Central Virginia Summer Family Bucket List and Fun Road Trip Destinations

Summer is the perfect season for family fun in Central Virginia. Create your family summer bucket list this week. Write down favorite family activities and fun places you'd like to visit this summer.

Heat up your summer fun with lots of local events on the Lynchburg Macaroni Kid website. It's free to subscribe to the weekly newsletter, so share the page with family and friends.

Gather up the kids or grandkids and check out summer bucket list fun, Central Virginia style. You'll also find lots of summer road trip ideas, perfect for kids of all ages.

Central Virginia Staycation Bucket List

Ride bikes on the Blackwater Creek Bikeway
Food Truck Thursdays at Miller Park – Thursdays from 11-3
Miller Park Pool – open daily through mid-August
Sprayground at Riverside Park – open daily May to October
Shaved ice at Rita’s in Forest
Summer Reading at Lynchburg Public Library
Lynchburg Hillcats home game
Riverfront Park Fountain – open daily May to October
Ivy Creek Park canoe and kayak rental – summer weekends
Trout fishing at Ivy Creek’s Clemmons Lake
Tennis lessons through Lynchburg Parks & Recreation Department
Swim lessons at Miller Park Pool or the YMCA
The Nature Zone – Friday and Saturday at the Miller Center
Chess for Kids at Lynchburg Public Library – summer Saturdays
Summer movies at Holy Cross Regional Catholic School
Ice cream or frozen treats at Monkee Joe’s in Forest
Outdoor summer movies at Riverside Park
Play on the playground at your child's school
Hike Creekside Trail, off the Blackwater Creek Bikeway
WonderCamp Day Camps at Amazement Square
National Parks & Recreation Month in July
National Picnic Month in July
Kids Cove at Thomas Road Baptist Church
Bike or hike at Percival’s Island
Play at Bounce About in the River Ridge Mall
Ice cream at I Scream, You Scream
Visit Lynchburg Museum
Visit the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College
Play mini golf at Tiny Town Golf
Visit the Anne Spencer Garden
Ice cream or frozen treat at Mister Goodies
Visit Old City Cemetery and swing on the big swing
Ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery
Summer Movie Express at Regal Cinemas
Go bowling at Fort Hill Bowling Center
Visit Dairy Queen for a dipped cone
Go bowling at AMF Lynchburg Lanes
Play at Putt-Putt Fun Center
Skate at FunQuest Family Entertainment Center
Ski, snowboard or snow tube at Snowflex
Disc golf at Peaks View Park
Hike the Alpine Trail at Riverside Park
Ride bikes on the trails at Peaks View Park
Read a book
Play board games
Enjoy a family game of kickball
Teach your kids to jump rope
Explore your family's history
Back yard barbecue
Blow bubbles
Draw with sidewalk chalk
Have a spa day – paint nails, do pedicures, try new hairstyles
Bake cookies
Make a family scrapbook
Let the kids teach you their favorite video game
Host a summer block party
Plant a garden
Pop popcorn and have a movie marathon
Camp out in your backyard
Have a craft day
Play dress up with Halloween costumes
Start a summer journal

Day Trip and Road Trip Summer Fun

Visit your favorite local, state or national park
Learn about history at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford
Day trip to the Peaks of Otter
Visit the Museum of the Confederacy in Appomattox
Day trip to Crabtree Falls
Swim or boat at Holliday Lake State Park
Feed the big fish at Bridgewater Marina at Smith Mountain Lake
Visit Appomattox Court House National Park
Take a day hike in a Virginia State Park
Hit the beach at Smith Mountain Lake State Park
Day trip to Otter Creek on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway – bring a picnic lunch
Play all day at Chuck-E-Cheese in Roanoke
Day trip to Green Valley Book Fair near Harrisonburg
Drive the Skyline Drive
Visit the Childrens Garden at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens
Go see the Roanoke star on Mill Mountain
Rent paddle boats or canoes at a Virginia State Park
Visit the Children’s Museum of Richmond
Road trip to North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro
Visit Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville
Road trip to Splash Valley Water Park in Roanoke
Visit Charlottesville’s Virginia Discovery Museum
Visit Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond
Take a day hike on the Appalachian Trail
Learn and play at Danville Science Center
Visit Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke
See the trains at Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke
Road trip to Virginia Beach
Go camping at a Virginia State Park
See the sights in Washington, DC
Beach trip to Myrtle Beach
Get back to nature in Smoky Mountain National Park
Enjoy big city life in New York City
Cross-country road trip
Visit the Inner Harbor in Baltimore
Spend time with family or friends who live far away
Make a family movie about your summer

Before summer disappears, create a summer bucket list with all of your family's favorite activities and places to visit. Use your summer bucket list for ideas to enjoy on vacation days. Let each child choose one thing to do or decide together on a few activities to enjoy each week while school's out.

Fellow Bloggers Are Your Friends: Keeping Up with the World

There are lots of people I really love. Topping the list is my family. My parents, siblings, husband, kids, grandkids and all of the extended family are my favorite people in the world.

I also have lots of favorite places and things. I've loved books as long as I can remember. The written word was highly valued in our home when I was a child. We had long bookcases containing lots and lots of books for all ages, including several sets of encyclopedias -- my favorite books of all. I especially loved the "D" encyclopedia since it contained lots of photos of various breeds of dogs.

The internet is today's encyclopedia for many people, including me. I love learning new things and the internet's an easy virtual place to learn anytime I want. By the way, I love the Kansas Jayhawks and coffee too.

Cell phones make it easy to stay in touch with what's happening in the world. You can take a cell phone almost everywhere -- and people do. Some keep up with sports scores while others just text their friends or stay in touch with their Facebook friends and Twitter or Instagram followers.

By the time most news stories make it into the daily newspaper, I've already read them in what I call "the Facebook news."

When you write, you have to keep up with what's happening in the world. That's especially true for bloggers. Fellow bloggers are your friends, not your frenemies. Like many bloggers, I follow lots of other bloggers. My email inbox stays packed with newsletters and e-blasts from various sources. If I miss a big story, I can count on one of my fellow bloggers to write about it.

Some of the topics I'm currently reading about include: clutter busting (originally for an article, now for real life), Kim Kardashian West's book of selfies (because there's really nothing more 'now' than selfies), girls rescued from the Boko Haram terrorists (real life story about the horrors of war), a survival story about a journalist and photographer who were on Mount Everest when the most recent avalanche occurred (real life story of being in the wrong place at the wrong time but making it out), a book written by a former teen mom now raising a teenager (that's poetic justice -- and just sayin' -- I'd love to read the teen mom's mother's memoirs) and how freelancers are unhappy with their income (because I'm a freelancer). Check out the links if you're interested in any of these topics.

Some of the topics I'll be writing about soon include: the beach and other summer getaways...

Hiking and other cool outdoor stuff...

What to do if you encounter a black bear and other tips for hikers...

 

Where to find pretty flowers and why it matters...

My faith and how my belief in God continues to change my life...

Road trips to take and summer bucket lists to make...

Ice cream and other tasty summer treats...

Grilling and summer picnic foods...

Stuff kids like to do...

And what's happening in Lynchburg and Central Virginia -- because that's where I live.

Someone recently asked me if I take my camera everywhere I go. If you know me, you know that the answer is yes. Doesn't everyone?

I'm always up for adventure from sunrise to sunset and beyond.

I love when my adventures include my husband or the whole family, but adventures don't always work out that way. Sometimes my adventures take place on my day off during the week when everyone else is working or at school.

It's tough to choose between writing about adventures and living adventures (actually, it's not a tough choice at all. I'd choose living instead of writing about an adventure any time). I'm going to try really hard to write every week or two about my local adventures on my Central Virginia Blogger site. A special thanks to my friend Ashleigh for this photo, taken on the James River on a batteau. By the way, spending a week on the James for the Batteau Festival is on my someday bucket list. Hiking the AT is also on my bucket list.

Come on along and enjoy the adventures with me. You don't even have to pack a bag. Just follow my blogs or follow me on Twitter to see what's new in my part of the world.

Blogging Grandma Sandy, signing out for now.