FAMILY
Beat the Heat !
Below, I’ve outlined a few family-friendly ways to beat the heat this summer. These places are all great fun!
Fantasy Lake
Fantasy Lake is located on a six-acre man-made lake in Hope Mills and is surrounded by white sand beaches. In addition to lots of room to swim, the facility offers dozens of special activities including:
- Trapeze Swings
- Water Slides - both enclosed slides and slower open slides
- Pedal Boats
- Drop Slides - featuring a free fall at the end
- Jump Tower
- Porch swings in the water
- Water Volleyball
Admission is $14 for adults (11+) and $10 for ages 3-10. Fantasy Lake is open 10 am - 6 pm throughout the season. More information: www.fantasylakewaterpark.com
Smith Lake
Located one mile outside of Ft. Bragg, Smith Lake Recreation Park offers a large lifeguarded beach from 12- 7 pm Thursday through Sunday throughout the summer. The park has volleyball, a playground and floating trampolines in the children’s swimming area.
Managed by Fort Bragg MWR, Smith Lake is open to the public. Admission is $5 for the public $4 for government ID holders and $2 for children 6-16. Mountain bike trails and Paintball Adventure Sports are available on-site for an additional fee. Camping is available for active duty personnel, military retirees and Department of Defense civilians. More information: www.fortbraggmwr.com/smithlake.php
Waldo’s Beach
A third place to beat the heat is Lake Waldo’s Beach in Hope Mills. Lake Waldo’s Beach has water slides, a lazy river, pool and lake swimming, picnic areas, playgrounds, a pet trail, fishing pier, boat ramp, fishing and paddle boat rental.
Open daily Memorial Day through Labor Day. Admission is $12 for ages (11+) and $10 for children under 10. Admission is ½ price Monday through Friday. Camping is also available. http://www.lakewaldosbeachcampground.com/
Splash Pad
The under 10-set love the Splash Pad at Christina Smith park. Admission is free. The Splash Pad features water guns, sprinklers, sprayers and cannons all under colorful arches. A shaded picnic area is just outside the fence and restrooms are nearby. Hours are 3-6 Monday through Friday; 10-6 Saturday and 1-6 on Sunday. http://www.fcpr.us/aquatics.aspx
Laser Tag Around Town
Is laser tag your thing? I have tried out two facilities in the community, and while they are both fun, they are different in a few ways.
Fun Fun Fun on Camden Road in Hope Mills offers laser tag, along with an arcade, miniature golf and batting cages. In Laser Tag, each person gets a vest with a unique name (my last one was Vader), and you are competing against everyone else in the game for the high score. During this 6-7 minute game, players shoot each other and try their best not to be shot.
This neon course was big enough for adults to have fun, but not too big for the 8 and under crowd. (Believe me, all the adults were tired at the end of the game.)
After turning in your vest, each player gets a printout showing their score, number of hits on other players, number of hits they took; and the score of everyone in the game. Games are $6 per person. Players have to be 40” tall.
At LazerFX on McPherson Church Road, each “mission” lasts about 20 minutes. Participants are separated into three teams, briefed on how to use the gun and how to play the game, then set loose in 7500 sq. ft. of multi-level play area. In my experience, because of the team strategy involved and the size of the playing area, kids under 8 or so are a little lost in the game. They definitely can play and have fun, but didn’t quite ‘get’ the game.
At the end of play, teams gather around a board to see their individual score and their team score.
Last time I was there, they were in the middle of an upgrade, and according their website, it has been completed. You can also find a great description of how a game works on the site.
Games are $7.99 each, with many packages available. Children have to be 4 to play.
I’m not a military spouse, but upon moving here, I immediately knew there was something special about this community. It was evident how much neighbors looked after each other - there was a friendliness and camraderie I didn’t see other places I lived. I moved here from Long Island, where people didn’t even acknowledge each other on the street to here where in the pre-cell phone days, if you broke down on the side of the road, immediately a bunch of people pulled over to help you. Or, if there was a kid lost at the mall, people were willing and ready to help.
The longer I’ve been here, and as I’ve had kids and gotten more involved in the community, I’ve seen more of this special spirit. Here are just a few examples:
This spring, my then 10 year old played in the All County Orchestra at the Crown Expo Center. Literally, 700 5th and 6th graders from around the country were on the floor of the Crown Arena to play. (yes it was slightly chaos, AND when they all play together it doesn’t sound bad.) There are at least 5000 family members crowded around the floor. (more CHAOS). During the presentation the emcee asked everyone who is currently serving, had served in the past or was a military spouse to stand. About 1/4 of the Crowd stood. Then they thanked them for their service and asked the crowd for a round of applause. The hoots and claps went on and on and on and ON. Then the emcee asked the crowd to quiet down and the kids played God Bless America. That was a special ‘hair stand up on back of your neck’ moment. Brought me goosebumps and made me so proud to be here. This doesn’t happen everywhere.
At each of my kids’ school award ceremonies, the school principal always recognizes the famlies and the kids of deployed soldiers. It especially meaningful to me that they ask the kids to stand. And I know from some of my kids friends that it means a lot to the kids. (I live in Hope Mills about 25 minutes from Fort Bragg.)
You hear about special programs all the time. I’m a HUGE fan of the Hope Mills YMCA. My family is involved with a bunch of programs through the YMCA. They recongized that many of the members’ had a deployed spouse, and these families, generally had young children. One of the part time employees coordianted a FREE parents night out for people with a deployed spouse. The kids can be left there for four hours, for the moms or dads to have a few hours to themselves. I had two young kids with no family nearby (mine are 17 months apart) -and with my husband here it was tough. I think its great that Y staffers are volunteering to provide this service for Hope Mills families.
Another cool thing happened recently; and the Fayetteville Chamber had a big hand coordinating the effort. Local builders provided a home for the military spouse of the year. This is a very special mom with a very sick little girl that needed a better place to live so her daughter could remain healthy. The mom volunteers for all these programs to help other kids!! (I don’t know how she finds the time!) A special, special family. Instead of recappng it, i’ll let you read it here:
http://zope.fayobserver.com/article_archive?id=1252789&q=military,spouse Please read it, its a great story! Or you can watch the story here: http://www.news14.com/Default.aspx?ArID=611701
I really believe this is a special place to live; and a great place for families. Dont hesitate to contact me if I can answer any of your questions!!