Treat your mom to a fun mini-trip

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.

MORE INFORMATION: norfolkbotanicalgarden.org ADMISSION: $7 adults, $6 seniors and military, $5 children, free for age 2 and under TRAVEL TIME: 2 hours

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.

MORE INFORMATION: tidalbasinpeddleboats.com ADMISSION: $8/hour for two-person boat and $16/hour for four-person boat TRAVEL TIME: About an hour

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.

MORE INFORMATION: nga.gov ADMISSION: Free TRAVEL TIME: About an hour

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.

MORE INFORMATION: www.lewisginter.org ADMISSION: $10 adults, $9 seniors, $6 children ages 3 to 12, free for children under 3 TRAVEL TIME: 1 hour

CALEDON NATURAL AREA

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

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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

Read more stories about Fredericksburg
Date published: 5/10/2008

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