Greensboro Science Center: Good Deal, Day of Fun

K, E, G, and family friend A took off for the Greensboro Science Center in Greensboro, NC, a perfect distance from Roanoke for a day trip.  Recently renovated, the center includes a zoo, an aquarium, and a science museum with play area.  It's all very attractively presented, and on the weekends, we found lots of competent teen volunteers able to provide some interpretation.

For the zoo,  think "bigger than Mill Mountain but smaller than Asheboro; for the aquarium, bigger than aquatics in  Roanoke but smaller than Chattanooga; for the museum itself, around the size of the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville.  This all combines to make a very manageable day for young kids.  We adored the pneumatic tubes in the play area, the tigers in the zoo, and the expansive sting ray touch tank. Taking bigger kids?  Consider the Skywild aerial ropes course add on (must be at least 10 and 70 pounds).  E and A enjoyed an add-on dome theater show about stars.

If you go, know you can pack a picnic--there are tables in the zoo and at Greensboro's Country Park (it literally backs into the property).  There's a fountain you can play in and animals to pet at the zoo, too.  The public park also has playgrounds and paddleboats.  Educators, take your ID--basic admission to the center is free.  ASTC Passport holders are also free, or if based regionally, discounted.   We were able to combine both programs for a great deal.  You may come and go, using your receipt for re-entry.

Moores Creek Battlefield: Pleasant Walk, Well Interpreted

You know those brown road signs that point you towards attractions?  You should follow them every now and again.  On a recent trip back from Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, we passed a sign for Moores Creek Battlefield, an American Revolution site.  The battle at Moores Creek had significant implications for British strategy and caused North Carolina to be "all in" for independence at a new level.  You may not have heard of it before, but it is worth your time.

The National Park Service has done a fabulous job making the story of Moores Creek easy to access in a very pleasant commemorative setting.  Many battlefields are either undeveloped or full of monuments--this one is a nice mix of natural setting and human-made memorial.  There are short, stroller-navigable trails, including a boardwalk over a swamp-like area.  Pause at the monuments, especially the monument to Cape Fear women of the revolution and the Scottish loyalists who fought on site.  Allow an hour or so and walk a trail or two--the paths are pretty flat, the main walk is paved, and you'll see lizards, long-leaf pines, turtles, and the like.

If you didn't already know, North Carolina is the site of several revolutionary battles.  On the way to the Brunswick County beaches and/or the Grand Strand?  It's pretty easy to work in Guilford Courthouse near Greensboro and Moores Creek.  If you go, consider packing a picnic--it's a great site for a pit stop while driving, and plus, there's no site entry fee.  If you are interested in taking in the small exhibit and gift shop in the visitor's center, be sure to check visitor's center hours before stopping.  The park is in a rural area about 15-18 miles from the main road.  You'll travel paved secondary roads to get there, passing some churches, homes, and the occasional gas station--but there are no fast food outlets or stores.

Airlie Gardens: Simple Splendor Near Wimington/Wrightsville

On a quick weekend family trip to the Wilmington area, G and Kim found themselves with some free time.  They chose to spend two hours at Airlie Gardens, a very short (eight minute) drive from Wrightsville Beach.   Airlie is a relatively small garden with sculptures and wildlife.  Smaller than Brookgreen Gardens, it was easy and enjoyable to cover Airlie in a few hours on an overcast afternoon.   There are manicured and "wild" areas, and while the paths are a bit confusing to follow at times, it's fun to meander.  Plus,  there are plenty of trees with hanging moss, giving you the splendor of anywhere in the deeper south.

Kim will tell you not to miss the Bottle Chapel, an incredible (and large) folk art installation that's simply stunning in detail and color.  Made from repurposed glass and including some shells, old colorful mugs, and similar hidden delights, the Bottle Chapel can engage you for a while.   Nearby,  find a small butterfly garden (included in the admission price), and keep your eye out for animals in general (spiders, swans, squirrels, etc.). G enjoyed a temporary exhibit of Guardians of the Garden, various metal creatures lurking throughout.

Airlie is an inexpensive way to spend a few hours (Kim paid $9, G was free--the garden is "public" but there are entry fees).  There's a small gift shop, a nature trail we didn't explore with our stroller, and even an old Episcopalian cemetery on property.  There's a small pier, some fountains, and scattered benches throughout.   We hear the special events, including Christmas lights, are quite nice.  If you go,  you are extremely close to Wrightsville Beach, a wide strand beach with a mix of rental, resident, and hotel properties.  Not an urban beach but not a fully quiet one, the views of small craft and ocean are stunning.  Stop by. 

Presidents in Dallas: The Sixth Floor Museum and George W Bush Presidential Library

Dallas--it's a big, political city.  K, in town for a conference, used extra time on her travel days to take in the Presidential sites there.  When looking for something to do right before or after a flight, there are good options--even on weekends!

Every visitor to Dallas should visit the Sixth Floor Museum, an extensive exhibit about the Kennedy assassination in November 1963.   Tastefully done, the museum provides a thought-provoking exploration of the tragic trip to Dallas.  A basic overview of the spirit of the times is provided, and the exhibit presents powerful information about the investigation, communication surrounding the news, the political climate, and the like.  It's fascinating to reflect on how security and journalism have changed over time.  An audio tour is key to guide you through the exhibit (and part of your admission); the exhibit features more photographs, videos, and text than artifacts.  If you are an educator, ask for the admission discount and present ID--the discount on admission nears 50%.

If you go, don't forget to walk out to the grassy knoll.  The X you see on the pavement pictured above is the informal marking of the spot where the fatal shot hit.  You could easily visit the museum in the afternoon and then spend the early evening in the Reunion Tower area nearby.

K was also able to visit the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum on the Southern Methodist University campus.  SMU is an attractive, open-feeling campus right in the "big D."

The site is a reasonable place to visit of individuals of various political persuasions.  It conveys a fairly objective perspective on the contested 2000 election, followed by the optimism of the initial months of the presidency.  Right after an exhibit on the hope conveyed in the law that was No Child Left Behind (ever how challenging the law was) and a diplomatic visit from high-placed Mexican officials, one rounds the corner right into a display of girders from the Twin Towers.  The layout conveys the shock and tragedy of 9/11 and affords visitors an opportunity to record their memories of that day.  Other challenges are also addressed, including Hurricane Katrina.  The museum also gives attention to the more casual side of the family, describing changes Bush made in his early life, the perspectives of his daughters in the White House, and Bush's desire to have fun.  Overall, he comes across as a very likeable personality--again, irrespective of politics.

If you go, parking is available across the street, but you can also research reasonably-convenient use of public transportation including a shuttle bus that travels near the site.  There are photo ops, and the grounds are well-landscaped.  We know the first picture from this site is dark, but we had to include it--it is K at the Oval Office desk, you see.

Through the Ages: Fort Monroe and the Casemate Museum

A few years ago, J had an enthusiastic colleague tell him about the Casemate Museum, a relatively small but highly-interesting museum located inside the fort structure at Fort Monroe.  On our tenth anniversary trip to the Williamsburg area, we made it to this truly intriguing site.

Intrigue begins when you drive into the fort over a one-lane bridge, crossing through its walls.  It may sound cliche, but you really do feel that you have driven back in time.  We visited the Casemate Museum first (check its hours--they are not as long as some), walking through the fort interior walls to view displays about activity in the area in the early years of the US, during the US Civil War, and into the 1900s before its decommissioning in the early 2000s.  Significantly, the site held POW Jefferson Davis during the US Civil War.  There is no cost to tour the museum.

Visitors should take time to walk around the grounds, and a self-guided walking tour is available.  For this reason, you may want to visit in the temperate spring or fall, but it was doable for us as determined adults in the summer.  We walked to the "top" of the fort, finding a pet cemetery, cannon placements, and interesting views.  There's a pretty chapel, a very large gun known as the Lincoln Gun, a house in which Lee stayed, and an attractive nearby lighthouse.  A Virginia Historical Marker also denotes the landing of the first African people to reach the shores of the colonies.  The site is being re-developed as a National Park Service site, so watch for enhancements in the next few years.

If you go, consider combining your trip with a visit to The Mariners' Museum as we did.  We drove back in to Williamsburg for dinner, but the area is full of good picnic sites, including some along the waterfront.  There are beaches!  If you are a teacher, consider adding professional development offered at this site to your summer lineup--the museum has a history of being included in the Virginia War Memorial Teacher Institutes.

Now That's a Museum: The Mariners' Museum

J and K have been blessed to travel to many museums.  We enjoy the offbeat, the classy, the historic, the kitschy--if it is a museum, we probably like it, at least on some level.  We'd been intending to travel to The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, for years, and we got around to it as the centerpiece of our tenth anniversary trip J planned for us.  K's dad was in the US Navy, and he visited here before its last major renovation adding the USS Monitor Center.  He would have been so pleased to see us enjoy it so.

Billed as the premiere US Civil War exhibit, the USS Monitor Center at the Mariners' Museum and the associated exhibits detailing the famous Battle of the Ironclads is extremely impressive.  We spent hours in this exhibit alone.  It presents and contextualizes this history of the war, the associated shipbuilding, and the battle--as well as the finding of the wreckage of the USS Monitor in the Atlantic and its ongoing preservation today.  If you have interests in technology, seafaring, engineering, exploration, war, history, and/or museum science, this exhibit is captivating.   Visitors hear the stories of the shipbuilders and soldiers--and the oceanographers, archaeologists, and others who find those memories.  As an added plus, we visited during a rare "tank draining," as the Monitor turret, kept in saltwater during the current stage of conservation, was in a drained tank when we visited.  If you have particular interests in conservation, follow @USSMonitorLab on Twitter.The teachers in us would find it a very suitable field trip for serious students of Virginia and US history of any age.

Don't miss any other part of the museum, either--including the particularly interesting Crabtree Gallery of miniature ships (there's a great exhibit book to buy), Abandon Ship: Stories of Survival, Defending the Seas about the history of the US Navy, and the fascinating International Small Craft Center, a display of everything from gondolas to canoes to classy motorboats.  Until late summer 2015, there's also a nifty exhibit of deep see exploration, Extreme Deep.

If you go, we're thinking this is a museum that, while interesting for some kids, would require a different touring style with kids under 10--it's better suited for museum readers than museum runners, if you will.  Come prepared to walk the well-landscaped grounds if you are so inclined.  The Grey Goose Cafe onsite serves the delicious food of a local catering company and is pretty reasonably priced for a yummy, well-prepared meal.  If you are traveling with kids, know you are very close to the Virginia Living Museum.

Age of Revolution: Yorktown, VA

On our tenth anniversary weekend trip, we took an afternoon trip to Yorktown Battlefield that is worthy of its own blog entry.  Highly-driveable from Williamsburg, Virginia, or any other spot in the Historic Triangle, Yorktown is known as the site of our nation's victory against the British.  Tour it with J, and you'll also hear about how Yorktown produced a truce more than our immediate nationhood, and you'll hear about the greater context of the Age of Revolution--and how the world did not revolve around the American Revolution.  He'll still inspire you with American history, of course, and you'll leave with a better understanding of the whole shebang and a different sense of gratitude for our nationhood.

For this visit, we did a large portion of the driving tour, walked to the preserved and reconstructed redoubts (earthen forts), and saw the seasonally-open Moore House where the terms of the truce/surrender were negotiated.  Little is known about the Moore family, but the site is significant in the history of preservation, as it is the first NPS preservation of its kind, accomplished by a CCC group.  The redoubts provoke similar curiosity, and one suddenly realizes "George Washington was here" when walking around them.  The NPS Battlefield site also has a small visitor's center that displays Washington's tents from the battle--the real deal.  Walking around in the park, while historic, is also beautiful.

If you are also going to Historic Jamestowne within the year, it may be smarter for you to buy an annual admission pass to the local NPS parks.  When planning your trip, keep "new" and "old" Jamestown and Yorktown separate in your mind--they are four separate entities.  The "new" sites are living history parks managed by the Commonwealth of Virginia; the "old" sites are preserved remains managed by the National Park Service.  "New" Yorktown is being redesigned--we're sure to bring you a blog about that next year!