Day Trip

day trip Destination: Portsmouth—with Toddlers

Getting out of the house is imperative when you’re a stay-at-home mom with two kiddos; everyone needs to get out of the house when they get a chance, to help boost serotonin levels and get some fresh air. We recently set our sights on the downtown area of Portsmouth, Virginia, along with a ferry ride to Norfolk and back. It was a lot of running around, but the kids had so much fun and I love watching them play. First, we drove over to Portsmouth from Norfolk and were able to park outside on the street. Portsmouth has free two-hour parking on High Street or you can pay to park in the garage if you know you’ll be there longer. I have an almost three-year-old and a one-year-old, so I knew we would only be there for a couple of hours before we would have to regroup. The Children’s Museum [1] offers a lot of activities for kids of all ages and sizes and allows parents to be fully involved in play as well [2]. On the first floor, they have a train exhibit, bubbles, a Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) bus, and many more hands-on activities. My three year old loves to go fishing on the boat or pretend to be a veterinarian and help the puppies and kittens, and my younger one loves to get down on the ground and climb on the bird’s nest that they have set up in the three-and-under area. Having grown up with a musical theater background, I love the room where you can learn to play music on different types of instruments. They have a “fence” set up that you can play like a xylophone, there are trash can lids and PVC pipes that you can hit with flip flops—providing Stomp and Blue Man

[ by jessie gallenstein ]

The memories you make with your kids and grandkids last forever. Take the time to live in the moment with what our area has to offer.

[ PHOTOS by David Polston ]

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Keeping those in the know

since 1955. We look forward to many more years to come. Thank you for your patronage.

SINCE 1955

Virginia Beach | lowenthals.com

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Group vibes. Every time we go, I try to play Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” with the flip flops, but I’m not very good at percussion so I’ll just stick to stand-up bass. Upstairs, they have an area that teaches about recycling, a circusthemed area that teaches about static electricity, weight distribution, and sound travel, and a rotating exhibit. During the winter the museum did sock skating which was so clever and the kids had a great time slipping and sliding around. Currently, they have a “Splash and Bubbles” traveling exhibit that teaches kids about the sea. For those who are into technology, the “Dr. Forces Traveling Energy Extravaganza” is a 360-degree virtual tour, which is an exploration of energy and physical sciences through the lens of a carnival sideshow. The first floor of the building is mostly play-based and the second floor focuses Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) activities in the STEM Studio. The CreARTivity spaces focus on art experiences such as drawing, painting, sculpture and architecture. The Made-N-Take room has themed crafts you can create and bring home. Times for those activities are listed on their website. After the museum, we took the Elizabeth River Ferry [3] over to the Waterside District in Norfolk; we were going to get a cupcake at Carolina Cupcakes or some fudge from the Fudgery, but both venues didn’t open until noon (check their schedules before you go). Even though we weren’t able to eat at Waterside, we were able to get some cute photos next to Blue Moon Tap House [4]. Once back on the ferry, my older daughter loved seeing the water, waving at the other boats and the breeze from the ferry was greatly appreciated in the July heat. Back in Portsmouth, we treated ourselves to ice cream at Scoops, just outside of the museum. I got the cappuccino ice cream and man, it

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was so good. Next on our adventure, we drove over to Portsmouth City Park and were able to get some sunshine. The park has been recently updated and is fun and engaging for the kids. It has plenty of swings and is very inclusive. They have swings for babies, bigger kids [5] and adults, swings that you can sit on with your baby and swing—

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The Pokey Smokey

By David Polston

As a Portsmouth, Virginia, native my parents would take me to City Park when I was a child. The more we’d visit, the more I wanted to go. As I grew older, my friends and I would ride our bikes there to play on the attractions. They have a nine-hole golf course, boat ramps, walkways, duck-feeding pond, tennis courts, playgrounds and shelters to have picnics. But there is a unique attraction that dates back to 1964. It is a scaled-down, workingreplica steam train called the Pokey Smokey. As a kid I didn’t care a lot about golf or tennis, I wanted to see the Pokey Smokey. It was red and shiny and I could ride it because it was my size. It blew smoke from the stack, the whistle was loud and bright and it was...fantastic! Each time I rode this around the track my imagination would fill with stories that I could replay in my head during the days or weeks I had to wait until my parents brought me back to fill my head with more stories. However, in 2005 the Pokey Smokey started having mechanical problems and the costs were stacking up to keep it running. Since this was a working replica of a steam engine, the safety concerns were outweighing the operating costs and it was decided to auction off the train to help raise money for a new one. In March 2011 a new train arrived to replace the original one that had served City Park for over 40 years. The Pokey Smokey II is a gas-powered, scale replica of an 1863 Huntington Steam Engine and pulls a seven-bench coach car around the three quarter of a mile track. The Pokey Smokey II runs on the weekends only from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (last ride is at 2:45 p.m.) with a cost of only $2.00 for ages three and up (infants are free of charge). You can now experience this ride for yourself if you’re feeling nostalgic, or bring your children or grandchildren. It is truly fun for all ages. Shiny red with a new whistle and all. If you are wondering what happened to the original Pokey Smokey, there is good news. Ken Eder from Carthage, North Carolina, bought the train, restored it and it still runs one weekend a year. Ken was an enthusiast and collector of vintage tractors and trains. He launched a weekend festival dedicated to “100+ Years of Progress” with the Ederville Train and Tractor Show, held in North Carolina (edervillenc.com). Ken was killed in a work accident in 2018 and left a saddened community to grieve the loss of this charismatic visionary. The festival continues in his honor on the first full weekend of November in Carthage, where general admission tickets will get you a free ride on the original Pokey Smokey from Portsmouth, Virginia.

David Polston is the scenic designs, carpentry and production supervisor for CBN. He is also an internationally published freelance photographer, blogger and writer, and the resident professional photographer for Seven Venues, LiveNation, Virginia Beach, Regent University Theater, Hampton Coliseum, The VaArts Festival and the Virginia Symphony, among others. which I thought was great. I have a one year old, so I normally have to push her. But to be able to sit and swing with her was so convenient. They also had swings for wheelchairs and swings for physically challenged persons to sit and swing and be safe and secure. I really love how a lot of the parks in our area are thriving in their inclusivity. City Park also has the “Pokey Smokey II” (see sidebar at left for details), which is a little train that kids three and older can ride. This miniature steam engine replica runs on Saturdays and Sundays through the end of October. My kids are currently too young, but I remember riding it when I was little and it was such a cool thing to do. On the way home, we stopped by Starbucks to grab a cake pop for my daughter and a coffee for me; shortly after, both kids fell asleep in the car. If you have children or are around them often, you know that an afternoon nap after a long day is such a blessing. Spending a day doing all of the things I used to do when I was a child and passing on the traditions, as small as they may be, was really special.

The Children’s Museum and City Park are still the way they used to be for me, just updated. But Waterside is completely different. When I was a young child it still had little shops, a Hooters, and a Chinese restaurant that was absolutely phenomenal if I remember correctly. Point being: Change inevitably happens, but those memories you make with your kids and grandkids last forever. So take the time to go and make the memories and live in the moment with them—it’s so precious.

Norfolk native Jessie Gallenstein, a wife and a mother of two little girls, is studying to be an esthetician and licensed skin care professional. She loves to eat local and find new and exciting things to do with her family.

Children’s Museum of Virginia, Portsmouth

221 High Street Portsmouth, VA 23704 childrensmuseumvirginia.com

Elizabeth River Ferry

(via Hampton Roads Transit—service between Portsmouth and Norfolk) gohrt.com/routes/ferry

Waterside District

333 Waterside Drive Norfolk, VA 23510 watersidedistrict.com

Portsmouth City Park

5 Cpl J M Williams Avenue Portsmouth, VA 23701 parks.portsmouthva.gov/169/ Portsmouth-City-Park Planning to take a road trip somewhere within a day’s drive? How about an overnight somewhere? Tell us about the experience. Send in your piece (and any photos you take) for us to consider publishing in a future issue of Boulevard. Email: julie@blvdmedia.io

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