Caromont Farm Snuggle Sessions

Cuddling baby animals provokes glee in children and adults alike, as well as dissolving the stresses of the world for an hour or two. Caromont Farm, in rural Esmont, Virginia, is just about the warmest and fuzziest place you can find near D.C.—both figuratively and literally.

A small artisan cheese farm run by Gail Hobbs Page since 2007, Caromont opens to the public several times a year for special dinners, culinary workshops, and best of all, "snuggle sessions"—opportunities to canoodle with the baby goats born every spring. The very smallest of these kids are about the length of a terrier, and in separate pens, there are larger "teen" goats.

Cuteness warning: baby goats in sweaters.

All of them are friendly, interactive, genuinely cuddly creatures. I have been to Caromont's Snuggle Sessions two years running, and the goats are utterly delightful. You really haven't lived until you've had a baby goat chew on your hair or sleep in your lap. During my visit this year, one of the kids in sweaters fell asleep in my arms within about 20 seconds of being picked up. It stayed there, completely zonked out, until my foot fell asleep and I had to move.

Taking a goat nap.

If you get down on all fours, the goats will climb on you as if you were a small hill. Naturally, watching goats clamber over you and chew on your clothes also provides great amusement for the other visitors in the pen. If you lay down in the grass or straw, they will nap along with you. This phenomenon made the Caromont visit a huge hit with my animal-loving boyfriend.

Visiting with the "teen" goats.

If you tire of goat cuddling, you can move on to trying samples of Caromont cheeses, which employees offer at tables under a nearby tent, as well as take your favorites home. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take the baby goats home.

Two gorgeous peacocks wander the farm as well, showing off their impressive plumage, and they are quite vocal, so you can't miss them.

Book early in the season to get tickets for a Snuggle Session, which are listed on the farm's website and its Facebook page. They are hugely popular, and sessions can sell out many weeks in advance.

Pro tips:

• Wear clothes you don't mind getting a little dirty, and be mindful that your hair, jacket edges, shoelaces, and hat brim will all be nibbled.
• Make sure you've charged your phone, because you'll want to take photos and video.
• Leave your purse in the car. There's nowhere to set it down while you're playing with goats.
• Bring baby wipes or hand sanitizer if you like, but an outdoor sink, soap, and paper towels are also provided for visitors, next to the surprisingly clean port-a-potty. They think of everything!

Afternoon Jaunt: Alexandria Black History Museum

The Alexandria Black History Museum is tucked into a residential part of Alexandria not far from both S. Patrick Street and S. Washington Street. Though small in square footage, it offers historical context, gallery and presentation space, and books and gifts to those hoping to learn more about African American history in the Old Town area, which is heavily tilted toward the history of white statesmen and merchants.

For me, the most interesting aspect of this museum is its being partially housed in the Robert H. Robinson Library, a one-room building originally constructed for Alexandria's black residents in response to a 1939 sit-in at the larger, segregated Alexandria Library. A short video at the museum shares more details on the history of this protest, led by Samuel W. Tucker, a 26-year-old lawyer. 

The former Robert H. Robinson Library is now part of the museum.

Inside the bright exhibit space are placards spanning the history of African American enslaved people, city residents, and community leaders in Alexandria. I learned that it was especially difficult for sites of import in the local black community to be preserved during an urban renewal phase of the 1960s and '70s that made it a struggle for any building or neighborhood to be saved for its historic significance alone.

The interior of the 1940 library is now an exhibit space.

The current special exhibit, "Before the Spirits are Swept Away: African American Historic Site Paintings by Sherry Z. Sanabria," features 20 of Sanabria's paintings of sites of conscience related to African American heritage. Her portraits are each of a specific place: a church, a school, a slave cabin. The emptiness and stillness of each building, along with Sanabria's use of light, invite contemplation, and the museum has placed information about each site next to its painted depiction.

Paintings from the series "Before the Spirits Are Swept Away."

Like any good museum, this one whets your appetite to learn more, and fortunately, the gift shop provides options. I bought three books, including one with further details on the historic sites in Sanabria's paintings, and took a few brochures on both guided and independent walking tours of black history in Old Town. Also, you can learn more on the museum's website through links to videos, interviews, teacher resources, and books.

The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Afternoon Jaunt: The Weems-Botts Museum

This past Sunday, I found myself with a free afternoon and took inspiration for a historic spot to visit from a book on Virginia's haunted places. Although I'm not sure whether I believe in ghosts, the mysteries of the unseen make for fun October reading, and the book referred to several historic sites in Northern Virginia to which I had never been.

One of these was the Weems-Botts Museum. Not far off I-95 sits this remnant of the historic area of the once-busy port city of Dumfries. Opened as a museum in 1975 by the Historic Dumfries Virginia nonprofit, this home was built in sections, beginning in the 18th century, and is now a small museum and research library open several days a week to visitors.

The Weems-Botts Museum.

What makes this museum unusual is its arrangement by time period. Different sections of the house are arrayed in furniture and artifacts that represent different owners and eras. I really enjoyed this approach to telling the story of the property.

Those owners include:

• Parson Weems, first biographer of George Washington (and originator of the cherry tree story), who used the building as a bookshop in the Colonial period.
• Benjamin Botts, a lawyer who defended Aaron Burr at Burr's 1807 trial for treason  and who perished in the famous Richmond Theater Fire of 1811.
• The Merchant family, who inhabited the home for 99 years and are the focus of the rumors of hauntings attached to the museum.

The table set as if for a meeting in the original 18th-century portion of the house.

My tour guide was Karleen Kovalcik, who was extremely knowledgeable about the history of Dumfries and of the house. From her, I learned that Dumfries used to rival New York and Boston in its shipping trade, before erosion and the silting of Quantico Creek diminished the port and led to Dumfries becoming the smaller town it is today. She led me through all the different rooms, many of which have objects and papers you can pick up and examine. 

A small room in the back of the house also showcases Civil War artifacts and other period items, such as a striking example of a Victorian crazy quilt.

In addition, it was interesting to tour a smaller residence. So many historic sites are mansions, and seeing a middle-class building that served as a shop, a law office and a home over the past couple of centuries was unique in my experience.

While I was there, I noticed nothing paranormal, other than the overeager security beeps while I was in the Visitors Center—and Karleen mentioned that electronics often behave oddly in the annex. Those wishing for a spooky experience of the area should take the (outdoor) ghost walk tours offered by Historic Dumfries on Saturdays in October.

The museum also holds free children's days, a holiday open house, and other special events.

Afternoon Jaunt: Frying Pan Farm Park

Disclaimer: I'm not a kid. Well, maybe a kid at heart. But actual children, their parents, and any other people who like cute things will appreciate Frying Pan Farm Park in Herdon, Virginia. In addition to preserving a 1930s family farm, the park offers learning activities, wagon rides, a carousel, a general store, and seasonal activities.

Vintage wagon and machinery in a shed looking toward other farm buildings.

I went for a Fairfax County Parks program called "Putting the Animals to Bed" that was billed as age 3 to adult. All the attendees assembled in the dusk at the beautiful vintage farm buildings, where the session leader and a handful of 4-H girls split us into two groups. We toured the paddocks near the Kidwell Farm building, visiting cows, sheep, turkeys, ducks, chickens—and best of all, piglets—as they prepared to settle down for the night.

Learning about baby animals.

The sheep were hilariously vocal as we approached with their bedtime snacks. Feeding them and the calves was very popular with the small fry (and with me and my friend). The chickens were in their roost, already sleepy, when the group leader picked one up carefully and allowed each of the guests to lightly stroke her feathers.

Sheep love snacks as much as children do.

But the piglets, who had been born not long earlier, were the highlight. They were nursing when we got to the farm, and they were still hard at work when we left. Intensely focused, they clambered over one another to find the best feeding spot and kept up a continual squealing.

I broke away from this absorbing entertainment long enough to partake of the juice and animal crackers that the children were snacking on as they practiced making different farm animal sounds.

You can see recent animal baby arrivals and upcoming expected ones on Kidwell Farm's New Arrivals page, should you wish to time your visit to see a newly delivered creature or two.

Fairfax County offers a lot of programs in their various parks, many of which are suitable for families and children. Or for anyone who likes juice boxes and piglets.