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I was at a Huntington Beach State Park last year for an early morning walk with family and friends.  We were out looking for seashells when we came across an amazing pattern in the sand that led from the waterline to the dunes.  I confess that it took me a few moments to realize that the patterns in the sand were tracks and then another moment or two more to realize that they were from a sea turtle.  Since I hadn’t seen tracks like this before, my mind went through all sorts of possibilities.  When we went to the dunes to look, we could see that a volunteer from a local rescue group had already come along to mark the nest and create a barrier around it for protection.

I have seen many types of animal tracks on walks in the woods, by the water’s edge and even around my own garden.  I am the most fascinated by the different sizes of bird tracks that I see in the soft ground at the base of a bird feeder, around a pond or at the ocean’s edge.  Each bird’s foot reveals whether they are a water bird that needs support with long toes on the soft sand or a small bird with feet that help it grip a branch on a tree. Of course, I can’t identify a bird from its tracks but some really good birdwatchers can.

If you want a book to carry along on your next adventure to help you identify tracks, Peterson Field Guide to Animal Tracks is the one I have.  I keep it right beside my copy National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America where I have written notes in the margin of the first time I saw a bird, where I was and who I was with. It’s a lot of fun to read a note and remember the first snowy egret or sea turtle tracks you ever saw.

Find fun places to look for animal tracks on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

I grew up in Roanoke, Virginia where a neon sign of an H&R coffee pot loomed large over the historic downtown market and a huge neon star shown across the Roanoke Valley.  These two icons from my childhood led to my lasting love of neon signs.

When I was young I had no idea how the amazing colors were created or how neon could make it look as if coffee poured from a pot and into a cup.  I have since learned that neon signs are made using electrified, luminous tubes of light that contain neon or other gases.  Although only neon gas was originally used in “neon” signs, it is now simply used to make the reds and oranges we see. Argon, or an argon-neon mixture, is now used in most signs to produce a range of colors, along with adding phosphorous to sides of the bent glass tubing.  To improve the color of the light, a small amount of mercury can be added as well. When the tube is ionized by electrification, the mercury evaporates into mercury vapor, which fills the tube and produces strong ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light interacts with the phosphor coatings in the tube to produce different colors.

As you travel around the country, you’ll find both old and new neon signs.  Of course, you’ll see dozens of neon signs for beer, but I’m a fan of the large, bold neon signs that take artistry to create.  And if you happen to be visiting Roanoke, Virginia make sure you look up on Mill Mountain for a glimpse of the neon star – then you’ll know you are in the Star City of the South.

Find great things-to-do on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

I don’t think of travel games as games that you only play in the car.  Travel games for me are the fun, easy to pack games that you can play on a rainy afternoon or in the evening when you’re away from home.

One of our all time favorite portable travel games is Ruckus.  Rukus is a card game for the whole family… children as young as six can easily play. You have a deck of cards with a dozen different symbols on them.  As you draw cards, you put down pairs of cards from your own hand.  However, if you have the same symbol that another player has already placed in front of them, you can “take” all of their cards that have the same symbol and claim them as your own.  This “taking” goes back and forth until someone has put all their cards down and is declared the winner!  It is a fast paced game and is simply wonderful.

Another fun, portable travel game is Zeus on the Loose.  This is another card game, but I recommend it for children eight and older. It has addition, subtraction and multiplication as part of the game — so there is a bit of learning going on as well. This game is a bit complicated to describe but all in all it is a whole lot of fun.

The next time you head out of the house for a weekend away or a family vacation pack a few games.  You never know if you might have a rainy day and there really is nothing like playing card games together.

Find fun things-to-do  on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

Over the last several years, fairies have moved into the shade garden that I have been creating by our home. At least that is what my children believe.

In one spot, the fairies have left a “wishing ball” for the children. These are small ceramic spheres that come in many different patterns and sizes. When you pick one up, close your eyes and wish, the fairies help make the wish come true.

There is also a small place where fairies gather together for their parties. There is a small stump for a table and a group of even smaller stumps all around it to sit down on. This little spot is for fairy tea parties.  Every now and then a different miniature tea set appears and my children know a special party must have been held.

This has been quite a bit of fun for me over the years. Even though my daughter is getting older now, she still enjoys the idea of fairies. She has begun to make fairy houses in the garden for the fairies to visit. She collects bark, rocks, moss and as many flowers as she can pick. These all are stacked together and fashioned into a house of some sort.  We have even been on walks in the woods when she will quickly pile some bark and stones together to leave a small house.

Whether you are young or old, you can enjoy fairy houses.  There are also fairy inspired places to visit in case you are looking for something extra special.

Fairystone Farms Wildlife Management Area

Fairystone Loop

Fairy Stone State Park

Fairytale Town

Find great parks and fairy house on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

I started taking photos out the window of our car awhile back.  It started when I wanted to take pictures of old farmhouses that looked like ours.  We really couldn’t stop every time I saw a house I wanted a picture of, so I started to take photos while we drove on by.

Now I take photos of all sorts of places as we speed down the road.  I wrap the cord around my wrist, hold on tight to the camera, roll down the window and snap away.  I have many blurry images, but with a digital camera it is easy to delete the photos you don’t want.  I also have really fun photos of building, signs, animals and the beautiful countryside all taken from a moving car.

One of my favorite all time photos is one I took in Washington D.C. of the Jefferson Memorial. We had been visiting one of the Smithsonian museums and were headed out of town. As we drove by the Jefferson Memorial, I rolled down the window and snapped a photo.  I know that I can’t stop ever time I see somewhere wonderful, so instead, I take a photo as we fly on by.

Find fun things-to-do on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

There are markets in the warmer parts of the country that already have flowers for sale from their local farmers. For other areas, your corner florist has beautiful blooms that can brighten your home. Whether you grow your flowers yourself or buy them from someone else, you want to take care of them to help the flowers last longer.

Here are a few simply steps to extend the beauty of the flowers once you have them home:

Trim the Stems
Use clippers or shears for woody stems and sharp scissors or knives for other flowers. Cut the stems at a sharp angle. This angle prevents stems from sitting flat in the bottom of the vase and it creates a larger surface area to help the flowers absorb water. Never hammer or crush stems - this shortens the life of the flowers. If possible trim the stems under water. This helps prevent air from getting locked in their veins and helps them draw the water up more easily.

Remove the leaves
Trim all the leaves off the flowers’ stems that will be below the waterline of the vase. Leaves rot when submerged under water, encouraging algae and bacteria in the container and shortening the life of the blooms.

Treat the Water
Using warm water in your vase allows the water to be absorbed more quickly. A bouquet purchased from a store often comes with a packet of cut flower food for conditioning the water. For flowers you bring in from your own garden or the farmers’ market, add 1 teaspoon of sugar, per gallon of water. This will help to prolong the life of the flowers. Also add a drop or two of bleach to the water to prevent bacteria and algae from growing. Be sure to change the water in the vase as soon as it appears cloudy.

I didn’t know what to expect.  I was visiting the Washington National Cathedral without knowing its history or just how amazing it was going to be.  I know I should have done a little research before our outing, but I have been so busy that I didn’t.  I made up for it by I learning a ton while I was there.

After 83 years of construction, the cathedral was completed in 1990.  Formally named the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, the Washington National Cathedral is the second largest cathedral in the country and the sixth largest in the world.  Built, as it would have been in the 14th century as a Gothic cathedral, the Washington National Cathedral extends almost the length of two football fields.  It stands as one of Washington D.C.’s highest points, this soaring Gothic cathedral rivals the Washington Monument and the Capitol.

The aspect of the cathedral that amazed me was the juxtaposition of the immense 14th century Gothic architecture and the contemporary elements in the stained glass windows.  There are many small chapels in the cathedral with themed stained glass.  The War Memorial Chapel honors men and women who have dedicated their lives to the service of our country.  The central alter window in this chapel is of Jesus dressed in camouflage upon the cross.  Surrounding this are images depicted in stained glass of women and men who fought in wars from the Revolutionary War to World War II.  There is another chapel that displays kneeling cushions that volunteers have needlepoint.  Harriet Tubman, an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War, has an ornate prayer cushion in her honor.

While I was mesmerized by the inside of the cathedral, all my son could talk about were the gargoyles on the outside.  A gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque (from the Latin root of “Grotto”, meaning a small cave or hollow). A gargoyle is a spout designed to move water on a roof away from the side of a building.  The Washington National Cathedral has 112 gargoyles. The different designs are amazing, and the gargoyle my son was excited to see was the one of Darth Vader.  You have to search for it, but here’s a hint… it is on the “dark side” of the building.  A wonderful book that we read before our trip is the Guide to Gargoyles and Other Grotesques.

The cathedral sits a top 59 acres.  The grounds include the Bishop’s Garden.  I was only able to snap a photo of its welcoming twelfth century Norman arch.  The Bishop’s Garden is on the south side of the Cathedral. Inside its stone walls are two herb gardens, a rose garden, two perennial borders, a Shadow House and winding stone paths.

The next time we visit, I will make sure we have more time to enjoy the Washington National Cathedral.  We’ll also bring a pair or two of binoculars so that we can really see the gargoyles.  I think we will also pack a lunch and enjoy the Bishop’s Garden from inside its stone walls.

Here are a few fun facts to know before you visit (I learned these while I was there):
Height of Cathedral’s center tower: 30 stories tall
Total cost of building the Cathedral: $65 million
Total years of construction: 83
Number of stained glass windows: 231
Number of gargoyles: 112
Number of angels: 288
Weight of the entire Cathedral: 150,000 tons
Heaviest single stone: 5.5 tons

Find other great things-to-do on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

Beautiful purple, white and yellow crocus are beginning to bloom across the country.  I was looking closely at the purple flowers in my yard and wondering if my crocus were the same ones that produce the delightful spice saffron.

The true saffron flower is the ‘Crocus Sativus’.  The bright orange stigmas of this heirloom crocus bulb are the source of saffron. When the flower is in full bloom, the bright orange stigma are handpicked and then air dried.  It takes approximately 150 flowers to produce one gram of saffron, which is why the spice is so expensive.  You may have never purchased saffron, but you have surely tasted it.  Saffron is a quintessential spice in dishes throughout the Mediterranean, and this food simply wouldn’t be the same without it.

What I have growing in my yard is lovely, but it’s not the famous spice. Now I know that I have to plant ‘crocus sativis’ to get saffron, I might plant a few dozen bulbs next fall and give growing saffron a try.

Today is the first day of spring!  While there is still some snow on the ground in towns across the country, signs of spring are all around us.

Here are some photos — taken with my iPhone — to help get you in the mood for spring.

With the days getting warmer, it is a great time to visit a botanical garden near you. You’ll get to see hundreds of plants and maybe find a new plant or two for your garden.

If you are looking for something fun to do on a beautiful spring day, A Day’s Outing is here to help you discover local things-to-do all across the country.

I didn’t realize it, but there is a fierce competition in Philadelphia for rights as the best Philly cheese steak.  I was driving down the dreaded Interstate 95 from New York to Virginia with my family, and we decided to have lunch in Philadelphia.  I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into as we looked for a “the best” cheese steak.  A quick check on our phone, and we found ourselves at the corner of 9th Street and Wharton in Philly cheese steak heaven.

This corner is where Geno’s Steak House and Pat’s King of Steaks go head to head.  The lines for both takeout restaurants were around the block. I wasn’t prepared for the crowds, how much a lunch for four would cost or how absolutely fantastic the lunch would be. We could have eaten at either place, but we decided to eat at Pat’s. Walking around the building, I could see that locals ordered their food in a very specific way.  Luckily, there is a sign for tourists that teaches you exactly how to order.  It took us 30 minutes to slowly wind around the building and arrive at the window to order, but when we got there, we knew what to do.

The food at Pat’s King of Steaks was fantastic.  I did learn that we should have shared two orders of french fires – no one can eat that many!  And, if you go, don’t try and grab a table before you have your food.  I watched several people sitting at tables “saving” them for their group, while other folks walked around looking for a table with hot food in their hands. I almost missed the station with hot peppers, they’re fantastic — don’t miss these.

So, the next time you find yourself on I 95 around Philadelphia, and you have an hour to stop for lunch, head down to 9th Street.  I know you’ll love Pat’s, but if you do go to Geno’s, let me know how it was.

Find fun things-to-do in Philadelphia and other great towns on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.