Maryland Day: Three Hundred and Eighty

March 25 marks the day 150 colonists set foot on St. Clement's Island and founded the colony of Maryland.

My ancestors weren't on those first two boats, but the family joke is they were on the next one out.

Happy 380th Birthday, Maryland!

Replica of the Dove
(this photo makes me think of the last scene from Goonies)

Oh Say Can You See?

Never mind that a snow storm came through Sunday, dumping eight inches of snow in our backyard.

Saturday was beautiful.

We took full advantage and embarked on our first official day trip of 2014. Matt chose our destination - one that's become a family favorite - Fort McHenry.

As far as day trips go, this one almost has it all: cheap (kids under 15 are free, adults are $7); educational; has a dramatic, compelling story; provides lots of outdoor space for picnics or running around; has plenty of nooks and crannies to explore; and there's cannons. Lots of cannons (this being high up on the boys' list of features).

Neither boy tires of hearing about the Battle of Baltimore and the Star Spangled Banner. We watch the movie on every visit and they are completely engrossed.

They also enjoy making fun of me. I get something in my eye every time...

The exhibits are really well done. Lots of information, but presented with images, video, buttons and touchscreens.

Sometimes it takes a little teamwork to see it all.

Definitely our favorite part is visiting the fort itself: poking our heads into the barracks, exploring the guard house and walking between the cannons.

 

According to Matt, Fort McHenry is an HRA. That's "highly recommended adventure."

 

Which if you know Matt, you know that's high praise indeed.

Happy Maryland Day!

On this day, in 1634, 150 European settlers landed on a small island in the Potomac River. Those settlers went on to found a colony which later became our little state.

March 25, now known as Maryland Day, is an official state holiday commemorating the landing and celebrating the birth of the "Old Line State", the "Free State", "Little America," Mary's land.

Happy Birthday, Maryland!

A Wandering Adventure

~ WARNING ~
Dear Carr cousins and sweet friend Melissa,
There is a gratuitous snake photo in this post.
My apologies.

Last Saturday, the boys and I rambled along in an unplanned adventure.

It was the kind of thing my mother adored. I love it too.

My boys, however, live for structure. Even if the destination is a surprise, they still like to know we'll be there at ten, have lunch around noon and head for home at two. Spontaneous is not their middle name.

Saturday, after a lazy morning and big breakfast, I herded my guys and their visiting cousin to the car. It was cold and drizzling when we pulled out the driveway. We headed south to Greenstreet Gardens planning to attend the "Hoot is in Your Backyard" event I mentioned Friday.

We were a little late.

By the time we got there and parked, most of the show was over and the crowd was thinning. We walked around and met this young owl, but he was ready to go home. We didn't even get his name.

 

The proceeds for the "Hoot" event went to the Friends of Jug Bay, a non-profit supporting the Jug Bay Sanctuary. The Friends had a couple of tables with displays about the sanctuary.

That gave me an idea.

I herded the boys back to the car, stopping to take this photo on our way.

We headed southwest for another twenty minutes to Patuxent River Park in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and stopped at the Jug Bay Visitor Center. The boys studied a stuffed bald eagle on display while I talked to a friendly park worker about the trails, rural life museums and other attractions. The museums are only open in the warmer months, but we left happy, laden with handfuls of pamphlets and maps for future adventures.

And I had another idea.

We traveled for another ten minutes down winding, rural roads to a park we've visited before. Our old friend Merkle.

No impossible quests today. We were met by a young and enthusiastic ranger. She walked the boys around the nature center exhibits brought out a red corn snake to meet us.

We all pet her. She was silky smooth.

We met a few more snakes and three turtles. Our favorite was the alligator snapping turtle. No one knows how old this grumpy fellow is. He's just old. And grumpy. And armored like a dinosaur.

Gabe pressed his nose against the aquarium for a better look and CHOMP! against the glass. Gabe jumped back and there were peals of laughter from all three boys. The old fellow poked his head out the water.

"What's so funny?" he seemed to say.

Spontaneity! That's what!

Bask, Dance & Guffaw

My boys (and much of our region) are still basking in the Raven's Super Bowl victory.

While cruising the web for day trip ideas, I saw this:



It made me laugh - possibly guffaw - out loud.

I love those DNR folk.


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More Maryland DNR videos may be found on their AccessDNR YouTube channel.

Sharing the Love

Across the nation, but especially in this region, the main event this weekend is the Super Bowl. I work in Baltimore city and you have to enjoy a little hometown pride. The past two weeks have seen a surge in all things purple: cupcakes, lattes, billboards, buildings.

You can bet that Sunday evening will find us in front of the tv, watching the game.

But before that?  There are two whole days to squeeze a day trip in!

Here are a few I'm considering:

February 2, 2013
Meet Merkle's Reptiles
Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary and Vistor's Center
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
cost: free

February 2-3, 2013
Great Scale Model Train Show
Maryland State Fairgrounds
Timonium, Maryland
cost: $9 adults, children free

February 2-3, 2013 (and every Saturday and Sunday)
Falls Walk
Great Falls Park
McLean, Virginia
cost: free

As always, these events were collected from various sources. If you'd like to attend one, I recommend verifying the details at the original source.

Enjoy and GO RAVENS!

Sharing the Love

So, that plan I mentioned last week about posting a few curated events each week?

Collecting events took longer than expected!

My plan is for this to be a regular Wednesday/Thursday thing, but this week it will have to be a Friday thing. Hope it isn't too late for you to use.

Here are the events I have my eye on for the weekend:

Falls Walk
11 am and 12:30 pm
ongoing - every Saturday and Sunday
cost: free
Great Falls National Park
McLean, Virginia

Baltimore Restaurant Week
(okay, might not exactly be a family event, but I'm happy to drag my kids to any place with good food - especially good food at discount prices!)
Friday, January 25 - Sunday, February 3, 2013
cost: two course lunch $15.13, three course dinner $20.13 or $30.13
various restaurants in
Baltimore, Maryland

Australia Day
10 am - 2 pm
Saturday, January 26, 2013
cost: regular entrance fee, adults $29.95, children (ages 3-11) $20.95

National Aquarium
Baltimore, Maryland 

Intro to Geocaching

10 am
Saturday, January 26, 2013
cost: $2/person, plus park entrance fee of $3/vehicle
Gunpowder Falls State Park
Middle River, Maryland

Winter Tree Identification

2 to 3 pm
Saturday, January 26, 2013 cost: free
Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary
Upper Marlboro, Maryland

Artillery Demonstration
1 to 4 pm
Sunday, January 27, 2013
cost: $5/per vehicle
Eastern Front Visitor Center
Petersburg National Battlefield
Petersburg, Virginia

As always, these events were collected from various sources. If you'd like to attend one, I recommend verifying the details at the original source.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Champions in Purple

Did you hear?

There was a big football game on Sunday. I think there may have been two.

Only one mattered to these two.

They were pumped.

Matt has long been a sports fan. He likes anything that involves running, jumping, and/or bouncing as long as it's on dry land. Football, specifically Baltimore Ravens' football, is his current favorite.

When he first got his Flacco jersey, it hung halfway to his knees. Now it's a tad short. No matter. He wears it reverently and supervises its washing. He devoutly ensures the entire family conforms to Purple Friday.

I thought Gabe could care less. He has a purplish shark shirt Matt makes him wear on Fridays.

But last month, Gabe refused to wear a hand-me-down Redskins shirt from one of his cousins. Last week, he begged for a Ravens shirt of his own. On Sunday, he watched more of the game than his brother.

And for that brief time the Ravens were losing, he was a wreck.

"Everything is ruined!"

"The universe is wrecked!"

"Patriots su. . ."

He stopped there. He wasn't so far gone that he missed the mom look.

Happily, the universe righted itself and the game went in his favor.

He passed out shortly afterward, still wearing his Ravens shirt.

Something tells me I have many Sundays of football watching in my future.

Maybe I should finally learn the rules.

Plans and New Features

I have lots of plans for Pick Your Feet Up in 2013.

For one, a face lift is long overdue. The "About" page is outdated and there are some blog amenities I want to explore. I want to update the header and the colors and the . . . this may be more of an overhaul than a face lift.

I'll keep you posted.

Second, I have a few features I want to implement. The first of which is a weekly roundup of hand-picked, kid-friendly activities in the Baltimore/Washington area for the coming weekend.

It's time to spread the day trip love!

So, without further ado:

If you're brave enough to venture into the district and participate in the Inauguration activities, two kid-friendly venues caught my eye:

Inauguration Activities at Mount Vernon
Mt. Vernon, Virginia
Thursday, January 17 - Tuesday, January 22
cost: $17 adults, $8 children (ages 6-11)

Celebrate the Inauguration at the Smithsonian
Washington, DC
Saturday, January 19 - Monday, January 21
cost: free

Also in the District:

Shark Feeding
National Aquarium - Washington, DC
Saturday, January 19
2 pm
cost: $9.95 adults, $4.95 children

If you're like me and plan to steer clear of the Inauguration crowds, I have a couple of events for you too:

Call of the Wild: Winter Animal Tracking
Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary
Upper Marlboro, Maryland 
Saturday, January 19
cost: free

Maryland FIRST LEGO League Championship
UMBC
Baltimore, Maryland
Saturday, January 19
8:30 am to 4:30 pm, best viewing times between 1-4 pm

Search the Skies
Robinson Nature Center Nature
Columbia, Maryland
Sunday, January 20
2 to 3 pm
cost: daily admission to nature center $5 adults, $3 kids (3-17), plus $3 for Star program

MLK Day of Service
Monday, January 21

I've curated these activities from many different sources. If you're interested in participating in one of these events (and I hope they at least gave you some fun ideas for your weekend), I would encourage you to check the details at the source provided.

Enjoy!

New Year's Plans

I have the boys this year for New Year's Eve and I've been trying to decide how we'll celebrate.

In past years, we stayed home and created our own party. We may do that again this year, but I thought I'd see what other possibilities were out there.

There's a lot!
 
December 31, 2012

Annapolis New Year's
3 pm to 7:30 pm: Family Friendly Entertainment
7:30 pm: Early Bird Fireworks Display
8 to midnight: Party on the Dock with live music
midnight: Fireworks Display
Annapolis, MD

First Night Talbot
6 pm to midnight
Easton, MD

Midnight at Seven with Symphony of Lights
5 pm to 7 pm
Columbia, MD

Midnight Noon
Maryland Science Center
10 am to 2 pm
Baltimore, MD

Noontime New Year: Super Hero Fun
Port Discovery Children's Museum
Baltimore, MD

There are many more celebrations. See these resources for more:

Maryland Life Magazine
Visit Maryland
What's Up Magazine

Fall REALLY is for Festivals

I found more events to add to our weekend activity quandry.

Not sure how boy-friendly the last two are, but I seem to have a theme here of food and beer.

Maryland Renaissance Festival
(an oldie, but goodie)
Saturdays and Sundays until October 21, 2012
Crownsville, Maryland
http://rennfest.com/

The Baltimore Gathering
Beer, Wine, Live Music and Food from Baltimore's Fabulous Food Trucks

5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
September 28, 2012
Key Highway, Baltimore, Maryland
http://www.facebook.com/BmoreFoodTrucks

Maryland Microbrewery Festival
It's an official state event with beer.
11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
September 29, 2012
Westminster, Maryland
http://www.marylandmicrobreweryfestival.com

Fall is For Festivals

My final semester of grad school has begun.

Could you tell?

The posts drop off dramatically with the start of the semester. It will be interesting to see what happens to my blogging in the Spring!

This weekend, the boys will be with me. I need to do school work, but I need some fun as well.  I'm just a little torn between activities. Here are our choices:

 Baltimore Book Festival
September 28-30, 2012
http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com/

Calvert County Fair
September 26-30, 2012

http://www.calvertcountyfair.com/

Frederick's Oktoberfest
September 29-30, 2012
http://www.frederickoktoberfest.org/

or the ever-present option of a family favorite:
Mystery Day Trip of Probable Historic Value

destination to be decided

Which would you choose?

Our State Fair

Our state fair is a great state fair,
Don't miss it! Don't even be late!

It's dollars to doughnuts that our state fair
Is the best state fair in the states!*

And so now that I've definitively proved my dorkdom, visit the Maryland State Fair in Timonium, August 24 - September 3.

*State Fair, by Rodgers and Hammerstein

We Chose Wisely

For the past three years, we've gone to the Shad Landing area of Pocomoke River State Park for our annual camping trip. We love it and I'm sure we'll return, but this year, we decided to branch out and do a little exploring.

After some debate, we chose Rocky Gap State Park near Cumberland, Maryland. We've visited the park twice and camped overnight once.  So, we knew, that like Shad Landing, it has wonderful staff, an interactive nature center and clean facilities. As a mom with two boys, I also liked that the camp loops have family bathrooms. But the biggest draw was the lake.

No pool fees, no weird hours - just swimming from dawn to dusk.

Our original expedition motto was "Ice Cream Every Day!" It quickly became "Swim in the Crystal Clear Wonderful Mountain Lake Every Day!"

And we did.

 

On the Trail of the CCC

The sleepover seems to have gone well. At least, there were no calls in the middle of the night. I'll get the full report in a few hours.

And with that mini-adventure behind us, we may now return to our camping stories.

On the first morning of our expedition, we kissed Aunty M goodbye and headed west toward Western Maryland. It takes about an hour to reach the first ridges of the Appalachians and we stopped there at Gambrill State Park for a picnic lunch and Park Quest.

The quest was a short hike, collecting clues about the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC was one of the New Deal's most popular programs. It put young, unemployed men to work on various projects across the country.

In exchange for their labor, the men were provided shelter (often in army-style camps), food and the standard wage of $30/month with $25 going directly to the worker's family.

In the nine years the CCC operated (1933-1942), an estimated 3 billion trees were planted and 800 parks developed nationwide. A list of CCC contributions in just our tiny state of Maryland can be found here.

Many, if not most, of the parks I've detailed on this blog were built by the CCC.

Boys standing on one of three stone overlooks built by the CCC in Gambrill State Park.

I'm very grateful to those young men. They've left an amazing legacy.

Boys with the statue dedicated to Maryland's CCC workers.

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Sources and Additional Reading

Civilian Conservation Corps, American Experience, PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/ccc/

Civilian Conservation Corps, Roosevelt's Tree Army in Maryland, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/centennial/CCC_History_Part_II.asp

Civilian Conservation Corps, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Conservation_Corps

Civilian Conservation Corps Legacy
http://www.ccclegacy.org/ 

Gambrill State Park Civilian Conservation Corps
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/western/gambrillccc.asp

Pack Mule

The first stage of any expedition is planning. And boy, did we plan. As I mentioned before, we had a whole binder of maps, Park Quest instructions, REI checklists and recipes. We made spreadsheets outlining our tentative itinerary and menu. We started piling our equipment in the garage.

That's when I began to worry just a little. Planning is the easy part. As in past trips, the hard part would be fitting all our gear...

into our tiny car.

Luckily, I have two boys who are wicked good with puzzles. We wedged every last bungee cord, sleeping bag and marshmallow into our car.

I even remembered to take pictures from various angles (perhaps they'll come in handy when I wonder how we'll accomplish this miracle next year).

backseat

frontseat

rear

Hmm. There may even be room for that sleeping pad I want from REI.

Happy Campers

Somehow I've become the office expert on camping. I've had three co-workers come to me for camping advice.

If you read this blog, you know how scared they should be.

So far, the number one question I receive is where to camp. 


The boys and I have only camped in two different kinds of campgrounds: state parks and backyards.

Our first camping trip (when I still had diapers to content with), was to Westmoreland State Park in Tidewater, Virginia. Westmoreland was the site of my first camping trip (when I was in diapers myself).

Since then, we've spent our annual summer camping trip at Shad Landing in Pocomoke River State Park on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Last summer we also spent a weekend at Rocky Gap State Park in Western Maryland.

All of these locations were wonderful.  I can't say enough good things about Maryland's state parks. We've encountered nothing but friendly staff, clean bathrooms and great facilities. Our experience with the parks in our neighboring states is slim, but so far, they've been equally pleasant.


Where is your favorite place to camp?

A Seat Fit For a King

Between excessive heat, a series of summer colds and one ginormous wind storm, we're a little behind in our Park Questing. Going into the weekend, we'd only completed Cedarville and the online History Mystery quests.

According to my thermometer (which hangs mostly in the shade) Saturday was 103 degrees. We barely left the house. Sunday was forecast to be 95, mild by comparison.

Sunday morning, we got up early, packed a picnic and plenty of water and headed to Rocks State Park.

There were several quest levels to choose from and we chose moderate. It was a good decision. Rocks turned out to be the perfect quest for us.

As anyone who reads this blog knows, Gabe isn't particularly fond of hiking. Part of this is because he'd rather be in the air conditioning drawing dinosaur field guides or watching re-runs of Shark Week. But Gabe also has some balance issues and he struggles a bit with uneven ground.

This quest was a manageable challenge for him.

Our mission was to follow instructions and a map to four markers. The markers were topped with metal plates for us to make a rubbing of in our passport book.

It took us about an hour.

We spent at least another hour exploring and climbing around the rock formations.

The boys loved this one. It's called Gator Rock, for obvious reasons. They immediately wanted a picture of themselves in the "mouth."

But it was the largest formation that was their favorite. It's called the King and Queen's Seat and was once a ceremonial site for the Susquehannock Indians. I can see why, it's pretty spectacular. Located near the top of the ridge, the formation itself is190 feet tall. The trail we used to reach it, came down from the top. The boys are maybe five feet off the ground in this shot.

After the above photo, the we climbed down and then back up to where you see people in the background. The drop off where the farthest man is standing turned my knees to Jell-o.

The view was amazing.

Park Quest #3 completed and a favorite hiking/climbing place found.

Derecho

I sleep like the dead. But something the night of June 29 woke me up with a start.  One moment I was deep in dreamland and the next I was standing beside my bed dazed and disoriented.  As my brain slowly came to, the first thing it registered was the noise.

Wind.

Wind like I never heard before. The power was out and Aunty M was scurrying around searching for flashlights. I went to help her and caught a glimpse through the curtains of the trees outside. I didn't know mature trees - full-grown poplars, maples and oaks - could move like that.

We decided to move to the center of the house. We noticed poor Prince Kitty hiding under the old Morris chair.

You know it's not good when the creature with the most natural instinct has taken cover.

The intense wind lasted for twenty minutes, eventually dwindling to regular thunderstorm levels. I've never experienced anything like it. I was relieved to get a text from the boys' dad saying all were safe and hunkered in their basement.

I heard later that winds were clocked at 80 mph on the Bay Bridge. I believe it.

The next morning, we ventured out to survey our damage and check on my Granny, four miles away. Trees, large and small, were everywhere. Our yard was covered in debris.

We were without power for four days (many in our area went much longer). And I won't lie. With the heat, nerves got a little frayed. There may or may not have been tears at some point. We'll be cleaning up for weeks.

But none of our loved ones were hurt and none experienced major damage. In fact, this recycle bin (and later, the contents of our refrigerator) was our only casualty.

Thinking about that wind, I can only feel thankful

Granny's hydrangeas the morning after the storm.

First Park Quest of 2012: Cedarville

 A couple of weeks ago, we went on our first Park Quest of 2012. The boys are much more involved in choosing where we quest this year. They know where we are on the map and seem to enjoy researching quests and locations. They pored over my laptop and the three of us debated the pros and cons of each option.

After extensive consideration, we chose Cedarville State Forest for our first quest because 1) it's within an hour of our house 2) the quest was marked "easy" and 3) we enjoyed our letterbox quest last year. This year's quest was another letterbox adventure, but with updated directions. We had the option of a basic quest (finding two boxes) or a bonus quest (finding all four).  It was hot and we were all a little sniffly, so we decided to wimp out and complete the basic quest.

Boys at the trail head.

Cedarville is such a beautiful, peaceful place. The gentle woodland trails remind me of my grandparent's woods.

 The boys seem to enjoy it too. As I've mentioned in several previous posts, our normal hiking order is Matt half jogging, half walking out front followed by me pulling Gabe. On this hike, however, Gabe took the lead!

Taking his first turn as trail leader.

We found our first letterbox with ease and moved to the second area for letterbox number two. Our instructions said we would walk past a beaver's dam.  We knew we were getting close when saw trees like this:

It wasn't long after we saw the lodge.

It was a pleasant, but slightly longer hike to the second letterbox. We were counting our steps and looking for the circle that would mark our way when a deer ran across our path.  We watched her bound into the trees and saw not only the marker we were looking for, but the second letterbox!

Park Quest 1 - complete!