9 S Summit Avenue (map it)
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
301–258-6160

The Gaithersburg Community Museum is neither big nor fancy — it is just a one room affair with a model train set up,  gift items for sale, historical displays, and a friendly docent — but it is worth stopping by if you are in the neighborhood!

Gaithersburg Community Museum

Old train outside (for looking, not climbing)

Please ignore the glare!

View from the back of the museum

There is a ramp for strollers and wheelchairs, but the place is small enough that you might find bigger strollers difficult to maneuver.  The museum does not have bathrooms, but there are bathrooms in the building next door shared by the MARC train station and a small cafe.

I did not get around to working Regal’s Free Summer Movies into our summer schedule until their final weeks. This left my children with a taste of the movie theater and a hankering for more. Luckily, the folks at Tally Ho in Leesburg know school hasn’t started yet, and have us covered with their $1 Kids Summer Cinema series which they have extended through September 3rd.

Space Chimps is showing this coming Tuesday through Thursday at 11am, and Ice Age will be showing at the same times the following week. If you are not sure if either movie is appropriate for your kids I suggest checking the reviews over at Kids in Mind.

Here’s a sneak peak at the inside of the theater as of July 2008:

the movie is only $1, but you have to walk past this to get into the theater…

… and this!

then you get to sit in chair like this!

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!

If you are sticking around for the holidays and need to escape from the extended family for a while, check this out. The Tally Ho Theater in downtown Leesburg is offering $1 screenings of Family Holiday Favorites & Childrens Christmas Classics between December 19/20th and 24th.

Call or check the website for exact dates & times.

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

JumpingJackSports.com
44710 Cape Court Suite #128
Ashburn, VA 20147 (map it)

(703) 858‑9901

I have not checked this place out yet but have heard good things. In the meantime, check out their site. If you’ve been there, please share your impressions by leaving a comment below.

A local mom shared a site with me that could prove useful given all the upcoming summer movie screenings. kids-in-mind.com reviews movies and rates their appropriateness for children. I have looked over the reviews of a few movies we have seen recently and they seem to be accurate and thorough.

Summer Family Movie Screenings:

Regal (throughout the US including Ashburn, Alexandria, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Sterling and many other VA locations) See free movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10am. Show up early to get a seat! Click here for Maryland locations, including Frederick.

Tally Ho (Leesburg, VA) $1 Family Classics on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 11am

Please drop us a line if you are aware of other theaters that have similar programs.

ETA: You can also check your local library for summer movie showings. I know LCPL has some scheduled. 

227 Maple Avenue
Vienna, VA 22180 (map it)
(703) 255‑1566

Now that I have been to three of the weekday morning Tot Rock shows that Jammin’ Java offers, I feel somewhat qualified to talk this venue up. I get the sense that Jammin’ Java would be a great place for a night out sans kids, but I haven’t gotten there in that capacity yet! Maybe the grown up venue is part of what I like about taking the kids there. Despite my uncool clothes and my permanent post-partum tummy, I feel hipper the moment I walk in the door. We have seen Rocknoceros, The Banjo Man, and Mr. Knick Knack. All are totally different types of shows, and either have been or will be reviewed individually on our blog.

The more kids you bring, the steeper the $5 per kid entry fee feels, but in my opinion it is a great morning out so is totally worth it. If you need a place for a picnic afterwards, check out Glyndon Park. It’s been a few years since my kids and I have been there, but we remember it fondly.

Speaking of eating, Jammin’ Java sells snacks geared towards kids and asks you not to bring your own food and drink, but no one is checking your sippy cups at the door. As with many cafes that offer more than just food and drink, the coffee service is slow, but that’s OK by me.

Bonus tidbit: Since they offer beer, wine, and liquor during their evening shows, Jammin’ Java also falls into my new unofficial category of bars with changing tables. I wonder if there’s a demand for a nationwide listing of these? www.barswithchangingtables.com might be a profitable endeavor.…

11950 Grand Commons Ave
Fairfax, VA 22030 (map it)
(571) 522‑6568

Watch your kids Climb the Pinnacle at the REI Fairfax! We went this weekend and it was fun to see how differently my two kids approached the wall. Both pretty much tackled it in character

You can find details on hours (Wed 4–8, Sat 12–6, Sun 12–5) and cost (free for REI members and $5/ non-members) online, but ages are not mentioned. The belay staff on duty today suggested that the cutoff was about 30 pounds and/or ability to fit into one of their harnesses safely, but that little folks are not allowed to climb higher than the staff can reach. This rule was not an issue for either of my inexperienced preschool-aged climbers who were done with the wall before they reached that point, but proud that they tried.

You only get one climb, and there may be a wait so this is just a short outing. There’s lots of fun stuff to buy at REI though.…

(If you have any reservations about shared smelly climbing shoes you should bring socks. I think the smallest size they carry is 11.)

Sterling Community Center
120 Enterprise St.
Sterling, VA 20164 (map it)
(703) 430‑9480

This Friday (6/6/2008) from 9:30-11am is your last chance (until September) to catch what may be the best value in indoor play in Loudoun County.

I have been hearing about tot time at the Sterling Community Center for months, but this week was the first chance I have had to take the kids on a field trip there. I had three lucky little ones with me and was only charged $2. Yes, only $2

There were lots of ride-on toys, mats, a tunnel, some ramps and balls, trucks and toys, etc. There was a clean bathroom, friendly staff, and a volunteer ready to play. Plus, the other kids and moms seemed nice and ready to chat, though it’s not so easy to chat much when juggling three.

Kudos to the smart dad who brought a camp chair to sit in while watching his daughter play. (I should have told him he’d be famous!)

This offering seems to attract a younger crowd, so my 4 year-old was by far the oldest, biggest kid there. If you bring a kid on the older end of the safe spectrum you may need to remind him/her that the littler ones are not quite as steady on their feet or as experienced at sharing toys.

Sorry for the lack of pics… I can give you a smell instead of a sight, though. The room this event is held in holds a faint odor of years of smelly feet. You get used to it though.