. We were surprised to find that the resort had a small workout room with a couple of ellipticals, treadmills, stationary bikes and some free weights. We took advantage of this as Alan started working on some more back rehab. Also a nice laundry room and while we didn't use them, the showers / bathrooms looked nice and clean. There was also a nice looking pool, small mini-golf area and pickle ball court.

The resort is about 40 minutes from downtown Raleigh but was only about 20 minutes to our daughter and son-in-law's home. We looked at some other parks as we drove around the area and decided we made the right choice of where to stay especially to be close to family. When back in the area in the future we will probably stay here again. We had great Verizon and AT&T signals, the wifi was slow most of the time and we used our hotspot most of the time.
Yes, this big house is the office!



While in Raleigh, we not only got to spend a lot of time with Ally and Justin (daughter and son-in-law) and have Christmas with them, we also got to visit with Alan's nephew and wife. They had moved to the Raleigh area about a year ago so it was great to get so see them several times while in the area. We learned they are craft beer connoisseurs and went to a couple of fun breweries with them, our favorite being Deep River Brewing Company.


Raleigh is definitely a growing area and traffic is an issue depending on which way you are going at certain times of the day but got it figured out and other than trying to go to a mall right after Christmas managed to avoid most of the traffic.

The babies got to visit with their weenie cousin Copper while there. Copper grew up with our babies so they are all great friends and always remember each other every-time they see each other.
Prada & Copper sharing the couch
We spent Christmas eve and day at Ally and Justin's house with Kim & Ally having fun baking and such. Ally had just come back from basic training so was ready for real food and sleep! Christmas was a nice time with way too much food and presents for all.

The week after Christmas we took one day to drive to Wilmington and visit the beach. It was a gorgeous day, nice warm and sunny. We got in a good beach walk and Vinnie got to ride around the beach.Vinnie is starting to be able to support a little bit of his weight with his back legs but can't stand up by himself or walk without having a sling to support him. We knew this would be a long process but seeing that he is still happy and not in pain, we are glad that we didn't put him through surgery again.

The rest of the day in Wilmington we looked through some shops and had a nice lunch before heading back.

The rest of the time in Raleigh was visiting with both Ally & Justin and Chris & Jessica (Alan's nephew and his wife). We had a New Year's eve dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse and then went to spend midnight with the babies while the youngsters went out for midnight. Kim got to spend more time with Ally before Ally had to head back to Oklahoma to finish her basic training.

We got Vinnie in for the last of his laser treatments right before leaving and also for a follow up visit with the vet. She was happy with his progress but we know it will be a slow course for him and he may not get back to being able to get around on his own.

On Jan 3 we left Raleigh headed for Brunswick, GA.