Things to Do in Brandermill

For more than 50 years, Putt-Putt Fun Center has delighted visitors with a triad of entertainment: miniature golf, bumper boats, and go-karts. Its three 18-hole putt-putt courses test putting skills with challenges akin to those on regulation greens, and a 6,400-square-foot pool dubbed the Wet Zone hosts 14 electric bumper boats where customers are guaranteed to get wet. Each vessel can seat one adult and one child and comes equipped with a spray nozzle that riders can use to mist their opponents as their boats playfully bump together. Go-kart drivers speed in the Race Zone toward the finish line, and visitors prove their thumb dexterity at the arcade’s 50 video and skill games, where players can earn tickets to use toward prizes. Group and party packages ensure that visiting sports teams or birthday revelers stay nourished and entertained.

Nestled on 28 tree-lined acres of Chesterfield County, Oasis Sports Park beckons to sportspeople of all stripes with a scenic complex of family-friendly, recreational attractions. The centerpiece of the entire park, its nine-hole, par 3 course, challenges players with bent grass greens and Bermuda grass fairways and roughs. With tee-to-green distances ranging from 75–175 yards, the course features enough variety for players to dig deep into their repertoire of short-irons, mid-irons, and bedazzled parade scepters. Bunkers enshroud the five target greens at the Park’s 10,000 square-yard driving range, raising the stakes on practice shots as players swing freely from Bermuda grass hitting areas or covered, heated stalls. The Park also encompasses an 18-hole miniature golf course and a nine-station batting cage, where mechanical pitchers hurl baseballs up to 70 mph to simulate the experience of dodging a tiny meteor.

Bahamas native David M. Hay spent his youth exploring the world of underwater wrecks while on dives with his father. Laura Schild Hay became enamored with sea creatures at an early age. David fervently kept up with diving, racking up nearly 6,000 logged dives working as a dive instructor and assisting West Virginia State police with underwater criminal investigations. Laura, on the other hand, cultivated her love for biology by breathing regularly and earning a doctoral degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. She rekindled her passion for marine life in 2000 when she learned to scuba dive in northern California. Two years later she wandered into a Maryland dive shop seeking diving opportunities, where dive instructor Dave escorted her into the seas and, eventually, down the aisle.

Along with David W. Hay, the diving duo founded Atlantis Divers in 2005, where their certified team coaches beginners, fallen dolphins, and advanced ocean explorers alike. In addition to public safety training by Public Safety Diving instructors, who currently serve on police- and rescue-dive teams, Atlantis Divers educates pupils with 10 scuba classes. There, instructors abet apprentices with courses focused on managing dive emergencies and learning how to prepare wreck dive equipment.

At the age of 5, Helen Messenger decided to run away. It wasn't the lure of Hollywood stardom or the call of the big city that drew her: it was the gentle demeanor of a horse pulling a wagon full of goods for sale. After that first encounter, Messenger's passion for horses melded with her eventual career as a pediatric nurse working with children and adults with special needs. As the president and founder of Mesa Vista Therapeutics (MVT), she introduces people of all ages and abilities to the joys of horseback riding. Messenger has partnered with veterinarian Dr. Courtney Belden, equine enthusiast Caitlin Woolwine, and massage therapy and acupuncture practitioners who cater to the needs of both horses and humans.

At MVT's SAS Center—a riding facility with an outdoor arena, indoor ring, 20 stalls, and two viewing areas—instructors train people with and without conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy, and spinal-cord injuries in the basics of riding. Therapeutic lessons help to improve riders' range of motion, muscle tone, balance, and self-confidence. The MVT program has participated in Special Olympics Virginia and Therapeutic Riding Association of Virginia horse shows, and is a North American Riding for the Handicapped Association–certified center.

The team also offers advanced instruction in hunter-seat, dressage, and Western riding, as well as boarding services for horses or motorcycles with active imaginations. As a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the compassionate team relies upon the generosity of volunteers and community donors.

The streets and buildings of Richmond breathe with history. Patrick Henry’s famous words, “Give me liberty or give me death,” echo in St. John’s Church, where the statesman gave his infamous speech; the ghost of Poe wanders the streets of the Church Hill district, where he lived and wrote; and the bones of presidents James Monroe and John Tyler lie peacefully under the lush grass of the Hollywood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark. These are just a few of the locations that segway riders glide through during educational tours organized by Segway of Richmond.

The company’s most popular jaunt, the two-hour Landmark Tour, takes groups to nearly 20 historic buildings, churches, and museums, whereas other ventures focus on specific aspects of the city’s past, such as the Black History Tour or the Edgar Allan Poe Tour. In addition to learning about the men and women who shaped the culture of Richmond and practicing their preferred mode of transportation, tour-goers can explore the architecture of Victorian and Edwardian homes during a Fan District Tour or think about murals, mosaics, and sculptures during a Public Art Tour.

Valentine Richmond History Center has inspired visitors to explore Virginia's yesteryears for more than a century, employing exhibitions, tours, research, special events, and educational programs. More than 1.7 million household items, industrial artifacts, and pieces of artwork adorn permanent and changing exhibitions to expound on past lifestyles. Guests enjoy entry to the Wickham House, a National Historic Landmark peppered with artifacts from its prominent former inhabitants and having a basement level that sheds light on the lives and private spaces of slaves. The renovated Edward V. Valentine Sculpture Studio details Valentine's artistic maturation and evolution beyond macaroni portraits by displaying his original works and tools. The museum also invites budding scholars to survey the historic Court End neighborhood as they exhaustively research Richmond's 400-year-old history and determine whether the city was settled by aliens.