Fluffy Honey Farm

Located in Smithfield, Virginia Fluffy Honey Farm (named by their daughter when she was six!) is a working alpaca farm that is now offering educational tours. The farm has 11 alpacas including two babies. Danny and Sam are a mother son pair who are the friendliest on the farm, and they will come right up to you and even wag their tails when you scratch them! 

The goal of the farm was to share their love for alpacas, and to share with people how fun and quirky alpacas are. The farm focuses on using alpacas for therapy. Studies show that gentle animals can help lower stress and anxiety for people, and Fluffy Honey is developing programs to promote grounding and meditation, mindfulness, and relaxation to make visitors feel stress-free and safe. 

The farm also sheers the fibers of the alpaca, and we learned a lot about uses and types of hair. We also learned about their life cycle and eating habits. alpacas across the world, and adaptations that alpacas have to help them survive. 

Tours can be booked on their website. Adults are $15 and kids are free. Come for a visit, and give your family a really cool experience. 

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! 

Hampton University Museum

I've been wanting to get to the Hampton History Museum for awhile now, and it was one of the must do items on our summer list. I think it's really important to have the kids visit art museums and to see perspectives from cultures different than our own. 

The museum was founded in 1868 and was the first museum of African American art. It is also one of the oldest museums in Virginia. The museum has galleries dedicated fo African American, African, Native American, Asian, and Pacific art. 

We spent about 35 minutes in the museum. Some of the high points were the tools that we saw in some of the art, the colors, the way that different artists used different mediums, and the subject matter. We had some great discussions about the Underground Railroad and the life of Harriet Tubman. We also talked a lot about the way Native Americans lived in different houses depending on their needs, and the natural resources that they used. The museum hit several points that directly support the Virginia SOLs at the elementary level. 

If you'd like to visit, the museum is free. You'll pass a guard on the campus who will direct you to the free parking lot. The museum is open Monday-Friday 8-5, and closed on weekends and major holidays. No photographs or videotaping is allowed inside. 

Daniel's Tiger Neighborhood: A GRR-IFIC Exhibit

Now open at the Children's Museum of Virginia, Daniel Tigers Neighborhood: A GRR-IFIC Exhibit brings themes from the show (which is a recreation of the beloved Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood. The exhibit allows visitors to enter into Daniel's neighborhood. In the show Daniel is four, and this exhibit is great for that age and younger. 

The exhibit was created by the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh (where Mr. Rodgers was from!) and is here until July 7th. It includes Mr. Rodgers' original sweater, and a photo of him wearing it. 

Nassau, Bahamas

Our Carnival Magic cruise had a stop in Nassau. I've been before, but never with kids, and to be honest some of the reviews had me worried. About two months ago, the new $300 million dollar upgraded port reopened after four years of construction. The port holds up to six ships at a time. Nassau is a city that relies on these tourists for their economy. That means that the people can sometimes come off as aggressive when trying to make a sale. We prepped our kids before going into the straw market and they did great. 

After leaving the straw market, we headed to Junkanoo Beach about fifteen minutes away. At this free beach, you will have people asking you to rent jet skis and beach chairs, but a simple no thank you sufficed for us. We had a great day at the beach and spent almost no money besides a few little trinkets in the Straw Market. If we ever return, I'd love to rent paddle boats or jet skis! 

Checkout more on our trip here.