The
week before school begins every year is Dad Camp. It started when The Moose was
only about five months old the week prior to his beginning going to day care
and continues up to today as my kids entered 6th grade, 3rd
grade, and kindergarten. Now is probably a good time to mention that all three
kids are at the same school for this first (and only) time ever. One drop off
in the morning and everyone is in the same location. It’s wonderful!
Over
the years, I’ve taken the kids to a variety of places in the DC metropolitan
area. Dad Camp was rather limited in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid restrictions
and the lack of vaccinations for kids, but we were able to visit some new
places over the last few years. I should mention that the real purpose of this
post is a reminder for myself of activities I can do with the kids for Dad Camp
2023 and beyond! Anyway, here’s what we did this year:
Monday:
Mini golf
Fairfax
County’s Park Authority has several miniature golf locations across the county.
The ones we’ve been to at Oak Marr and Burke Lake are quite enjoyable. Burke
Lake also has a disc golf course which I took my kids to for the first time recently
separately from Dad Camp. It wasn’t a disaster, so we’ll try again later this
fall.
Tuesday:
Puppet show and a movie
I
don’t want to call out the production company, but the puppet show was just
odd. Others we’ve seen over the years have been more interactive. The Moose was
definitely too old for the show. Not doing that again. Meanwhile, Regal Cinemas
have $2 kids’ movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Even though my kids watched
the film several years ago, we saw The Secret Life of Pets for our first trip
to a movie theater since the experience ended with a trip to the emergency room. As a bonus, Regal has half price deals on popcorn on Tuesdays, so yes, I
bought the largest tub possible for us to share.
Wednesday:
Cubs-Nationals Game
I’d
like to thank Major League Baseball for scheduling a weekday afternoon game
during Dad Camp. The stadium wasn’t crowded, and possibly because the Nationals
are pretty terrible this year, the team has a kids eat free promotion to encourage
families to attend. I’d also like to thank the person who handed me 4 free
tickets while we waited in line to buy some.
Thursday:
Meet the Teacher Day
I
really appreciate that the school has separate times based on grade levels.
All-school activities are an absolute nightmare for crowds and parking. Unfortunately
for me, the open houses were 10:00-11:00 for kindergarten, 12:00-1:00 for
grades 1-3, and 2:00-3:00 for grades 4-6. That meant three separate trips to school
and lots of back and forth.
Friday:
Hirschhorn Museum
While
my kids would generally be quite happy playing and watching sports every day,
occasionally, I try to sprinkle in a little bit of culture in their lives.
Enter the “One With Eternity” exhibit by Yayoi Kusama. The Hirshhorn hosted a
Kusama exhibit several years ago, and while it looked amazing, I never made it
to the National Mall. Now, The Hirshhorn has several Kusama pieces as part of
its permanent collection, and I thought the kids would enjoy it. They did!
We
arrived on the National Mall right around 9:30 AM, which turned out to be
perfect since that’s when you can begin to park on most streets like 7th
Avenue SW between the Hirshhorn and Air & Space Museum with beautiful views
of the Washington Monument and US Capitol. We got in line to get timed passes
for the Kusama exhibit and got 11:15 tickets. This gave us plenty of time to walk
on the mall and explore the Hirshhorn’s sculpture garden and other parts of the
museum before seeing “Pumpkin” and her two Infinity Mirror rooms. I highly
recommend checking them out.
Weekend
Bonus: A Loudoun United soccer match.
The Moose and Pedro Tulo were able to be part of the pregame ceremony where kids lined up on the field as the players gave high-fives and walked through.
Another
successful week of Dad Camp! I’d like to try Luray Caverns next year. If you have any other ideas for things to do in the DC area, please share them in the comments section.
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3 comments:
Just a comment - my brother had a girlfriend who was from Luray and she used to correct us that it was pronounced LOO-ray (like "Hoo-ray for Lu-ray") instead of Luh-RAY like most people in the DC area pronounce it.
If your kids like Wizard of Oz I've heard this place is cool (never been): https://www.mommynearest.com/edition/washington-dc/article/this-wizard-of-oz-themed-playground-is-a-must-visit
Dad and I visited the Luray caverns several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The boys would love it!
Didn't know about the pronunciation of Luray and haven't heard of the Wizard of Oz park. Might have to check it out.
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