8-4-2010 ETA — Blueberry season is long gone in Northern Virginia. Mark your calendars to start looking into local farms next May!

Hooray! It is blueberry picking season again! We picked 10 pounds Saturday morning to restock our freezer and are still eating fresh berries by the handful.  Everyone I know who visits seems to be complaining about the gnats and recommending dryer sheets to keep them away. Otherwise, they still come away raving. We were excited to find a port a potty on site this year… potty access is always a plus on any adventure with little kids.

Here’s the scoop from previous years:

Eagletree Farm & Vineyard
15126 Harrison Hill Lane
Leesburg VA 20176 (map it)
(703) 777‑5954 or
(703) 851‑0699

Loudoun Valleys Office of Rural Economic Development says:

Eagletree is a private setting with a personal touch.

These folks are right. Located off Rt. 15 north of Leesburg — you turn off 15 like you are going to Temple Hall Farm and then follow the U-PICK signs — the setting is so private that I at first felt like I was trespassing in someone’s back yard, but that is exactly what makes the picking experience so wonderful.

Eagletree’s pick your own blueberries are $4 per pound this year and worth every cent. They are tasty and the experience of picking is perfect. I have been twice and both times it was a serene experience. No chaos, no crowds, no shortage of blueberries… just a nice little family experience and some yummy blueberries to boot.

If you are looking to round out your blueberry picking experience with some literature for little people, check out Robert McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal. It’s been a favorite since my childhood… so much so that I feel I am shortchanging my children if I don’t manage to hunt down their little metal buckets so that they can hear their blueberries go “Kerplunk!”

Razzle Dairy Bar
13 Fairfax St SE (map it)
Leesburg, VA 20175–3617
(703) 777‑1420

A visit to the Razzle Dairy Bar can complete a sticky summer afternoon or evening, and is sometimes just the thing to shake up a winter routine. Razzle is located in an often overlooked corner of the Virginia Village shopping plaza (enter from either Catoctin Circle or King Street) and I have never seen it crowded. It remind me of my childhood so much that I forgive them for serving so many of their tasty treats in Styrofoam cups and bowls, and at least take pride in supporting a small business that seems to transcend time.

Razzle has soft serve with bright swirls (and a penguin on the wall).

The TV is usually on at Razzle Dairy Bar.

yummy banana split

I love the old-school menu!

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

We snagged a great book from the library recently! In A Plump and Perky Turkey (written by Teresa Bateman and illustrated by Jeff Shelley) the turkeys all skip town before Thanksgiving and the town-folks try to trick them back, but (after pages of engaging illustrations and rhymes that please me) they end up eating shredded wheat on Thanksgiving. Luckily for us meat eaters, our Loudoun turkeys weren’t quite as savvy as those in the book. I know Thanksgiving has passed, but if you feel like embracing your inner locavore the rest of this holiday season, the folks at Buy Fresh Buy Local Virginia have put together a list of local turkey providers by county.

Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary

Our family kicked off Thanksgiving week with a trip across White’s Ferry to visit the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary in Poolesville, MD, where we spent an afternoon celebrating an early Thanksgiving with the Turkeys and participating in a vegan potluck with hundreds of people. The animals at the sanctuary were spread out with plenty of room and the atmosphere was peaceful and inviting despite the freezing temps and the surprisingly large crowd. The sanctuary does not have any upcoming events or visiting hours listed on their website now, but I definitely recommend visiting it.

Turkeys feasting at Poplar Spring Sanctuary

More on White’s Ferry

If you are looking for a change of scenery on a day home with sick kids, a drive through the county and ride across the river on the only ferry still operating on the Potomac River might fit the bill. You can keep your kids and their germs in the car the whole time, but share a special adventure and most importantly get out of the house! A round trip ticket costs $6 ($4 one-way) and the ferry runs from 5am to 11pm year-round.

View from the car on White’s Ferry

Campaign for Loudoun’s Future recently sponsored a local foods and farms celebration. American Flatbread, a new restaurant in Ashburn which uses some local ingredients for their pizzas, helped to host the event — which made it into The Post and Leesburg Today.

The kids and I stopped by the event, but I was too wiped out by the heat to write it up when I got home that night. Kudos to the many volunteers, local farmers, and animals who spent the day in the heat to expose the rest of us to some of our local food options. I’d like to say that we learned a lot, but the reality of visiting an event like that solo with two preschoolers is that we spent most of our time at the moonbounce and in the bathroom at American Flatbread. Regardless, fun was had, sheepskins were touched, and we found a new place to eat out. American Flatbread’s service was friendly and quick. You can see the flames in the pizza oven from many of the seats. My children kind of zone out while watching fires, so it makes them more managable in restaurants.

335 East Market Street (map it)
Leesburg, VA 20176

A place for my kids to play and an efficient drive through are the best marketing a fast food restaurant can offer me. This McDonald’s has an outdoor play place. It’s a bit dingy and needs some updates, but my kids don’t care. We recently met some friends there for lunch and play and they all had a blast.

The most notable thing about this McDonald’s is that they offer the most efficient drive through I have ever seen. I am totally wowed every time I am there. The hard working employees are as friendly as those at a Southern California In & Out drive through, my order is always correct, and we can breeze through in minutes along with a line of cars when we are doing the late-for-preschool forgot-to-pack-a-lunch shuffle. As a former fast food employee, I remember the emphasis put on drive through times and the big clock used to record the time it took us to serve each car. I don’t know what the goals are today, but I believe that this McDonald’s must be meeting and exceeding them.

With all these fast food posts you must think we eat a lot of junk.… We do try to eat healthy, organic, unprocessed and local food as often as possible, but I must confess that my kids and I suffer from an addiction to McDonald’s cheeseburgers. I have convinced myself that the $3.26 I spend on our regular 3-cheeseburger order is not doing much to line the pockets of the fast food industry but reconsidering this exception to my values is on my extensive to-do list. For now the pain inflicted on my ego by my contradictory values is eased by avoiding happy meal purchases, sides, and drinks (most of the time). I also pull a blanket over my head and avoid books like Fast Food Nation until I am ready to change.

“Greening” one’s life is a slow process, and comfort foods can be one of the most difficult things to hold up against the environmental impact yardstick. Until I do that, I invite you to join me and my ego in ordering from the value menu.

Every now and then the kids and I “need” a cookie. Being someone who will eat the whole bag if I buy a package or the whole batch if I bake, I find it is wisest to just go out and enjoy a cookie. I am lucky enough to live near Lola Cookies & Treats in downtown Leesburg (map) and have a collection of young friends who are always up for a cookie. My favorite is the ginger chocolate (what a wonderful combination!), but the kids tend prefer prettier cookies with sprinkles or chocolate chips.

Since there’s not much room inside, we look forward to enjoying our summer cookies outside the shop. On cold or rainy days you might find us on the bench in the lobby — I find the children rarely misbehave with Lola’s cookies in their mouths.

Caribou Coffee
Potomac Station
647 Potomac Station Drive
Leesburg, VA 20176
(703) 669‑2291

This coffee shop has a little corner with toys. I tend to rave about this corner too much and inflate people’s expectations so please lower yours a notch after reading this entry. The best thing about this little corner with toys is that you can block it off with a double stroller and your little ones are not only entertained, but also contained so you can enjoy a cup of coffee and maybe even an adult conversation.

I am sad to announce that this location appears to have closed. Bummer for all of us!

20035 Ashbrook Commons Pl #194
Ashburn, VA 20147 (map it)
(703) 723‑3065

I’ll spare you a repeat of my comments on Starbucks, but wanted to highlight that we have drive through coffee here in Loudoun County. I love drive-thru coffee!

531 East Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20175 (map it)
(703) 443‑9251
(other Starbucks locations)

Many folks have opinions about Starbucks. Here’s my two cents:

• They have a standardized temp that they steam milk for little kids — much cooler than milk for adults — but still a special treat at a reasonable price.
• The location on Market Street here in Leesburg offers their used coffee grounds for composting and gardening.
• There is a basket of children’s books available at this location. Last time we were there they even had empty shelves where our children played with puzzles under the table, but they have since filled these shelves with lots of breakable merchandise… maybe it will go away after the holiday season.
• They are super efficient. I love going to independent places like Deli South (whose breakfast burrito is far better than its website) or Market Street Coffee, but if I am in a rush (as I sometimes am) experience has shown me that Starbucks can serve a dozen customers faster than some smaller places can serve two.
• I have friends and family who have worked for Starbucks who can attest to the fact that for a big corporation they do a pretty good job of treating their employees well: health insurance for folks who work at least 20 hours per week, wages that reflect the cost of living in the area, and hiring folks of all ages are the things that pleased me most.

South Street Under
203 Harrison St SE
Leesburg, VA 20175
(703) 771‑9610

Tucked away in the Market Station shopping center off Harrison Street in downtown Leesburg you’ll find an independent coffee shop and bakery full of friendly staff. We love the proximity to the W&OD trail and Raflo Park, the outdoor seating (complete with bowls of water for your dog, wagon to climb on and recycle bins — these folks know how to please me) , the 3 foot statue of a funny guy inside, and did I mention how welcoming the staff is? When I visit South Street Under I feel a sense of community, and if I can get that with my coffee I will take it.