Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

There's really only one time of year to visit the Great Dismal Swamp, and the time is now. In summer, the swamp tends to live up to its name: it's hot, dark, smelly, and the bugs. Oh, the bugs! By mid-May, the mosquitoes are out in swarms and they don't go away until October or November, and by then, things are pretty gray and flat and all of the singing frogs and birds have buried themselves in the mud or flown south for the winter.

But for a few weeks in early spring, the Dismal Swamp is like Goldilocks' porridge: juuuust right. Last Saturday just happened to fall in the right window and so that's when we visited. The trees were beginning to leaf out, but the branches were still bare enough to let in a little sun and warmth. The swamp seemed to be coming to life under our eyes. Everything was still and quiet, but with branches rustling and birds calling from the tree tops, it was one of the loudest silences I've ever heard.

The Great Dismal Swamp is huge, one of the last true wildernesses in the United States, and entrances for it scattered throughout Chesapeake, Suffolk, and northeastern North Carolina. After doing a little research, we settled on the Washington Ditch entrance in Suffolk. For a few reasons: first, the raised boardwalk trail seemed best for our little hiker. At a manageable 3/4-mile, it was a reasonable distance for Baby A. -- we knew that there was a good possibility that she'd be able to walk it without us having to carry her all the way back. Second, Washington Ditch is one of the only swamp entrances with bathrooms in the parking area, a boon that should not be discounted. Third, there have been very few black bear sightings (!) there recently. 

Anne enjoyed herself immensely. Who knew that toddlers were so keen on swamps? She listened hard for the bird and frog calls and mimicked each one; she found a stick and poked around in the murky water; she noticed every vine and leaf and amassed quite a collection of bright red maple seed pods. I enjoyed watching her watch everything -- there were honestly a lot of things I would have missed if I hadn't seen them through her eyes.

Sometime in the future, James and I would like to take Anne to hike the 4.5-mile Washington Ditch trail to Lake Drummond, one of the only two natural lakes in Virginia. The trail was surveyed by George Washington himself in 1775, and the placid ditch alongside was dug entirely by slave labor, a truly mind-boggling task once you see how long and wide it is and think about what that must have meant in the age before heavy-duty digging equipment was invented. We walked a little of the trail today, but it's going to be a long time before A. can manage the 9-mile trek in and out. Still, tween and teen hikers might be able to manage it, or younger kids, if there are bikes involved.

A word to the wise: any time you go into the Great Dismal Swamp, bring sunscreen and bug spray just in case, and be sure to plan for any eventuality -- cell phone service is spotty (at best) in the swamp. And remind your kids what poison ivy looks like. It's everywhere, all over the trees and creeping up the wood railings on the path in places. As the poet Thomas Moore reminds us his ballad, "The Lake of the Dismal Swamp," written in 1806, it really should be avoided at all costs:

Away to the Dismal Swamp he speeds--

His path was rugged and sore,

Through tangled juniper, beds of reeds,

Through many a fen, where the serpent feeds,

And man never trod before.

And, when on the earth he sunk to sleep

If slumber his eyelids knew,

He lay, where the deadly vine doth weep

Its venomous tear and nightly steep

The flesh with blistering dew!

The Virginia Living Museum

The Virginia Living Museum was one of my favorite places to go growing up, the absolute best field trip destination. While I always loved the zoo and the aquarium, there was something special about the VLM. The animals weren't exotic but native to my home state, ones I could, theoretically encounter in my backyard. And yet at the museum, I had a chance to see them up close in their own habitats, not bounding away or freezing in fear but doing the kind of things they do in their daily animal lives.

I was excited to share it with Anne. This is a kid who loves all things outdoors and animals of all stripes. She's a Virginia girl, too boot. So J and I hit the museum on a cloudy day last week with high hopes of initiating her into the tribe.

But we ran into trouble early on. Surprise tantrum -- hit the deck! I think it was prompted by the fact that we wouldn't let her take her coat off. Oh, almost two...you are a delight.

Still, despite a few squalls, we ended up having a great time exploring the VLM (which was nice, because after paying over $30 to get in, we weren't looking forward to 1-2-3 Magicking our way out before we'd seen everything). The interior exhibits, featuring plants and wildlife from different geographical regions of Virginia, were punctuated by interactive discovery centers where kids can piece together fossils, climb through tree trunks, and examine brightly-painted butterfly wings. We especially loved the Coastal Plain aquariums and the World of Darkness gallery, and seeing all of the animals that have so creatively adapted to life without light.

But the real highlight of the trip was a stroll over the elevated boardwalk that spans Deer Park Lake to see the big stars of the museum: coyotes, foxes, eagles, deer...  My favorites were the crafty (and slightly neurotic?) raccoons, James liked the wolves, and the playful otters made A. laugh out loud. Not an easy task on this particular day, but those otters are seriously charming. Even the most crotchety of toddlers cannot resist.

Have you been to the VLM lately? What was your favorite exhibit?

Kiptopeke State Park

This past weekend, to celebrate the return to sunshine after a very waterlogged week, James, Anne, and I made a road trip across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to visit Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

Kiptopeke is famous for its beaches -- which front on the Chesapeake Bay -- and its birds -- the area serves as one of the nation's most important migratory bird study sites. In fact, the park has a little bit of a bird theme: each of the trails that wind through the woods is named for one of the birds that can be found making their home at the park: Warbler, mockingbird, osprey, peregrine falcon, raptor, and bald eagle.

The trails are a nice mix of terrains, from sand to gravel to boardwalk, and most are an easy walk for kids of all ages (ranging from .2-1.5 miles). Additionally, many of the boardwalk trails (including the one leading to the beach) are handicap accessible.

This was Baby A.'s first hiking experience in which she would be expected to ACTUALLY WALK as opposed to being carried on our backs, so we wanted to make sure that we kept things pretty easy for her little legs to handle. We decided to make a loop: take the Wood Warbler trail to the beach, and the Peregrine falcon boardwalk back to our car: all in all, about five blocks' worth of walking. I am forever grateful to the kind and gentle soul who thought to reinforce the raised boardwalk trail so that no toddlers could slip through the cracks. But I do kind of want to give the guy who decided on all the stairs a piece of my mind. Because you know A. had to climb each and every one of them herself and wouldn't accept any help, no sirree.

No, dada! I do it!

By far, the best part of Kiptopeke was the beach. It was so pristine and remote, acres of pale sand stretching up to the pine forest. The water that lapped up into the little coves was so clear and clean that we could see the sandy bottom, and the sand was littered with beautiful razorback clam shells and shark's purses. Anne collected so many of them that by the time we got back to the boardwalk, our pockets were full.

Besides the beach and the overlooks, Kiptopeke offers a fishing pier, boat ramp, and bike trails, as well as camping and lodge facilities for overnighters (including several yurts -- awesome!) And because we were there late in the day, we got to see one of the best sights the park has to offer: the sun sinking right down into the Chesapeake. Definitely a beautiful thing to behold after all those days of rain.

Click here for more information on visiting the park, including a trail map.

Have you ever been to Kiptopeke? What was your favorite part?

Peninsula SPCA Petting Zoo and Exotic Animal Sanctuary

Baby A. and I met this badassed rooster (and a whole bunch of other animals) at the Peninsula SPCA petting zoo last week. Click on over to My Active Child to read all about our visit!

(I love this photo, btw. I think it sums up my focus for the new year. Sometimes you gotta climb on the fence, who cares what they say?)

A visit to the Virginia Aquarium (and why to buy a membership)

Happy 2013! We celebrated the new year at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center with our good friends, Erin and Baby J. and Sarah and Baby A. (By the way, aren't there a lot of Baby A.s in our circle? Is A. a popular initial for your crowd, too?) We'd heard such good things about the aquarium and had been meaning to go for months. So spending New Years Day there felt right, like we were making good on a resolution at the very start of the year.

The first thing I did upon arriving was buy a year's membership, and here's why:

• Admission for just one visit is pretty steep: $21 per adult and $15 per child (aged 3 and up). We bought the cheapest membership (the Otter level, for $80), which will pay for itself in just two visits. 
• Speaking of numbers of visits, you'll definitely need more than one to experience everything the aquarium has to offer. We were there for two hours, and only managed to hit about 2/3 of the Bay and Ocean Pavilion. There's still a whole other pavilion, a library, and a theatre waiting to be explored (not to mention special events, like storytimes, nature treks, and boat rides).  
• Membership has some great perks, like express entry (valuable in the summertime, when the aquarium gets crowded) and substantial discounts for the cafe and IMAX movie theatre. 
• The aquarium is awesome. It's just plain awesome. And we loved it. 

Baby J. ain't afraid of no horseshoe crabs.

Some things we were especially excited about: the large walk-through tank, filled with colorful fish and coral; the up-bubble that allowed us to see into the Komodo dragon habitat and come face to face with the giant lizard; the stingray petting tank (I almost had a heart attack when a friendly ray leaped up to say hello); listening to the very knowledgeable docent tell us all about the crocodiles; watching the seals zoom happily through the water. And the sea turtles (Anouk said "turtle" for the first time!) -- and the turtle nursery -- and pressing buttons in the submersible play area -- and, well, you get the picture. It was all pretty great and we're already looking forward to going back.

We had lunch at the cafe, and I want to give a special shout out to the staff there -- who not only didn't mind when Baby Anne accidentally upended her plate onto the floor but told us not to worry about it, either. That kind of attitude is invaluable when you're out with a toddler and it was much appreciated.

Um, take a look at the scratches on those windows. Holy cow Komodo dragon!

What about you? How did you celebrate the new year? Are there any local landmarks you're looking forward to visiting in 2013?

Big Woods State Forest

Hunting season is right around the corner! So today we went to the woods to scout for deer. At least, that's why James went. Anouk and I were there because we want to live deliberately and suck out all the marrow from life. 

  
The Big Woods State Forest is located in Wakefield, Virginia, way out in Sussex County (It's about an hour and fifteen minute drive from the Ocean View area of Norfolk -- more with traffic). I had never heard of Wakefield before, but it turns out it's kind of a big deal when it comes to peanuts. The first peanuts in America were planted in the town, before it was a town, and peanut-flavored dishes are served in many of the town's restaurants. 

As you can also see, Wakefield is also kind of a big deal when it comes to reality TV stars. Peanuts and TV? How can that be anything other than a winning combination?

After we had tramped through the woods (and these were real woods, with very authentically woodsily overgrown trails, it should be noted), marked some deer tracks and had a snack, we drove around Sussex County for a while and saw the sights. One prominent one being miles and miles of fields of cotton in full bloom (does cotton bloom?) I have probably passed fields of cotton a million times before in my life, but this was my first in full bloom, and seeing a stretch of this gorgeous, purest white all the way to the horizon made me feel mindful of a lot of things. Of the great beauty in the world, the great work it would have taken to plant and tend and pick, and the great numbers of men and women who were made to plant and tend and pick it over hundreds of years. I think everybody should try to see a field of cotton in full bloom once in their lives, to feel these feelings.

Quote of the day:

ME: There's mud on my duck boots!

JAMES: They're duck boots...they can handle a little mud.

ME: I bought these duck boots for FASHION.

Some other things to see near Wakefield, VA:

-Virginia Diner (in Wakefield): featuring peanut pie and peanut dressing
-Miles B. Carpenter Museum Complex (in Waverly, VA): with a Victorian House, folk art and peanut museum.
-Country Store (in Waverly): You can buy bacon, fresh from the pig! And also hog jowls. But let's focus on the bacon.