Owl Creek Landing

New attraction alert! Tucked right behind the Virginia Aquarium, near the Oceanfront, Own Creek Landing has bragging rights to the longest steel slide in America. To get there, you'll head to the parking lot in the South Building of the Aquarium. (The smaller building) In the parking lot you'll see the signs to follow. Use the bathroom before you head back, as there are none in the park. You'll want to wear close toed shoes. You can bring coolers, but there are limited chairs and picnic tables. You'll also want to bring bug spray. 

The slide is only for ages 7 and up. You'll sit on a mat to ride down after climbing up the first spiral tower in America. Once you've mastered the slide, come back up to head across the 1/3 mile tree walk. You'll walk across hanging bridges throughout the park. We ended our time at the children's play area, which has two swings and a small zipline. 

The park is open Sunday-Thursday from 10-4 and Friday and Saturday from 10-6. Adults 14 and up are $28, youth ages 10-13 are $18, and youth 3-9 are $13. Children 2 and under are free. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday morning. 

Adventure Park

Located between the two aquarium buildings, the Adventure Park will get you up in the trees for climbing and zip lining. There are lots of levels, and you can start small on purple and work your way up through double black. Five and six year olds must stay on purple trails, and they must have an adult climbing with them. A note, my tall 6 year old couldn't reach some of the clips to unhook, so I had to be behind him the whole day. Behind worked better for us than me going ahead. Each time you get to a new obstacle you'll connect and reconnect using their locking system. Because of this system, which won't allow you to unconnect one hook until you're hooked into another, and you're not able to be disconnected at any point while up in the trees. 

Pricing: 

• General Admission for 3 hours of climbing: $64- ages 14 up, $54 ages 7-13, and $42 ages 5-6. Climbers must be at least 5. 
• All day pass: $99 per person 
• Non-climbing visitors do not need a ticket 
• Your ticket does not include access to the aquarium 
• Save money by purchasing your ticket online ahead of time 
• Check Groupon for specials 
• Monthly membership for $475 per year or a monthly pass for $79 for kids and $89 for adults 

You can bring food in or there is a cafe in each of the aquarium buildings. I'd recommend bringing lots of water as the climbing is a full body workout. We got the all day pass, and I'm glad we did. We got there at 9:30 and my kids climbed literally all day. They asked to go back as soon as we got in the car. 

The Slime Lab

Located inside Lynnhaven Mall near J.C. Penney, the Slime Lab provides a place for kids to create slime that keeps parents' kitchen tables free of mess. Inside the lab you'll get lab coats to keep your clothes clean and choose one of five types of slime to create. Once you make your slime, you'll have the choice of adding glitter, foam beads, charms, and even a scent. 

We were in the lab for about an hour and a half to create four different types of slime, but others came in and made theirs in about 45 minutes. Packages begin at $12.95 per person. Three and up is the preferred age for children to play with slime. 

The Slime Lab offers birthday parties, private events, and field trips. 

 

Superheroes Ice Cream

Sometimes a four year old's love of ice cream turns into a family business. When four year old Brantley decided that his family should open up a superhero themed shop, his family got on board. Now, right outside of Lynnhaven Mall, ice cream and super hero enthusiasts can visit the store and try flavors like The Hulk's Underwear (milk chocolate chip with double stuff milk Oreos), Donkey Kong's Breakfast (Vanilla Ice Cream with banana pudding and fudge), along with classic favorites. 

After you grab your ice cream, stay and play the seven free video games on site. Superheroes has a monthly membership that allows members to get a free scoop with each visit and free use of their party room, which can accommodate 12 people at a time. 

Pungo Pizza and Ice Cream

After strawberry picking, we recently indulged at Pungo Pizza and Ice Cream. Established in 1998, it's a great place to stop with kids. Everything is homemade, and a large group of us was able to split a pizza. In addition to their dining room and deck, there is a game room that's great for kids. There are regular specials Monday-Thursday and there is a VIP program where you can earn specials. 

Pungo Pizza is open Monday through Thursday 11:00-8:00, Friday and Saturday from 11:00-9:00, and Sunday 11:00-8:00. They are located right on Princess Anne Road, close to all of the picking farms in the area. 

Sum One Cares

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I wouldn't be the teacher that I am today without the guidance of Sum One Cares owner Nancy Estepa. We taught third grade across the hall from each other and collaborated constantly. She became a math specialist and continued to fight for students. Nancy has always been a fierce advocate for public schools and the challenges that students face. She spoke at school board meetings, stood up for students in SPED meetings, and put her whole heart on the line. But when she wasn't getting the results that she knew students needed, she took matters into her own hands and opened Sum One Cares. 

Sum One Cares has grown into a business with multiple instructors and several different offerings. They offer professional development for schools and school systems, but more importantly, they work directly with students to work smarter rather than harder. Sum One Cares meets students where they are, and every student has a customized support plan. Offerings include summer camp, after school tutoring, and home school groups during the day. 

Students play games and have fun while developing skills in math, reading, science, technology, and more. During camp, students are even exposed to music, art, passion projects, in-house field trips, and they work with community partnerships. 

We chose the one night a week tutoring option this summer to avoid the summer slide. Small groups have up to six kids and last for one hour. Every time I came back for pickup, the kids were all smiles. You could see their confidence built from being successful during the sessions. Tutoring groups continue this summer and throughout the school year, and homeschool groups start up soon. More information can be found on their website. 

DBat Virginia Beach

We recently visited DBat Virginia Beach to get in some swings at the batting cages. The cages can be rented by the half hour, and they range from slow pitch softball to 70 mph. Dbat offers lessons, camps, and clinics. The camps have a wide variety including full day or half day, and full week or single day which makes them really flexible. They also have memberships which let kids use the pitching machines every day with discounts on lessons and camps. They also offer birthday parties. It's a great way to get out some energy! 

Family Fun Xperience

The Family Fun Xperience is an interactive theater at the Virginia Beach oceanfront that allows families to participate at their comfort level, from being at their seat or volunteering to come up on stage. Games ranged from playing individually to partners, to working together as a family, and even together as an audience. 

Pick from sitting in individual seats, tables or couches when you purchase your ticket. Walking in, you'll see the bar where you can purchase popcorn, snacks, sodas, or a variety of beers on tap. Root beer floats were available for purchase during the intermission. Prices were reasonable and coupons can be found in the Monster coupon book. 

We went to the Little and Big Show, but there are a wide range of shows at FFX. Clean comedians, open mic nights, couples shows, The Battle for the Galaxy Live Game Show, and the Disney Game Show, just to name a few. Checkout their upcoming shows, here. Book a Little Big Show for a birthday party, or book the theater for a baby shower or wedding.

Lawyer's Garage

A sweet little stop if you're near London Bridge Road is Lawyer's Garage. Lawyer's Garage is a collection of custom made vehicles from famous movies. Some photo ops include Tow Mater, Eddie's RV from Griswold's Christmas Vacation, the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine, and a Tonka Firetruck. The vehicles out front rotate, so you'll see different ones depending on when you visit. Laywer's collects donations for the photo ops. 

Sharkey's Cuts for Kids

There's a new kids' hot spot on the scene! Sharkey's Cuts for Kids in Virginia Beach has opened and we had a great time there this week. One of my favorite things about Sharkey's was how easy it was to book an appointment. We actually had to cancel and reschedule and it was super easy using my Google account. For someone who forgets passwords without fail, this makes booking an appointment sure easy. They also accept walk ups. 

We arrived early (after realizing that I had in fact made the appointment right after pajama day at school...whoops) and the kids were able to sit and play video games while they waited which was perfect. The salon really grows with kids because one side has the little cards and planes with televisions while the other side has adult chairs and video games. 

Sharkey's offers "minicures" too, which is a nail painting with a haircut. They do blow outs, straightening, and up dos, and they even offer birthday parties, which looked like little fashionista heaven. Snag the first haircut package to save some memories. Best of all, with every haircut Sharkey's makes a donation to one of three charities. The kids get a coin and they can pick which one they want their donation to go to. Love that they are giving back! 

Geralds: Now Serving Pastries!

We love Gerald's Ice Cream because they make their ice cream in house using only the finest ingredients. But now, Geralds has added more goodness; he's offering pastries. Their new pastry chef has a Bachelor's in Food Science and Technology with a specialization in bread. She was studying in Lithuania, and fell in love with baking pastries, bread, and cakes. When she moved here, she linked up with Gerald's, and the rest is history. She gets to the store at about 5:30 am to bake fresh pastries, daily. 

They currently offer a buttery and flaky croissant and a chocolate croissant; Pain aux Raisins, made with pastry cream and a mix of raisins and currants and finished with a dust of power; Kouign Amann, a sugar coated croissant dough topped with house made rasberry compote; an Almond bun with almond praline and almond pieces, finished with house-made caramel sauce; and an almond croissant, a twice baked croissant dipper in Brandy syrup and filled with almond frangipane. 

We tried one of each! The boys loved the chocolate croissant, but I loved the regular. Croissants always remind me of my grandpa who loved them. A close second for me was the Almond Croissant, and the boys loved the Almond Bun. To sweeten the deal even more, get a free coffee with any pastry purchase! 

Apple Picking at Cullipher Farms

Located in Pungo, Cullipher Farms is a family farm that is run by seventh generation farmers. In addition to the store, there is a play area and options for Upick fruits and vegetables. Right now you can pick apples, with no admission fee, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday there is an admission fee of $5 per person to visit the farm. To pick apples it is $2.99 a pound. Throughout the farm they have several varieties of apples. Right now Enterprise, Evercrisp, Pink Lady, and Gold Rush are ready. The apple trees are smaller, which makes them a great height for kids to pick. Also ready on the property are grapes. 

At other times in the year, you can pick strawberries, blueberries, sunflowers, peaches, grapes, and pumpkins. The market is open everyday but Monday from 9:00-6:00. There is a free play area located behind the market and some animals to visit with. 

Higher Vision Studios

Located in the KempsRiver Shopping Center, Higher Vision Studios offers Ninja Warrior obstacle courses, martial arts, gymnastics, summer and schools out day camps, and birthday parties. Party options include glow in the dark Nerf wars/ snowball fights, and bounce house and obstacle course. The facility is 4,000 square feet and holds lots of kids, but their calendar does fill quickly. 

Higher Vision Studios is a local and family business, named in honor of their son's miraculous cancer survival. They run a foundation, Shine Time, which offers scholarships to Higher Vision Studios as well.

Classes begin at age 3 with Little Ninjas and range to teen and adult kickboxing. 

VB Kid Fit

Virginia Beach has a new fitness gym for kids, open for both classes and free play. With fitness as the main focus, this gym encourages activity from kids and adults alike. The equipment is weighted for adults to be able to access and play also. Inside the gym are rock walls, ropes to climb, an interactive projector, obstacle course, slide, and more. 

Free play at the gym is $10 a person (including adults) from 10-5. Toilet trained children can be dropped off for 90 minute periods, and there is both a grocery store and restaurants in the shopping center. The gym also has parent night outs for three hour spans, and it offers monthly obstacle course classes for ages 3-5 and 6-10. 

The gym offers birthday parties, private rentals, and is open for homeschool groups. Every Sunday, the owners hold a free community workout for kids and adults at Oak Grove Park. 

The Jurassic Encounter

If your kids are like mine, they LOVE dinosaurs. And now they can see them up close in Virginia Beach on the corner of 19th and Arctic. Every day from 11:00-9:00 dinosaur fans can walk amongst more than 50 life size animatronic and static dinosaurs. These are some of the most life-like dinosaurs I've ever seen, so prepare the kids ahead of time so that they know they aren't real. Kids can interact with some of the "baby dinosaurs" walking around as puppets on the trainer's arms too. In addition, kids can dig for bones, make a fossil rubbing and run around and play games. 

Tickets can be purchased online (with a discount code TAT20 for 20% off) in advance.  Children three and under are free! Plan to be there for at least an hour. There are porta-potties available on site. Parking is available right next to it on the street at the meters, or you can pay for the day in one of the lots. Download the app and listen to facts and dad jokes on the walk-through scavenger hunt. 

There are several add on packages for children that include souvenirs, which must be purchased online ahead of time. Popsicles and drinks are for sale, and you can bring in your own snacks. There are picnic tables in the shade close to the games. You can come and go as you please; reentry lasts all day. 

Water Play in Hampton Roads

Chesapeake:
Western Branch Community Center

YMCA

Hampton: 

Hampton Rec Center Pools

Peninsula Town Center Pop Fountains - Free and open to the public 

Newport News: 

Denbigh Community Center- Splash Pad

Doris Miller Community Center Pool and Spray Play Area

Fort Eustis Splash Pad and Park 

YMCA

Norfolk: 

Botanical Gardens

Virginia Zoo 

Town Point Park - Free splashpad in the park, close to Waterside 

Shoop Park Splash Pad- free and open to the public 

The Beach: Three guarded beaches with free parking and lots of unguarded beach throughout Ocean View. 
 
YMCA- Norfolk has two YMCAs, one with an indoor and one with an outdoor pool. 

Norview Rec Center Splash Pad- free and open to the public 

Norfolk Rec Center Pools (Northside, Huntersville, Southside, Berkley, Chesterfield)

The Kroc Center

Portsmouth: 

Portsmouth Splash Park - Free and open to the public 

Westbury Splash Park Cavalier Manor Pool- $1 admission to the public 

YMCA

Suffolk:

Cypress Park Pool

YMCA

Virginia Beach:

Gator Pool- (military only)

Oceana's Aeropalms Water Park (military only)

VB Rec center pools (Williams Park has splash pad) 

Ocean Breeze Water Park 

Simon Family JCC

YMCA

Williamsburg:

Busch Gardens

Water Country USA 

Great Wolf Lodge