Our initial plan for yesterday was to go hunting for sharks teeth. We reworked that plan on Thursday when we woke up to find it raining. After a heavy rain, we always wait 48 hours at least before venturing anywhere with a beach. Better safe than sorry! Instead we took the kids down to Dowell, MD to Annmarie Garden. I had taken the girls here two summers ago to look for fairy houses in the woods, one of the Garden’s annual events. We had a blast and I promised them we’d come back someday… Today was that someday!
Due to COVID-19, Annmarie scrapped its plans for a one day fairy festival extravaganza. Instead, they’ve created something called an Enchanted Summer Celebration, which is a summer-long, daily program of fairy fun. It is magical and my kids were beyond excited to go! Stormy even dug out the fairy wings from the dress up box for all 3 girls to wear, much to the delight of the staff at Annmarie!
Upon arrival, we parked in a wooded circular lot and lathered up with sunscreen and bug spray. Pre-covid, we would have headed into the Murray Arts Building to pay the admission fee. This time, we put masks on and headed to a tent set up near an area called the Fairy Lolly. The kind staff member manning the tent pointed us to a donation bin where we could drop our fees. They recommend you pay $5 per person. She also gave us information about the Garden, and pointed out a hand sanitizing station.
The girls made an immediate beeline into the Fairy Lolly. The Lolly is an open play space in the woods. There is a tunnel to run through, play houses, trails made of stumps to jump across, a giant tent, a stage, balance beams and more! The girls had a blast playing and we needed a crowbar to get them to leave and go explore the gardens.
Once we left the Lolly, we started following the main trail. FYI, this trail is paved and stroller friendly. There are a lot of side trails in the woods, though, that aren’t paved and would be tougher to navigate with a stroller. All three girls were happy to walk and run, even Pebble.
We’d downloaded and printed a map of the grounds in advance. There were 50 fairy houses we could search for plus gnome villages, tree pops, and of course the sculptures themselves. We also came across several QR codes throughout the woods. When we held up our phone cameras to them, the kids could watch short clips by fairies and other characters about the Garden. Activity stations were sprinkled around the Garden. The first activity station was a wand building craft outside the Lolly.
Just past the nature wand station, Stormy spotted the first of the fairy houses. Each was unique and special. Some were made by children and others by adults.
Stormy and Rainbow ran back and forth across the path hunting for fairy houses and looking for the sculptures tucked in among the woods. Rainbow was the first to spy a face watching us…
Stormy, Rainbow and Pebble spotted a walkway leading up into the woods and quickly ran up the ramp to explore. Looking down, Stormy spotted a cool sculpture that reminded her of a fork.
We came to another activity station, and at this one, kids can make their own fairy houses. Annmarie supplies the basic building materials.
When we left the construction zone, we passed the Garden’s 2 story playhouse for kiddos, closed right now. Stormy was disappointed as she remembered playing here once before. Near the playhouse was neat fairy house called “Boss Babes Make History.” What famous women can you identify?
Wandering down the path we spotted a tall sculpture that looked like stacked speakers and right nearby the girls spied a gnome village. Then we came to my kids’ favorite activity station, the Wild Rumpus Run!
The staff at Annmarie had painted the walkway with a variety of activities for kids to try. The first was to fly like a bee along a spiraling path…
Other activities along the Wild Rumpus included galloping like a unicorn, roaring like a dragon, hopping like a frog, singing the ABC song, and more!
Pebble’s favorite activity was roaring like a dragon, Rainbow loved twirling like a fairy, and Stormy enjoying walking like a gnome. It was great fun! After the Wild Rumpus, we headed back toward the parking lot for a lunch break. There was also a bathroom located just off the parking lot for people to use. No porta potties, yay! We passed numerous beautiful fairy houses and another gnome village on our way.
It was the perfect morning! Weather wasn’t too hot, and there was a little rain. The place wasn’t very busy either, and it was easy to social distance. After a picnic lunch, we checked out a large fountain, looked for a few more fairy houses, played in the Lolly, and snagged an art kit to take home.
We had an amazing day! I highly recommend Annmarie Garden to everyone! Around Christmas, they have a walk visitors can take through the woods, and there are hundreds of Christmas lights made into sculptures and works of art. It is beautiful! A staff member mentioned yesterday to keep an eye out for their Insectival, which is now going to be outside this summer, too. Please go and support this wonderful place! Happy trails!
