Always at Play: Finding Joy Around Town

Someday, I hope our kids will feel the need to have fun with the kids in their lives, even close to home.  To that end, here's some treats in and around Daleville, Virginia, our current home ZIP code.  It's convenient to 1-81's Exit 150B, not to mention the fact that Route 220 runs through it and Route 460 is not far off, making it an easy stop.  To that end, here are three activities that specifically promise fun to share with you.

Not too long ago, the exercise studio FlyFit began giving us a novel way to burn calories.  They are home of bungee activities, Pilates, aerial yoga, and more.  Yes, I said bungee -- bungees hang from the ceiling and provide you both resistance and support while you workout.  There's even a kids' class that G adores.

Kim's recommendation?  Try bungee sculpt or aerial yoga.  In aerial yoga, you will use a suspended silk and finish class by making a cocoon in which you will rest.

For an activity that's a little more free form, there's the amazing Addy Grace All-Abilities Playground.

A local family spearheaded the campaign to built the park, the first of the type in the area.  It's great for kids of all ages and features zip lines, climbing equipment, and modern merry-go-rounds.  There's a safe play surface, benches, convenient parking, and a tall fence -- details caregivers really appreciate.  If you are travelling through, this is a fantastic place to let the kids stretch their legs and make fast friends as there are almost always several families busy playing.

And there's another one:  Enchanted Bliss, a lovely place for grown ups but also known for its kids' spa Enchanted Bliss Kids downstairs.  A generous friend of ours hosted a spa gathering and invited G.  We had a blast polishing nails, playing dress up, doing face masks, being pampered with a little up-do, and more.  It's certainly fun with friends and also offers "date nights" and similar events.

Things to Know

• Wear comfy clothes, and if doing FlyFit, know you can book your class through their Facebook page where they run frequent specials.  Any athletic clothes will serve you well in class.
• The Addy Grace Playground is FREE and open to all.  There are some erroneous reviews that state otherwise online -- they are incorrect.  Yes, it is very close to the YMCA, but YMCA membership is not required.
• Enchanted Bliss runs a fair number of Facebook specials as well.
• These places are assets, and they don't have many TripAdvisor reviews yet.  Give them some TripAdvisor love after your visits!
• It's easy to add on a meal at Tizzone or the more casual Town Center Tap House, both having fun promotions frequently as well.  Eat after FlyFit, not before.  Another place we can't wait to try?  Donnie D's Bagels and Deli.

Simple and Small: Gettysburg's Land of Little Horses

Gettysburg is J's favorite history site, of course.  G, however, adores being outside on a battlefield but doesn't quite have historical tourism down yet.  We're still teaching her, but in the meantime, it's sometimes effective to explore in other ways.  On a recent trip to Pennsylvania, G and K were inspired to visit Land of Little Horses, a family farm attraction in Gettysburg's countryside, accordingly to indulge G's enjoyment of animals and the outdoors.  The farm is celebrating its 45th year!

K had always been curious about this attraction, a great place to spend a morning or afternoon. Famous for miniature horses as the name implies, Land of Little Horses is a simple, peaceful farm on which at least 20 or so friendly mini horses reside by our count.  The park has special times during which one can groom and interact with the horses daily.  Other special events include simple animal shows during which select horses and other animals including dogs and pigs perform cute tricks.  The performances, low-key and in a covered arena, are a nice way to take a break on a hot day.  The information is also inspiring--many of the animals are rescued and all are cared for by the family that owns the farm (the dogs even go home at night with them).  The show demonstrates kindness towards the animals as well--a far cry from a rigorous "animal trick exhibit."  A semi-famous horse will even do math for you--addition through division and including number recognition.  Nifty.

The park is a pretty place to walk aimlessly on paths, venturing barn to barn and showing up for hourly special events like the animal show.  There are rabbits, turkeys, goats (twins born on K's birthday, actually), a "racing" tortoise, and more.  Yes, you can buy food pellets for them, but we opted not to.  There's also a small park, a snack bar with indoor seating (we had ice cream), places for picnics outside, a "wild west" village with props for imaginative play, and a gift shop (of course we bought a Christmas ornament--as well as a fancy pink cowgirl hat).  G's favorite experiences?  Saying hello to the rabbits, brushing the horses during the grooming event, climbing on the playground, and riding the saddle swings in the wild west village.

This farm park has no amusement rides and put me in the mind of the type of pleasant family/friends outing one can have at a fall pumpkin patch in Virginia.  If you go, dress for the weather outdoors, and know that closed-toed shoes are optimal.  Search online for deals (try sites like Groupon, Certifikid, and Living Social as well as coupon sites like Val-Pack).  We enjoyed eating just ice cream at the park, enjoying an air-conditioned break at the snack bar, and then meeting our family for a bigger dinner at Blue and Gray Bar and Grill, one of our favorite local restaurants.  Management makes sure you are aware the park does not offer pony rides (apparently, they did before an insurance increase).  The park is open, weather permitting, select days April to October with season passes available and makes a perfect trip for preschoolers and young kids who enjoy animals.

A Favorite Children's Museum: Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, NC

If you have young kids, you are definitely going to want to visit Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, North Carolina!  Kim had heard of Marbles after visiting the Greensboro Children's Museum and then became quite pleased to note admission to Marbles is free to ASTC Passport holders.  We simply had to make at least one trip there this year with E, almost 6, and G, almost 2.  Yes, it's about 3 hours from home in Roanoke, but it was definitely worth it.  We are actually surprised we hadn't heard about it earlier.

Marbles features two large floors of spacious, well-kept exhibits.  On our 3-hour visit, we took in the Around Town, Idea Works, Moneypalooza, and Splash! areas.  We could have spent more time in each, and we did not cover the entire museum.  Our kids were thrilled with a firetruck setup featuring a fire pole, a large train table, lots of moving parts (simple machines, pneumatic tubes, etc.) in Moneypalooza, and opportunities to build in Idea Works.  E even used a hand saw here in a special area that allows kids to create with found objects and safe building materials.  There's lots of fun to be had in art stations, at special events (a vet and a therapy dog were there to greet kids during our visit), and more.  Expect a good crowd, and know the Around Town area is a good one for the smallest explorers--it's gated.  We highly recommend this museum for the toddler-to-early elementary school set.

In short, Marbles was one of the best children's museums we've seen. It was a great place for E and G to enjoy a playdate with their cousin R.  If you go, consider roaming the museum with a small group of similar-aged children and a couple of adults for good measure.  Admission is just $5 if you do not have membership rights; parking is nearby (pay to park in a surface lot or in a garage).  There's an IMAX theatre and restaurant on site, and you are within walking distance to the North Carolina Museum of History.  There's also an attractive museum courtyard, so if the weather cooperates, we don't know why you couldn't bring a picnic.

ASTC passport holders traveling to/from Roanoke, consider planning your visit route to incorporate the Museum of Life + Science, Greensboro Science Center, and/or other museums on the passport list--you are within driving range!  We have family in North Carolina, and we are planning more joint play date trips this year.

Around Town: Star CIty Skate Center and Tanglewood Mall Mommy Time

We've found a few new places to play this January!   Elijah and Kim kept driving by the Star City Skate Center, and he would comment about how much he wanted to play in their indoor play area.  Now, we know the center has $1 admission on Tuesdays with $1 skate rentals to boot.  In this equation, $2 is 2 hours of fun, and we've now been twice.  Kim was pleasantly surprised that Elijah wanted to learn to skate--and he did it!  Of course, the play area is also very fun for toddlers through young elementary students.  There is no ball pit but there are plenty of opportunities to climb and crawl as well as, per Elijah, a "really fast" slide.  If you want to go on a day other than Tuesday, look in the local Val-Pack mailer for coupons.

On a recent day off, Elijah and Gwen took Kim to Mommy Time, the new indoor play area at Tanglewood Mall (across from Belk upstairs).  If you haven't seen it yet, Mommy Time has an indoor climbing structure with slides and a ball pit, some merry-go-round like rides, a large Duplo block area, a LCD "video" game that projects items for kids to stomp on, and similar play features.  For around $7 an hour, kids can play, attended by sitters, while parents enjoy the mall area, although the website is a bit unclear about how old kids have to be to stay solo.  You can stay and play yourself--adults are even allowed on the climbing structure.  Both kids loved it--Elijah, age 5, played a full 2 hours, and Gwen, 20 months, could handle about 90 minutes.  Elijah gave a big thumbs up to the "video" game, chasing game elements for around 45 minutes.  Gwen liked the climber best and crawled through the tunnel quite skillfully for her age.  She can give us a run for our money!  If you go, Kim recommends that you stay with any kids under 4 or so--there are a few places where the floor could benefit from some additional padding and you may want to be around for any tumbles.  Elijah would have been fine solo--but Gwen not so much.  Plan to remove your shoes and wear socks to play. You can also stay and just sit on the couches and read, use your phone, etc.

On the whole, we were impressed with both places for their ability to keep us active on cold winter days, and we'll be back!