Take the Kids: Check out an art backpack from Raleigh's Sertoma Arts Center

One of the things that I absolutely love about many of the park systems around here is that not only do they have the trails and playgrounds, fields and basketball courts, but they also offer opportunities to extend your visit with free activities that you just have to check out from the front desk.

It makes sense. The center is home to regular arts and crafts programs, which are offered through Raleigh's parks and recreation department.

When we got to the park earlier this month, there were three bags to choose from - a watercolor bag, a drawing bag and a surprise bag. My daughter picked the drawing bag. So, in exchange for my driver's license, I checked out the bag for free.

We took it down to the water, set up at a bench right next to the lake and opened it up.

The bag had all kinds of drawing tools - paper, colored pencils, a charcoal set, drawing pencils and graphite crayons, along with a view catcher, eraser, pencil sharpener and more.

On the bench, my nine-year-old looked around for inspiration and together we drew flowers and rainbows and lakes and skies. And, no, it's obvious that you do not need to be a highly skilled artist to check out one of these bags. That's not at all what it was about. For my daughter and myself, it was all about taking a moment to look around in nature, discuss, draw and be together.

And when we wrapped up, we headed over for some play on the park's playground.