It was our last day at Camp Wilderness 😦

We very much enjoyed the campground.  It was clean, well-kept and the staff was friendly and helpful.  The kids enjoyed running around, climbing, playing in the sand and simply being outdoors.

One of the reviews I had read was a complaint about being so close to the airport and the planes flying over the campground.  I really didn’t notice it much and we actually enjoyed watching the planes fly by.

One of my favorite parts of the campground were the pine trees.  They were so fragrant and I found myself inhaling much deeper while walking thru the campground.

Having enjoyed our visit so much, we talked about a return trip to the area to stay at Camp Wilderness.

After getting things cleaned up a packed away, it was time for some lunch and a siesta.  We had plans to return to Carowinds later in the afternoon.  Tickets were less expensive if going after 4 p.m. and it is cooler in the evenings as well.  So we all laid down for some rest so we could enjoy a late evening at the park.

At Carowinds, Lili was really looking forward to checking out the Dinosaurs Alive exhibit, but first wanted to take a ride on the Carolina Skytower.  The ride carries you up a 262 ft tower and slowly rotates for a view of the park and downtown Charlotte.  FS2 and I decided to stay back and wait while hubby took the other 3 kids on the ride.

As they came back down, I began feeling some sprinkles of rain.  By the time they came off the ride, the sprinkles were beginning to change over to showers, so we took off for Harmony Hall to get out of the rain.  It wasn’t far, but by the time we got there, the raindrops grew rapidly and the tiny drops that had started to fall became 10 x’s bigger.  We were quite wet and wondered if our plans to spend the evening at the park would be ruined by rain.

Since we hadn’t had any dinner and since we had a rain delay, we grabbed some snacks and drinks.  What we weren’t expecting was entertainment, but before long, one of the theme park bands took the stage and began performing.  The kids were mesmerized and thoroughly enjoying the entertainment.  It was a nice distraction from the rain, which had since stopped.  However, the kids were so enjoying the music, singing and dancing, that we had to convince them to leave.

We made our way to Dinosaur’s Alive and while I really wasn’t expecting much, I found myself very pleasantly surprised.

Upon entering the exhibit, we all stopped to have our feet photos taken while standing in dinosaur tracks.

 

And this picture of little feet just because they are so cute.

Of course I neglected to get any photos of my feet in dinosaur tracks.

Ah, the life of the photographers.

Then we entered the exhibit to find life-sized dinosaurs spread out along the path.   They moved, made sounds and at each stop we were able to get information on the dinosaur being displayed.

What I expected to be a short 10 or 15 minute visit turned out to be about 30 – 40 minutes and we all enjoyed it more than I thought we would.

  

I loved the roller coaster in the background of this exhibit.  I call it, “Bringing the past into the present”.

We left the exhibit and headed off to enjoy more rides.

Lili, having ridden her first big roller coaster a couple of days earlier, was anxious to go on the big wooden roller coaster with me.  She decided afterwards that one time was enough.

However, she did decide to up her game and we got in line for this one.

The Carolina Cyclone!

I hadn’t been on a roller coaster like this in many years and really wasn’t sure I was up for the challenge, but we got on and off we went.

Up, up, up

Around and down

Loop-da-loop

Another drop or two

A couple of corkscrews

Then back to the beginning again.

Lili wasn’t sure she liked it, but as she saw hubby, she ran to tell him about it.  The next thing I knew, they were getting in line for her second time around.

Apparently, the second time is better, because now she was sure she enjoyed it and I was so proud of her ability to overcome her apprehension.

One more stop for Funnel Cake and it was time to head back to see Georgette.  We were heading out the next morning and while we were sad to say good-bye to Carowinds and Camp Wilderness, we were excited about our next stop.