Where we went, what we did, and what we enjoyed!
I traveled this past weekend to visit my sister in North Carolina. She lives in Benson, NC which is just outside of Raleigh. We had a great weekend and our activities took us all over! You better believe I made her pull over so I could get a picture of the pretty fall foliage. Here is a quick recap of our weekend!
Friday Night: DARKSIDE HAUNTED ESTATES
Middlesex, NC
This was the first haunted house I have been to since college- almost 8 years ago. For the general admission fee of $30 and parking fee of $5 I thought this was well worth the price. It's a mile-long path through the woods with various themed haunted houses to walk through. I genuinely got scared more than once and had to hold on to my sister multiple times. At one point it was every man for himself and I shoved her out of the way to save myself. Sorry, Kate. The main area had a DJ, food and drink stand, and a couple different gift shops. Apparently this joint has been running for 40+ years! I had a lot of fun and am looking forward to going back.
Saturday: ALOHA SAFARI PARK
I'm a sucker for anything animal related so this very quickly became my favorite activity of the whole weekend. For a $15 entry fee, you got access to the zoo where you could see and feed the animals ($3 per cup of feed with a refill price of $1) and access to the drive through safari. (different feed; $3 a cup.) The zoo area had a large playground with lots of benches and tables and places for families to sit and eat. There were a lot of animals to look at and feed. They even had a station set up where you could feed the giraffes! The Drive-through safari was a few miles long with camels, donkeys, zebras, deer and various other wildlife that would come up to your car to be fed. While we were there I could see them setting up for their Christmas season event which looked to be a drive through lights event. All in all this was my favorite with a very reasonable price! Pro tip- the drive through safari has different food than the petting zoo, so if you think you are being smart and saving food, you aren't.
I thought I would have the pleasure of kissing Jeffrey the Giraffe, but sadly I was just a little too short :(
Sunday: DEWAYNES
This was an unplanned stop. On the way to the safari park we passed DeWayne's and noticed all the lights and Christmas decor. Naturally this became high on the to-do list. I almost cried walking in because I immediately regretted not bringing a bigger suitcase. They had a large boutique area, a sweets shop, a pet area, a garden area, and the best of all, ChristmasLand. I could have spent all day in there. Multiple Christmas displays and themes and decor and all kind of Christmas-y things! Every color imaginable, every theme imaginable, and even a spot for ornament/stocking personalization. I can't wait to go back and bring an XL suitcase just for all the Christmas things I want.
I've been to North Carolina several times over the last few years and have enjoyed it every visit. I've gone to the beach and to the mountains. Always a good time with lots to do!
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