Recently we got this great review submitted to us by Debbie an A Day’s Outing fan.  We love fan submitted tales of their day trips!

The Museum of Life and Science in Durham is a great place for children and adults alike. There are lots of outside activities like climbing stations, a real caboose, a sound area with drums and other percussion instruments. The butterfly house is wonderful. There are two areas, a large tropical rainforest with butterflies from around the world and a smaller domestic butterfly section. Children can watch the butterflies as they emerge and take flight.

There is also an insectarium with a variety of unusual living bugs, even live black widow spiders. Exhibits are carefully arranged so that the insects and be viewed up close. There are tropical frogs in a variety of colors. There is also a dinosaur exhibit, but I didn’t get a chance to go through it.

Prepare to spend several hours when visiting- there are lots of hands on activities both inside and out.

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.

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!

I love science museums. And, I can honestly say that I have never been to a museum and left without learning something fun and new. I didn’t expect to learn this from the Science Museum of Western Virginia, but I did.

How to make your own bouncy ball!

1 tablespoon Elmer’s Glue
1/2 teaspoon borax
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons warm water
2 disposable plastic cups
2 popsicle sticks
food coloring
rubber gloves

Instructions
1. Use a popsicle stick to mix the glue with food coloring in one of the disposable plastic cups.
2. Use the other popsicle stick to mix the water with the borax in the other cup. Stir until the borax has dissolved.
3. Add 1/2 teaspoon of borax water to the glue mixture. Add cornstarch. Wait 15 seconds.
4. Stir the mixture together until it stiffens. Put on the rubber gloves and mold the ball until it becomes a solid.

What’s Happening?
The white glue contains polyvinyl acetate, a strong and flexible polymer that gives the ball strength. Cornstarch contains amylopectin, a polymer whose shape is best described as “branched” - it sticks out like the branches of a tree - and gives the ball the property of elasticity. Elasticity allows the ball to return to its original shape after being compressed or stretched, such as hitting the floor. So instead of splattering everywhere, the ball bounces back up. The borax is needed to help the glue and the starch stick together. This connects the two polymers into a netlike formation, keeping the ball from crumbling or becoming slime when it is bounced.

Important-
-Store your homemade bouncy ball in a bag or other airtight container so it won’t dry out.
-Borax is considered poisonous and should not be ingested or directly inhaled. Supervise children around borax and store in a safe place.

What ride threatens to make you sick at the fair?  Is it the Tilt-a-Whirl?  Maybe it is the Flying Pirate Ship that may at any moment dump you out of your seat.  For me it is the cute green dragons.

Those dragons seem innocent enough with their pretty colors and smiling faces, but beware!  Unknown to me was the fact that they each spin individually, while simultaneously being hurled around in a circle.  Really, I can’t think of any carnival ride more torturous for an adult.  Of course, my two small children thought it was the best ride they have ever been on.  They grabbed the wheel in the middle of the dragon and spun it around and around making us go faster and faster.  To survive, I had to look out the door and try and focus on a light or building, anything to keep my dizzy head from getting the best of me.

When the ride was finally over, I stumbled outside and safely away from the grinning dragon.  The kids handed the man two more tickets and jumped back on.  My lesson…. let the kids ride the spinning dragons.  I’m happy to wait by the fence with some kettle corn.

Dogwood Festival,   Coshocton, OH

April 30th – May 8th

Vashon Island Strawberry Festival,  Vashon, WA

July 17th - July 18th

Virginia Beach Neptune Festival, Virginia Beach, VA

September 24th - 26th

Norfolk Harborfest, Norfolk, VA

July 3rd - 5th

Anyone with children or grandchildren knows that visiting the gift shop is one of the exciting parts of a trip for little kids.  I am of mixed minds when it comes to the gift shop. I know that my two children can become a bit fixated on the gift shop and make me crazy by asking if we are going to stop by the shop.  But, I do like to visit the gift shops of museums because I know they raise money from the gift shops to help support the exhibits that we go to enjoy.

On a recent drive to see my mom, we decided to take a side trip to the Toy Museum in Natural Bridge, VA along the way.  This was a last minute decision and we pulled off the road at 3:45.  The kids were excited as we walked down the stairs to the museum, but as we approached the window to buy tickets I saw that the museum closed at 4:00.  The tickets weren’t cheap, so 15 minutes of walking around to see the toys was out of the question.  So, what was I going to do?   I decided my only way out was to say, “Do you guys want to visit the gift shop?”

Two scoops of ice cream later, we were back in the car and I was thanking my lucky stars there was a gift shop to save me.

I don’t often travel by myself.  I’m usually with my children, my husband and many times with my mom as well.  We take a whole lot of multi-generational trips, and we love it.  However, I recently found myself alone in Baltimore on a business trip for A Day’s Outing.  I arrived at my hotel at 4:00 p.m. and had plenty of time left in the day for an outing.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.  I had been to Baltimore’s well known Inner Harbor on one of our big family trips, but I wanted to do something different.  I decided on the Baltimore Museum of Art.  Since I was by myself I would be able to walk around the museum at my own pace – no big group pulling me from room to room too quickly, and I didn’t have any children needing to go to the bathroom in remote parts of the museum. It was just me, and I could enjoy the museum at my own pace.

And what a museum it is. I was truly blown away by the collections I saw.  Each room had it’s own treasures: The Thinker, by August Rodin, a mobile by Alexander Calder, a painting by Georgia O’Keeffe and other art I have learned to love from my parents, African and Pre-Columbian art.  My favorite pieces were the 23 Colima figures. They made me stop in my tracks.  There was a quilt exhibit that was amazing. To round out my tour of the museum, I visited the contemporary art wing. There were pieces by Andy Warhol and also dynamic installations by up and coming artists.  I’m not really sure, but I believe the art I saw at the Baltimore Museum of Art spanned 3000 years.

Now that I have spent a few hours of a business trip on something so amazing and relaxing as a tour of a museum, I know I will certainly take an outing like this again in the future.

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I told you guys I would let you know how the snowboarding progressed.  Late last week we had yet another snow day and I took the kids up to our closest resort, Wintergreen.  Earlier we had purchased the learn-to-ski/snowboard package.  It included three days of lift tickets, rentals and lessons.  This was our second trip up and it was great.  The weather was again perfect and we were one of the only counties who had a snow day, so there were very few people there.  The kids had there own private instructor, made incredible strides and loved their cool instructor.  Most importantly, he was able to teach my youngest, who is not very tall, how to get off the lift when she has to jump off and he taught the oldest a few tricks and he now feels like he can keep up with his friends.  I think for the third lesson, I will plan to pull the kids out of school one afternoon and hope they can have private lessons again.  I was also wonderful that there were so few people there that I wasn’t concerned about the kids being skied into.

We have started to consider buying a family season pass for next year and with that, we have started to look at buying equipment.  So far we did buy the youngest a helmet that fits her very well.  I got some great advice from my Vail snowboarding friend on buying equipment for kids.  He suggested buying them a used board from a local shop and buying cool stickers to put on them.  Small boards aren’t going to have lots of riding time on them, you can get the board a good tune and you should be all set.  Kids outgrow their equipment and also don’t think it’s cool after a season or two.  Sizing is also important, they need to have a board they are comfortable with and can turn.  It’s hard to buy a board they can grow into.  On helmets, you just want something that fits well, protects their head and keeps them warm.  Try going to a local shop and ask what they have, a used helmet is fine and again that’s what stickers are for.  The fit is the most important part of the helmet.  It can’t come off during a collision, that defeats the purpose.  Many shops will also rent equipment for a season and you can usually rent much nicer equipment than you would ever want to buy.

Wish us luck, so far it’s been a ton of fun!

I wanted to highlight three more amazing artists from the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. I have a brochure from the show on my desk and I love picking it up again and again remembering what amazing talent there was at the show. Again, the variety of art in the show makes it a great trip to take with friends and the restaurants in Philadelphia are some of the best in the country.

Genevieve Yang – Genevieve is a third generation goldsmith and she creates individually handcrafted jewelry from various karats and colors of gold and silver. She then carefully selects each stone that goes into her pieces. She incorporates colorless diamonds, fancy diamonds and precious stones. She was also a delight to talk to during the show, her own enthusiasm and confidence in her work really shines through.

Martha Fieber – Martha is a former engineer and you can see her background in the intense attention to detail and planning in her work. She creates amazing landscape pieces that from a distance look as though they could be an oil painting. Only as you begin to walk up closer to them do you realize that her pieces are comprised of thousands of intricate stitches that allow for incredible depth and perspective. She works with only four types of stitches using single strand silk, rayon, metallic and/or hand dyed cotton threads on linen and silk backgrounds.

Jerry & Deborah Kermode – Jerry and Deborah have a love affair with trees and its shows in their wood turned creations. I made a small purchase from them and bought a beautiful pepper grinder that proudly sits on my kitchen island. Jerry hand carves each piece on a lathe, using the grain of the wood and its character traits as his guides. The vessel is rough turned to 1/2″ thick, allowed to dry for many months and then finish turned to a thickness appropriate to the design. Finally it is sanded to a 1200 grit finish and Danish oiled. Deborah administers the final finish: the piece is steel wooled and waxed. Jerry also offers classes at his studio in beautiful Sebastopol, CA and will share his gift with you.

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As I wrote in a previous blog post, I am relying on my daughter’s photos to help me write about a long weekend we took to DC. I decided with this one that I should also have her help me write up her own review of the butterfly exhibit titled Butterflies & Plants: Partners in Evolution.

She said that honestly what she remembers most is that is was VERY hot and humid in there and we were really bundled up because of the extremely cold weather going on outside. She really enjoyed that the butterflies would come right up and land on you, so that you could really get a close look at them. She also liked that butterflies hold still long enough that you can take good pictures of them. When we were there we were also fortunate enough to be able to watch a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis and fly away.

Unlike the rest of the Natural History Museum, the exhibit is ticketed. Tickets are $6 for adults and $5 for children 2-12. Tuesdays the exhibit is free, but you do need to pick timed-entry tickets.

Here’s a few of her photos-