I had a new experience finding shark’s teeth at the beach this morning. Last year, I learned to look for shark’s teeth at the water’s edge as the waves washed up, as well as in the tiny piles of shells left by the receding tide. My son has the eagle eye and can find the tiniest teeth imaginable.

Today, I found the largest tooth I have ever found in a tide pool.  I didn’t know I should be looking there and was shocked to see the tooth about 6 inches below the edge of the water. I wasn’t even sure what it was, but the shape made me reach in and pick it up.  My daughter also found a shark’s tooth as large as mine in another tide pool 50 yards away. Her tooth was crystal white and was so new that it had sharp barbs on either side of the main tooth.  Sadly, she insisted on carrying her treasure herself and dropped the tooth in the sand on the way back to the car.

While there were some tears on the way home, we learned a few new things about finding shark’s teeth, as well as how to make sure they make it back home.

We were the ultimate tourists in New York City — we took a horse drawn carriage ride through Central Park. Actually, only half the ride was really in Central Park, but I’ll get to that in a moment.

In Midtown Manhattan, the carriages line up along West 59th Street at the southern end of Central Park. It is quite a sight to see all the horses and the beautiful carriages in a row. Some of the drivers even dress up for the occasion with top hats and coats.

The carriage rides start at $40 for a twenty-minute ride. Even at that cost, we had a lovely time. The weather was amazing and it gave us a moment to relax during our adventures in the city that day. I did learn that if you take a carriage ride, you want to get into a carriage that is closer to 5th Avenue, near the Plaza Hotel. We made a mistake and choose a carriage closer to Central Park West, at Columbus Circle, which meant we rode half of our ride on the street with cars and only came through the park on our way back. If we had chosen a carriage closer to 5th Avenue, we would have ridden our whole ride in the park…. And really, that’s what a carriage ride through Central Park is all about.

I have found that sculpture gardens truly have something for everyone. I love how the artist’s work is presented in different settings. Sometimes the garden is quite formal with traditional water features or a knot garden made of herbs. Other times, the sculpture is displayed in large expanses of grass or in huge flowerbeds that enhance the art. I have noticed that my children really enjoy the fact that they are outside and that they can freely move about while seeing the artwork. There is something about the children’s energy and the art’s permanence that makes me enjoy the outing even more.

You can look for public sculpture gardens in city parks around the country, as well as sculpture collections in outdoor pavilions at art museums. There are also private sculpture collections that have been donated and preserved in their original garden settings. One of my favorites is Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina.

A sculpture garden is the perfect combination for the art lover and the gardener all rolled into one. Here are a few of the dozens of sculpture gardens around the country:

Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, SC

Bob Cage Sculpture Farm, South Boston, VA

City Sculpture Garden And Japanese Teahouse, Bethlehem, PA

Gilgal Sculpture Garden, Salt Lake City, UT

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Minneapolis, MN

Naser Sculpture Center, Dallas, TX

Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park, Hamilton, OH

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.

Natural Bridge is an amazing rock bridge that soars 20 stories above your head. Its formation is believed to have begun when a cavern collapsed and left a stone expanse that was slowly carved out by water from the Cedar Creek. If you find yourself traveling through the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, you’ll want to make a stop at Natural Bridge to see this wonder of nature.

When you arrive at Natural Bridge don’t let the parking lot fool you. A large billboard, a plastic sculpture of a cowboy riding a dinosaur and a building housing a wax museum, will greet you. Tickets for Natural Bridge are purchased inside the welcome center, where you will also find a large gift shop. With tickets in hand, you head down stone stairs beside Cascade Creek to the entrance of Natural Bridge and the creek-side trail.

The walk under the rock bridge is breathtaking. It’s hard to believe that a creek really carved away this much stone. During your visit, take the time to continue down the trail to see the Monacan village complex. The Monacan Indian Nation of Virginia has constructed a living history village that highlights life as it would have been 300 years ago along the Cedar Creek. After our visit to the village, we continued to walk down the trail even further on our way to Lace Falls. It was quite a walk down and back, but it was beautiful day and the kids had a great time playing on the edge of the creek as we enjoyed all Natural Bridge had to offer.  Below is also a little snake we saw along the way.

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.

It’s strawberry season! Beautiful red, ripe berries are appearing in farmers’ markets and roadside stands. Now’s the time to macerate some strawberries with balsamic vinegar, sugar and a touch of black pepper. Serve this amazing mixture over your favorite ice cream and you have a simple, but fantastic dessert.  Look for pick your own strawberries in your area.

Macerated Strawberries
2 pints fresh strawberries (4 cups total)
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Hull strawberries, cut each one in half, and place in a bowl. Add the balsamic vinegar, sugar and pepper, and mix until well combined. Refrigerate until strawberries are very soft and juicy, stirring occasionally with a fork, about 4 hours.

Smith’s Nursery and Strawberry Farm Benson, NC

Cooley Peach Farms and Strawberry Hill Chesnee, SC

Sussex County Strawberry Farm Andover, NJ

Vashon Island Strawberry Festival Vashon Island, WA

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.