Cabin John Park in Rockville, MD

One of the first places my son learned to order me to take him to was Cabin John Park. Set on over 500 acres, this park has the best playground area, with many different play spaces for all age levels. My son loves running from one play area to the next and he comes home tired, which is what all of us are hoping to accomplish, right? There is also a mini train and for $1.50 a ticket, you can get a nice ride around the park. There are also picnic spaces and fields for soccer and baseball.

7400 Tuckerman Lane
Rockville, MD 20852United States
301.495.2525; 301.469.7835
http://www.m... n/index.shtm
Hours:Park: Daily, dawn to dusk; Train: Seasonal, 11am-4:30pm
Cost:Train: $1.50/person
Ages:All Ages

The National Building Museum in Washington, DC

I LOVE THIS PLACE! My mommy friend introduced me to it a few years back and we just can't get back there enough. To be honest, I've not even explored anything past the first floor--the fountain and The Building Zone, which is specifically for the toddler and young preschool aged children. The Building Zone is an interactive, imaginative play area for kids 2-6 with their parents. There are large building blocks, hard hats, tool belts, bulldozers, playhouse, puzzles, Lego's, and more! And there is a beautiful lobby with fountain, gift shop and Firehook Bakery and Coffee House to grab lunch and sit and gawk at the architecture of the building. My son loves checking out each gorgeous pillar and I can't stop looking up either!

The National Building Museum is free, but a $5 donation is recommended and is open to the public Monday through Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Sunday, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Starting November 1, the Building Zone hours are Monday through Saturday, 10:00 am-4:00 pm, and Sunday, 11:00 am-4:00 pm. The Museum is closed Thanksgiving and Christmas. On rare occasions, the Museum may close for a special event.

It is very easy to get too, the NBM is located across the street from Judiciary Square station on Metro's red line. Alternatively, take the yellow or green lines to Gallery Place/Chinatown. Use the Galleries/Arena exit to F Street; at the top of the last escalator (F Street), turn left and walk a short 2 blocks to the Museum. Visit the Metro website for more station information.

NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM 401 F Street NW Washington, DC 20001 202.272.2448
Red Line Metro, Judiciary Square
Hours: Mon - Sat 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Sun 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
http://www.nbm.org/support-us/sponsorships/sponsorship-opps/the-building-zone.html

The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia

For my husband's parent's 40th Anniversary, they wanted to celebrate with both their boy's families. It was early spring and my mother-in-law struggled to find a venue that would work, but she found the perfect vacation spot for all ages to enjoy at The Homestead in Hot Spring, Virginia. In the winter it is a winter sport resort and in the spring and summer it is an outdoor haven. The Homestead was actually rated #12for "The World's Best Hotels for Families," out of 52 hotels in Travel & Leisure Magazine in 2010.

The guests rooms are gorgeous and very spacious, and the staff was very accommodating to little ones. Upon arrival, they stocked our rooms with cribs, microwave, a DVD player and also had Wireless Internet access in guest rooms. I tried to find a picture of the room, but the below is the best I had. Trust me, gorgeous room and the bathroom--to die for!

All the restaurants were kid friendly and you can add a meal plan on to your package which was very affordable.
http://www.thehomestead.com/dining/meal-plan

We dined at the more casual dinning places and I didn't feel too stressed while dinning with our then almost two year old. I am stressed dining with him at home sometimes though... Now that I think about it, he probably wasn't that bad, it was just the first time mom in me over-reacting and being jumpy. Anyhow, it was great and we felt very welcomed when we walked in with our little ones. The great hall was just what we needed when our son finished eating before we did. One of us could just take him out of the restaurants and let him go. I am certain we may have worn down that carpet for as many times as he and his cousin ran back and forth, back and forth.

We did go out to a nicer dinner when the grandparents watched the kiddos one night, and there is fine dining there as well, but we didn't do that while we were there, though I am sure it is delish.

Although there were so many activities to keep us busy , we spent most of the time just letting the kids run around the beautiful grounds. There is a wonderful play area on the grounds that we visited multiple times a day, as well as many trails on which we could let the kiddos run wild. The spring-fed indoor pool, a game room, nightly movies in the theatre, a bowling center, horseback riding, stables to visit, hayrides and afternoon tea also made this venue a perfect place to visit with the kids in tow and I never felt like we didn't have something to do. In the summer, there is a kid's club. I don't have an info on in though, as it was closed when were were there, but it looked mighty fun when we peeked into the windows. Did I just say, "might fun?" Oh well, not sure where that came from, but it did look like the kids would have a blast if it had been open. And there is a babysitting service, where they would babysit in your room. We had the grandparents there, so we didn't need that service and I am sure they would have been greatly disappointed had when even thought of letting someone else watch our kiddos.

For the older kids, there is archery, paintball, group horseback riding, canoe and kayaking, mountain biking, gorge hike, and Homestead history tours.

For the adults there is access to the fitness center, located on the fourth floor of the spa building, and equipped with Cybex equipment as well as treadmills, steppers, cycles and elliptical trainers. Open 5:00am-10:00pm daily; fresh towels and water provided complimentary. There is also a lovely spa, golf lessons, tee times, biking and the use of the historical Washington Library. For the more adventurous adult, sporting clays, skeet, rifle range, falconry, fly-fishing, and off-roading. I only participated in the spa and my husband and the guys did some golfing, so I can't give a review of the other outdoor activities besides hiking around with my son and looking at the horses. One of my girlfriends did try out sporting clays and she said it was a lot of fun, but involved her kiddos just covering their ears as they watched and laughed at them missing.

Of course, had we gone in the winter, there would have been skiing, ice skating, all kinds of winter sports with smores and hot cocoa by the fire. Now that sounds delightful just about now!

One thing to note--there is NOTHING nearby if you plan on going off the resort. We did eat at a pizza place across the street from the high school, but that was about it as far as the town goes.

Writing about The Homestead makes me want to go back this spring! Let me know if anyone else has gone and tried out any of the other activities.

The Homestead Resort
Hot Springs, Virginia
7696 Sam Snead Highway, Hot Springs, VA 24445
540.839.1766
http://www.thehomestead.com/

Travel Insurance--to get or not to get???

It never fails--I schedule a trip, book a flight THEN someone gets sick. Sometimes it is me, but more often than not, it is one of the kiddos. In the past I had gotten travel insurance and then ended up just changing the tickets, paying the fees and not even bothering trying to put in a claim. This past trip, my daughter was sick with a very high fever for over a week and a half and of course, the week and a half period came right upon our departure date. I couldn't chance flying with her because A) she wasn't fever free--still at a much lower 101, but still, B) I didn't want to deal with a cranky, sleep deprived baby, C) I didn't want to get up in the air and have here have something else go wrong, and D)she might be contagious and what kind of person would I be to knowingly add a virus into the already gross recycled air. So, I filed a claim with the travel insurance company Access America, who I got through Orbitz when I book my flight. I was a little apprehensive because my daughter was actually sitting on my lap for this trip, she is 10 months, so she technically wasn't the official traveler and I didn't have a fever or illness. I also couldn't rebook my trip and just pay the change fees, because I had to go back to the drawing board on a date that would work for several parties and there was no near date in sight. I called Access America 24-hours before my departure time and let them know what had happened, they emailed the claims forms immediately, and I cancelled the flight on Orbitz, as directed. Mind you, that was on January 27. I was able to get our pediatrician to fill out a very short form, fax it along with my forms back in and about a week and a half later, I was called and informed that I would be getting a check in the mail for a full refund of my flight. THAT'S IT! I haven't gotten the check yet--I was just informed today of the refund, but I've never had anything go this smoothly and I must say that I am pleasantly surprised.

Access America
http://www.accessamerica.com/

So, my advice? Get that insurance! It's just a few dollars more, but so worth it when traveling with kiddos.

Great Kids Village

What to do, what to do when it is cold outside and the kiddos have WAY. TOO. MUCH. ENERGY??? Well, thanks to Andrew and Paula Ross, there now exists the perfect indoor play space to escape the outdoor cold--Great Kid's Village. There are two locations, Silver Spring, MD and Columbia, MD.

My son loves climbing the "mountain" rock wall, rolling down the roller coaster, shopping in the grocery store, cooking up some grub in the kitchen and then taking the food to the tree house. The only thing that could be more perfect is if I could take those skills learned there-mostly the grocery shopping and cooking-and have my son actually bring home real groceries and get a non-plastic version of dinner on the table at home. Great Kids Village is awesome fun, but can't work miracles, I guess. Ho hum, all I really need is for my son too have a blast and be almost too tired to eat dinner before he crashes into bed--that is a miracle in and of itself. But back to Great Kids Village, there are all kinds of Step Two brand play structures for your little ones to scale up or slide down, some fun cars and things for the kids to "drive" or push around, a plethora of costumes for some dramatic play (as if we need more drama!!!), the roller coaster that is fit for any of your young thrill seekers and so much more to keep the kiddos entertained for a few hours.

Play areas include:
Climbing Rock
Kitchen
Diner
Grocery Store
Roller Coaster
Tree House
Boat
Train Table
Stage
Instruments
Dress Up
Art
Puzzles
And more!

There is store to pick up fun Melissa and Doug activities to continue some fun at home and also a cafe that is a peanut free environment! So no need to even pack and snack--GKV has that covered for you too.

You can become a neighbor and pay a monthly fee of $25-$30 based on how long you want your membership, or pay $10 per child, $5 per sibling each visit. Bonus, they have later hours for members, one day per week. Tuesdays in Columbia and Wednesdays in Silver Spring. There are also special events with live performances and camps in the summer. Go to the Web site and see what fun is in store for you and your little ones. It's the perfect inside playground and we go as often as we can these days. We hope to see you there, neighbor!


8040 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(in the former Mayorga Coffee space)
(301) 309-2FUN ext 3

6570 Dobbin Road
Columbia, MD 21045
410-497-PLAY (7529)

Hours of Operation

Tuesday through Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Open until 7pm for neighbors only on Tuesdays in Columbia and on Wednesdays in Silver Spring)
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Columbia, 11:30-7:00 in Silver Spring
Monday: 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

http://www.greatkidsvillage.com/

Charlottesville, VA

My friend's husband is stationed in Charlottesville, Virgina for a year. So we were brainstorming some things to do there while she took turns going back and forth to visit with her three year old daughter.

Last summer, I accompanied my honey for a convention and brought the kiddos for some C'Ville fun. While daddy was working we checked out local playgrounds and parks we discovered while dropping daddy off at the Omni. It is funny how quickly you spot playground equipment once you have children. We also checked out Virginia Discovery Museum located on the east end of the downtown mall. It is right across from the carousel--also a must do with the kiddos. Our son was two at the time and our daughter was only about four or five months old, but the Discovery Museum was a perfect place to kill a few hours with some hands-on, interaction, educational fun. Below are some of the permanent exhibits there.
-Busy Ball Wall
-Observation Beehive
-Barnyard Theater with Dress-Up
-Bernoulli Blower
-The Puppet Tree
-The Showalter Cabin
-Walk-in Kaleidoscope
-Gear Wall
-Rain Forest Hallway
-Wentzscope (large viewing microscope)

There was the amazing light exhibit during our visit and they had a huge lite-brite wall. I was equally impressed as my son, as it brought back fond memories. My son also loved the gear wall and that kept him busy for some time.

Check out some of their other exhibits and the schedule by clicking below.
http://www.vadm.org/exhibitsVDM.html
Virginia Discovery Museum
East End of the Downtown Mall
Post Office Box 1128
Charlottesville, VA 22902
(434) 977-1025

Admission:
$6 per person, all ages (under 1 year old free)
Children must be accompanied by an adult

Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday 10:00-5:00
Sunday 1:00-5:00
Closed Mondays

http://www.vadm.org/about.html

We also took advantage of the outdoor dinning within the downtown mall. There are several fountains you can sit near and it worked like a charm in mesmerizing our son while we ate peacefully.


We also took a trip to Monticello...and the kids fell asleep on the way there...on the 15 minute drive... Isn't that what ALWAYS happens? SO, we chatted a bit in the car and decided to wake our son up and to put our sleeping daughter in the stroller with the car seat. We also decided that a lengthy touring trip of the actual grounds was not in our future on this trip. Did I mention that my son had given up naps at that time? So this unexpected, small nap made him grumpy and mean. Instead of the tour we had envisioned, we took advantage of the Griffin-Discovery room. http://www.monticello.org/site/visit/griffin-discovery-room
It is located on the lower level of the Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center and Smith Education Center, and we discovered by accident. I was bribing my son--go ahead, judge me--we a snack, when we decided to take a walk down a flight of stairs and there was this amazing please touch, child-friendly room that brought some of the highlights of the Monticello tour more in focus for little eyes. I LOVED IT, but more importantly, so did my son, and it was FREE.

It is funny how everything turns out for the best sometimes. I've learned not to fight so hard when things go awry, and this is the perfect example. Not only did my son get to see smaller replicas of items in the Monticello house and slave grounds, but also had enough information for my husband and I to gain some understanding of Monticello too. We had to pry the building blocks away from my son when we left. He did not want to leave the masterpiece he had spent half an hour building. So, all in all, a successful trip for the kiddos and us! The were other kid-friendly activities to do there, but we didn't push our luck that day. Below is a link of more you can do with the kids.
http://www.monticello.org/site/visit/visiting-kids

Monticello
GPS address (otherwise invalid):
931 Thomas Jefferson Parkway
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Hours:
Gates are open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Monticello is open every day of the year, including Sundays, except Christmas

Adults $22(Mar - Oct), $17 (Nov - Feb) $8
Children 6-11, year-round (under 6 free)


Other things to visit while in Charlottesville are the gorgeous grounds of UVA, ice skating ring near the Omni hotel, Carter Mountain Orchard and Thomas Jefferson Parkway and Kemper Park. Things we'll have to hit next time!

Sea-Tac Airport

Seattle has a special place in my heart for a variety of reasons. I grew up in the outskirts of this hip town, back before it was really known for grunge, Microsoft, Starbuck and such. Granted I only lived there when I was a toddler and again from elementary school and middle school, but I have great memories of the good, clean outdoor, family living. I still have many friends there, and my sister and her family live two hours away from Seattle. We actually had the Seattle area on the top of our places to live list. Uncle Sam had other ideas...

These days, Seattle is special to my heart because of Sea-Tac Airport and the kid-friendly activities and art throughout the airport.

There is a 1,400 square foot place space for kids, which is close to the central terminal, behind security. Along with soft play equipment, all in airport theme, there is a family restroom, with rocking chairs for nursing or holding your babies! All clean and all wonderful! Especially delightful for a long delay, or while waiting for a shuttle. It's been on my mind as of lately because I will be heading out that way again very soon.

http://www.portseattle.org/seatac/services/kids.shtml

Also there are art installations all over the airport, fun for both kiddos and parents. My favorite is in Concourse A, there, along the sky is Trimpin's Contraption, "On Monkeys, Matter and the King." I am actually a little confused on the actual name of the piece. I had to do a little search online and think I have it right. I noticed it when I was without kids the first time, then fast forward a few years, and my son noticed it on our trip out to Anacortes to see my sister. Below is an image. It is a multi-media kinetic sculpture. You know, one of those set ups where a ball rolls down a ramp, and lands into a windmill, then onto a bear that bicycles and moves the gears...a domino style, cause and effect experiment...you get the kind of art. Can you tell I only took art history in college and besides looking at it in various mediums, in various museums, I have no skill in the area? Anyhow, I just love this kind of art-incredibly innovative, creative and so mesmerizing.

Below are some links to some images of the exhibit.

http://blstb.msn.com/i/B7/5CBD7651D1FB58FC747D7B6D2CEC86.jpg


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3168/2577808064_cdeb97d277.jpg?v=0

And here is a link to other art in Sea-Tac Airport.

http://www.portseattle.org/seatac/art/ongoing.shtml

Do you know of any other airports that are kid-friendly? I'd love to hear about it!