Adventure #3: The Great Plains Nature Center

Back when we lived in Arkansas, we often found ourselves at the Craighead County Nature Center for an afternoon -- we loved the combination of education, nature, and wild open spaces. That, and it made for a good Sunday afternoon outing. It's been a while since we've been to a nature center; I knew there was one here, but had never made the effort to go out to it (it's across town). So, using the challenge as an excuse, I suggested having playgroup out there today. We had a fairly good sized turnout, and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Well, mostly. The center itself is nice: lots of good information on both the Arkansas (say it with me: AR-kan-saw... they have a problem with that name around here) River and the Great Plains -- both the animals, and natural environment. It lacked the fun kids area of the one in Arkansas, but otherwise, it was a good little center.

After we had exhausted the inside options, we headed out to the trails. They were really nice: sidewalks through the woods, actually, not natural at all. But, there were several large ponds/small lakes that had an abundance of ducks, fish, other birds, and turtles, much to the girls' (and other kids) enjoyment. Unfortunately, A had a couple of mishaps: a wasp stung her hand (thank heavens she's not allergic; it hurt for a while, but someone managed to find an ice pack that helped take the sting away) and then fell down on the trail and scraped up both knees. Other than that, though, it was uneventful and nice.

It turned out to be a bit hot today -- 85 degrees when we left at 11:30 this morning -- to really enjoy the walks outside, but I think it'd be really nice to go back in the fall sometime. I'm glad we went.

Zilker Summer Musical (Beauty & The Beast) - Austin, TX

We finally got to the first of our adventures for the Summer Adventure Challenge. Last night we went to see Beauty & The Beast at the Zilker Hillside Theater, the 50th annual offering from the Zilker Summer Musical. The play, as always, was free, but they've started charging $3 for parking for big events like this. We parked at the soccer fields across the street because we only had a dollar with us. People show up about 5:30 or 6pm, so the hillside fills up fast for the 8:30 show. We got there at 8 and joined some family that had gotten there earlier. Our view was partially obscured by the lighting arch, but we were still close enough to gawk at the costume detailing.


The puppetry for the prologue was very inventive--I had wondered how they were going to do that. The flash you see is the old woman turning into the lovely sorceress.


I loved looking at the costumes (blame the history buff in me), and the most curious thing I noticed is that the play was set a good 50 years before the movie. I haven't seen the Broadway version, so I can't say how this play differs from that one, but our costumes were definitely 50 years before the costumes in the movie. They were still beautiful, and delightfully detailed, though. The wolves were very clever, and my favorite servant was the sugar tongs.


The children were all entranced by the action on stage.


At intermission the cast members come out with donation buckets. It's a fun tradition--everyone loves getting to see a part of the play come out among us, and it gives everyone the chance to contribute what they can to the cause. (For those who are curious, it took $200k to put on this year's production.)


By the end of the play, my son had gotten really into it. When Belle left to go help her father, he kept asking "Where'd go, Lella?" I tried to tell him that it wasn't Cinderella, it was Belle, but eventually gave up and told him she went to help her daddy. Then, when the beast and Gaston were fighting, he would gasp and look at me with this funny little fish mouth every time something happened.


It was a late night, the play getting over just after 11. We took naps in the afternoon to get ready, but everyone was still wiped out.


I asked my daughter, this morning, how she liked the play, and she said it was good. She liked the songs and the clothes, and thought it was fun that the actors got to play dress-up and pretend to be the people in the story.

Calvert Marine Museum

Having grown up in Utah, I never had any sort of special fondness for the sea. I went to the ocean a few times during junior high and high school - but it never was much of a draw. How things have changed for me since I moved to Maryland. I LOVE the Bay. I feel like it belongs to me as much as it does to any other Marylander. I love any activities that let me be near it, so being able to spend a week a year down on the Bay with my family every year is a real treat.

The Calvert Marine Museum is one that we've never tried - which is strange, since when I finally found the directions it was only 45 minutes from where we've stayed the last two years. We stay in St. Mary's county and this place is in Calvert county (in Solomons Island). To get there, you get to cross this (info found here):

Your real adventure, however, begins even before you reach the island when your route takes you over Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge on Rt. 4. This bridge, connecting Calvert and St. Mary's County, is over 140 feet high with only a jersey wall separating you from the 120 foot deep Patuxant River below.

I must say - I have no fear of heights, but this one actually made my hands sweat :)

This museum is fantastic for adults AND kids - something I am always on the prowl for. It's right on the water - they've got a marsh walk and a huge boat exhibit outside. My boys could not get enough of those boats - some of them are really old and it was a great place to run around anyway :)

SO. You first walk in and there is a big exhibit all about STING RAYS!! My kids were so thrilled because we had just seen sting rays out in the open the days before and the docents were so friendly and helpful. They had a big tank with some smaller rays and skates swimming around.

Next down the hall was one of the greatest museum discovery rooms I've ever been to - and I've been to a lot. Here's what they had:

*A big touch tank with nice ladies to help you touch the different animals - they even had a TERRAPIN!! GO TERPS!! Of course I had to give him a lucky pat, as did all of my future Terps :)

*A boat!! They had hats and lifejackets for the kids to put on and a nice docent even taught Xavier how to lower and raise the sails. The sailor talk I heard was hilarious. The boys, especially, loved that

*A lighthouse and keeper house with dress up clothes and you could walk up little stairs to turn on the lighthouse light

*a replica of the Calvert Cliffs with a big sand pit full of fossils! Sharks teeth, mostly, but the kids could sift and dig through it and pick one to take home. They had a big chart with all kids of sharks teeth and what they looked like, and you got to fill out a sheet identifying your tooth. Sheely really liked that part.

*ropes where you could practice rope tying

*upstairs they had books, puzzles, legos and bean bags to explore and chill. I had to drag my kids out

The rest of the museum the kids just walked through - there were some fish and animals to see, as well as a miniature model of the city of Solomons and several huge boats. There was so much to read and see! I actually snuck around by myself and read while the boys were playing in the discovery room with my sister. There was a lot to learn about Solomon's Island and the role of Calvert County in the sea trade in the past.

And outside, besides what I already mentioned, there are otters!!! Such playful and fun guys I have never seen. The boys were doing the happy screaming at their antics. We also got to take a self-guided tour of the Drum Point Lighthouse which they moved right to the campus of the museum and the tour was included in the admission price. It's a "screwpile, cottage-type light" and the keeper lived right there in the light house. It was such a neat, circular home, I can imagine a younger Corinne having day dreams about living in a place like that. The kids and I climbed right up the swirly stairs to the top and got a great, if cramped, view.

If you are ever in Maryland, this museum is worth seeing. It's probably an hour and a half from downtown DC - but really, a world away.

cross posted at the Summer Adventure Challenge blog

Adventures in Candy Buying

Adventure #2: we did what we should have done last week... went to two of the candy stores in town. We started at Farris Wheel, since it was the furthest east.

It was a cute little shop, adjacent to a restaurant. And they were pretty good with samples and the girls. We were the only ones in the store for a while, so the girls had the run of the store.

We got a few little things -- some Spanish Peanuts for M, Jelly Bellys for A and K and some fudge for C.

We were excited, and thought it was a neat place, but that was before we got here (notwithstanding that we thought the fudge from Farris Wheel was too sweet and a bit grainy):

It's a fairly large warehouse just east of downtown, and they have a HUGE selection of candies. And they were SO much better about their samples and dealing with the girls. One salesperson, in particular, made it her mission to find C something she liked. (Especially after I said no to buying M&Ms; she got a second treat because she ate one bite of the fudge and declared it "too yucky". I've spoiled my kids when it comes to sweets.)

The same salesperson gave A a chocolate covered peanut, I think. A doesn't like peanuts in her chocolate... hence the icky face.

We found some really YUMMY stuff there. C settled for mint-chocolate malt balls (which were really good), and I picked up some red apple caramels (think caramel apples in candy form) and some cashew butter toffee (which my husband LOVED!) I think we can safely say 1) we know what we're getting people for Christmas and 2) we found a new place to buy candy!

Concert & Fireworks at Auditorium Shores - Austin, TX

It's not on our list because we go every year, but I thought I'd share.

Every year the Austin Symphony Orchestra puts on a free concert and fireworks show for the people of this lovely city. After several years of construction and renovation, it was back at Auditorium Shores (the park along the river, right in front of the Long Center, where the Symphony performs), a way better location on all fronts than Zilker Park (huge park just south of the river and downtown) could ever hope to be. To be fair, Zilker has Barton Springs pool and picnicing areas across the street from where they did fireworks, but those are before-activities, not during-activities, and traffic was beyond awful in and out.

We caught the bus because parking is usually a nightmare with that many people, and we live right on one of the lines that goes right past Auditorium Shores. Once there, we met up with my husband's sister and her family. We ate snacks (there's tons of food vendors, though we usually bring our own) and grooved to the radio station that broadcasting the concert. At concert time, we could see the symphony pretty well and the sound system was set up so everyone, even the people on the other side of the river, could hear.


My son rocked out to Leroy Anderson and his Syncopated Clock, dancing around the blankets, and loved being bounced on my knees for Sousa and the 1812 Overture. My daughter somehow fell asleep during that last one and missed ~95% of the fireworks.


The show was great and as a bonus you could see the reflections ripple down the side of one of the new condo towers. It was a super cool effect.


Here's a video of the show. No, my camera doesn't have sound.

4th of July & Riverton Days Carnival

A few highlights in picture.

Originally we were going to go to the Herriman Days Carnival, but that was the same weekend my wonderful parents took James. I'm glad Riverton does theirs right after. It actually had much better rides than the Herriman one.

We barbecued with the neighbors and went up the the carnival about 7:30. James has never been on any kind of carnival/amusement park rides before, so I was a little unsure as to how he'd do. I bought the 10 tickets for $10 deal hoping he'd have fun. I could have bought more. He had a ball! Those 10 tickets gave him 5 rides. The caterpillar roller coaster just happened to be right by the ticket booth so we started there. First ever ride - a roller coaster - why not! James had a permanent grin the whole time. So fun.

After the rides we hung out on the blankets with our friends, eating cookies and licorice, chatting and waiting for the fireworks. James loved the fireworks. They didn't start until a little before 10:00 and Matt, who had James on his lap for most of the show, said James fell asleep during part of it and he had to wake him up. Scott even did great - they didn't scare him at all.

I think we have a new 4th of July tradition. Spend the money on the carnival rides rather than fireworks and just sit back and enjoy a really good fireworks show with friends.

Boating in Seattle

For those of you who don’t know, my home, Mount Vernon, is about an hour to Seattle. I love Seattle. I haven’t gotten to do much there, but every trip has been great. It makes me wish I had more time and money to do more there. Well yesterday the family got a huge treat…

Erik’s nurse, Judy, and her husband Bob have a boat on Lake Union. From Lake Union, which is right next to the University of Washington, you can go through the locks and get out to Puget Sound, or you can got through “the cut” and get to Lake Washington. We got there around noon and had lunch as we cruised Lakes Union and Washington.
First for Lake Union—gorgeous sites of Seattle: UW, the boat houses (including the “Sleepless in Seattle” houseboat), restaurants, parks, the city skyline, the barges where they would shoot off an amazing Fourth of July fireworks show that evening, and tons of boats! Now I know most people don’t know a sole who owns a boat on Lake Union, but you can get a taste of the action if you visit Seattle. Check out “Ride the Ducks Seattle”. These are amphibious tour cars so you get a drive around the city as well as some boating on the lake. I haven’t done it myself, but I was impressed seeing all the “Ducks” on the lake. I think it would be a great tour! I’m sure I’ll be dragging future visitors on one…

Now for Lake Washington. This lake is next to Bellevue. Don’t know Bellevue? Think Microsoft, think Bill Gates (is he still the wealthiest man on the planet?)—he lives there. On the lake. The amazing thing…you can’t tell which house is his. It is miles and miles of mansion after mansion after mansion. I’m kicking myself for not dragging my camera out to take photos, but I was basically mesmerized. I’ve never seen anything like it in all my life. How it is even possible that there are that many people, THAT wealthy in one place? It boggles the mind.
In summary, it was a beautiful day full of beautiful sites. I can’t wait for our next invitation!