With only one weekend left between now and Halloween, it’s time to grab your youngest child, niece, nephew or godchild and venture down to Cox Farms in Centreville, VA (about an hour’s drive from DC). Or you can do what I did and grab a group of fun friends and act like kids for the day!

The scene is a bit overwhelming at first, with a crowded parking lot and long lines to purchase a $15 dollar entrance wrist band. The feeling doesn’t ease up until about 15 minutes into the adventure when you get acclimated to children of all ages running around and crawling all over the numerous slides that can be found on the farm. The barn features farm animals such as sheep (that really do eat facing the same direction as the sign outside says), big ugly pigs, and chickens. On weekends a band plays throughout the day on the stage in front of all the picnic tables. And apparently the slides don’t wear kids out, because they can be found dancing around the stage area.

While the slides, barn and band are all fun for the kiddies, the real highlights are the milking cow and the hayride.

This poor cow is brought out throughout the day for everyone to try their hand at milking! I don’t know what’s in that hay to keep the cow so sedated, but she really didn’t seem to mind tons of strangers putting their hands all over her udder. It’s quite and experience for a city gal like myself.

I recommend saving the hayride for last. It’s on the hayride that you get a true appreciation of what Cox Farms has to offer. The lines look really long, but move quickly, and the ride is completely worth the wait. Besides, while waiting you get to fret about a rogue turkey jumping from the coop onto your head.
I should have known we were in for some major entertainment when the first plywood character to greet us was Barney, the big purple dinosaur and just who I associate with fall and farms. Following Barney are Bill and Hillary Clinton clad in golf attire, with President Obama looking like Spock from Star Trek (I like to call him Sparack Obama.)

At this point, as hay starts creeping into your pants and shoes, you really start to look forward to what else is in store. You get some alien action, some jungle animals (both plastic and wood), some fairytale and cartoon characters, and maybe some of the Bible cast as well. Then a real cowboy on a horse joins the ride for a minute before heading into the “Halloween Disco” where the tractor stops for a few minutes in a small barn equipped with disco balls, strobe lights, and some funky music. Basically, words cannot do the Cox Farms hayride justice, it’s something you must experience for yourself.
As always though, the fun cannot last forever. Upon leaving Cox Farms you get to pick a pumpkin to take with you. While they had plenty of nicely shaped pumpkins, none were good for carving. But don’t worry, you can purchase the larger ones, along with some delicious fresh apple cider to drink on the car ride home.
Food tip: Unless you enjoy eating hamburgers that taste like the ones you ate at school in third grade, you may want to bring your own snacks.

As a strong supporter and employee of the labor movement, the Samuel Gompers memorial in Samuel Gompers Memorial Park (on Massachusetts Ave, between 10th and 11th Streets NW) holds a sense of inspiration for me. The statue was sculpted by Robert Ingersoll Aitken in 1933 and was dedicated by then president Franklin D. Roosevelt (read the dedication speech <a href=”http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=14525″ target=”_blank”>here</a>.)</p>
<p align=”left”><a href=”http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/history/history/gompers.cfm” target=”_blank”>Samuel Gompers</a> was the first president of the American Federation of Labor and is considered a father of the American labor movement. It was under Gomper’s leadership that the AFL secured an 8 hour workday for America’s workers and began seeking legislative protections by electing union members and supporters to political office, a practice which rooted labor’s long-standing relationship with the Democratic party.</p>
<p align=”center”><img src=”photos/gompers_close.jpg” width=”300″ height=”413″ border=”3″></p>
<p align=”left”>I’ll end with an interesting tidbit: In the 1940s, thieves reportedly discovered that the base of the monument was hollow and used it as a hideout. Another tidbit: Samuel Gompers had 12 children.

As a strong supporter and employee of the labor movement, the Samuel Gompers memorial in Samuel Gompers Memorial Park (on Massachusetts Ave, between 10th and 11th Streets NW) holds a sense of inspiration for me. The statue was sculpted by Robert Ingersoll Aitken in 1933 and was dedicated by then president Franklin D. Roosevelt (read the dedication speech.)

Samuel Gompers was the first president of the American Federation of Labor and is considered a father of the American labor movement. It was under Gomper’s leadership that the AFL secured an 8 hour workday for America’s workers and began seeking legislative protections by electing union members and supporters to political office, a practice which rooted labor’s long-standing relationship with the Democratic party.

I’ll end with an interesting tidbit: In the 1940s, thieves reportedly discovered that the base of the monument was hollow and used it as a hideout. Another tidbit: Samuel Gompers had 12 children.

“> I was walking around Logan Circle one day and stumbled across this eye-catching mural on the side of <a href=”http://www.acehardwaredc.com/logan.html” target=”_blank”>Logan Hardware</a><a href=”http://www.acehardwaredc.com/logan.html”></a> (on P ST NW, between 14th and 15th.) The bright and true shade of red really intrigued me, so I took a few photos and vowed to learn the story of this mural. </p>
<p>Turns out it’s a rather simple story. Famed artist <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepard_Fairey” target=”_blank”>Shepard Fairey</a><a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepard_Fairey”></a> (he’s the one responsible for the ubiquitous Obama “HOPE” portrait) painted the portrait overnight on October 15, 2008. The mural is based on a central piece from Fairey’s show “<a href=”http://obeygiant.com/headlines/duality-of-humanity-solo-exhibition” target=”_blank”>The Duality of Humanity</a><a href=”http://obeygiant.com/headlines/duality-of-humanity-solo-exhibition”></a>,” which he is quoted as saying represents the “human struggle between good and bad, hope and fear.”</p>
<p>I say kudos to Fairey for creating a memorable mural that succeeds in his goal to depict the polarity of the world. The image of a child soldier with gun in hand and flower in hat definitely makes one ponder the concepts of innocence, power, death and peace.

I was walking around Logan Circle one day and stumbled across this eye-catching mural on the side of Logan Hardware (on P ST NW, between 14th and 15th.) The bright and true shade of red really intrigued me, so I took a few photos and vowed to learn the story of this mural.

Turns out it’s a rather simple story. Famed artist Shepard Fairey (he’s the one responsible for the ubiquitous Obama “HOPE” portrait) painted the portrait overnight on October 15, 2008. The mural is based on a central piece from Fairey’s show The Duality of Humanity which he is quoted as saying represents the “human struggle between good and bad, hope and fear.”

I say kudos to Fairey for creating a memorable mural that succeeds in his goal to depict the polarity of the world. The image of a child soldier with gun in hand and flower in hat definitely makes one ponder the concepts of innocence, power, death and peace.