Melissa Lashua

We are not from Charlotte and we didn't go to the park for the park we went for the Lovin' life music festival. It was my oldest son's dream to see Post Malone we screamed, laughed, and cried to his songs and I would never trade it for anything I will forever have a place in my heart for this location now. My 2 youngest LOVE David Kushner my 4 year old and 3 year old say daylight is their favorite song. Myself and my 2nd oldest absolutely adore Jessie Murph. We drove 5 hrs and stayed at a nearby hotel which we made about a 10 min walk to the park. The grass was nice off to the side to sit and relax. We got Super VIP for the festival so we didn't need to worry about food or drinks but it was a great experience and if they have great artists again next year it will become a tradition for sure!

Atalaya Castle was a beautiful place, I've been wanting to take my kids here to look around for a while and we finally did. It's $2 per person over the age of 3 years old. They were working on some upkeep when we went and I can definitely justify $2 to walk through this structure. I would definitely love to ask next time if we can picnic on the lawn in the courtyard section as it would be a great spot to go for a date day or possibly evening. The boys definitely loved it and what it would be like to play hide and seek there!!! (Would be so much fun! But don't do it lol) I would definitely pay another 2 dollars in the summer to see if it's filled beautifully with flowers.

Huntington Beach State Park is a wonderful and beautiful place to visit from camping, going to the beach, or even discovering the history behind the Atalaya Castle. They do have a very kid friendly Nature center with fantastic information. It does cost an entry free to get into the state park and as well as $2 each if you want to go look at the castle. We were so lucky to get to see a bunch of dazzling birds from the Birds of Prey group as well that day. I can't wait to go back and probably will do so again next month! 😁

We absolutely loved this nature preserve! The trails are great and so is the wild life! We had a buck run right across the in front of us, we also saw 2 doe's laying and eating away. It was calming and a nice chance to connect with nature there was a table the kids loved that had info about different animals and hides. The bathrooms are very nicely kept and the building is very pretty and filled with great information! We will be coming back in the spring!