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 Creagerstown Road
Thurmont, Maryland 21788 (map it)

About 1 hour and 20 minutes from Washington, DC, about 15 miles north of Frederick, Maryland.

Dates and Times – Open thru November 2, 2008.  Hours:

• Wednesday & Thursday, Oct. 29 and 30 – 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
• Friday – Oct. 31, dusk – 10:00 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 1 – noon 10:00 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 2 – 11:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Tickets – $5.00, children under 6 free. Pumpkin cannon – 3 shots for $10.00, Smaller corn/apple cannon – 6 shots for $5.00

Parking – Free

Images – Flickr – pumpkin heads, yellow cannon, orange cannon
_________________________________________________

Post from: The DC Traveler

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 design of the maze uses the Virginia tourism slogan and logo, “Virginia is for Lovers”. And is large enough that it can probably be seen from space.

The Cows-N-Corn maze is not the largest in the U.S., that’s a 40-acre maze outside of Sacramento, California.

Besides getting lost in the maze, learn about life on a working dairy farm, pick a Halloween pumpkin from their pumpkin patch, take a hayride, watch butter being made, and don’t miss the chance to get face-to-face with a live dairy cow.

Cows-N-Corn – Fall Corn Maze
5225 Catlett Road
Midland, Virginia 22728 (map it)
540-439-4806

Dates and Times – Fridays – 3:00–9:00 p.m., Saturdays, 10:00–9:00, Sundays – noon–7:00, through November, 2008.

Tickets – $8.00 per person, kids under 4 – free

Parking – Free

Image – Virginia Tourism Corporation – Virginia.org

__________________________________________________

Post from: The DC Traveler

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 Bush elephants are suspected to live in and around the game reserve.

The article’s award-winning nature and travel writer, David Quammen, along with photographer Michael Nichols join Iain Douglas-Hamilton for a lecture and to discuss the future of Africa’s majestic elephants at the National Geographic Society in Washington, DC.

Elephants of Samburu
Grosvenor Auditorium
National Geographic Society
1600 M Street, NW
Washington , D.C. 20036 (map it)
202-857-7700

Dates and Times – Tuesday, September 9, 2008 6:30 p.m.

Tickets – $25.00 with reception following, and are available online.

Nearest Metro subway station – Farragut West – Orange line, then a two block walk, or use the DC Circulator.

Parking – Metered street and paid garage parking is available in the area.

Images – Elephants at the waters edge, on the move

_____________________________________________

Post from: The DC Traveler

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 close at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Tickets – Adults – $8.00, Seniors and children under 12 – $5.00. A family ticket pack gets a family of 4 in for $24.00. Tickets are available at the door.  Click here for a $1.00 off coupon. 

Parking – Free parking is available.

Image

_________________________________________________

Post from: The DC Traveler

Tobacco was the essential 18^th 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 curing and drying on August 16^th, or visit other times and take a self-guided tour.

This event will be educational for kids and grown-ups alike.

Tobacco Harvest
Claude Moore Colonial Farm
6310 Georgetown Pike
McLean, VA 22101 (map it)
703-442-7557

Date and Time – Tobacco Harvest – Saturday, August 16, 2008 – 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.  Farm visiting hours – Wednesday – Sunday from 10:00 am – 4:30 p.m.  April to mid-December.

Tickets – Adults – $3, Children 3-12, and Seniors $2.00.

Parking – Free

Images – shoemaker, leaves drying,  

__________________________________________________

Post from: The DC Traveler

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 miles (30-4 hours on a tube) to their 3-day, 40-mile excursion.  On overnight trips, you need to bring your own camping gear. You an make about 20 miles a day, (7-8 hours).  Timing and distance traveled depends on the speed of the river and your paddling speed. The river ranges from calm and slow, to brisk (after big rains). So check current river conditions on their website.

Trips include water craft, paddles, life vests, maps, shuttle service and basic riverside instruction.  Tube trips also include a floating cooler. Weekdays are much quieter on the river, and 10%-25% discounts are available.

Make sure to bring sunscreen, a hat, a cover-up to get out of the sun, a small cooler with ice and drinks (and food for longer trips), as there aren’t many places to stop along the way. 

For a second choice, check out one other company, located in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Front Royal Canoe Company
8567 Stonewall Jackson Hwy.
Front Royal, VA 22630  (map it)

Dates and Times – 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Reservations are recommended, especially on weekends.  Call 540-635-5440 or 800-270-8808 to make a reservation.

To allow enough time to complete the trip, tube trips start weekdays between 9:00 a.m. & 12:30 p.m. and between 7:00 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. on weekends.

Costs – Prices depend on type of watercraft and length of trip.  Trip Raft traps range from $40 – $140 for 3 up to three people, canoe trips (up to 3) $40 – $130, Kayaks $28  – $130 for one or two person kayaks, and 3-4 hour tube trips cost $16.00 per person. Each person must sign a waiver (under 18 requires a parent’s signature).

NOTE: No child under 6 years of age is permitted except on raft trips, where children 4+ are allowed only with two or more adults in the same raft.

Parking – Free

Images – from personal collection   ©2008, Jon Rochetti 

___________________________________________________

Post from: The DC Traveler

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 low ceilings as well.

The stalactites and stalagmites are formed by dripping crystallized calcite that collects on the floor or sticks to the ceiling and dries, slowly forming the long pillars. Many of the formations are still growing, at the slow rate of about one inch every 120 years. 

Stalactites (hanging tight to the ceiling) and stalagmites (might eventually reach the ceiling from the floor), reach over 35 feet in some areas.  In other areas walls or sheets of formations have formed hanging curtains.

Near the end of the tour, you’ll stop to hear the Stalacpipe Organ, which uses no pipes, only electrical charges and vibration devices run through stalactites which in turn creates musical tones.  And don’t miss the  “fried eggs” as well.

The Car and Carriage Caravan Museum next door (admission is included in your ticket price) displays a collection of antique cars, carriages and wagons, dating back to 1725.

After your tour, check out the confusing Garden Maze. Using 8 feet tall hedges, maze-walkers must navigate a fog-misted half-mile internal path that allows you to make 40 “which-way-do-we-go” decisions.  But fear not if you get lost, there is an elevated platforms to climb, which gives you a bird’s eye view of your way out.

That is, if you can even find the platform.

Luray Caverns
970 W. Main Street
Luray, VA 22835-1060

Dates and Times – 75-90 minute guided tours start at 9:00 a.m. daily, until 7:00 p.m. through Labor Day. Tours start about every 10-20 minutes, depending on crowds. The caverns close earlier during other seasons.

Tickets – Includes admission to the car museum, Adults – $19.00, Seniors – $16.00, kids 6-12 – $9.00, under 5 – free with adult, and are available onsite.  Garden Maze – Adults – $ 6.00, children 6-12 – $ 5.00

Parking – Free parking is provided.

Note: This tour requires walking and has three staircases and steep grades along the route and is not considered wheelchair accessible.  Strollers are allowed.

Images – from personal collection – ©2008, Jon Rochetti
________________________________________________

Post from: The DC Traveler

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 you about strangers?  If you can’t behave, I guess we’ll just have to go home.”

“Let’s go young man…march!!”

I’m serious. I’m going home, and I WILL leave you here.  See, I’m leaving.

“She wouldn’t dare leave me…would she?”

“Whatever.”

“Hey, look at that flower on the other side of the path.”

See, I can cross by myself.

FREEZE!!!  If you even put a hoof on the other side, so help me….You get back here RIGHT NOW!!

What did I tell you about NEVER, EVER crossing the path alone?

But Mom…..

That’s it, were going home, mister. And just wait until your father gets home.

Sorry Mom…..

I guess all mothers are the same.

Images – from personal collection – © 2008 – Jon Rochetti

_______________________________________________

Post from: The DC Traveler

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 7-10 mile cab ride to the park.

Images – from personal collection – © 2008 – Jon Rochetti 

____________________________________________________

Post from: The DC Traveler

Image – from personal collection – © 2008 – Jon Rochetti

________________________________________________________________

Post from: The DC Traveler