The Philadelphia Zoo

Every year for the boys' birthdays our in-laws get us a membership to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. As a part of the membership you can get free or discounted admission to a list of reciprocal zoos (see http://www.marylandzoo.org/membership/reciprocal-lists/) and I have a few of them on our "to-do" list. This past weekend we decided to take a random, unplanned trip to the Philadelphia Zoo. Some of our best day trips are the ones where we wake up on a Saturday morning and decide to go somewhere new. The Philadelphia Zoo was an extremely pleasant surprise! It is by far the nicest zoo we have taken the boys to.

The Philadelphia Zoo is located on the outer edge of Philadelphia and less than 2 hours from Baltimore. The Zoo is extremely clean, there are a bunch of brand new or recently updated exhibits, and the layout of the zoo is perfect.

The current exhibit is called the Trail of the Lorax. Throughout the Zoo are special places to stop and use 3-D glasses to read special messages about saving the Earth and see special pictures. Caleb, our excited reader, enjoyed reading the messages!

One of our favorite exhibits was the PECO Primate Reserve. This two-story, brand new, state of the art building gives you the opportunity to get up close and personal with gorillas and other primates. The boys enjoyed sitting inside this box and watching a gorilla in action, just a few feet away.

Throughout the Zoo are many opportunities for silly photos, a favorite of our family!

Seeing these hippos was special, as other zoos we have visited have not had hippos.

We enjoyed getting up close and personal with the giraffes!

The Zoo has many attractions (that we avoided to keep costs down) including a hot air balloon ride, camel rides, swan boat rides, and train ride.

Other exhibits/things of note:

• Be sure to see the FREE 4-D Migration Experience in the McNeil Avian Center. This 15 minute presentation is about a cartoon Oriole bird Otis and his flight from Philadelphia to South America and back. It included wind (as it was raining) and other fun special effects!
• Arrive early and park in the Zebra parking lot, the closest lot to the zoo.
• Bear Country includes several bears and is another great stop. We enjoyed the polar bear keeper chat.
• The naked mole rats in the Rare Animal Conservation Center were very entertaining!
• You can bring in outside food/beverages (which is the best way to go!), but if you choose to eat at the Zoo there is a healthy food vendor by the pond.
• Join the MD Zoo and you get a 50% off discount.

Again, we were very impressed by the Philadelphia Zoo and will be going back one day!

Hands-on House, Children's Museum

Last weekend we finally made it to the Hands-on House in Lancaster, PA! It's been on the "to-do" list for a long time!

 At church there was a recent sermon on having family sabbath days. Days where you enjoy each other and do something that each of you would like to do. The Hands-on House was Caleb's choice for this sabbath day! (He specifically said, "I want to go to a children's museum!")

 There are many exhibits good for kids ages 2-8 (in my opinion). In this area there is a fan that kids turn on to blow the ships across. Caleb enjoyed figuring out that shape/size of the sail that was the best for getting the boat to move quicker.

 Another favorite was the Face Painting Porch. Blake decided that he didn't want to, but of course Caleb jumped right in! I think Daddy may have a future in this!

 Another area was a fishing pond. What I like is that the kids were encouraged to measure their fish using the ruler seen in this picture. Then if the fish was too short they were to throw it back. If the fish was long enough, they threw it in a nearby bucket.

 One area was all about farming, a favorite topic for our boys. In this area pretend chickens lay eggs and kids put the good ones through and the bad ones in a special container.

 Blake enjoyed pretending to plow a field!

 Another favorite was Marty's Machine Shop where Caleb went through a production line step through step to create a toy. It was a great exercise in following directions!

 I would recommend going when the weather is good, as there is an awesome outdoor playground/discovery area.

Some of the other exhibits include a post office, grocery store, make believe area, pirate ship, and more! As an elementary school teacher I appreciated how learning on everything from reading to math was "snuck" in to all of the exhibits!

The Hands-on House is located in West Lancaster. It's about an 80 minute drive from Baltimore. Admission is reasonable at $8.50 a person. I could not find any discounts/coupons. There are countless things for kids to do in Lancaster and a trip to the Hands-on House could be part of a fantastic day trip!

The Mallow Bar!

This will unfortunately be a quick blog (I have worked 60 hours this week and am so done)... but I don't want to keep one of our favorite new places a secret any longer!

 The Mallow Bar is quickly becoming one of our favorite new treats in the area!

The eatery features homemade rice krispy treats and from scratch marshmallows. These are NOT your Mom's rice krispy treats though, they are gourmet and they are HEAVENLY! Some of the flavors we've enjoyed so far include caramel dipped, chocolate dipped, a mixture with m & m's and popcorn, and cherry almond with a white chocolate drizzle. There are some tables to sit down at inside the Mallow Bar, or you can take your treats to go. The eatery itself has a modern soda shop feel. It's great for an afternoon outing with kids! (The boys like the m & m/popcorn ones best!)

We tend to get the box of 6 to save some money. They are $3.50 each, or $18 for a box of 6. The Mallow Bar is located in the shopping strip at the corner of Philadelphia Road and Rossville Boulevard (there is a Subway in the same strip and a tall office building next door). They are open Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. For more information visit:

http://www.themallowbar.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/themallowbar

Port Discovery in Baltmore

Today we finally made it to Port Discovery in downtown Baltimore! Lately I feel like my "babies" are growing up too quickly and I am in a hurry to do every little kid activity in the area! It was fantastic, much better than I ever imagined! I wish we had made it there years ago and we will definitely be back. Below are some pictures and descriptions of just a few of their exhibits.

The first exhibit we visited was "The Adventures of Mr. Potato Head." This is their current traveling exhibit and will only be there until September.

 There are opportunities to get dressed up, which of course Daddy just had to do too!

Caleb enjoyed using secret codes to spell his name. Even though his name does not have a "u" in it, he was delighted that the picture for "u" was a pair of underwear!

 Mr. Potato himself makes an appearance at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Blake was scared at first, but after I confirmed that it was a "nice" Mr. Potato he warmed up. This exhibit included an outer space and underwater component. There is a slide and a conveyor belt. The boys really like it!

 Another exhibit is "The Diner." The boys enjoyed "making" us a cheeseburger and apple pie. There are booths and a counter for adults to sit at while the kids make food and serve it!

 The boys always love a good water table and "The Wonders of Water" was right up there with the best of them. Caleb enjoyed moving the red pieces seen in the picture to see how he could change the flow of the water.

 Blake was happy to build things using lego blocks in the water.

 One of the coolest parts of Port Discovery is "Kid Works." "Kid Works" is a climbing experience in the center of the museum that goes all the way from the first floor to the third floor. Their are entrances and exits at each level, as well as slides, ladders, and other fun things. Caleb loved it, Blake was petrified (typical). Adults are allowed and encouraged to climb through. 80 pounds ago I would not have been able to do it, but had no problem today!

 Our FAVORITE exhibit turned out to be "Adventure Expeditions." This Egyptian themed exhibit included hieroglyphs and a ride that you pulled yourself across the room on (seen above).

 Another cool part of this exhibit were the mummies that you could see inside of using the box seen above. The boys really enjoyed seeing the bones inside! The boxes slide from side to side so that you can look inside the entire mummy.

 Daddy just had to jump out of a tomb and scare the boys!

A final exhibit we enjoyed was "Studio Workshop" where there are arts and crafts.

These are not all of the exhibits, but just our favorites! I highly recommend any one with kids visit soon! (Even big kids like me!)

A few tips:

• Regular admission is $14 a person for ages 2 and up (but certainly not what I paid!)
• Teacher friends: Bring a recent pay stub/teacher identification card and you get in FREE. No questions asked! (Thanks Christine for this information, I did not know!)
• Many entertainment books sold for fundraisers have buy one/get one free kid admissions (I have one extra if any one would like it)
• Arrive early (about 20 minutes) and you'll be one of the first people in. Go straight to the third floor where the Mr. Potato Head exhibit is as it will be the most crowded. By doing this we had the exhibit completely to ourselves!
• Bring a change of clothes or at least a fresh shirt for after visiting the water play area
• Park at the Harbor Park garage for $7 parking on Saturdays and Sundays. Ask for a validation ticket as you enter the museum.
• Visit http://www.portdiscovery.com/ for more information!

Eastern Regional Park Nature Trails

For years we have been going to the park at Eastern Regional Park. It was only recently that we discovered (thank you Uncle Sean) that there is a beautiful nature trail for hiking. It has quickly become one of our favorite evening activities. It's great exercise and more importantly, great family time!

 The trail includes a gazebo where you can sit and take a break in the middle of a marsh.

 Caleb enjoys running ahead and then running back.

 Even Daddy gets in on the fun!

 Sword fights with grass, why not? I am surely outnumbered by boys!

 There are piers that go out to the water. On this trip the boys were looking for a frog that they could hear.

 You never know what creatures you might see. Above is a rabbit that the boys were excited to see!

 Blake was feeling a little grouchy by the end of this walk, but Caleb was all about it.

 Such sweet boys! (Some times!)

After the walk we enjoyed some time on the playground.

Eastern Regional Park is located at 11723 Eastern Avenue, Chase, MD, 21220. In addition the trails and playground there are nice picnic tables that you can eat a picnic at. Best of all it is FREE! For more information (including maps of the trails), go to:

http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/recreation/programdivision/region3/easternrglpark.html

By the Scoop Ice Cream Parlor

 Our new favorite place to visit is the "By the Scoop" ice cream parlor in Bowley's Quarters! This ice cream joint is what I envision an old fashioned ice cream parlor would be like (but since I was born in the 80's I can't tell you from personal experience). All of the ice cream flavors are made from scratch and we have not had a "bad" flavor yet. The flavors are always changing (which is exciting), but some of the more interesting flavors we've sampled include: Berger cookie (vanilla ice cream with big chunks of the Baltimore favorite Berger cookies), Fluffer Nutter (peanut butter with marshmallow), and peach cobbler (peach ice cream with pieces of peach and cake). They also have all the traditional flavors of ice cream you would expect and sorbet if you are trying to count calories. In addition to just ice cream they have homemade waffle bowls (dipped in chocolate or not, with sprinkles or nuts), hot waffle sundaes, and banana splits to name a few. In their refrigerator you can also buy old fashioned soda in glass bottles (for some reason soda just tastes better when it is in one of those bottles).

This ice cream parlor is extremely kid friendly, a must for us. They have little tables for the kids to sit at while traditional 50's television plays shows like "Leave it to Beaver." Caleb had never seen black and white television and it lead to a great conversation! The picture above was taken after a trip to the Maryland Zoo and boys both enjoyed birthday cake ice cream, a tasty vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles in it.

Parents can sit back, relax, and actually taste and enjoy their ice cream as their is a large wall chalkboard for kids to draw on when they finish their ice cream early (that always seems to happen!). Blake could have played for hours with this chalkboard if I would have let him! By the Scoop is located at 105 Carroll Island Road, Middle River, MD, 21220 (directly across from the Walmart in the same shopping strip as Fish and Chips/Gamestop). Their pricing is very reasonable with kids scoops only costing around $2. Visit their website www.bythescoop.com for more details. I also recommend liking their facebook page at www.facebook.com/bythescoop. They post "scoop alerts" on their facebook to let you know the new flavors that have been added. Let me know what you think if you get to go!

Choo Choo Barn

Last year a friend generously gave us "Choo Choo Barn" tickets she had won from a local radio station (thanks Lori!). Last weekend we finally stopped by and it was AMAZING!


Caleb and Blake really enjoyed it... but let's be honest, so did Mommy and Daddy! The man who creates this train garden each year is some type of magician! Before this train garden I had only been to local gardens. None of them are even close to this one! Trains stop to let others pass. A fire engine pulls up to a house, puts out the fire with real water, and then drives away. I couldn't believe it!
One of our favorite parts was this replica of Dutch Wonderland. The details from the water boat ride to the moving Skylift were amazing.

Choo Choo Barn is located just down the street from the Strasburg Railroad. Admission is $7 for adults and $4 for children. See www.choochoobarn.com for more details. We will definitely be going back as the display changes yearly!