I couldn’t pass up an outing this weekend when one of A Day’s Outing’s fans on Facebook posted that she was showing her art at a nearby fair.  My daughter was up for a drive so we took a day trip to Richmond, VA.

Arts on the Grove was a small, but lovely art fair.  There were artists showing glasswork, beaded jewelry, photography and paintings. They had lots of hands-on activities for children, face painting and a special music area with every imaginable type of stringed instrument for children to try.  They did a great job of making the fair a true family event.

And, the art we had come to see was wonderful.  Pam Connolly’s silk paintings are whimsical, light hearted and simply make you smile. She also had fabulous note cards and handmade t-shirts on hand. I snapped up a Cupcake t-shirt with beads sewn on as non-pariells up for my daughter.

Art fairs, whether they are big or small, offer a chance to see a range of work by truly creative people. Try finding one near you.

Connect with  A Day’s Outing on Facebook and Twitter!

It is the perfect time of year to enjoy the many farm stands and harvest festivals that showcase the bounty of late summer fruits and fall vegetables.  There are corn mazes, pumpkin patches, open air markets and dozens of harvest fairs around the country.

My daughter and I had a fabulous outing together to the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello in Charlottesville, VA.  She seems to have inherited both my love of gardening and my husband’s love of cooking, so a harvest festival is perfect for her.  We enjoyed watching chefs prepare dishes with local produce, eating fabulous hot cider donuts, buying garlic bulbs to plant in our garden this fall, and sampling a few of the dozen or so heirloom tomatoes on display.  The diversity of vegetables and fruit was impressive and it reminded me that there are so many more varieties available than are offered at a typical supermarket. If you want to grow heirloom vegetables and fruits at home, look for seeds that have done well in your area. There’s really nothing as wonderful as a tomato grown in your own backyard.

Whether you set off on an adventure to a harvest festival or take a simple drive out to a local farm to buy a pumpkin, now’s a great time to enjoy an outing during the cooler days of fall.

Connect with  A Day’s Outing on Facebook and Twitter!

I was asked a seemingly simple question by my eight year old daughter while we were visiting a park – “What is the difference between and butterfly and a moth?”  I had to confess that I didn’t know the exact differences, but I could tell them apart when I saw one. She didn’t think that was good enough, so we did some research when we got home.

Here’s what we found out:

There are approximately 140,000 species of butterflies and moths worldwide. There’s no hard and fast line that divides butterflies from moths, but in general:

-Butterflies generally rest with their wings held upright; moths spread them out.
-Butterflies have knobbed antennae. Moth antennae range from straight filaments to feathery or branched antennae.
-Butterflies have smooth, slender bodies and moths tend to be plump and fuzzy.
-Most butterflies fly during the day; most moths fly at night.

If you want to learn more about butterflies and moths, you can visit one of the amazing butterfly gardens and conservatories across the country.  You can wander through an outside garden and see dozens of different species of butterflies on native plants.  There are also conservatories to visit where you wander through a tropical greenhouse filled with spectacular moths and butterflies. Here are a few to consider:

Butterfly Kapers, Douthat State Park, VA

Butterfly Bungalows, Douthat State Park, VA

Children’s Colonial Garden, Leesburg, VA

Virginia Zoo, Norfolk, VA

Butterfly Pavilion, Washington D.C.

Salisbury Zoo and Park, Salisbury, MD

Butterflies:

Moths:

It’s great that the 4th of July is on a Saturday this year.  We can all stay up late celebrating with friends and watching fireworks.  Last year, we spent the day in the historic small town of Scottsville, VA.   We watched the home town parade and waved as my daughter and her grandfather rode a very special tandem bike down Main Street.

July 4th is the celebration of that day in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress.  The declaration recounted the grievances of the 13 colonies against the British crown and declared the colonies to be free and independent states. The Declaration of Independence, which can be viewed at the National Archives, laid down the foundation for the U.S. Constitution.   Look at all the events I found celebrating the 4th of July.

Baltimore’s Fourth of July Celebration, Baltimore, MD

July 4th Celebration Concert/Fireworks, Westminster, MD

4th of July Celebration,  Benson, NC

Village of Pinehurst 4th of July Celebration, Pinehurst, NC

Skippack Village 4th of July Celebration at Skippack Village, Skippack, PA

July Jubilee at Wintergreen Resort, Wintergreen, VA

Fourth of July Weekend Activities at Smith Mountain Lake, Huddleston, VA

4th of July Celebration at Lakeside Park, Chesapeake, VA

Old Time 4th of July Celebration, Sterling, VA

Paddle Boarding is fun, really fun for all ages.  Paddle Boards are like long surf boards that you stand on and use a very long canoe like paddle.  With another family this weekend we rented two of them from a great family owned company in the Outer Banks, Outer Banks Stand Up Paddle.  They delivered the boards right to the house we were staying in.  After 15 minutes of instruction, we were off.  We initially brought the boards to the shallow sound and it was perfect for getting the feel of the boards and great for the kids.  The adults in our group had a much harder time learning to hold their balance, although I would have to say I was the best at it :).  All of the kids were able to stand and paddle and my son loved paddling his sister and her friend all around.  It was also great fun for them to play “king of the mountain”.

We then brought the boards to the ocean.  The waves were very high and rough coming in and so we didn’t allow the kids to try them again.  Once we got past the break, the water was smooth and perfect.  We were able to easily stand and paddle, it was so quiet and the dolphins would come in very close to us.  I did make a critical mistake and I did not account for the wind at my back which pushed us very far out.  I took me just under an hour to paddle back in and days later I have muscles that hurt that I didn’t know I have, or don’t have.

All in all, it was great fun for our whole group and I can’t recommend trying it enough.  I can’t wait to do it again when we are in the crystal clear shallow waters of the Florida Keys.

Connect with  A Day’s Outing on Facebook and Twitter!

June 21st is the summer solstice. It is officially the first day of summer and is the longest day of the year! It is also known as Midsummer because it is roughly the middle of the growing season.

While we are celebrating the summer solstice this weekend, solstices really occur twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth’s axis is most oriented toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun to reach its northernmost and southernmost extremes.

So what are you going to do to celebrate the summer solstice?  Here are a few ideas to consider-

Summer Solstice Wine Festival at James River Cellars, Glen Allen, VA

Summer Solstice: Paddle Evening Rendezvous, Wrightsville, PA

Virginia Farmland Solstice Supper, Purcellville, VA

 Solstice 2009: Puesta Del Sol, Baltimore, MD

Today is Cinco de Mayo and it is widely recognized in the US as a celebration of Americans with Mexican ancestry.  The holiday has been celebrated in California almost continuously since 1863.  You can find celebrations that range from backyard barbeques, to mariachi demonstrations, or even the largest party, the Festival de Fiesta Broadway in Los Angeles.  If you are staying home and celebrating, here is my friend Kim’s amazing recipe for tortilla soup.

6 T vegetable oil
8 corn tortillas, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 medium onion, chopped (I do this in the food processor)
1  28oz can diced tomatoes
2 T ground cumin
1 T chili powder
3 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
1 t salt
1/2t cayenne pepper (I leave this out if the kids are eating it and have Tabasco at the table)
4-6 cooked chicken breasts, shredded or cubed (I use 4 and I bake them and then shred them with two forks. Really, 4 is plenty of chicken).
Optional garnishes:
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
cubed avocado
Sour Cream
2 corn tortillas, sliced and fried crisp (or a few tortilla chips)

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add tortilla, garlic, cilantro and onion. Saute 2-3 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes.  Bring to a boil and add cumin, chili powder, bay leaves and chicken stock.  Return to a boil.  Reduce heat.  Add salt and cayenne.  Simmer 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and stir in the chicken. Reheat for a few minutes.  Spoon into bowls and garnish with cheese, avocado, sour cream and/or tortilla chips.

April 22nd marks Earth Day in the US.  This day is about raising awareness of environmental issues and how we can each make changes – both big and small - that will make our world a better place.  There are celebrations in communities around the country.

With Earth Day around the corner, I’m still not sure what we will be doing.  Maybe we will stay close to home and do something that is simple, like putting up bluebird boxes or maybe the whole family will eat meals for the entire day made with only locally grown produce from our farmers’ market here in Charlottesville.

Of course, we may want to join one of the many celebrations that are taking place over the weekend.  Here are a few I found:

“Go Green” Earth Day Festival, Pine Mountain, GA

Peace, Love and Planet Earth - Earth Day & James River Fish Festival, Richmond, VA

Lord Salisbury Celebrates Spring - Earth Day 2009, Salisbury, NC

Earth First Grayson, Independence, VA

Earth Days Celebration at the Virginia Living Museum, Newport News, VA

Just like the wild flowers and daffodils, spring celebrations from farmers’ markets, craft shows to Easter egg hunts are popping up everywhere. If you’re wondering what to do to enjoy the season, think no more.  Here’s a handful of outings that we found ……

In Maryland:

Annual Easter Egg Hunt - Cumberland, MD

Easter Arts & Crafts Fair/Kids Fair - Ocean City,  MD

Easter Egg Hunt at Dan’s Mountain - Flintstone, MD

Carroll County Farmers Market Easter Show - Westminster, MD

In Virginia:

Sheep Shearing Day at Thistle Cove Farm - Tazewell, VA

18th Annual Family Easter at Maymont - Richmond, VA

Douthat Easter Egg Hunt - Millboro, VA

Easter Decoy Show & Art Festival & Auction - Chincoteague Island, VA

To find even more, just do a quick search under the categories Fairs, Events & Festivals, Family & Children and Farms, Food & Wine. You never know what else you’ll discover.

We went as a family this weekend to an amazing annual event at The Jamestown Settlement, “Military Through the Ages”.  I would have never known about if my fabulous sister had not found it in her local paper.  Unfortunately, so many of these great programs at historic sites are not well publicized.  Our mission at A Day’s Outing is to give you one place to find great events and destinations, just like this one.  I will make sure we have this event for next year.  And, while I hate to read about great events after the fact, I have to tell you about this one.

Re-enactors from the Viking period, the Third Crusade, Hundred Years War, French and Indian War, American Revolution, War of 1812 and American Civil War.  Re-enactors representing World Wars I and II, and Korean and Vietnam wars also took visitors through the 20th century.  Until yesterday, the only re-enactment groups I knew of were from the Civil War time period.  These groups depicted soldiers throughout history and joined forces with modern-day veterans to demonstrate camp life, tactics, medical treatment and weaponry.  My kids loved it!  The re-enactors were great with kids, allowing them to try on armor pieces, gas masks, Kevlar jackets…you name it.  They were allowed to sit in vehicles, lie down on a prisoner’s bed, practice sword fighting, march with soldiers, etc.

I think another lesson I learned from this day was that no matter how many times you have visited some of these fabulous destinations, their special events are worth going back to attend over and over again.  My kids learned so much yesterday…and so did their parents.

The next event at the Jamestown Settlement is Jamestown Day on May 16th.  There will be maritime demonstrations, military drills, archaeology and programs on English and Powhatan contact and exploration.  There is also a great ongoing exhibit right now, “Jamestown and Bermuda“.  Historic Jamestowne next door should also not be missed, you may even see archeologists excavating at the actual fort.