Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
We had planned to go the weekend of my son’s birthday. That was the week it started raining Wednesday and didn’t stop til Sunday. So to squeeze in one last visit to Back Home on the Farm, we scooted over there last Thursday after school.
It was cold outside, and I was already freezing because my classroom is a balmy 58 degrees (okay, maybe not quite that cold, but I’d be surprised if it were even 65). Thankfully, there’s so much to do at that place that I warmed up quick! Plus I was in cute company, which gave me the warm fuzzies.
Now, if you haven’t gone to this place and you still want to, you must do it this week or weekend, because Sunday is their last day of the 2013 season. Don’t worry; they open back up in the spring, but right now there are some pretty cool activities going on.
Corn Maze. It’s about 5 acres, it’s pleasantly challenging, and the staff will help you turn yourself around if you wave your flag in the air.
Pumpkin Patch. You can ride the tractor up to the pumpkin patch and pick out the perfect one for you. They also have a huge selection of beautiful pumpkins and gourds by the snack bar/gift shop.
You can ride an underground slide down to the barn yard, where you can play all sorts of fun games. Like giant hay bale volleyball. A garden maze. Rubber duck races.
The kids loved petting the animals and firing plastic pumpkins at targets with really big slingshots.
There’s even bowling, a Sound Garden, and tractor rides.
Back Home on the Farm also has a really nice Carousel, decorated with all sorts of things related to Virginia history. And in the barn that houses the carousel, you can see some impressive taxidermy specimens.
I think our favorite part this time was the Pig Race. Four pigs run around a small track, at the end of which is a favorite treat: slices of pumpkin. There are eight pigs total, so you get to see two races. The name of the track is Squealer Downs, and each pig has either a “gangster” name or a “fairytale” name, like Al Hambone, John Delilinks, and Porky Boy Floyd; Rumplepigskin, Pocahogtas, and sweet little Piglet.
Sweet Piglet is the littlest one. When he left the gate, he darted out like the rest of the pigs. Then he got distracted by something and muckmuckmucked around in the dirt until one of the staff came over and cheered him on. Then he seemed to snap out of it and trot on his little high-heel hooves til he reached the pumpkin treat. Precious!
Okay, enough reading. Get out to Back Home on the Farm as soon as possible. Remember, Sunday’s the last day of the season! To get there, take 42 N from Harrisonburg, and turn left on Willow Run Rd. It’s just a little ways down that road, on the right.
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
I’m so grateful to live in a community that values kids and sees them as vital citizens. So, so many opportunities for kids to perform, to play sports, to create, to learn, and just to enjoy life. And Brandy and I have highlighted many of those right here, from The First Tee, Ragtime Fabrics, and Glen’s Fair Price, to Dragonflies Toys, Larkin Arts, and Ten Thousand Villages. Oh, and the Cupcake Company and Westover Pool. The John C. Wells Planetarium. Oooo and one of my favorites, the Hostetter Museum of Natural History. And even our library, one of our first posts ever.
There are some really great individuals involved in the lives of my children, and to them I am forever indebted, because such kindness can never be repaid. It can only be paid forward. Brandy is one of those people. She’s family, really. I trust her as much as anyone with the hearts and minds of my kids. They love her so.
And now she and Denise Allen have cooked up yet another way to enhance their lives: Wonderkittens! It’s an apt name; kids love baby animals, and it’s sort of a play on wunderkind (in German, it means, like, Superkid, prodigy, etc.). Mozart, for example, was a Wonderkitten. Harrisonburg kids can be Wonderkittens, too, by participating in this year’s Art Lotto for young’uns.
You remember Art Lotto. Local artists drew names of other local artists and then had to create a portrait of that artist. Portraits of artists by other artists. Wonderkittens is the same thing, except a child is paired with an already-established local adult artist. Each of them creates a portrait of the other. The biggest difference, though, is the level of collaboration. The artist must mentor the child: teach him or her how to budget time, meet deadlines, collaborate creatively, complement each other’s work, prepare the piece for display, promote the art opening… all the bits and pieces that go into being an actual artist.
My daughter has been meeting with her partner artist for a few weeks now. I take her to meet him once a week — same time, same place — where they check in with each other’s progress and continue to discuss all those things I mentioned above. The whole who-got-whom thing is still under wraps — you don’t get to find out until opening night — but Bree’s partner artist is… well, a gift. He is extremely patient and kind, very encouraging of her work and her ideas, and just open and willing to guide her in whatever way she needs it. So far it’s been an amazing experience, one she and I both feel truly thankful for. And those thanks extend to all the participating artists, to the supportive parents, to Brandy and Denise for organizing this whole thing, and to Larkin Arts for hosting the exhibit.
As for Cal, he’s not participating, but he tags along with us. And I think it’s good for him to understand that some things are for his sister, and some things are for him. He seems to accept that we all need our own endeavors.
Now for some details. Everyone who had expressed an interest completed a survey online. Brandy and Denise used this survey to match each child with an artist. Questions on the survey included things like, “What is your favorite color?” “Who is your favorite band/musician?” “If you could design a restaurant, what would its theme be and what would you serve?” and “If you could have a superpower, what would you choose?” After looking at all the answers, the gals determine who’d be most compatible and paired everyone up. Then we all met at Mr. J’s to find out who was paired with whom. And since then, we’ve been meeting and scheming.
Bree and her partner have to complete their work by the end of November. The exhibit will be part of December’s First Friday event (!!!!), and all the artwork will be on display that Friday at Larkin Arts!
Of course, there will be another, longer post when December 6 gets here, but for now I wanted to share all this good news and let you MARK YOUR CALENDAR to come see the artwork of my offspring! See you there. And don’t be late!
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
This is the time of year I want chili and cider and all sorts of warm and spicy food. I get cold easily, and to stay warm, some days I’m in the bathtub three times. Brandy calls me her “clean friend.” Time to dig out those long johns, flannel pj’s, fuzzy slippers, and Snuggi’s. And if that doesn’t warm you up, our friendly city sure will! Here’s what’s happyning in the burg this week!
I love Halloween. Always have. I love the candy, the costumes, the spooky decorations, the TV specials. I remember, as a kid, sprinting from house to house through my neighborhood with a pillowcase full of candy. My neighborhood was HUGE, and it seemed like I stayed out trick-or-treating til the wee hours of the morning. Maybe my memory is exaggerating, but it seems like people were more “into” Halloween back then. I loved walking up on porch after creepy porch, greeted by smoldering cauldrons of eye balls and hay-stuffed zombies. Hundreds of disguised children clogged the streets. Doorbells rang incessantly. Homes lit so brightly you couldn’t even tell the sun had set. And I remember getting home, drenched in sweat (especially the year I dressed as a bag of jellybeans and was literally wearing a plastic bag from the dry cleaner), and sorting through the candy… throwing away the raisins and pencils and trading sweets with my friend Kathy. Now, as a mom, I love how excited my own kids get to don their costumes and get some goodies. They run around sweaty and delirious, while I shiver at the curb and take too-dark photos.
There is a place in Harrisonburg that shares our love and enthusiasm for Halloween and a whole lot more. That place is Glen’s Fair Price — a Harrisonburg classic — and no visit to our city is complete without a visit there.
Brandy and I took the kids recently because, well, Halloween’s right around the corner and we needed ideas. I could spend a whole day in that store. The staff is super-friendly and there is sooooo much to look at. So much, in fact, that we’ll have another post about gifts when we get closer to Christmas time. For now, Halloween.
That day, I was still struggling to get used to my new cell phone. It kept doing this thing where the screen suddenly became magnified and I couldn’t click or select anything. I still don’t know what magical combination of buttons creates that phenomenon, but at least I now know the two buttons I have to push simultaneously to shut it down and start over. So, of course, I got to Glen’s before it opened and before I could text Brandy that the store didn’t open for another hour and did she want to meet somewhere else first, the magnification thing happened and I was totally stuck unable to communicate. Then I finally managed to text her, and she didn’t respond because she was driving. So the kids and I just plopped in front of the store and waited for her.
Needless to say, the store opened and we all went in. Man, what fun we had in there!
If you need a costume for ANY reason, this is the place to go. You can buy thousands of costumes and accessories — guns, swords, wigs, hats, masks, handcuffs, even plastic chickens — or you can rent an elaborate, high-quality costume for a reasonable price. And if there’s something you need but can’t find it, just ask. They probably have it.
These photos tell the rest of the story. Enjoy!
Glen’s Fair Price is located at 227 North Main Street, just past the Blue Nile. You officially have two weeks til Halloween, so get yourself down there and get spooked up!
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
post-workout snack at Shanks Bakery :)
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
Sorry for the lateness of this post. I have a good reason: it’s raining.
Just kidding. Today’s my son’s birthday and we were busy this weekend! Just look at him!
Hope you have a week where your wishes come true and you get some cake! Here are this week’s Happynings!
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
For me, and maybe for you, this is a stressful time of year. Work is busy, yes, but in addition to that, the holidays are approaching. Soon there will be costumes to make, turkeys to cook, and presents to wrap. Days and weeks barrel forward at breakneck speed, and I feel like I’ve turned into a hummingbird, crazily flitting from this to that at eighty beats per second, hovering only briefly at what’s beautiful and nourishing. I find I have to make a conscious effort to SLOW DOWN. To pause. To breathe.
A couple Saturdays ago, Brandy and I decided to push the pause button for an hour, long enough to enjoy a class at our local Pilates studio aptly named Breathe. Opened in January by Rebekah Budnikas, Breathe offers Reformer (machine-based), Mat, and Barre classes, plus private training. The class we took was a Barre class, meaning that many of the exercises are performed at the barre. Not the bar, the Barre. I like going to the bar, but I soon discovered I also like going to the Barre.
Brandy and I were both grumbly that morning, irritated by the residue of that week’s frustrations. Plus, Brandy had somehow managed to pull a muscle while sneezing, and my neck and shoulders were killing me because I’d spent an awful lot of time in my paper-grading posture. If it weren’t for her and our agreement to meet there, I might have been in a sour enough mood not to go at all. You know how that is… it’s all too easy to talk yourself out of doing something good when you’re feeling rotten. But you also know that’s the best time to do it because you’ll feel so much better afterward.
So, we went. The light-filled studio contains room for about ten participants. All the equipment — mats, hand weights, etc. — are provided by Breathe and were already neatly set up for us. Instead of long mirrors spanning the walls entirely, Breathe installed a series of framed mirrors of different shapes and sizes, and I noticed a familiar stained glass piece or two.
Our instructor, Alexi, greeted us warmly and eased her students into the class with her precise instructions and gentle voice. At first it seemed easy… place your hands lightly on the Barre and slowly bend and squat and dip this way and that, and Alexi spoke so nicely and innocuously… but the intensity increased and I found myself more and more challenged. Which is a euphemism for “my thighs are on fire.”
It’s not a cardio class (although they do have one on Monday evenings); you won’t be totally huffing and puffing and drenched, and that’s why you might be surprised at what a thorough workout it is. It’s a class of a thousand little movements… set to songs by Gloria Gaynor and Red Hot Chili Peppers and whoever it is who sings “Sexy and I Know It.” Alexi would instruct us to get into plié position and then lower ourselves until our knees were just over our toes. Then she would tell us to hold it there, and then when I thought I would finally be able to straighten out and rest my quivering muscles, she would tell us to go a tiny bit lower. It was that tiny bit… that tiny bit! that made all the difference.
Brandy was behind me doing the same thing, only with her 27-pound camera strapped to her torso. Several times we exchanged little panicky glances in the mirrors, but just when I thought, “That’s it. I’m gonna have to take a break,” Alexi would guide us to another move like shoulder raises with hand weights. The class glided along quite quickly… much faster and more enjoyable than a long hour on a treadmill in front of a TV. And the practice makes you really focus on getting specific body parts to do specific movements. There really was no room in my brain for worry. I was thinking only of my calves, my triceps, my knees, my belly. Focusing on the tiny movements, rather than seemingly massive obstacles.
It was a much-needed shift for me and my psyche that day… a necessary reminder to sweat the small stuff, because so much of the “big stuff” is out of my control anyway. Leaving there I felt like I had worked really hard, but lining that sense of accomplishment was… what’s it called? Oh, yeah, serenity. Peace. Calmness. I actually had to try to remember what I was supposed to be worrying about.
If you need a temporary respite from the suffocation of life, please visit Rebekah and her staff at Breathe. They’ll treat you to an out-of-mind experience and a body full of shaky muscles.
Breathe is located downtown in the Wine Brothers building, on the same block as You Made It! Pottery and Clementine. They offer morning and afternoon/evening classes, and for the month of October they’re offering a special. You can even register for classes online and they’ll be ready for you when you arrive. See you there!
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
I have at least a hundred trees in my yard, and while I’ll be cursing them loud enough for the neighbors to hear in a few weeks because I’m wading shin-deep in fallen leaves, right now I love them and the golden-orange glow they cast over the whole property.
The prettiest tree I have is a hickory nut tree that sits right outside my large living room window. Right now its leaves are the color of French’s mustard and Buffalo wing sauce, and against the bright blue sky, it’s almost too beautiful to look at.
What makes the tree even more special is that it should be dead. Woodpeckers attacked it long ago, and now squirrels make their home inside the trunk. I can literally see a squirrel enter the tree through a hole at the bottom and then reemerge from a hole twenty feet up. The tree is completely hollow. It should be dead. It could crash on the house any second. Yet, it’s teeming with life, inside and out. Year after year, it continues to leaf out and produce nuts and shower my living room with warmth.
I just wanted to share that.
Take some time this week to gaze at your favorite tree. And here’s the rest of what’s happyning in the burg this week!
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
Harrisonburg’s getting pretty good at this festival thing. Between film festivals, music festivals, beer festivals, various heritage and diversity festivals, and wine festivals, you can be festive every month of the year in this town. I LOVE IT. The key to any great festival is inclusivity. Variety. Public interaction. The spirit of welcome. Makes sense that you’d find such qualities in full force on a Saturday afternoon in Harrisonburg.
Because of the awesome collaboration of our local businesses and organizations like Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, Bluestone Vineyard, and Downtown Wine and Gourmet, plus a host of local restaurants, and our always-reliable army of cheerful volunteers, citizens of and visitors to our city were able to enjoy a day where people, wines, and foods of all types engaged in merry mingling.
If you were there, you know the weather was absolutely perfect. Brandy, Michael, and I arrived promptly at 2:30, moved swiftly through the entrance line, and in a flash, had our stemless glasses in hand. We threw our stuff under the big tree and headed for the Turner Pavilion. There would be time for sitting later!
We headed for the nearest table, which happened to be number 6. There we found Bluestone Vineyard’s 2011 Rose paired with ( I know it sounds strange) Local Chop and Grill‘s Duck Fat Laced Local Watermelon cubes filled with Feta-Olive Mousse. I was a little wary at first… but then I ate like three cubes. Yes, watermelon and feta sounds like some kind of accidental spill, but those people know how to put flavors together! See? Integration. IT WAS DELICIOUS. We were off to a great start.
We got excited when we got to table 4 and saw the word “sriracha.” It’s getting to the point where I need it every day. Billy Jack’s offered a house-made crab cake with sriracha mayonnaise, paired with Don Manuel Chardonnay from William Harrison Wines. The fruity tones of the wine with the spicy crab cake were, again, luscious, and I started feeling a bit fancy.
Table 2 featured two of our favorites: Crosskeys Vineyards and Beyond Restaurant and Lounge. And I’m pretty sure as I approached the table, I let loose with a “Where are the meatballs?!” Cy kindly informed me that they were at the table across the way. “Beyond has two tables? Ohmygolly.” So we gladly ate the Crispy Vegetable Dumplings with house-made garlic and ginger soy sauce, paired with Crosskeys’ super-crisp and summery Joy White.
Next we got to sample my favorite meatballs in the universe, Beyond’s Teriyaki and Pineapple meatballs. The Tinto Negro Mendoza Malbec from Vineyard Brands was a soft, mild wine that didn’t compete with the meatballs, but complemented them. Which was probably wise because those meatballs kick butt. I remember that we lingered at that table for some time… til a plate of cheeseburgers went by.
At table 3, burgers sizzled on Jack Brown’s flat top grill while volunteers poured Edgebaston “The Pepper Pot” Red from Southern Starz Wines. Talk about a seamless integration… succulent beef with spicy, peppery wine… it was warm as an electric Snuggie. I also liked their Nugan Third Generation Shiraz from Australia.
Table 5 should have sported a map of France. Albert Bichot Wines offered the Chateau Boussargues Cotes du Rhone Rouge (“house…sompn sompn sompn sompn… red”), which was tres délicieux, avec Cotes du Rhone Cured Duck Breast, Red Wine Salt, and Poached Local Apple-Fennel-Raisin Preserve from our Local Grill and Chop House. The combination was… how do you say? Sublime. Ah oui!
Continuing with the multi-cultural flair, because Harrisonburg is so good at integration, we left France and tried Union Station‘s Smoked Jamaican Jerk Chicken Breast with Pineapple Salsa, paired with the Cottonwood Creek Organic White from Bronco Wine Co. This wine was like line-dried linen; it was one of my favorites of the day. Clean and fresh and smooth and beachy. They also offered a Truck Red Blend, which of course we had to try.
Union Station also set up shop at table 8, where we tried their Smoked Pulled Pork Sliders and House BBQ Sauce. THOSE were excellent!! And they’re so cute and little, you can eat like six of them so fast there’s no time to feel guilty. We washed those suckers down with what I think wins the award for the most creatively described wine at the festival, the Senda 66 Tempranillo, offered by Frontier Imports. Here’s what the program said: “An exotic wine with aromas of graham cracker, blueberry, violet petal, and pastry. It feels lush, grabby, chewy, and slightly tannic with heavy flavors of clove, black licorice, savory berry, and baked plum.” Okay, they managed to get fruits, herbs, baked goods, flowers, and a touch of candy all in one bottle. I-N-T-E-G-R-A-T-I-O-N!
The final two tables were hosted by Blue Nile. At table 9, we tried their Whole Lentils, Green Peppers, Chopped Lentils, and Bits of Injera tossed in Vinegar, Olive Oil, and Mustard. This dish had quite a kick, complemented nicely by the fresh, lemony Domaine de Ballade Blanc offered by Bourgeouis Family Wines (love that name!). We finished up with Small Vineyard’s Palama Arcangelo Negroamaro, a spicy Italian wine served with Blue Nile’s Collard Green, Stewed Onions, Garlic, and Ginger. The combination was lovely, and I thought it was cool to drink an Italian wine with my Ethiopian food.
Suddenly, it was 5pm, and we were ready to head to the lawn to hear the jazzy musings of the Rick Olivarez Trio, a band out of Charlottesville influenced by eastern European and French musicians, among others. Once out there in the sunshine, we saw more evidence of inclusivity. Chefs Alex and Jon were conducting cooking demonstrations. Their two dishes were Charleston Style Shrimp served on a Pan-Seared Grit Cake with Watercress and a Pomegranate-Thyme BBQ Glaze; and, Grilled Poundcake with Balsamic Marinated Strawberries. Well, I wasn’t going to miss that! Dozens of people stood around watching the demo, asking questions, and then being treated to a generous sampling. AND, Grilled Cheese Mania was there, too, in case you had a serious craving!
Another new thing this year? A beer garden. What?? Yes, a beer garden at the Wine Festival, provided by Specialty Beverage. This was a nice gesture to the companions of wine lovers who wanted to enjoy the festival together. Inclusivity! I love the idea of a beer garden. As if you can plant seeds and little taps will sprout up in your yard. Someone please invent that. So… why not? It was warm, I was thirsty, and there was corn hole. Beer and corn hole go hand in hand. Since we were a party of three, I teamed up with a total stranger to take on Michael and Brandy. And that’s how we spent the rest of our evening: playing corn hole, listening to great music, and making friends with strangers. Just another day in our friendly city.
Thanks, Burg, for a beautiful day. Thanks to the volunteers, the vendors, the sponsors, and the organizers. You are very much appreciated, and very much a part of what makes our home special. A la vôtre!
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
When I was growing up, golf was a pretty big deal in my family. My dad, who was semi-to-mostly retired when I was seven years old, played golf two or three times a week. At home, all that was ever on the television was golf or CNN. Except Knight Rider, which I watched with Daddy on Friday nights, and The Cosby Show/Golden Girls, which Mom and I watched on Thursdays. And our weekly dose of Solid Gold, which we all watched in the family room with tray tables and Salisbury steak. But other than that, golf occupied a good deal of Daddy’s recreational life. And he was good. And he never rode the cart. Hardcore, he was.
Mom played with him, too, of course, and while they never forced any of us to play, it was hard to live in that house without eventually picking up a club. Sure enough, my older brother and sister started playing and still do. But my brother uses a golf cart. As the joke goes in my family, eighteen holes is a long way to lug a cooler of beer.
Yet somehow, I didn’t get the golf chromosome. I’m also a red-headed, left-handed synesthete; I’m used to being the weird embodiment of my ancestors’ recessive traits. Dad died several years ago, but today I’m happy to report that he’s sure to be smiling somewhere, knowing that I’ve finally embraced the game of golf through my son (and Dad’s namesake) and First Tee of Harrisonburg.
Cal’s loved golf since he got that brightly colored Little Tykes golf set… and then graduated to Wii golf… and then got another set of toy clubs. So when I found The First Tee’s web site and saw that he was old enough to sign up, we were very excited!
The First Tee is a non-profit organization that “promotes character-development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf.” They serve about a thousand kids, ages 5 – 17, every year in the Shenandoah Valley. They offer several programs for different ages and ability levels. Cal started in Little Legends, which is for 5- and 6-year-old kids. He’s about to turn seven, so his next program will be PLAYer, which he can take any number of times until he turns nine and can advance to the next level.
A typical Little Legends lesson was like this. First the kids (about seven of them) and the coaches (two of them) warmed up doing moves like washing machine and toe touches. Then the kids practiced hitting different targets with drivers and giant, over-sized golf balls. After that they headed to the driving range, where they were given standard-size golf balls and allowed to whack as many as they wanted as far as they could. Bree was perfectly happy watching all this, but the program director was kind enough to ask her if she’d like to hit some balls, so she did. And she loved it! Sometimes the kids also practice on the 5- or 6-hole putting green.
The instructors are excellent — patient, attentive, and knowledgeable, making sure to help each and every child individually. The First Tee is located at the Heritage Oaks Golf Course, which is ridickers beautiful. I still didn’t really have a desire to play, but I could sit and look at that scenery for hours, surrounded by mountains and rolling hills, warm sun and a refreshing breeze.
Their fall season is underway, but it’s not too late to sign up. We’ll be out there again in October. Each level is conveniently offered at several different times, usually twice a week for an hour, and it’s only fifty bucks for six sessions. They even provide clubs if you need to borrow some. Check out their site today and get the family signed up!
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
Here we are at the edge of October, already! The weather’s cooling off, and before long, that gorgeous blue sky will stretch across the horizon, dotted by bright, crayon-box leaves. And then raking. Lots and lots of raking. But also football! And evenings around the fire pit! And the anticipation of the holidays :)
Hope you all have a lovely week as we welcome autumn to our fine city. Here’s what’s going on!
Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.
i love my burg. 