The DC Traveler

Besides a three corn mazes spread out over 14 acres and over 6 miles of trails, Lawyer’s Winterbrook Farms, in suburban Maryland, offers something unique…a pumpkin cannon.
Using highly compressed air, the pumpkin cannon can project a pumpkin 100 yards at a target across a field. If you prefer something a little less deadly?  Try their double-barreled apple, small gourd and corn cannon.
And if you are looking for a few other Halloween ideas, check out some of my other family-friendly recommendations for Halloween, including a 9-acre corn maze in Midland, Virginia.

Lawyer’s Winterbrook Farms 13001 …read more

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During the fall season, there are dozens of corn mazes in the Washington, DC area where children and families can enjoy the thrill of navigating their way out of the purposely confusing paths and dead-ends of a well designed maze.
And there’s one corn maze about an hour southwest of Washington, DC, that celebrates not only Virginia tourism, but is designed for serious “mazers”.
 
The maze at Cows-N-Corn, a working 300 cow, 1800-acre dairy in Northern Virginia, boasts a 9-acre corn maze. And that’s about the size of nine football fields, plenty of space to get lost perhaps for days.
The …read more

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This month, National Geographic magazine has a feature story about Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Family Ties – The Elephants of Samburu. He has been studying elephants for over 40 years.  And today, he’s considered a foremost biologists and a leading expert on the African elephant. He’s also the founder of Save the Elephants.

His organization fights the poaching of these majestic animals and helps educate the world about the lives and habits of elephants. He helped secure a global ban ivory trade and as a result, elephant populations are growing, especially around the Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya.  An estimated 5,400 African …read more

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Learn about you cat or the many breeds at the annual National Capital Cat Show in suburban Chantilly, Virginia.
Again this years, over 500 cats compete at the Cat Fanciers’ Association Debutante’s Ball in various competitions.
And remember, dogs have owners…cats simply have staffs.
There’s several categories of contacts including a cat agility competition. There’s also no cat swimming contest, but I suspect if so, this scuba diving Calico named Hawkeye, would have taken that prize.

National Capital Cat Show
Dulles Expo Center
4368 Chantilly Center
Chantilly, VA  (map it)
Dates and Times – Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 6 & 7, 2008.  Doors open at 9:30 a.m. , and …read more

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It was a time when tobacco was king, the year 1771.
Tobacco was the essential 18th century America crop and was often used by colonists as cash to pay for goods and their farm land rent.
Visit the Claude Moore Colonial Farm just outside of Washington, DC and see what it was like to live on a lower-income tobacco farm, just a few years before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.

Now that the tobacco leaves are ripe and ready for harvest, join the volunteer farmers and colonists as they clean, cut and split their harvest and prepare the tobacco for …read more

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Now that the dog days of summer are here, kick back and enjoy a relaxing day rafting, canoeing or tubing down the Shenandoah River.
I recently took a short rafting with Front Royal Canoe Company and the entire experience was great.
FRCC rents canoes, one and two-person kayaks, inflatable rafts and tubes for rides down the Shenandoah River.  You start out at their facility, grab a life jacket, and they shuttle you and your choice of water craft to the drop off point.  After some directions and basic instruction, off you go. 
Trips range from under 2 hours, about 3 …read more

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Just 90 minutes from downtown Washington, DC is one of the areas most interesting, amazing and “coolest” (a constant mid-50s temperature) attractions – Luray Caverns in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley.  A quick road trip is the perfect family weekend activity.

Discovered in 1878, Luray Caverns are the largest underground caverns on the East Coast and a Registered Natural Landmark. 
The 1.25 mile walking tour (paved walkways), takes you about 16 stories deep into the earth and winds through pristine and natural underground caverns, including the massive, 10-story tall Giant’s Hall.
 
The path traverses through a few tight passageways with …read more

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A bike ride this week resulted in a fun encounter with a newborn fawn and its protective mother. The fawn was so young, it was still having problems with balance and moving faster than a slow, and somewhat unstable, walk.  It was too cute.
Watching them interact, it seemed too easy to add some all to common mother-child dialog…

“Now son, you need to be careful. Stay away from strangers and always stay near me and NEVER cross the path alone.”
“Okay Mom, can I go play?”
 
“Hey you…on the bicycle with the camera, wanna play??”

“Junior, get back here…right now. What did I tell …read more

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From this….

To this…

With all the rain that we have had recently, Great Falls literally disappeared.
Visiting now will give you a rare perspective on the falls, that you only see after massive rain storms.
Here’s a quick clip of the falls from Tuesday afternoon (May 13, 2008)
 
Great Falls Park
9200 Old Dominion Drive at Georgetown Pike (Route 193)
McLean, VA 22102 (map it)
Days and Hours – Open daily, 7:00 a.m. until sunset.
Entrance Fee- $5.00 per vehicle, individual passes (on foot, horseback, bicycle or motorcycle) – $3.00, annual pass – $20.00
Nearest Metro subway station– West Falls Church or Dunn Loring – Orange line. Then a …read more

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A pond in Northern Virginia with a beautiful tree in full bloom.

Image – from personal collection – © 2008 – Jon Rochetti
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