Trail Center and Bald Cypress Trail at First Landing State Park

Fall is one of my favorite times to get outdoors, so it's been a bummer that so many of the HRVA area national parks and sites are closed due to the government shutdown. Luckily, First Landing is a state park and is still open! And it's at its absolute prettiest right now.

Our playgroup met up there last week for the express purpose of visiting the new Discovery Room at the Trail Center. Unfortunately, the room was off-limits while staff cleaned and fed the animals, but luckily again, the trail center features some other great stuff to hold the little ones' attention, including a cool little exhibit on local flora and fauna, complete with a "please touch" area where we could stroke fur pelts and listen to seashells.



After we'd done a few turns around the exhibit, we went back outside to set off down the Bald Cypress trail, a mile-and-a-half-long boardwalk trail through a marshy wooded area. We didn't make it through the whole loop -- the kids stopped several times, to peer at a frog, climb a hill, and eat some trail mix. And pose for lots of pictures.

First Landing is beautiful in every season, but it really shines in late summer/fall, so much so that I'm adding it to our Fall Fun List as a must-see autumnal destination. What are your favorite spots/trails in the park? Have you made it to the Discovery Room? I'm determined to check it out, so I know we'll be back soon.

Lakewood Park

I've been meaning to post about Lakewood Park for a long time now, but haven't because until recently, I never had the opportunity to take photos to go along with it -- every time I would whip my camera out, Anouk would try to strangle herself on the monkey bars or eat a handful of mulch. But with the challenges of Two also come a few added benefits, one being that she is now much more confident and sensible about appropriate park behavior, and I don't have to hover like a hawk like I used to.

So, finally, here is Lakewood Park. It's across the street from a nice library and also around the corner from Naa's Bakery, hooray! After our trip there a few weeks ago, Anne and I met up with our friends for a playdate under the twisted live oaks, to give the kids a chance to run off some sugar. There are some seriously old trees at Lakewood, gnarled and twisted and providing copious amounts of shade, which means that there is always a cool spot to sit, even on hot and humid summer days. Add in a picnic area and some age-appropriate playground equipment and you've got yourself a practically perfect park.

Did you know that Lakewood Park is also home to Norfolk's Dance and Music Center? Anouk has been asking for dance lessons a lot lately, so we're going to look into the Creative Movement classes for toddlers this winter and spring. If you've ever taken a class at Lakewood I would love to know -- or if you have a recommendation for elsewhere in the #HRVA area that offers toddler tap or ballet.

Hope you had a good weekend. Now get out there and enjoy this gorgeous weather before it's gone!