June Roadtrip, Day 7, A Long Delayed Name Change

 Day 7

Monday, June 7

     With the chance of rain 50% at midday, I decided to roll the dice and do the four and a half mile loop trail around the lake at Greenfield Park.  I remember this place from my youth mainly for the trees growing out of the water and the dripping spanish moss.   

      One thing was missing.  When we were kids here, there was a carousel.  Sadly, it's now in storage with no plan to bring it back.  

       The good news is, I did make it back to the car before first splatter of rain.  It was a perfect excuse to hole up in the Wilmington Brewing Company for a pint to wait it out.  

      It didn't take long for the sun to come back out.  So, I decided to do a drive through the old neighborhood.  While my family moved away in 1972, everything still seemed so familiar, just not as big.  I could even tell you what was in the neighbor's yards, both front an back.  Funny how that works.

      We had a city park close by that was mostly picnic pavilions and ball parks for the little league teams.  I still remember going and watching some of the older neighborhood kids play.  I also remember chasing down a few foul balls.  Return the ball to the concession stand for a free small soda.  

      

      

   

     This was the park Hugh McRae donated to the city to be designated whites only.   We had no idea who he was back then.  It wasn't exactly something people talked about.  Two years ago, the city took down the signs and renamed it Long Leaf Hills Park.  I was happy to read there was little opposition to the new name.  You can read more about the name change here.

     As evening approached, it was time to head back downtown to the river. 

 With a little time to kill, I walked a bit to the Flytrap Brewing Company.  They were having a trivia contest out in the beer garden.  It seemed a little heavy on pop culture for my taste.  However, their Rye Pale Ale was really good.

    The potential sunset conditions were hit or miss.  Heavy clouds in some places, light in others.  So, I found an empty table along the waterfront and settle in.

    I only mention the table because of the two young women who approached me all excited.  Apparently, this bench was used in a big scene from the show "One Tree Hill."  I'll free admit, I've never seen the show.  But, I found a vlogger who travelled to Wilmington just to visit the shooting sites.  She gets to this table at the 6:24 mark.

    Yes, I did take their picture at the table, on both their phones.

  As for sunset, kind of a bust...