Surprise! Your leaving to North Carolina in a week!
We were told with a week’s notice that we needed to be at Fort Bragg North Carolina for 5 days so we began a plan to maximize our time there (mixing business with pleasure). We’ve begun to master of coming up with last minute itineraries to places no matter the destination nor length of time. Our mentality is that work is already sending us there might as well make the most of it and treat it like a vacation!
A Plan for Me & A Plan for Us
For these type of trips where I tag along on one of his business trips we’ve got to come up with two itineraries; a solo plan for me during the day while he’s at work and an “after he gets out of work” plan. The second one has to be a bit more flexible with options depending on what time he’s done for the day. Sometimes that just means that we only get to grab dinner at a local restaurant with a walk downtown (I’ll throw in a glass or tow of wine on these days and count it as a date night).
Take a Hike, Find Some Water, Do something Local!
The first things we always look for and plan around is something outside in nature, whether that’s a hike, botanical garden, and if we’re lucky something near water. In our short time at Fort Bragg we were able to squeeze all three of these in!
Carolina Beach
Just an hour and a half from Fort Bragg, we were able to leave in time to catch the sunset, and take a long walk on the beach. It was great to just take in the ocean breeze, stick out feet in the Atlantic Ocean. There were also so many seafood options near the pier where you cant go wrong. We opted for a shrimp & crab boil.
Raven Rock State Park
Since we were short on time, we opted for a shorter hike at the nearby Raven Rock State Park. We did the 2-3 mile loop, it was a nice trail to get out stretch our legs and leave civilization behind for just a but. I would definitely go back to do some of the longer hikes if given the chance!
Botanical Gardens
This was one of my solo adventures days I went to the botanical gardens in the morning and this was a huge garden. I made the mistake of wearing sandals underestimating all the trails within the gardens. So if your thinking of going to explore definitely wear your walking shoes. There was an amazing park/ playground for kids as well!
Special Forces Museum
After the Gardens I grabbed some lunch at a local café downtown then ended my afternoon with a tour of the Special Forces Museum. Having served in the 101st Airborne Division, this museum hit different covering airborne operations throughout history! This is a must see if your in town!
Reconnect with friends
Between Felipe and I, we have about 35 years of military experience between the two of us. This means we have friends, coworkers all over the world. We always make an effort to link up with old friends and colleagues wherever we go and pick up right where we left off. This is one thing I absolute love about the veteran community. Our additional time was spent reconnecting with friends, catching up, and reminiscing on the good old days!
All in all, 5 days spent in North Carolina was short and sweet… enough to get a small taste of the community. Maximize your time, you can always sleep on the plane! Onto the next adventure!
