Places to Go (Vacation) - Delaware Agricultural Museum (Dover, DE)

As I posted yesterday, two weekends ago our family took an overnight "vacation" to Dover, DE. After exploring Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge, we dined and swam at Dover's Hilton Garden Inn (a really great hotel for a low price, with suites for families). And in the morning, we visited the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village. This place was truly amazing - the museum's back lawn contains a huge "living history" area, which includes a mill, an old farmhouse, a schoolhouse, a church, a general store, a barber shop, and more. All full of things for kids to look at and explore. They even let us feed the chickens. The inside of the museum is impressive as well with a kids' playroom, a fake milking cow, airplanes on the ceiling, tractors, and one of Delaware's first log cabins. Seriously, it's HUGE. And almost nobody else was there. One of the workers told us that the museum used to have pigs, but they had to sell them due to budgetary problems. Apparently the museum does not receive state funding and has fallen on hard times lately, which is sad as we all had a wonderful morning exploring the many links between present and past. If you're interested, admission is $6 for adults and $3 for kids 3-12. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm.

Apparently, Dover DE is famous for a large casino and racetrack, but if you ask me Dover's real charm lies in its less publicized attractions. A great weekend destination.



The village backs onto a lake, making the scenery especially beautiful.



Always fun to wonder who owned this stuff previously. And try to imagine their hopes, dreams, and ambitions.



The kids gravitated to the old church and one-room schoolhouse. F played teacher for quite awhile, pausing every few minutes to discipline an imaginary child.


WEEKEND LINKS:

*Looking for a way to help out a worthy charity this holiday season? Check out Arlington's Alternative Gift Fair. The fair takes place this Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 5533 N. 16th St. What a great idea.

*Love this loft.

*Snow glamping. Maybe one day. Also, I just love the word glamping. I keep trying to fit it into everyday conversation, but considering I've never glamped it's hard to bring up regularly.

Places to Go (Vacation) - Bombay Hook Wildlife Preserve (Dover, DE)

On Fridays, the Washington Post's weekend section publishes an "Escapes" column, which is full of wonderful mini-vacations within a few hours of the city. A few weeks ago they wrote about Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Dover, Delaware (click here for the article). According to the Post, during the month of November "the skies, marshes, and ponds are alive with thousands of birds." Further, the park contains a 12-mile driving trail with several short (under a mile) hikes located off the road, which sounded perfect for a family with kids.

After a 2.25 hour drive, we arrived at the refuge close to dusk. And it was breathtaking - boardwalks, watch towers, piers, and lack of crowds made us all happy. The sky looked phenomenal while the kids ran and explored and scared all the birds away. Perfect.