- FILE/Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

- FILE/Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

- FILE/Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

- FILE/Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

Mother's Day options

BY EDIE GROSS

Date published: 5/10/2008

BY EDIE GROSS

Celebrate Mom this weekend with a mini-adventure. Colorful gardens, sparkling water and historical sites are all close by.

Here is a sampling of the many places you can treat Mom to this weekend, all within driving distance of Fredericksburg.

But behave yourself on the way. Don't make her have to "turn this car around."

NORFOLK BOTANICAL GARDEN

The gardens started out as a Works Progress Administration project during the Great Depression. Now, with 20 theme gardens spread across 155 acres, they're a major tourist attraction.

The facility's rose garden, in bloom from mid-May to October, features a quarter million flowers at its peak.

Visitors can also take in the butterfly garden, a statuary and an adventure garden for children.

TIDAL BASIN PADDLE BOATS

A slow trip around the Tidal Basin provides an unobstructed view of the Jefferson Memorial and a relaxing way to take in the sun.

Two- and four-person paddle boats available seven days a week at the dock near the memorial.

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

If studying nature in a climate-controlled environment is more mom's speed, she might enjoy the gallery's "In the Forest of Fontainebleau" exhibit, which continues until June 8.

The exhibit features works by more than 100 artists who followed the 19th-century practice of plein-air (open-air) painting and photography in France's Fontainebleau region.

LEWIS GINTER BOTANICAL GARDEN

Naturally, this Richmond garden is awash in daffodils, tulips, irises and roses, but it's offering something special for Mother's Day.

The first 500 moms and grandmothers receive a free potted plant. Free family photos are available between 1 and 2 p.m. in front of the Conservatory. Bring lawn chairs and blankets (no picnics) for live jazz between 1 and 4 p.m., at Bloemendaal House.

CALEDON NATURAL AREA

The park in King George is flush with hiking trails and picnic spots.

On Mother's Day, the park is hosting a mother-daughter tea on the lawn, which includes Victorian fare like finger sandwiches and desserts. Bring tea cup and saucer for the event, which runs from 1 to 3 p.m., and includes a historical program about the era and dress. Pre-registration is required.

BELMONT

Just in time for Mother's Day, Joanna Catron, curator of the Gari Melchers Home and Studio, is exploring American Impressionist's fondness for mother-and-child images. Sunday at 2 p.m., she presents "Lovelier Than All Else: Paintings of Mothers and Their Children by Gari Melchers" in the historic site's new Studio Pavilion.

See Melchers' most recognized work on the topic, the Art Institute of Chicago's "Mother and Child," as well as six related works. Catron's talk is included in the price of admission.

MONUMENTS BY MOONLIGHT This 2-hour trolley tour includes nighttime views of the Capitol, the White House, the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument as well as several war memorials. Tour guides, who leave from Union Station, even throw in a D.C. ghost story or two. MORE INFORMATION: trustedtours.com ADMISSION: $31.50 adults and $16.20 children ages 4 to 12 TRAVEL TIME: About an hour U.S. BOTANIC GARDEN If Mom has a green thumb, she might enjoy gazing at some of the 26,000 plants showcased here, everything from rare and endangered Hawaiian flora to our national flower, the rose. Walking paths wind past fountains and plenty of flowers in bloom. Exhibits cover a variety of topics for shrub lovers, including how the lives of plants and humans intertwine and how plants impact our culture. MORE INFORMATION: www.usbg.gov ADMISSION: Free TRAVEL TIME: About an hour NATIONAL AQUARIUM The aquarium in Baltimore features more than just fish these days. Croaking frogs, flying foxes, hissing snakes and even a laughing kookaburra await visitors, as well as a 4-D theater that combines 3-D film with features like vibrating seats, steam and mist to bring the movie alive. Today, the aquarium is celebrating International Migratory Bird Day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with crafts, games and programs related to feathered friends. MORE INFORMATION: aqua.org ADMISSION: $28.95 adults, $27.95 seniors and $17.95 children ages 3 to 11 (fees include aquarium, dolphin show and theater) TRAVEL TIME: 2 hours MOUNT VERNON TRAIL Strap on your walking shoes or pump up the tires on mom's bike and hit this 18-mile trail, which follows the Potomac River shoreline from Theodore Roosevelt Island down to George Washington's estate at Mount Vernon. Take in scenic Arlington National Cemetery, Gravelly Point and Old Town Alexandria. MORE INFORMATION: bikewashington.org/trails/vernon/vernon.htm nps.gov/archive/gwmp/mvtmap.html ADMISSION: Free TRAVEL TIME: Roughly an hour to parking lots near Theodore Roosevelt Island, Gravelly Point or Old Town Alexandria. MOUNT VERNON George and Martha Washington's estate on the Potomac River is hosting a spring garden party this weekend in honor of Mother's Day. The event features 18th-century music and dancing, sheep-shearing, Colonial games and garden tours. Visitors can tour the mansion, greenhouse, stables and slave quarters and see the Washingtons' final resting place. MORE INFORMATION: mountvernon.org ADMISSION: $13 adults, $12 seniors, $6 children ages 6 to 11, free for those 5 and under. TRAVEL TIME: About an hour

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Date published: 5/10/2008