Turfs Up!

Located in Kitty Hawk, Turfs Up! is a fun stop whenever you're in the OBX. Turfs up is a great spot for families to get a little energy out. Each group rents a bay for a preselected amount of time. Each bay has a screen and activities to do and play. Visitors can pick between golf, baseball, football, soccer, hockey, carnival games, or a battle in the zombie apocalypse. Visitors use real sports equipment to putt, shoot, hit, or kick balls toward the projector and screen.

Turfs up is open Monday through Friday 3-8 and Saturday 10-8. Hours on Sunday change seasonally. They do sell drinks, but no food. 

OBX Aquarium, including the outside trail!

In our most recent visit to the OBX, we finally got to visit the OBX Aquarium on a day that wasn't raining. The North Carolina Aquariums are made up of four locations, one being Roanoke Island. Reservations are still required, and they are open daily from 9-5. 

We have been before, but this time we got to check out the outdoor section. Once you purchase tickets, rather than heading into the museum, head back to the nature trail. There are things to climb on and over, plus a music section. The trail opens out to a field where kids can compare their time to a hummingbird. 

Past the field you will enter a wooded section that has a guide. Take the tour with her and do a scavenger hunt to find plants native to North Carolina, and learn about how Native Americans and colonists used all of the vegetation. 

The walking trail changes regularly, so it's something that you can visit each time you go. A reminder that you can use your Virginia Zoo membership for 50% off tickets. 

5 Reasons To Visit the OBX In The Off Season

01. No Crowds: Visiting during the summer is great, but it can get so crowded. Take advantage of the off season to try some of the restaurants you eyed this summer, but your kids couldn't wait two hours to get into. Go play minigolf without the line of ten other families stacking up behind you. 

02. The sun views: If you love watching the sunrise and sunset, this is the time to do it. Since the sun doesn't rise as early, you can get up in time to have a cup of coffee on the beach while you watch it. Or, watch the sunset earlier in the day with your whole family without ruining the bedtime routine. Plus, take advantage of the earlier sunsets and watch ghost crabs or stargaze. 

03. Fly a kite: This is prime time to fly a kite on the beach, where your string won't get caught on everyone else's. Take advantage of the wide open beaches and breezes. 

04. Museums: Checkout the OBX Aquarium, Roanoke Island, Wright Brothers Memorial and the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. Watch a demonstration from the Chicamacomico Life- Saving Station, or visit the many light houses. 

05. The prices: A beach house in the OBX in the middle of summer can run you a pretty penny. But visiting in the off season allows you to stay at the same house for a fraction of the cost! 

5 Reasons Moms Love H2Obx

*Use code Toddlin for $5 off tickets.

As a mom, I love going to H2Obx. There are things for everyone in the family, and the park is extremely family friendly. Here are five reasons that we love it!

01. The food! The food at water parks isn't usually great, but H2Obx has real food. Salads, wraps, pizza, burgers, fish tacos... and more. They have fresh fruit and parfaits, plus pulled pork and chicken, and even loaded bbq nachos. There are four beers on tap including our own O'Connors, plus Obx winery Sanctuary Vineyards and several made to order signature drinks including milkshakes and Cheerwine floats. There is also funnel cakes, ice cream, and churros. 

02. The family areas. I love that there are areas that the whole family can enjoy. The whole family can enjoy Queen Anne's Revenge and the Rogue Wave, then head to the Adventure Lagoon to challenge the kiddos on this floating climber. Take turns on the rock climbing wall and see who can make it past the waterfall, then a dip in the wave pool or float around the lazy river. 

03. The kids' sections. Little kids will love Sand Pail Beach, which is great for babies through children. There are several different slides, water tables, sprayers, and swings. Then let kids run through Calico Jack's Cove, a huge wet playground. There are two wave pools, a smaller one for families, and a large one which is more intense. Lifejackets are offered throughout the park. 

04.Free parking! I can't even tell you how much I hate paying to park somewhere that you're paying to get in. 

05. The layout! I really think that this park was designed by a mom. The whole park is basically a circle, with the lazy river around the inner loop. This is great for littles who are either too tired to walk, or moms who are too tired to carry those littles. It's also great to take a float during nap time to get those babies to sleep. Sand Pail Beach is for moms with more than one kiddo. It is perfectly designed to stand at the bottom section for younger kids while the older ones run up and down the stairs to the slides. You can keep your eyes on both the whole time, which is something I really appreciate. 

Fireworks in Hampton Roads

Round those kids up and check out one of the many fireworks displays here in Hampton Roads.

Friday:

Elizabeth City: South Water Street. Friday Art Walk. Starts at 4 pm, ends with fireworks.

Williamsburg: Busch Gardens, nightly fireworks at 9:15.

Saturday:
Chesapeake: Celebrate Freedom, Chesapeake City Park. Concert and food vendors. $5 parking. Concerts from 7:00-9:30, then fireworks.

Isle of White- Independence Day Celebration Fireworks Show, food and vendors, Heritage Park Fairgrounds, gates at 5 pm, fireworks after dark.

Portsmouth: 102nd Patriotic Salute: kids games, activities, DJ, food, and programs, plus 40 vendors and a bike and skateboard parade. Takes place in Cradock Afton Square. Begins at 10:30.

Williamsburg: Busch Gardens, nightly fireworks at 9:15.

Sunday:
Kill Devil Hills- Fourth Fireworks Show, Avalon Pier. Also, Freedom 5k.

Manteo: Fourth of July Celebration, kids games and activities, music, contests, and treats. Shows during the day. Fireworks after dark. Begins at 3 pm.

Nags Head: Fireworks Spectacular. Fireworks begin at 9:25 and launch from Nags Head Fishing Pier.

Norfolk: 4th of July Great American Picnic & Fireworks: Town Point Park. Food for sale and concerts. 5:00-11:00 pm. Fireworks at 9:30.

Norfolk: Ghent’s Bike & Dog parade. No fireworks, but join to watch or parade from 9:30-1:30 pm.

Norfolk: July 4th Fireworks Cruise: American Rover cruise along the Elizabeth River. Departs at 7:30. Best view of the fireworks.

Suffolk: Constant’s Warf Park & Marina. Opens at 5:30 for music, fireworks at 9:00.

Virginia Beach: Mount Trashmore. DJ and food vendors. Event begins at 8:00, fireworks at 9:30.

Virginia Beach Oceanfront: Multiple locations for music including 17th street and the 24th street stage. Fireworks at 9:30.

Williamsburg: Lights of Freedom at Colonial Williamsburg. Begins at 9:20.

Williamsburg: Busch Gardens, nightly fireworks at 9:15.

Yorktown: All day long events, fireworks over the York River at 9:15. 

The Weeping Radish, OBX Monster Trucks, and Digger's Dungeon

While heading down to H2Obx, we passed a few places that caught our eye. The Weeping Radish is a favorite of ours because they were kind enough to donate to our Pancreatic Cancer auction a few years back. We always try to stop in to support them while passing through but we never had the chance to do a tour. We noticed that they have added goats to their property and fenced in an area outside, so we stopped for lunch. The owner, Uli, is hilarious. He moved to this country as a farmer, but his brother convinced him to start the brewery in 1985, and it is actually the oldest brewery in North Carolina. It is so old that it was illegal when he first tried to open. Nothing like that had ever been done, and they had to rewrite the laws to continue. They went through the state legislature and, in six months, a foreigner on a Visa changed North Carolina's history. They moved to the current location in 2000. Their entire philosophy emphasizes using less chemicals and eliminating any preservatives to make everything as fresh as possible. Almost everything they use comes from within 200 miles, from the retail store on one side to the brewery and restaurant on the other. 

Uli was raised in a culture where beer and family are entwined. OBX attracts a family friendly audience, and the Weeping Radish does too. In 2008, as a response to the need for activities for kids in the middle of financial crisis where less people were traveling, Uli built an ice skating rink on their property. It wasn't cost effective, but it gave the local families something to look forward to for the holiday. Uli said the best part was that the little kids were using kegs to lean on to learn to skate. Stop by and grab lunch and a flight. Sit outside and let your kids play with the goats while you eat. Take them upstairs to the viewing site to get a peak at how the beer is made. 

From there, head further down the road to OBX Monster Trucks and Digger's Dungeon. For $10 a person (cash only) you can grab a ride on top of a monster truck. The ride lasts about five minutes, but you can hang out on the property where there is a petting zoo and play area. For $5 a kid, young kids can drive a mini monster truck. Further down is Digger's Dungeon where you'll see the garage for both working and retired trucks plus a large gift shop. Inside the shop is a small race track which kids can play on for free. Ice cream and snacks are for sale in a 50's style themed restaurant. 

H2OBX

We recently visited H2Obx, and I have to say I am so, so excited to share that it is the most family friendly water park I've taken my kids to. I know it is a small thing, but I hate paying to park, and H2Obx not only has free parking, but it is a super short walk to the entrance. The whole park is themed around the Outer Banks, with rides like Wild Horse Run and Queen Anne's Revenge and pirate ships to climb. 

We opted to go on a cloudy day, and there was no crowd. We easily found seats under the largest umbrella I've ever seen for our entire party. We set our stuff at Sand Pail Beach, where we left it all day. The park is easily walkable. Here there are slides for babies and children, water features to play in, and even swings. Some of the rides we could go down together which was great for kids like little R who have never been to a water park before. 

From there we headed to Calico Jack's Cove, a water playground with buckets dumping water, water cannons, geysers, nets to climb up and slides to splash down. Calico Jack's sits right behind Twin Tides, a smaller version of Cat 5, H2Obx's wave pool. Lifejackets are required for kids, but provided. 

We eventually found our way to Deep Six Adventure Lagoon, obstacle courses that RT was able to do without issues, but we hilariously struggled on. There are three challenges, the Lilly Pads, a floating course, and a rock climbing through a waterfall wall. From there head to Teach's Tides Adventure River, over 1,000 feet of lazy river with two entrances and exits. 

Our group of five had lunch for around $40.00. That included a beer from the park, which was particularly familiar. Our own local O'connors brews a lager specifically for the park. Ask for an H2OBX four sure to snag one. Food is not allowed in the park, but they do allow reentry. We were particularly thankful for this during nap time when one person took little R home while the rest of us stayed. There are lots of showers and lockers. Each guest can bring in one unopened bottle of water or an empty reusable water bottle to be filled up inside the park. Another option is to grab a refillable mug for $9.99, with $.99 refills.  This can be used all season. 

We took a risk going on a cloudy day, but there is a policy in place. If the park has to close for 90 minutes, guests are issued a return visit voucher. Guests can rent a cabana, which were beautiful and some even had a t.v. Ages 2 and under are free. For a single day ticket, under 42 inches is $26.99, and over 42" is $36.99. Not bad for 10:00 -6:00. There is a discount for seniors and military, and twilight passes for just the afternoon. If you're going to be in the OBX for a while, the 8 day Vacation Pass for $39.99 might be your best option, or buy a family 4 pack for $29.99 each. Best of all, use code Toddlin for a discount! 

OBX Aquarium: Roanoke Island

Everyone knows that as a teacher I love summer, but the Outer Banks in summertime is insane. Tourist season is over though. That means that everything at the beach is less crowded. Yay! We were at a friend's wedding in obx this weekend, R was the ring bearer... cue the tears! He decided to sit in the aisle rather than walk down it. At least everyone laughed?!

Since we were down here, we decided to head to the aquarium. Neil and I went once when we first started dating, but it's been a longgg time. Here is the best part y'all... if you have a Virginia zoo membership, this aquarium is FREE! We didn't realize that they were having a Halloween event going on. You can trick or treat there! It was all decorated and they gave R an eye patch coming in. 

*these are all pumpkins! 

What's cool about aquariums for little guys is that they can get right up to the tank and really see. We love the zoo, but sometimes it's hard to see inside the exhibit. R gets super excited because he can get the full experience. It's awesome watching him. It's like experiencing it all for the first time again myself. My aunt and uncle were kind enough to come meet us and spend the day with us. 

There was the usual touch tank type room which was crowded with kids and an area for sea turtle rescue that really impressed me. You could see the reasons that the turtles were there along with what they were doing to help them. On the other side, they had a room for kids to grab their own lab coats and a (fake!) turtle to diagnose. You took it over to the computer and it gave you a diagnosis. Kids had to figure out how to help their turtle. The kids in the room were really into it- too old for big R though.

 

There are four North Carolina aquarium locations: Roanoke Island, Pine Knoll Shores, Fort Fisher, and Jenette's Pier. The Roanoke Island location and Jenette's Pier are both in the obx. (The pier is being worked on now, so check before you go to make sure it is open. It's also not a typical aquarium; it's a fishing pier.) The aquarium is open from 9-5 every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Below is a list of some of the free programs, but the aquarium offers some fee based programs too. This includes stand up paddle boarding, aquarist for a day, aqua tots, Breakfast with the rays, Happy Otter Hour and so on. Check the full list here. We did see a group in the classroom where a man was playing a guitar and singing. This may have been the story time, but it seemed to be a private group.

The most exciting part for big R was the floor projector. Animals swam across and when you walked across it a big splash would show. There were kids jumping around on it and trying to catch the splashes.

Tips: 

• Use your zoo membership to get in free! **EDIT: They no longer let you in free. It is not 50% off admission price. 
• Free admission on Martin Luther King Jr Day 
• Free admission on Veterans Day 
• Shipwreck Stories- 10:30 a.m.- Employees answer questions about animals and talk about diving with sharks
• Check daily times for animal feeding
• Education Program- animal adaptations information (Hey! Third/Four grade SOL's!)
• Free movie- 3:30 
• Aqua Tots is a program that they offer where children 2-5 have hands on learning about animals, nature, crafts, and so on. It is advertised that parents get to sit back and relax during this time. Cost is $5.00. Upcoming date; October 31. 

Should you find yourself in the obx, we saw on the way home that they have a children's museum. If you've been- let me know what it's all about. I saw online that locals get in free right now. 

Exciting blog news- we finally have an instagram! Follow Toddlin Around Tidewater for updates!