Last week’s buzz about Leesburg’s 4th place ranking on Money magazine’s best small towns list, and the video clip on why kids love Leesburg got me thinking. What do I love about living here? What do my kids love about living here?

No place is perfect, but there are more than a few things I love about living in Leesburg:

• Watching the sun set at Ida Lee
• Community Garden plots where we don’t have to worry about someone stealing our tomatoes
• Live music downtown on summer nights
• Hiking to the Potomac River at Balls Bluff and Red Rock Wilderness Overlook Regional Parks
• Spotting turtles on logs at Olde Izzak Walton park
• The W&OD trail
• The Rust Nature Sanctuary
• The Leesburg Dog Park
• Awesome library system
• Exploring Goose Creek at Kephart Bridge Landing
• Walking or driving through downtown Leesburg

Most of the things on my list are free, but all but one of the kids on the video clip have favorite things about Leesburg that cost money. Did someone coach those kids? Did they put the video together to favor certain businesses and town programs? Or is the slant of their answers determined by the fact that they look like campers at Ida Lee? As a test, I asked my kids what they love about living in Leesburg. They both immediately named chains that we rarely visit and that could be found almost anywhere: Chuck E. Cheese (in Sterling!) and Pump it Up. Hmm… NOT what I would use to talk our town up.

I guess I’d better fess up. I admit I do love spending money at plenty of places in Leesburg:

• The Salvation Army Thrift Store & The Resourceful Woman Thrift Store – I take The Story of Of Stuff pretty seriously…
• Loudoun Learning (It is educational! We get a special exemption to allow for a little materialism, right!?)
• The Farmers Market
• Picking blueberries at Eagletree every year
• Wegmans
• Fireworks Pizza, Aiyara, Thai Pan
• South Street Under, Shoe’s Cup and Cork, King Street Coffee
• Razzle, Milwaukee Frozen Custard, and the newest addition Cultured

(Don’t worry, none of these places paid me to mention them!)

Put my experiential and material lists together, and you have one mom’s somewhat balanced list of what makes Leesburg special. What do you like about living in Leesburg, Virginia?

February is a great time to make snowmen and drink hot chocolate start thinking about summer camp. Dulles Town Center is hosting a summer camp and activities fair on Saturday February 26 and Sunday February 27, 2011. It’s a perfect opportunity for those who wish to meet representatives from many local camps at once.

If you like to do your researching online, here are a few local options to check out:

YMCA Summer Camp

My six year-old tried a week of nature day camp at Camp Highroad last August and he loved it. I signed him up thinking a full day camp experience might be helpful in the transition to first grade, and he came home completely exhausted and missing some item he had taken with him (lunch box, socks, towel, etc.) every day. I’m not sure I’ll send him again, but he can’t wait to go back. They offer before and after care, which allows for working parents to drop off and pick up without taking time away from the office.

Audubon Society Nature Camps

The Audubon Nature Society (ANS) is my go-to source for nature-based early education in the DC Metro area. They offer camps at the Broadlands Nature Center in Ashburn, the Rust Nature Sanctuary in Leesburg, and the Woodend Nature Sanctuary in Chevy Chase, MD. Both my kids enjoyed first camp experiences at the Rust Nature Sanctuary in Leesburg. The camps are small enough to be intimate, true to ANS’ mission of connecting people with nature in the DC Region, are lots of fun, and manage to stay low key enough not to overstimulate and exhaust the average child to the point of meltdown. To preview the ANS style of working with kids, I encourage you to stop by their annual Spring Nature Fair.

Vacation Bible School (VBS)

I know very little about the many vacation bible school options, but from what I hear the local churches often offer summer camps quite cheaply, so if budget and/or faith are a top priority, VBS might be a fit for your family. The following churches have offered vacation bible schools in past years. You can check their websites for 2011 information as summer approaches.

• Ashburn Presbyterian
• Bethel Presbyterian (Leesburg)
• Blueridge Bible Church (Purcellville)
• Cornerstone Chapel, (Leesburg)
• Hamilton Baptist Church
• Loudoun Bible Church (Ashburn)
• Our Saviour’s Way Lutheran Church (Ashburn)
• Purcellville Baptist Church
• St. Francis deSales Catholic Church (Purcellville)
• St. James Episcopal (Leesburg)

There are many other options!

• C3 Cyber Club (Ashburn)
• Destiny Preschool for the Arts (Leesburg)
• Ida Lee Summer Camp (Leesburg)
• Loudoun County (guide available online 3/4/2011 includes camps @ Douglass and Claude Moore)
• Red Gate Farm (Hamilton)
• Sportrock (Sterling, ages 9+)

You can also search the American Camp Association database of ACA accredited camps if you are looking for camps for a specific activity or age group.

Please don’t hesitate to use the comments feature to share your Loudoun County area camp offerings or camp experiences. The more local families who post, the better this resource becomes for all of us!

I wrote about these concerts in greater detail a couple years ago, but just wanted to remind you about them and post a link to this year’s schedule. The end up summer is sneaking up — only five more Wednesday evening concerts left. Enjoy!

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!”

Now that we are fostering a dog I meet local families at adoption day each weekend and some have shared stories of recently losing a pet. I tear up when I hear them. Our wonderful vet is involved in a Pet Remembrance Candle Lighting Ceremony in Leesburg next week, and I offered to help get the word out. The event will be held at St. James’ Episcopal Church (14 Cornwall Street NW Leesburg 20176) at 6:00 P.M. on Friday March 5th. The deadline to include your pet’s photo in the slideshow has passed, but you and your family can still attend to remember a pet together and put a picture of your pet on the Memory Board. Here are some details straight from the flier:

If you have questions you can reach Dr. Krisi Erwin of the Leesburg Veterinary hospital at this email address.

The Monroe Technology Center in Leesburg is holding its fall plant sale this week!

I am a failure as a gardener, but the plants I bought at MTC’s spring plant sale held up better than the rest of my attempts. I have found the students, staff and volunteers working past plant sales to be courteous and helpful. Most importantly I enjoy the feeling of community I get from buying my plants at a local high school rather than a large overwhelming box store and my kids love pulling the wagons around and helping me choose a couple plants.

Don’t forget to bring cash or a checkbook!

While you are in the neighborhood I highly recommend a stop at the Rust Nature Sanctuary at the end of Children’s Center Road. It has been beautiful lately!

Here’s the scoop as shared on their website and mailing:

Monroe Technology Center (MTC) will hold its annual Fall Plant Sale from Wednesday, September 16th through Friday, September 18th. The hours of the sale will be

•  10 am — 8 pm on Sept 16th
•  10 am — 6 pm on Sept 17th
•  10 am — 5 pm on Sept 18th

Proceeds from the sale will go to scholarships for MTC students.

Plants for sale include:

• Mums
• Hardy Winter Pansies
• Fall Perennials
• Trees
• Shrubs

MTC is located at: (map it)
715 Children’s Center Road
Leesburg, VA  20175

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!

There’s a fabulous free event coming up in Leesburg on August 29th: the Airport Open House!

Leesburg Airport Open House
1001 Sycolin Rd SE (map it)
Leesburg, VA 20175
August 29th,  10 AM — 4 PM
Free admission and parking

We previewed the event last year and my four year old and his friend had a blast walking around right next to parked planes, exploring a rescue helicopter, and watching another helicopter take off. The event is free, but there were snacks and drinks for sale, so be prepared to spend a few bucks if you stay all day.

The open house coincides with a visit from the touring restored WWII B17 bomber named The Fortress which you can ride for a reasonable fee.

Prepare your children for some loud noises as there will be air crafts taking off and landing during the open house, and remember that the bulk of the attractions are outside, so keep weather conditions in mind. Last year we were hot and very glad to have our sunhats and water bottles with us.

Have fun!

(click thumbnails for larger images)

UPDATE: Leesburg Dog Park opens May 9th!

I went walking at Olde Izaak Walton Park this morning with kid and dog and was tickled to see that the fence on the dog park has been completed. I was also greeted by this sign:

The dog park has a picnic table both inside and outside the fence. I’d be pleasantly surprised if it was a kid-friendly dog park, but I look forward to socializing my sweet beast, either way. Once the dog park is ready for use, the kids who come to Olde Izaak Walton to look at the ducks and geese will have one more attraction for their viewing pleasure.

Here’s photographic evidence of the progress that has been made:

For more info on the dog park you can reach the town of Leesburg by phone at (703) 737‑7132. I also read on Everything and the Dog’s blog that their owner is involved with the group that will assist in maintaining the dog park, so she might be a good point person if you want to be involved in some way.