We are thrilled to announce the release of A Day’s Outing’s iPhone App! With hundreds of thousands of new outings in cities and towns across the country, you can now find great side trips as you driving down the road and fun day trips while you’re on vacation — right from your iPhone.

Please check out the A Day’s Outing App in the App Store.   Once you download it for $2.99, take it for a spin and then give us your feedback in an App review.  It’s amazing how important those reviews really are.

(And:  For our wonderful users that requested A Day’s Outing for their mobile phones – you’re next!)

I have a crab from Baltimore, a pink pig from South Carolina and L’Avenue des Champs Elysées from Paris. What are they? They are fabulously, tacky key chains. My excuse for buying these bad souvenirs? I need them, of course.

I live on a farm and we have many keys to the various machines, out buildings and locks. Like in many homes, the miscellaneous keys are tossed in a drawer all mixed up together. Normally this would be a problem, but I know that I mow with the crab, the carpenter’s level from a discovery museum opens the office and a luggage tag from Lost Mountain operates the truck.  I love to buy these travel souvenirs. It’s really nice to grab the keys to do some work and instantly be reminded of a great trip, even if the keys chain for the most famous street in Paris was from my friend’s trip. I can still dream.

Do you collect something special on your adventures? If so, what’s your favorite travel souvenir?

We are excited to announce that you can now find outings all across the country.

A Day’s Outing has been growing state by state over the last year.  We started in our home state of Virginia, and now we have reached the sunny shores of California.  Now when you’re looking for a fun day trip or a special vacation side trip, check out A Day’s Outing.  Now that we are nationwide, you’ll find outings wherever you go.

We would like to tip our hat to Chris Morancie and his development team for all their hard work.  It’s been quite a trip to get here and we’re glad they have been along for the ride.

Have fun!

Our whole family loves the Florida Keys, I hope to retire there one day with a boat. We have travel down at least once a year. Usually we drive and that way we can take all of our gear, fishing stuff, skim boards, etc. We have also taken the Autotrain down from Washington D.C. and you can read a review of that here. In the past, we have helped many of our friends with their vacation planning to the Keys and so I decided to finally go on and post my list of favorite places.  I would also like to say that I am not affiliated in any way with the places I am recommending.

These are as you drive down from Miami -

Sunshine Market on Tavernier Key - This Cuban gem is on the left as you are driving down to Key West in a yellow building. The coffee is wonderful and the to-go foods are great.

Home Away Islamorada/Tavernier Vacation House - We loved renting this house, it was beautifully decorated, had an amazing kitchen, we could park our boat right out front and the owner is a delight. We have rented several times through both Home Away and VRBO and we have had a great experience each time.

Islamorada Fish Company Restaurant at the huge Bass Pro Shop on Islamorada - The food is very good and it is a beautiful location to take photos at sunset. It is also fun when they feed the tarpon, grouper, and HUGE lemon sharks that come right up in the middle of the dockside restaurant to eat. The Bass Pro Shop is also amazing and they give great fishing advice.

Robbies of Islamorada- It is great spot to hire a fishing charter, go out on their night time party boat, and their largest attraction is allowing people to feed GIANT tarpon from their dock. There are also cute little open-air shops.

Indigo Reef and Coral Lagoon on Marathon- We love staying here too. You can park your boat right out in front of your townhouse, they are beautifully decorated, have wonderful linens and great kitchens. If you sign up for their emails you can get significantly discounted rates.

Bahia Honda State Park - This my daughter’s favorite place on earth! The beach is beautiful and one of the only real beaches in the Keys. It is perfect for skim boarding. The fishing from the jetty under the Seven-Mile Bridge is also fabulous!

Big Pine Key Deer Watching - You can almost always find some of the endangered tiny Key Deer on back roads at dusk.

On Key West -

Mangia Mangia - A restaurant with great Italian food that has been there since we honeymooned in 1993. It seems to be a little more of a local place and away from the craziness of Duval Street.

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park Beach - This another gem of a beach in the Keys. It is very clean and you can snorkel right from the beach.

Mel Fisher Treasure Museum - Who doesn’t love treasure? The Mel Fisher story is wonderful and well worth going to see first hand.

Truman Annex - The homes in the Truman Annex are the epitome of the Florida Keys to me. It is one of the most charming neighborhoods in the U.S.

Parrot Key Resort - These are great townhouse style vacation rentals that also have wonderful linens, great kitchens and are beautifully decorated.

The Mermaid & the Alligator B&B - This B&B is another great example of Key West architecture. We even stayed here on our honeymoon in 1993.

This recipe is a favorite in my house and I am proud to say, it is totally my creation. If you ask me to bring a dessert, especially if there are kids there, you can almost always be assured this is what I will bring. I think the key in the recipe, like most others, is good ingredients. I use real butter, good quality vanilla (I like Nielsan-Massey and I just got organic Nielsan-Massey at Marshalls!), Reese’s peanut butter chips and, of course, good chocolate. Oh yes, No, the whole wheat flour is not an attempt to make these healthy, there’s way to much butter for that! The whole wheat flour seams to make them stand up better to cutting into squares. I also like to add chopped pecans, but that almost always insures kids won’t like them.

Jolly Brownies

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (4 squares)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
¾ cup all-purpose white flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
10 ounces peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350, 325 for convection ovens. In a 4-quart saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate carefully over low heat. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat very lightly, just until combined, by hand. Stir in both flours. Spread batter into greased 9X13 pan.  Top with peanut butter chips.  Bake at 350 for approximately 40 minutes in a standard oven or bake at 325 for 30 minutes in a convection oven.

I have been looking for a “perfect” day trip bag for a long time. I wanted a bag that would carry the essentials from my pocketbook, as well as the sunscreen, water, camera and snacks for my family. While a backpack is great for a day hike, I didn’t want to carry one on day trips, even if it was a small backpack. I was looking for something I could carry on one shoulder or adjust the strap to carry across my chest. I didn’t want the bag to be too big, but it did need to have several pockets and zippers to keep all my items organized.

I am pleased to report that I have found my perfect day trip bag! It is a LeSportsac. My bag’s pattern is a bit crazy, but the kids decided they liked the bold colors and I love the bag’s size and compartments. I carried my new bag on a recent outing the Safari Park and it was fabulous. If you happen to be looking for a great bag for your next outing, give the it a try. You may decide on a solid color or go for one of their great prints. Either way, I hope you will love it as much as I do.

Cathy is looking for a great pool bag and would love any suggestions.  She would like a bag that is waterproof (oilcloth maybe?), can stand up on its own, is pretty big (can hold several towels), and has pockets.  She was not happy on Memorial Day when her phone ended up at the bottom of a wet bag.  Here’s Scout bag she is considering, but she is not sure it is big enough.

I went with my extended family May 13th-15th to the annual reenactment of the Raid on Martin’s Station. There are similar events at the park all summer long and almost every month throughout the year, but the this is the biggest. Wilderness Road State Park is in far southwest Virginia. The park is 310 acres that lie beside the Wilderness Road, a route carved by Daniel Boone in 1775 that followed a buffalo migration trail and opened America’s first western frontier. Martin’s Station is a replica of a colonial frontier fort that was on this site in 1775. Park officials brag that it is the most authentically reconstructed fort in the United States. The three-day event has more than 500 re-enactors, including Shawnee and Cherokee warriors (who were my kid’s favorite) and men, women and children (who were adorable) settlers.

I had never been to a reenactment and I wasn’t sure what I would think, but I knew my kids would love it. I think there is something for everyone. My father has a sincere appreciation for the authenticity the reactors strive for in everything they do and really enjoyed sharing that with us. Other than the other visitors to the site and the cars in the parking lot, there is nothing modern to be seen. It was a wonderful step back in time that brings history alive. Even the coffee shops and vendors in the 18th century Market Fair, serve on tin and there is no plastic anywhere.

My children and my nephew absolutely loved the Indians, their camp and watching them creep through the woods and across the field during the raid. They even told my dad, whom I think would enjoy being a re-enactor, they would dress up and come along to more of these if he would join the Indians. But, I don’t think he’s ready to join sides with the Indians just yet.

My mom, sister and I loved seeing how the re-enactors authentically prepare their meals in their camps. I think it’s a secret contest amongst them to see who can have the best food. A group of about 9 men had ribs, pies, greens, stuffing and salad. They were the winners in the secret contest that day! Although, I think there wives must have helped with a lot of prep before they got there.

I could also appreciate how authentic the camps were. There were no air mattresses, mosquito netting, or coolers anywhere. I have since found out that the coolers are hidden in crates. The men in the first picture below have an actual birch bark canoe they made.  One of the re-enactors told us how the night before that had to get cosy under a lean-to belonging to two people they had never met before during a sudden rain storm. I think I would only be happy camping in the actual fort, maybe!

The two reenactments of raids of the fort were enjoyed by everyone. You see the Indians sneak through the fields, capture the women caught outside the fort (of course!), fire original muskets and a cannon, burn down sections of the fort, and negotiate the return of the women.

I know there are reenactments in many places but the beauty of Wilderness Road State Park and Cumberland Gap is amazing. The town of Cumberland Gap is also very charming. There is only one restaurant, Webb’s Country Kitchen,  that serves great country cooked meals (we ate there 4 times that weekend) and it is quite funny to see the groups of re-enactors there having dinner. Early one morning, my four year-old nephew peeked out the window of our hotel only to see an Indian in the parking lot!

When you are visiting farmers’ markets this year keep an eye out for fresh eggs.  Once you have tried an egg from a hen that has roamed around a field foraging on fresh grass and bugs, you’ll never want to eat a grocery store egg again.

We added a chicken coop and hen house to our yard two years ago. I purchased an assortment of chicks from McMurray Hatchery, but my favorite ones are the Polish hens with the top hat feathers.  I raised the chicks in my office, which you might think is insane and you would be right. The chicks make a huge mess so I have to clean their cage twice daily. I know folks who have raised the chicks in their garage and this works, but keep in mind the smell can move through the house if you are not really careful. After the chicks’ feathers have come in, which takes about four weeks, they can be moved to their permanent residence outside. It takes another six months or so for the hens to start laying eggs.  It’s quite a process to go from chick to hen to eggs.

I now have a new batch of chicks in my office. These little ones will grow to be beautiful hens. Some will stay with me and others will go to friends who are excited about fresh eggs for their family and friends. If you want to try fresh eggs, look for a farmers’ market near you. Once you try eggs from happy and healthy hens, you may want to raise some yourself. Maybe not in your office, but you never know.  Here’s a video to give you an idea of what is going on inside my office right now!

I think this year I was even more excited to see all of the bulbs start to sprout and the days get warmer. The snow was a ton of fun, but after while it was just turning into a cold long winter.

For those of us on the east coast, remember this?

As I was working around my yard today, I remembered that last spring I had felt very clever taking pictures of all of my bulbs and where they are located. I had planned last fall to fill in with more bulbs and to try to divide some of them that no longer seem to bloom. Unfortunately, last fall I forgot all about planting and dividing the bulbs. This year it is in my calendar and I am not going to forget. Here are a few of my photos, let me know if you try it too and how it works out.

I also have to brag a little. I have been meaning to build for a very long time, or rather have my husband build, a small rock retaining wall near my driveway. Well, today I did it while he ran an errand and it only took me an hour or so. I wish I had a before photo of what a soupy mess it used to be there.

A group of eleven of my friends and I traveled down to South Beach to celebrate that three of us were turning forty.  It was wonderful to take off and fly away from the freezing temperatures and huge piles of dirty snow taking up all the great parking spaces.  South Beach offers all the fun of Las Vegas, minus the gambling, with an amazing beach.  We stayed at a nicer hotel and decided we would just pile in four to a room, Spring Break style.

There are so many things to do in the Miami/South Beach area that the only trouble we occasionally had was organizing everyone.  There are many museums, from Vizcaya, an amazing Venetian inspired home built during the Gilded Age to the World Erotic Art Museum in the heart of the South Beach Art Deco District.  There is also shopping, I loved the Lincoln Road Pedestrian Mall, there were unique shops and great people watching.  Our group almost motivated off the beach on the first day to Gator Park to go on an air boat ride through the Everglades, I think I should have kept to myself that they could get muddy and wet.  In the end, we spent most of our time on the beach, we had three wonderful dinners and managed to spend one entire day at the pool bar at the Fontainebleau where the bartenders were extremely entertaining.

I do want to point out the restaurant we went to on the second night, The Meat Market on the Lincoln Road Pedestrian Mall.  From the outside looking at the menu, I was initially a little disappointed thinking it may be a typical chain type steak house.  It was anything but typical or chain-like, the food was unbelievable.   What made it even more special was being immediately welcomed by the owner, having the menu explained with their specialties pointed out and advice given on how to proceed with such a big group.  We managed to sit there for hours enjoying not only great food, but also wonderful service and attention.

With a long weekend away like this, I can hardly wait to turn 50!