Below is a gallery of snaps I took at the media preview for the “Art in Bloom 2026” exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Art.
Exhibit from Art in Bloom 2026
I’ve put the Gallery on a different page than my main article, for release after the show is over, so I don’t spoil it for people going to the exhibit.
“Art in Bloom” is an annual fundraiser at the North Carolina Museum of Art, taking place March 18-22, 2026.
Beautiful florals at Art in Bloom
More than 50 floral designers from across North Carolina and beyond will interpret artwork and objects in the NCMA’s People’s Collection during this five-day festival of florals.
This year’s theme, “Written in the Stars”, is reflected in 14 gallery installations inspired by the zodiac’s astrological signs and their various meanings.
I was lucky enough to be invited to a media “sneak preview” of the exhibit before it opened. And I have to say, if you can find a way to get there – do it!!
Opening remarks at the Art in Bloom media preview.
As the NCMA’s largest annual fundraiser, Art in Bloom supports the museum’s public programming, annual exhibitions and the NCMA Foundation, Inc.
(PNC Bank returns as the founding presenting sponsor of Art in Bloom.)
The five-day event also includes floral workshops, lectures and programs as well as special extended hours and expanded food options.
The North Carolina Museum of Art’s collection spans more than 5,000 years, from antiquity to the present, making the institution one of the premier art museums in the South.
The NCMA collection provides educational, aesthetic, intellectual and cultural experiences for the citizens of North Carolina and beyond.
The museum is located at 2110 Blue Ridge Rd. in Raleigh and is home to the People’s Collection.
Last minute touches before the show!
Just a word about parking at the NCMA during Art in Bloom – even if you’re just there to go to the park – it will be terrible!
If you can park at a nearby location, and walk in, it will be much better for you ! 🙂
About the NCMA Art Park
The 164-acre Museum Park showcases the connection between art and nature through site-specific works of environmental art.
Whirligig sculpture and remaining smokestack in NCMA Art Park
The museum park offers changing special exhibitions, classes, lectures, family activities, films and concerts.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is a favorite Summer family vacation spot!
Located in the center of the 60-mile long stretch of beach known as “The Grand Strand”, it’s one of the major tourist destinations in the entire country, attracting over 20M visitors each year.
Myrtle Beach Spring Break
Spring Break reveler at Myrtle Beach 🙂
Myrtle Beach is also a notorious Spring Break destination, but it’s not what you think!
The Spring Break crowd in Myrtle typically has adult supervision and isn’t the crazy College break scene like you get in Fort Lauderdale.
So Myrtle Beach is a good choice for both adult travelers and families with school-aged children on Easter break.
Winter at the Beach
I usually go to Myrtle in the off-season, because it’s both less crowded and less expensive then.
North Myrtle Beach in February.
And I like the beach in the Winter, because you can walk by the water for miles without suffering heat stroke 😉
That said, more things are open in the Summer season, when more people are around.
Read on to learn about fun activities I’ve found in every season – including the beach – that work for adult travelers and families, too.
The Great Channels are right on the edge of the areas of North Carolina and Virginia that were hardest hit by Hurricane Helene.
That said, the Park is open (with some restrictions) and many of the surrounding communities are open for business and could really use your Fall vacation dollars to help rebuild!
Go to my Hurricane Helene page to get the latest updates on the latest Park, Trail and road repairs.
Smoky Mountains get their name from the mist that settles in the valleys.
I finally got to explore the Great Channels on Brumley Mountain, Virginia earlier this Fall after obsessing over it for nearly a year!
On the Navajo Trail in Bryce Canyon, Utah
The Great Channels sit at the summit of a mountain, and features a maze of slot canyons similar to those you might find in the parks in Utah or Arizona.
But the Great Channels formation is a surprise geologic gem hidden in southwest Virginia!
Anyway, last year, while planning a hiking trip to Grayson Highlands State Park (more on that later), I stumbled across an article about the Great Channels.
“Stumbled” is probably not the best word for a hiker to use, but you know what I mean 😉
I made some new friends at Grayson Highlands State Park.
The Channels are a series of deep crevices worn into prehistoric sandstone outcrops, where you can walk down into the maze-like network of crevices and explore.
You can also climb up on top of the Channels to get a stunning 360 view of the surrounding mountains!
Read on to learn how you can hike to the Great Channels, too.
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia is our nation’s 63rd – and newest – National Park.
Rock wall along the Rend Trail in the Thurmond area.
The park encompasses over 70,000 acres of land along 53 miles of the New River from Bluestone Dam to Hawk’s Nest Lake.
In spite of it’s name, the New River is one of the oldest rivers on Earth, and has carved the deepest and longest river gorge in the Appalachian Mountains – dropping 750 feet over 50 miles!
More than a million people visit the gorge each year to kayak, canoe, and fish in the river or hike, bike, and camp on the land.
For the past few years, I’ve been one of them!
Each Summer, my family has a reunion in Indiana over the July 4th holiday.
One of the smaller Falls at Sandstone Falls in the Park.
It’s a long drive, so on the return trip I’ve stopped at New River Gorge National Park to break up the drive and check it out.
The first year, I only had a day at the Park, but this time I scheduled 4 whole days! I was NOT disappointed 🙂
Read on to find out about the hikes I found there, and how you can go, too!
The Shenandoah National Park is right on the edge of the areas of North Carolina and Virginia that were hardest hit by Hurricane Helene.
That said, the Park is open and many of the surrounding communities are open for business and could really use your Fall vacation dollars to help rebuild!
Go to my Hurricane Helene page to get the latest updates on the latest Park, Trail and road repairs.
Smoky Mountains get their name from the mist that settles in the valleys.
I made the journey to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia again last Spring, specifically to (finally!) hike the iconic Old Rag summit hike.
Until this year, Old Rag was my Moby Hike – the one that got away!
It was the hike that got away – my Moby Hike!
I’ve had plans to hike Old Rag for the past three years – but each attempt was thwarted by weather or logistics.
So I went back to try again – and I’m so glad I did!
It was a perfect-weather weekday in May before all of the families started their Summer vacations, so there were other hikers on the trail, but the place wasn’t over-run.
There’s a long rock scramble to the mountain’s summit that works better with some teamwork – especially if you’re a little bit vertically challenged, like I am 🙂
I conquered Old Rag, then I found a couple of other rock-scrambly hikes in Shenandoah that were a little less daunting to do the next day.
Read on to learn how you can hike Old Rag, and those other hikes too!
Or if you prefer video, take a look at the Shenandoah playlist on IRW YouTube.
The Mountains to Sea Trail (MST) runs through or very near areas of North Carolina that were hardest hit by Hurricane Helene.
The Falls Lake section of the MST is open, along with many other NC State Parks and trails in the Eastern part of the State. That said, Parks and the MST on the Western side of the State have been damaged and may be inaccessible.
Go to my Hurricane Helene page to get the latest updates on the latest area Park, Trail and road repairs before you travel.
Smoky Mountains get their name from the mist that settles in the valleys.
The Mountains-to-Sea-Trail (MST) is a simple hiking trail that spans almost 1200 miles across North Carolina, from the Great Smoky Mountains in the West to the Outer Banks on the East Coast.
Even though I’ve known about the MST for a good while, I didn’t really start hiking it on purpose until this past year.
MST Day Hike #22 in Winter.
Lately more and more people have been moving to my local area, and the easy-to-get-to hiking trails have become really crowded – especially on the weekends.
So I’ve had to look a little bit farther away for new trails – and that’s how I started paying more attention to the MST.
As of January 2019, 669 miles of the trail were completed, and even more have been done since then.
The MST across North Carolina.
That’s just over half of the planned MST miles that are now completed in multiple segments across the state!
With temporary routes (for the unfinished parts of the MST) on backroads and bicycle paths, hikers can now follow the MST all the way across North Carolina.
One of the longest finished segments goes ~60 miles along the Southern shore of Falls Lake, just to the North of Raleigh near Wake Forest.
View of Falls Lake from the trail.
Even 60 miles (out of 1200) is an epic hike to most of us – but never fear!
You can hike smaller sections of the MST to make it an overnight backpacking trip, a day trip, or even just a few hours on the trail.
Today, I’ll tell you about the MST, and how you can hike my favorite local MST section (so far): MST Day Hike #22 at Rolling View in Falls Lake Recreation Area.
Or, your goal could be to complete an epic Bucket List hike on a planned (or dreamed of!) trip for the coming year.
If you’re looking for a way to get back into shape before Spring – even if you don’t have a big trip coming – this hike training plan could be just what you need!
Read more to learn how to set up a hike training plan for your own individual goals!
The Shenandoah National Park is right on the edge of the areas of North Carolina and Virginia that were hardest hit by Hurricane Helene.
That said, the Park is open and many of the surrounding communities are open for business and could really use your Fall vacation dollars to help rebuild!
Go to my Hurricane Helene page to get the latest updates on the latest Park, Trail and road repairs.
Smoky Mountains get their name from the mist that settles in the valleys.
I went back to Shenandoah again this Spring, to hike the Rose River Loop, the Cedar Run Circuit and maybe add some more to my list.
It wouldn’t be hard to do, since Shenandoah National Park offers some of the best hiking in Virginia!
I took a break from hiking to explore the Barboursvillle ruins.
I had spent a great week there a couple of years ago, but the trip was over before I had a chance to complete my list of “must do” hikes – including the Rose River Loop.
And of course the iconic Old Rag hike.
So I had to go back and try again!
Where is Shenandoah National Park?
Shenandoah National Park is only 115 miles from Washington, D.C., 95 miles from Richmond VA, and 250 miles from Raleigh NC.
That’s close enough for a great long weekend or longer family vacation, without the expense of air travel!
My previous Shenandoah visit was for a whole week. This trip was a quick visit of only 3 nights – which was still enough time to get in a couple of great hikes and see some local sights 🙂
Or if you prefer video, take a look at the Shenandoah playlist on IRW YouTube.
So I abandoned my spot on the Ark, and took off on a solo roadtrip down the East coast.
Starting from the Raleigh area, I drove all the way to St Augustine, FL (which is a story for another time) and then worked my way back up the Coast towards home.
Peacocks on the grounds of the Fountain of Youth archaeological park in St Augustine.
My first stop on the way back up was St Simon’s Island, Georgia 🙂
It’s a favorite family beach destination for visitor’s in the summertime.
Off the beach, St. Simons Island is dotted with remnants of historic sites you can visit, like the St Simon’s Lighthouse, Fort Frederica National Monument, and Christ Church.
The beach near St Simon’s.
You can also follow the ancient footsteps of the very first tourists to the island, who travelled either by walking the forest paths or paddling down the waterways.
I did some research and found a historic hiking spot at Cannons Point Preserve on the north end of the Island.
Among other reasons to visit, the trail at Cannon’s Point Preserve leads you to some extraordinary abandoned historic ruins along the coast.
