Picking the perfect peach is not as easy as you might think. When we arrived at Greenbrier Farms ready to pick, we were given a handout listing all the things to look for: perfect color, firmness, smell, and how easy it will be to pick from the branch. Our big kids took it pretty seriously. On the hayride out to the orchard they studied their notes like they were cramming for a test and each peach they pulled off the tree had to be JUST. RIGHT.

Even given this level of perfectionism, it didn't take too long to fill our bags. But luckily there is more to do at Greenbrier Farms than pick peaches, which justified the long drive from Norfolk. The kids visited the petting zoo, fed cheerios to a pair of puddle ducks and a hen named Oprah, swung on giant tire swings, jumped off the stairs at the old farmhouse, and played on the playground in the middle of it all. By the time we got back to the cars, tired and sweaty, they were more than ready to nap the whole way back, which left me free to daydream about all the goodies I'd bake with our haul.

Greenbrier Farms has something to look forward to year round. After peaches come nectarines, then pumpkins in the fall, and cut-your-own Christmas trees in December. In the spring, there will be strawberries, then peaches again.

The staff at Greenbrier are super accommodating and want to do everything they can to make your visit enjoyable (the handout should be a tip-off). They encouraged us and our littles to look around at everything, let them roam through the still-producing strawberry patch, told us about all the different plants growing around their greenhouses. If you're too busy to come and pick your own peaches, they will even pick them for you and have them ready to go when you come and pick them up!

As for those peaches ... we made cobbler. YUM.

Pro-tip: Bring sunscreen (there's not much shade at the play area) and bug spray (mosquitoes are terrible this year).

The Chesapeake Arboretum! What a cool place to be on a spring day. Not literally -- it was pretty hot and muggy when we took our walk -- but despite that the arboretum was a wonderful place to experience nature.

If you look at the arboretum on the map it is surrounded by neighborhood on all sides. So we expected it to be pretty manicured. Instead, we found a pleasantly maintained mulched path and jumble of wild greenery. Whenever we did catch sight of a house through the leaves it was almost a surprise to see it there.

We took the longest path option which is about two miles of flat and easy terrain, even for Gus's little legs. There are shorter routes available, too. (Find the map here). When we went, back in early April, some of the sections of trail were under construction and a couple of the bridges were out of commission or missing guardrails. So it might be best to check with arboretum staff to make sure the routes still lead where they are supposed to before setting out! We had an issue with a bridge leading to nowhere but it was easily solved by walking out to the neighborhood while James went back for the car and picked us up.

Anouk's favorite part of the walk was climbing on every tree and fallen long she could find and there were tons. There was also so much wildlife to see on this trip! On our two hour hike we saw rabbits, frogs, turtles, butterflies, all kinds of birds, and even a couple of SNAKES. If you're into that, keep your eyes peeled. (If you're not, same).

We plan to go back when the farmhouse is open and when the leaves turn in the fall!

The Elizabeth River Park reopened this past weekend, after being closed for extensive renovations, and we were there to check it out! The park is a unique one in the area, with a special focus on boating and outdoor watersports -- the boat landing there on the Elizabeth River is famous because it leads right to the Hot Ditch, a famous fishing spot in the HRVA area. Besides the improved landing, there's now a snack shack, large picnic area, playground, and small fishing/crabbing pier.

Probably the coolest thing about the park though is that it sits right in the shadow of the new South Norfolk Jordan Bridge. The bridge, which is almost 170 feet tall, allows the huge ships from the shipyard across the river to pass right under, providing a really spectacular sight. The old vertical-life bridge still stands, which is also pretty neat to see. The new bridge features a pedestrian walkway and I have plans to walk it in the future sometime -- it's supposed to provide some of the best views in the area!

We spent the day playing and fishing from the pier -- James and A. caught crab or two apiece (but we tossed them back, too small). I can already tell this is going to be a good summertime destination for us!
 

Last weekend, I found myself driving through Chesapeake's South Norfolk neighborhood for the first time in ... well, ever. I'd read a lot about SoNo -- how it used to be a thriving independent small town but has been struggling since it was incorporated into the City of Chesapeake in the 1960s. Did you know that once, a streetcar ran from Ocean View all the way to SoNo? I had no idea.

Signs of the old days are still there, if you look, in the beautiful homes, vibrant businesses, and in the efforts of a tight knit community to restore the neighborhood to its full glory. As I meandered my way around the neighborhood, I started to note a few gems of places that seemed especially worth a visit and made me resolve to spend more time exploring there. Here are the places I'll hit first.

1. Rodgers Banana Pudding Sauce, Retro Candies, and Gift Shop: Reggie Rodgers, the "banana pudding man" started his business years ago serving his mother's famous banana pudding recipe. Today, you can buy his famous banana pudding sauce -- and much more -- at the Rodgers storefront on Poindexter Street. Not only is their product supposed to be super delicious, but I adore the shop's story and the mission of its nonprofit, which donates free vacation lodging to Purple Heart recipients and their families. So much to love about this local business.

2. South Norfolk Library: The SoNo library is one of the newest and nicest in the #HRVA area, with a drive-thru checkout and return and an archives room full of resources on the area's history. There's also the Bookend Cafe, which opened just last week, and provides employment opportunities for adults with disabilities in addition to all sorts of food and refreshments.

3. Lakeside Park: It wasn't an especially nice day when I passed by -- gray and drizzly, in fact -- but I was still charmed by Lakeside Park and the little wooden footbridge that spans its namesake lake. The park is home to SoNo's annual Fourth of July celebration and other festivals throughout the year. There's also a nice-looking playground, score!

4. Historic homes: The architecture in South Norfolk is some of the most distinctive in the area, with tons of beautiful Victorians with ornate gingerbread moulding and classic metal roofing. It's worth poking around the side streets to see some of these old gems or looking up a home tour (there's a holiday home tour near Christmas that looks amazing).

5. SoNo Flea Market: someone on their Facebook page called the flea market the "best kept secret" in Chesapeake and you know that means I can't wait to check it out, especially the Buy Local Corner Store, which features all sorts of local gifts and goodies and is located inside the market.

What are your favorite places to stop in South Norfolk?

Have a great weekend!

For the past few months, I've been on the hunt for a very specific item: namely, a set of iced tea spoons in my (seventy-year-old) silverware pattern. Whenever I pass a promising looking antique or vintage shop, I always pop in to check but so far, have had no luck finding what I need (though I have found dozens of other things I don't actually need).

Last week, I had a free afternoon and decided that since I'd be in the neighborhood anyway, I'd expand my search to Chesapeake's Antique Alley. "Antique Alley" refers to the spate of antique stores at the corner of Canal Street and Military Highway in Chesapeake, famous among Hampton Roads treasure hunters for the bargains and interesting finds that can be had there.



I started with Days Remembered, and spent about an hour poking around there. They had a little bit of everything, but most notable was their collection of antique tools and vintage kitchenware. They had a large selection of vintage china and stoneware and big bins of adorable retro cookie cutters, everything from dinosaurs to hearts to barnyard animals. I was sorely tempted by a 1950s lemonade set (love the snowflake motif) but managed to walk past it (it was hard, believe me, and I might go back for it yet).






Next, I moseyed over to Granma Had One Antiques and Collectibles, which is in the same building as Days Remembered (I believe the two stores used to be one, or are owned by the same family?) And I spent another hour there, combing through more treasures. Granma Had One is an especially good place to look if you're in the market for costume jewelry or vintage Pyrex (they had a whole wall of the more popular patterns and some harder-to-find pieces, too). They also had a large vintage book section, including a selection of those local/fundraiser cookbooks that I get so many of my favorite recipes from.





Though I left empty-handed (let's hear it for self-control?), I very much enjoyed browsing these stores and have already mentally moved both onto my rotation of places to check regularly.

Have you discovered any new antique hotspots -- or made any good finds -- lately? Tell us about them in the comments (and if you've happened to come across a set of Tudor Rose iced tea spoons, message me!)

When we're out running errands on the weekends, we like to try to look up a nearby park to visit in between stops. Anouk gets to run off some steam -- we all get to stretch our legs -- and sometimes we find a place to add to our list of favorites. Everybody wins!

The weekend before last, we were out at breakfast at Greenbrier, and on the way home, stopped by Great Bridge Lock Park to explore. The park is named for the Army Corps of Engineers lock that was built to separate the salt water of the Elizabeth River from the fresh water of the Great Dismal Swamp. It's situated on a little peninsula -- on one side, you can watch big boats going through the lock on their way down (or up) the Intracoastal Waterway. On the other, you can see small boats and canoes dotting the tidal marsh. It's a great place for boat enthusiasts, that's for sure.



We spent a little while at the playground, which we rated a solid 8. No water feature (we're still looking for the perfect summertime spot to replace our favorite splash park up in DC), but there were a couple of climbing gyms, plenty of swings, and some cute riding animals. Here is me enjoying one of them. I am calling it 'Woman with Frog Butt.'

Work it.

Some other key features of the park include: a canal overlook, a spacious picnic area, and a walking trail that winds through the woods all the way around the peninsula. James was also really excited to see there was a boat launch -- he's looking forward to coming back in the spring with his new Christmas kayak.




Hooray! We love finding new places! Have you been to Great Bridge Lock Park? Or to Deep Creek Lock Park?

Anouk and I met up with our Aunt C. today with a very important mission: to score some pumpkins for our front stoops (and maybe some pumpkin-flavored baked goods, too). We consulted with Google and set off...and ended up in a kind of depressing church parking lot pumpkin patch. Waaa-waah. Not exactly the festive seasonal ambience we were looking for. But did we let this stop us? No! We continued on until we found Bergey's Breadbasket and all our perseverance paid off.

Bergey's is a wonderful, family-run trifecta of fall amazingness. There's a deli and bakery featuring a host of goodies, including homemade pumpkin ice cream! There's a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. And there's a freaking awesome petting zoo, too. The animals are tethered, so you can really experience them, as evinced by several pictures I have on my camera of Anouk running frantically away from a seriously friendly pair of sheep. (The petting zoo is run by donations, so make sure you bring a few dollars to slip into the box when you visit.)

I think we explored every bit of the farm while we were there, from the chicken coop to the enthralling handcrafted wooden marble slides in the restaurant area. She was very determined to pick herself a pumpkin -- I turned around a few times and found her lugging pumpkins almost the size of her little body across the field to me. And it kind of blew her mind to be able to stand nose-to-nose with a real-life "moo." It's a good thing we've been brushing up on our animal sounds, because they got a real workout today.

(It should be noted that Bergey's also features a pretty impressive corn maze this time of year. We missed seeing it today because we went in the early afternoon and it's only open from 4-7 PM. So keep that in mind when planning your trip. This year's maze is football-themed, and from the looks of it, worth a visit, so we plan on going back for it later this month.)

After we had explored everything very very thoroughly, we had lunch at the restaurant and left with enough pumpkins and pumpkin goodies to supply a festive fall army.

Mission accomplished.

P.S.: I love Aunt C.'s choice of farm footwear. This lady knows how to petting zoo in style.