Getaway to Easton....

This was the last weekend before the end of summer vacation - or, in the case of ChaseKBH, our soon-to-be kindergartener, this was the last weekend of his ante school life.  For the next seventeen or more years, his life will be dictated by the school calendar.  Typically, Jamie and I were so incredibly busy that we did not make adequate plans beforehand, and since the beach was pretty much sold out, we decided to venture just over the Bay Bridge and hang out on the Eastern Shore.   We spent the morning hiking on Wye Island and visiting the site of the Wye Oak.  More in a later post.

The trip to Easton was a little over an hour, but it's a world away from Columbia.  Jamie and I visited before kids, for antiquing, shopping, and dining.  The kids dislike all except the last activity.

 

 

Oysters were of course on the menu, as well as a lot of crab.  For lunch, we went to the Washington Street Pub.  It was amazingly child-friendly.  First, along with crayons and paper, the children were seated with little packets of Goldfish.  The list of sides on the kids meals were extensive, and included two types of fruit, three types of vegetables, as well as more standard fare.  And they had wifi.  And beer for the adults - Heavy Seas Red for me, and blackberry pear cider for Jamie.  And oysters.  Lots of oysters.

 

Nap consumed the rest of BeaABH's day, but ChaseKBH and I had a fantastic time exploring the town.  Easton was a great place to walk around in, and we had a great time walking (in the rain), exploring old architecture and talking about the history of Maryland. We walked to Rise Up Roasters and ran into a friend from Philadelphia, mom to one of ChaseKBH's greatest crushes.  Lemon muffins and hot chocolate made the fact that we were soaked slightly better. 

 

We walked over to Easton Market Square, which was a cool little market and some associated little stores.  We checked out tomorrow's coffee plan, and debated a snowball, but the rain was just too heavy.  We passed through the historical district and window-shopped, but were too muddy to go in anywhere.

 

Dinner was at the Tidewater Inn, where we stayed for the night. They, predictably, shared a steak.  And even dressed for the occasion, though ChaseKBH took off his jacket immediately after ordering dinner.  There was a concert scheduled for the square that night, however, it was rained out, and the overflow seemed to all be in the restaurant.  The kids enjoyed the historic hotel, checking out the duck statute and fountain in the courtyard, and really enjoyed the magnificent staircase.  And almost 12 hours of sleep after a busy morning hiking on Wye Island.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Visitor Center

 Not far off 295, I-95, and I-495, in the land of parking lots and office parks, lies a gateway to the final frontier - the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.  Though most of Goddard is off limits to the public, they have a lovely Visitor Center that's perfect for an afternoon or morning excursion - and despite its small size is high on our list of favorite places for the toddler set - and despite it's lack of a playroom, the play area and the rocket garden, I would classify the Visitor Center as one of the top play areas for the (well-supervised) preschooler in the D.C. area.

The inside of the Visitor Center houses a number of exhibits about NASA and space exploration.  The area is currently under reconstruction, so things are changing.  There are a number of cool interactive displays that are surprisingly (well-supervised) kid friendly.  The curator has done a magnificent job at explaining ideas in simple English rather than jargon.  I also give thanks for my smart phone since the exhibits always prompt more questions - and it's been a dozen years since I took a science class.  

Of particular interest are the models of NASA's various manned and unmanned space craft.  Though the shuttle seems as retro to ChaseKBH's cohort as the Gemini capsule seems to our generation.  My  first and most vivid childhood memory was standing at the edge of the roadway, watching a 747 carrying a space shuttle on its back.  I remember my Dad explaining how the shuttle could fly into space, but couldn't fly cross-country.  I think I was also promised a flying car and tourism to the moon, but I digress.

But the draws of the Visitor Center are more the mere models of spacecraft.  On our three trips ChaseKBH has learned about the Big Bang, the colors and noise of space, and how very, very small the Earth really is in the great cosmos.  We've also learned a lot about tsunamis and global warming from the science on a sphere presentations in the theater - I can't wait until he's old enough to attend lectures from people who can answer his questions a whole lot better than I can.

Of course the favorite exhibit is the model of a Gemini capsule which visitors can climb into and marvel at the tight space.  The Big Bang seems totally plausible compared to the idea that any person could spend two weeks in this tiny space without any comforts whatsoever. We had to explain why there was no video screens, nothing that ChaseKBH would consider a computer, no touch pads, no keys, and none of the basic technology the kid takes for granted every day.

The rocket garden outside houses some fantastic pieces.  It's also a nice outdoor space where small people can wiggle - and it's very stroller accessible.  On the first Sunday of the month, rockets are launched in the rocket garden.  It's a nice history of the American space program.  However, its rather difficult to explain the history of the space program in the context of the Cold War to people who post-date communism, have never lived a day without a major military operation, and who fear acts of terror rather than nuclear holocaust.  

 The play area is fantastic, if small.  There is a crate of space related toys, books, and puzzles.  And most importantly, space helmets.    You simply cannot properly pretend to be an astronaut visiting Mars then flying through Jupiter without a helmet. There is of course also a gift shop where more toys can be purchased - and one that has lightened my purse considerably.

As children both Jamie and I had a fascination with space and astronauts - but I think we were the exception.  Somehow the excitement of the space program skipped our generation.  I think ChaseKBH's generation will pick up our slack.  Almost every morning that I drop him off at preschool some child excitedly tells me what s/he saw from Curiosity that morning, what to do when going to Mars, or how things fall around the Earth without falling into it.  If the moon is mentioned, a good handful follows up and asks to which planet's moon the ignorant grownup refers.  They also have a wonder about how the world works that I can't remember having - they know that its their natural right to understand the entire universe as immediately as possible.

Building Rockets

 I begin this post by acknowledging my many, many failures in life and as a parent.  First, my many failures with physics and my thought that its laws were suggestions.  And the fact that my husband and I, not exactly the model parents, think its appropriate to all the three year old's hobby to include explosives.  However, it is incredibly, incredibly cool.  The good folks at NARHAMS Model Rocket Club # 139 hold public launches at NASA Goddard's Visitor Center on the first Sunday of the month, at 1 p.m.  We stumbled upon this after visiting on the first Saturday of the month.  Jamie has been bugging me about letting ChaseKBH build model rockets for about a year, however, I vetoed previous attempts because we had no reasonable place to launch.  And our family has issues with fire.  NARHAMS and Goddard  to the rescue.

We built two simple Estes model rockets for the launch, purchased from Michael's, using standard Estes engines.  ChaseKBH's rocket is a Estes Riptide, adorned only with his name in black Sharpie.  He chose it because it was blue.  The Riptide deploys a parachute to cushion its landing, after ejecting its nosecone.

In our house, these items are referred to as "fire pressure" rockets.  Previously, ChaseKBH launched some air pressure rockets.  We explained that these rockets are launched after a spark ignites the engine, which burns and provides energy to launch the rocket upwards.  ChaseKBH invented the term fire pressure. While I don't think he exactly gets the physics, he does understand ignition --> fire --> push the rocket heavenward.  Not terrible for someone who doesn't yet have a preschool education.

Puppet Co. at Glen Echo Park

We finally did something for BeaABH.  The poor child spends her entire life being carted after her big brother.  Its the curse of being born to two oldest children.  The Puppet Company, resident in Glen Echo Park, holds "Tiny Tots" puppet shows specifically aimed at the zero to four crowd.  Lights are partially on, doors stay open, the puppeteer is visible, seating is on the floor, the shows are limited to 30 minutes, and the tickets are cheap.  

We saw "A Teddy Bear Picnic" joining Baby Bear and his friends as they sang and danced.  I'm not actually sure there was a plot.  BeaABH loved the music and loved tracking the puppets with her eyes.  ChaseKBH threw a fit before going, then asked when we were going back.

Getting to the puppet theater from the parking lot is a bit of a hike, though it is all stroller accessible.  It was particularly exciting for me, as my Dad had a hand in designing some of the roadways and bridges in that area, and I remember seeing a lot of it as construction sites.  ChaseKBH liked climbing over the bridge.  He was a bit creeped out by the amusement park section - which is just what it sounds like, a giant defunct amusement park.  The carousel is restored and active, and runs until September 30, and the bumper car pavilion is used for dances.  There are art studios in yurts.  It's actually pretty cool, but a little surreal.

There's a playground near the theater - very much geared to very small children (as in the three year old was bored), but great to run around in before or after a show.