Attractions

Trail at Pipestone National Monument, Pipestone, Minnesota

by Linda (minnemom) of Travels with Children

In Pipestone, Minnesota, there’s a unique quarry of pipestone, the stone used by Native Americans to create sacred pipes.  Visiting the Pipestone National Monument allows visitors to see the natural beauty of the area, learn about tools used by the Native Americans, and enter one of the quarry areas.

Inside the National Park Service visitor center, artisans are on hand to show how the pipes are crafted.  Another display gives a close-up view of petroglyphs that have been found in the “red rock” of the area.

Outside, a circle trail meanders through the prairie, crossing a creek, passing a waterfall, and offering a climb up on the rocks for a different view.  It’s very quiet and peaceful, and although the trail is only 3/4 mile long, it shows off a variety of plants, wildlife, and terrain.

Waterfall at Pipestone National Monument, Pipestone, Minnesota

Kids can participate in a junior ranger program.  Once they complete the scavenger hunt and workbook, they can turn it in for a junior ranger badge.  My children were very proud of their badges, and the interaction provided by the guidebook helped them to enjoy the site more.

Nestled in the southwestern Minnesota prairie, the Pipestone National Monument is important in teaching about Minnesota history and Native American culture.

Photo credits: minnemom

Monkey Frog - Houston Zoo

The Houston Zoo is a 55 acre park with over 4,500 animals.

Indian Star Tortoise - Houston Zoo

It supports species survival and conservation projects that assist in the survival of threatened wildlife and habitats.

Spectacled Bear - Houston Zoo

For the most up-to-date daily info, see the Zoo Website.

Indochinese Tiger - Houston Zoo

The Houston Zoo is closed on Christmas Day,

but open and FREE on MLK Day, Columbus Day, President’s Day,

the Friday after Thanksgiving & New Year’s Day.

It’s also a lot of fun.

Photos courtesy of cburnett from Wiki Commons

by Barbara Ann Weibel at Hole In The Donut

The store as it appeared around 1910. Photo courtesy of Mast General Store.

On any morning, stop into the Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, North Carolina, grab a 5 cent cup of coffee, sidle up to the pot bellied stove, and join the locals who gather each day to argue politics and exchange news from around the valley.

Isolated high in the Appalachians, with unreliable roads even during the best weather, residents of this town have relied on general mercantile stores for their every need since pioneer days. One of these, the Mast General Store, began as the Taylor Store in 1883. By 1917 it had been purchased by the Mast family, who owned it for anther 60 years. Although today no longer owned by the Masts, the current owners continue to operate the store as a historically accurate general store.

The Mast General Store exerior. Photo courtesy of Ken Thomas, http://www.kenthomas.us

Step through the front door and you are instantly transported to a bygone era. The walls are lined with dry goods, overalls, and every imaginable hardware implement. Hand-hewn wooden display cases rest on plank floors polished smooth by generations of footsteps, offering everything from stone ground corn meal to locally canned preserves. In another room, rows of wooden barrels overflow with old-fashioned hard candy, licorice, and sugar-coated gum drops. Yet another cubbyhole features handmade local crafts. Upstairs, customers find an extensive selection of sportswear and sporting gear.

Photo courtesy of Mast General Store

Indeed, there seems to be no end to the rooms at the Mast General Store; the facility goes on and on like a giant maze. Even the Valle Crucis Post Office is still located in the corner of the original store’s front room, complete with antique boxes and a postal window. The store not only sells wares made by local artisans, it regularly sponsors demonstrations of making bread, corn husk dolls, and herbal remedies; construction of birdhouses and gout rockers; basket weaving and hand-painting of thimbles and Christmas ornaments.

Because it was considered one of the finest remaining examples of an old country general store, in 1977 the Mast General Store was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, which seems fitting, since it is located in the countryside of North Carolina’s first and only Rural Historic District. No visit to the charming hamlet of Valle Crucis is complete without a stop at the Mast General Store, where customers can buy everything from plows to cloth and cradles to caskets. The locals will gladly tell you that, “If you can’t buy it here, you don’t need it.” Just ask any of them as you warm your hands over that pot bellied stove.

Why is an astronaut like a football player?

They both want touchdowns!!

NASA banner

The official visitors center of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (NASA) in Houston, Texas is called Space Center Houston.  You can find attractions and space artifacts here and fun for the whole family.

It’s a great chance to talk about how to pee in space, aliens and gas…all big draws for my boys.

Space Center Houston

Quick trivia: Do you know what the initials “NASA” stand for?  I’ll have the answer at the end of the post!!

Space Center Houston is home to many cool space capsules and artifacts, including Mercury 9, Gemini 5, Apollo 17, a lunar rover vehicle trainer and a Skylab trainer mock up.

Rocket at NASA

Some of the big attractions also include the Martian Matrix/Kids Play Space for kids in fifth grade and younger, as well as an IMAX theater hosting movies titled “To Be An Astronaut” and “Inside the Space Station.”

You can take a two different tram tours of NASA to the old and new Mission Control centers or space vehicle mock-up facility and Rocket Park.

NASA Tram

How did the astronaut serve dinner in outer space?

On flying saucers.

My son and his cousin enjoyed some virtual flying at Space Center Houston, but I have to admit, my son can’t land a plane. Thank goodness we’re still a few yeas away from his driver’s license.

Virtual Flying - Space Center Houston

Currently they have a Star Wars the Clone Wars Exhibit, which is a huge draw to Star Wars fans.

Frankly the Space Center is fun for kids and adults.  Space travel is exciting, dramatic and unknown.  It’s fascinating to relive and appreciate where we’ve been so far and what we’ve achieved…and where we plan to go next.

Apollo Capsule Engine - NASA

And we all have to appreciate an engine that looks like this. Space Shuttle mechanics need more props, I think.  This looks harder than calculus to me.

Trivia answer: NASA stands for National Aeronomics and Space Administration.

Underwater Adventures, Bloomington, MN

by Linda (minnemom) of Travels with Children

Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, has several indoor attractions, including miniature golf and an indoor amusement park.  Another attractions that is popular with families is Underwater Adventures Aquarium, where you can swim under the sharks.

Underwater Adventures is billed as the world’s largest underground aquarium.  Located on the lower level near the malls’ east entrance, visitors pay their admission and then meander through a Minnesota wildlife habitat area featuring fish native to Minnesota.

Underwater Adventures, Mall of America

Soon they’re on the moving walkway through the aquarium tunnel, with the aquarium above and beside them.  Fish are identified throughout the aquarium, and it’s interesting to get an underside look at sharks, stingrays, and sea turtles.

Underwater Adventures Aquarium

At the end of the aquarium tour, there’s an area where you can touch a shark if you’re brave.  There’s also a children’s area, photo opportunity, and gift shop available.

Special events like birthday parties, swimming with the sharks, and educational programs are also available.

If you’re ready for a break from shopping while at MOA, Underwater Adventures offers something different to do while at the mall.  Be sure to look for discount coupons, which often offer a free child’s admission with purchase of an adult’s.

Photo credits:  minnemom

Monks Mound - Cahokia in Illinois

Cahokia is the site of large Native American city from 650 to1400 CE in present day Collinsville, Illinois. The largest archeological site related to Mississipian culture, it’s distinctive with at least 109 man-made earthen mounds.

The inhabitants left no written records beyond symbols on pottery, shell, copper, wood, and stone.  The city’s original name is unknown.

The name “Cahokia” refers to an unrelated clan of Illiniwek people living in the area when the first French explorers arrived in the 1600s, long after Cahokia was abandoned. The living descendants of the Cahokia people associated with the Mound site are unknown, although many Native American groups are plausible.

Cahokia Mounds in Illinois

At the high point of its development, Cahokia was the largest urban center north of the great Mesoamerican cities in Mexico.  Although it was home to only about 1,000 people before ca. 1050, its population grew explosively after that date. Archaeologists estimate the city’s population at between 8,000 and 40,000 at its peak, with more people living in outlying farming villages that supplied the main urban center.

Monk’s Mound is the central focus of this settlement and the largest man-made earthen mound in North America.  Sometimes called the world’s largest pyramid, excavation on the top has revealed evidence of a large building, perhaps a temple or VIP residence.

To the west of Monk’s  Mound, Woodhenge, a circle of wooden posts used to make astronomical sightings, stands. The placement of posts marks solstices and equinoxes, like its namesake, Stonehenge.

Woodhenge at Cahokia in Illinois

Cahokia was abandoned about a century or more before the Europeans arrived in the 1500s.  Reasons for this may be due to deforestation or over-hunting,  outside invasion diseases or political collapse.

Cahokia Mounds was designated a National  Historic Landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a World Heritage Site.  The park protects 2200 acres and contains on-going archeological research.

by Barbara Ann Weibel of Hole In The Donut

For nine generations the Rosaire family has been entertaining crowds with their animal acts. Their ancestors were court jesters, acrobats, and animal trainers who captivated European audiences with their wild animal menageries. In 1960, the Rosaires came to the United States for a two-year circus stint and an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show that featured “Tony the Wonder Horse.” The act was so successful that they never left.

Every day, each of the big cats is allowed to roam free in an outdoor exercise area and pond adjacent to their enclosure

Kay Rosaire, the current matriarch of the family, acquired her first lions in 1973 and spent the next 24 years touring with most of the country’s major circuses. Soon she was rescuing rescuing exotic cats and other native wildlife from unhealthy situations and incorporating them into the act. When the circus industry began to die out, the Rosaires found themselves out of work yet still responsible for their menagerie; they took the next logical step and opened the Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary, a non-profit safe haven for big cats, bears, and other animals in need.

A large male relaxes on the floor of its enclosure

Most cats are caged separately, but these two were raised together and tolerate each other well, often sleeping against one another

A rare white tiger is taken through his paces in the big cage under the big top

Located just east of Sarasota, Florida the Sanctuary is open weekends from mid-December through April each year. During these weekly open houses the public can tour the three large indoor/outdoor complexes that house the animals prior to grabbing a seat under the “Big Top” to watch various members of the Rosaire family take the big cats through their paces.

In addition to training demonstrations with Siberian tigers, royal Bengal tigers, African lions, and rare white tigers, shows also feature trained chimpanzees, exotic birds, lemurs, and sometimes even trained bears. But the highlight of every show is undoubtedly when Kay’s son, Clayton, steps into the ring. At 19, he is the world’s youngest lion trainer and one of the few men in the world who can put his head inside the mouth of a lion.

Every show also incorporates education about the importance of habitat preservation and the need to eliminate trafficking in exotic animals in order to protect these endangered animals from extinction. Afterward, are welcome to wander through the children’s zoo, where they can pet full size ostrich and feed the baby goats. The fee for the event is $12 for adults; $10 for seniors 65 and older; and $5 for children 12 and under. The Big Cat Habitat is just one of dozens of fun activities and attractions available in Sarasota.

Photos courtesy of Barbara Ann Weibel

One wouldn’t think of Hawaii as being a place where lavender is grown and harvested. Usually one thinks of lavender as being a French product, but Ali’I Lavender Farm on the Island of Maui, is a relaxing surprise in the Upcountry of Kula.

Ali'i Kula in Maui's Upcountry

My senses were delighted when I drove up the farm road and could begin to smell the lavender in the air. It immediately relaxed me and took away any stresses that were bothering me. My eyes were pleasured at the sight that greeted me when I turned a bend. There were fields and fields of flowers that were hidden in the mountains.

I was a bit early for a walking tour, but the gift shop and small café beckoned. Culinary treated tempted my appetite and I indulged in a few moments of quite, overlooking the gardens, enjoying a lavender scone topped with lavender butter and lilikoi lavender jelly. I washed it down with lavender tea, but lavender coffee was also available. I almost didn’t want to leave my little haven in the mountains to take the tour.

Lavender Treats at Alii Kula Lavender Farm

I attached myself to a small tour group, led by Cookie, who led us around trails and walkways, introducing us to various types of lavender plants. She would make small cuttings, handing a sample of each plant to the group members. The smell was amazing. By the time we reached the end of the tour, we each had a small lavender bouquet to take with us.

Children love walking through the gardens at Alii Kula Lavender Farm

Of course, the tour ended near the gift shop, but oh, what a gift shop! The handmade lavender soaps, the edible lavender souvenirs, the home and garden items were just begging me to purchase them. There wasn’t much room in my suitcase for take home items, but fortunately the Ali’I Kula gift shop ships to the mainland.

If you find yourself on the Island of Maui, in Hawaii, I strongly recommend taking some time away from your hotel to explore the delights the island has to offer.

Photos by Shannon Hurst Lane

Jeffers Petroglyphs, Minnesota

by Linda (minnemom) of Travels with Children

On the prairies of southern Minnesota, there’s a vein of “red rock” that runs long and deep.  Not only does it hold geological significance, but historic value as well, for upon it Native Americans in old times used to depict sacred ceremonies, record events, and show what was important to them through “glyphs,” or carvings in the rock.

One area of these petroglyphs has been preserved by the Minnesota Historical Society.  The Jeffers Petroglyphs are a large area of this red rock, with many carvings intact and visible for visitors.

Jeffers Petroglyphs

From the visitor center, where guests can view a movie about the importance of these glyphs and learn more about the lifestyle of the American Indians who once lived here, a gravel path leads out to the petroglyph area.  The restored prairie with its lack of trees and abundant grasses give the visitor an idea of what the prairies were like before settlers arrived.  The day we visited was hot, nearly 100 degrees, with a strong wind, and it was evident that there was little on the prairie to provide relief from the heat or the wind.

Prairie Trail at Jeffers Petroglyphs

At first, it was hard to see the pictures in the rocks, but with the help of a park ranger and with some practice, we began to see the different carvings from the marked path where we were allowed to walk.

Jeffers Petroglyphs

The visitor center had activities for the kids, including a tipi, Native American children’s games and toys, and a special animal tracks program.

The Jeffers Petroglyphs are an intriguing look into the history of Minnesota as told by the Native Americans.

Photo credits:  minnemom

The Fort Worth Zoo is one of the most amazing zoos I’ve been to.

Kangaroo - Fort Worth Zoo

You can see the animals up close in re-created natural habitats.

Elephants - Fort Worth Zoo

The zoo is open 365 days a year.

Giraffe - Fort Worth Zoo

Admission for adults is $12, children $8, seniors $7 and children under 2 are free.

They have an amazing amount of primates.

Rhinoceros - Fort Worth Zoo

Strollers, double strollers and motorized carts are available for rental.

Wheelchairs are complementary.

Warthog - Fort Worth Zoo

You won’t sleep through your visit, I promise.

Lion - Fort Worth Zoo

There’s a play barn, a petting corral and a train, the Yellow Rose Express.

Flamingos - Fort Worth Zoo

If you’re ever in the Dallas- Forth Worth area, don’t just stand around.

Go visit the Fort Worth Zoo!