Assateague Island

The 4 were out the door again last weekend ... although we were 5 and we ventured about 2 hours away.  My sister took the day off of work to go with us to Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland.  The day started out rainy and we debated going, but there wasn't another day for us to go together, so we headed out.  My sister had gotten the kids a book about the island, so they had a heads up about what it was going to be like.  The big draw to the island is that there are wild horses that roam about.  Sure enough, as we drove onto the island there were two horses off on the side of the road, munching away on some grass.  They're not phased in the least by cars and people.  They just go about their business.  Check out this beautiful lady ...

 

We spent some time driving around deer and egrets.  We walked around on the beach for a while and then stopped for a picnic lunch.

By then it was time for the kids to take a nap.  What better place to take a nap than on the beach!

The Boy laid down for all of 60 seconds.  The Girl did a little better with about 10 minutes.  Then Dad got up and chased them around while my sister and I got in our nap.  Literally  ... chasing ...

 
By this time the sun was shining, the world was beautiful and it was probably the best nap of my life! 

When we got up we played on the beach a while longer.  The kids were excited to get in the water despite it being windy and the water being beyond cold.  Of course, the Girl had to take one step too far and ended up wet from head to toe.  Once that drama was over, we went on two walks ... the forest walk and the marsh walk.  They're 1/2 mile walks with lots of informational plaques and such along the way.  The boy took all of this very seriously, as is his nature ...

On the marsh walk we got to see a blue crab in action.  He had himself hooked onto a piling, upside down and was waiting for something to swim past.  Very cool.

The forest walk was more about plants.  The kids were a little overly impressed by the mushrooms.  It was a good opportunity to talk about asking the parents before eating something! 

 

The Island had originally been the start of a resort type community.  It was destroyed by a hurricane in the 50's and was eventually taken over partly by the National Park Service and partly by the the states of Maryland and Virginia.  We walked out on what was originally intended to be the marina.  We saw these two beauties.  They were amazing!

At the end of the day we headed into Ocean Shores to Crab Alley.  Guess what we got!!

I love vegetables, legumes and the rest, but I'm definitely a carnivore!  After a long day exploring a national park, there's nothing better than all you can eat blue crabs!!

Total: My sister had a park pass, which we used.  Otherwise it would have been $15 for our vehicle to get in.
Verdict: Fabulous!  We'll be back for camping.
Location: Maryland's shore.  Directions
Metro: Nope.  You'll have to drive to this one.

Nathan Lee

 

André and I have taken the kids to some interesting things over the years.  They've been to various plays, dinners and concerts that most people think are a little advanced for kids.  They figure that the kids would run around and scream their heads off.  The kids certainly are not perfect, but they have yet to embarass us enough to leave them home!  Maybe it's because we've carted them everywhere for their entire lives (literally ... The Boy was taken to Blue Man Group in utero), but they seem to put up with it .. and even enjoy it!  

The 4 of us headed out for a home concert last night!  A new friend of ours knows a musician named Nathan Lee and he performed in her home.  Nathan is from Nashville and is doing 40 concerts in 40 days in 40 cities!  His tour and new cd are both called "Risk Everything".  It really is risky.  He's got 40 cities to go to, but doesn't have venues yet in many of these cities.  I think he's going to find it worth the risk though! 

First, the idea of having a concert in your home is fabulous!  How personal!  You get to know the artist and what's behind the songs.  I feel like you get so much more out of a song when you know the story behind it and what went into it. 

 

Second, Nathan is just a super nice, genuine guy.  He chatted with us and with our kids.   He often plays in bars, so I can only imagine that he doesn't play the 3-5 year old scene too often!   He was sweet with the kids and they SAT and LISTENED to him play.  The Boy even recalled the name of a song that was played at the beginning and declared it his favorite!

 

Third, and most importantly, this guy is amazing.  He's got a great raspy voice, meaningful lyrics and can he ever play the piano!

 

One of the goals of this blog is to let other families in the area know what there is to do around DC.  The opportunity to see Nathan Lee in a friend's home probably won't come around again, (although we can always hope!), but I just want to encourage you to get out there, meet people, take your kids and HAVE FUN!