Attractions

The Amana Colonies may be one of Iowa’s best kept secrets.  Founded in 1855 by the Inspirationists, the six villages positioned a mile or two apart- and no more than an hour by ox cart- would go on to become on of the longest lived and largest communal societies in America.  In 1861 the village of Homestead (known today as the place Ashton Kutcher grew up) was added to give the communities access to the railroad.

The Amana Colonies are west of Iowa City, just off Interstate 80.  For a bit of “Amana Light” stop in Little Amana, just off the interstate.  Here you will find two great German restaurants, a gift shop filled with amazing Amana wines, fresh meats, woolens, woodworks and crafts, the Wasserbahn Waterpark at the Holiday Inn and an Iowa original restaurant: Maid Rite.

But to really enjoy the community of villages plan a weekend.

You will want to begin in Amana (the other villages are Middle Amana, East Amana, West Amana, South Amana, High Amana) as the visitor’s center is located in the center of the village.  Housed in an old corn crib and refinished by the amazing artists from the Amana Furniture and Clock Shop the exterior gives no indication of the beauty inside.  Here you can rent bikes to explore the colonies, book a room at one of the many B&Bs, find out about events, get maps and information.  You won’t get out of here easily; the staff are full of information and eager to share as much information as you’re willing to receive.  Before you leave be sure to climb to the top and view the village from the cupola. Read More »

Sometimes, even when you live in the city that tourists love to flock to, you find yourself wanting to just get the heck outta town. Seeing as we live smack dab in the middle of Florida, we have plenty of places to choose from. My teenaged son has found a new love of riding roller coasters, and we had just been to Universal Islands of Adventure and rode all of those, so…

Off to Busch Gardens we went.

Roller Coasters, Animals and Fun! Oh My!

We purchased tickets that allowed us to pick two parks to visit using the “Pick Two” feature. This is actually a pretty sweet deal, because you get to use the tickets anytime you want at whichever two parks you want. Our choices were Busch Gardens and Aquatica. We plan to visit Aquatica, Sea World’s water park, later in the summer. You know, when it will be really hot and jam packed.

We’re awesome like that. And we’re Floridians, and it’s always hot.

Seriously though, one of the great things about the Anheuser-Busch parks are the intimacy of them. As you approach the parks, there are a lot of local shops and places that make you wonder if you are in the right place. Then, when you enter the parks, you get lost in the moment, and you forget you are in Tampa. You are in Africa.

See? Even Storks vacation in Florida!

And it is beautiful. Wander the park at a leisurely pace. Trust me, the kids won’t mind. Take lots of photos. Your camera will thank you. There is lots to see and do here, and the park is laid out so there are things to see and stop and do. Some of our highlights:

• Gwazi – The largest double wooden roller coaster in the Southeast. The ride is not necessarily very smooth if you have ridden metal coasters, but it is quick and fun. (Side note: if your older child falls in love with roller coasters and your younger one is wanting to be like his older brother, DO NOT make this the first roller coaster your 7 year old rides. It WILL blow up in your face. It will also keep your 7 year old from wanting to ride any roller coaster EVER AGAIN. True story.)
• Land of the Dragons – This is a three-story play area for kids to run, jump and play in. There is an area for smaller children only, but the rope bridges that span the area for the kids to run across are a huge hit. What is great about this place is so often if you have children who are not close in age, usually one child gets left out. Land of the Dragons makes it easy as a parent to sit back, relax, and watch your kids burn off that energy.
• SheiKra – We loved this not because we rode it, because we didn’t. The best part though of this ride is the watching of it. If you stand in the right spot, you can also get quite a soaking. From many places in the park you can see the tallest “hold point” of the ride, where it takes you up and then, at the very top juuuust before you drop 90 degrees down, it stops and you just dangle there, until it lets you go. My husband and son plan to ride it when we return. And we will return.
• Zambia Smokehouse – Usually we dread eating at theme parks, because we know that most of the food is fast food, and it can leave a lot to be desired. So when we smelled the delicious smells while we were passing SheiKra, we thought “Oh no, here we go again. Good smells, but bad food.” We were pleasantly surprised at how good it was! It is buffet style, with many options for sides, and a few choices from the carving table, and sandwiches. They also have a selection of beers from (wait for it..) Anheuser-Busch. The portions were filling, and the kids got a cute plastic lunchbox with their meal that came in handy since they didn’t finish all of their lunch. It made taking the leftovers incredibly easy!
• Kumba – Again, only my eldest son and my husband rode this, but they said it was awesome, and I took some amazing photos of them on the ride.
• Stanley Falls Flume – I have a seven year-old, and scary fast rides he has decided he’s not going to ride them. (that will change, trust me)  This is a really fun family ride. You are seated by twos, and you just sit back and ride the flume tubes to the bottom. You have an option to buy a photo of you as you go down the last drop, so don’t forget to smile!
• Jungala – Another kids play area with a kids-size zip line ride, a kid-friendly launcher, and caves, slides, climbing nets and water areas. Also, seating for mom and dad.
• Bumper Cars – Something so simple, and yet, the perfect way to bond as a family. Nothing says bonding like chasing your family members and bashing into them. That’s love, people. And we partook. And it may have gotten cutthroat. Or I may have put several people between us so as not to get “bumped”.
• Skyride – This is the best kept secret of Busch Gardens. Arial views of all of the park, a teaser view of their waterpark just next door, and if you take the ride from the Kumba area to the Egypt area of the park, you basically get a free ride to the exit of the park. We employed this tactic when we went to the park. It was the perfect way to end the day.

When we went, we arrived just as the park was opening, and it gave us a great head start into the day. The lines we encountered were short, no more than a 10 minute wait. We also went on a Sunday, and on a non-holiday weekend. As the day progressed, we noticed longer lines and one of the longest was for Rhino Rally, which we have ridden before. If your trip will be for the first time, it is a ride not to be missed.

So we bid adieu to Busch Gardens around 3pm and headed home. It took us under 2 hours to go from parking lot to driveway. That makes it perfect to sneak back down there for some roller coaster action…

…like, maybe tomorrow?

Wanna Ride? I know how to bump into things...

After reading Linda’s post last week about Orchard Visits in Minnesota, I was reminded about a day trip that we enjoy each fall. Visiting Watsonville, and especially Gizdich Ranch, is a family tradition we started several years ago.

Watsonville is about 15 minutes south of Santa Cruz, on Highway 1, on the coast of California. A farming town, Watsonville is known for their apples, strawberries and cut flowers, and has earned the moniker “Strawberry Capital of the World”.  Gizdich Ranch has been around since I was a child, and offers Pik-Yor-Sef as well as boxed, ready-to-go fruit. We visit once in June, during Ollalieberry season, and again in October, to bring home apples for sauce, butter and pies.

Our kids enjoy running around behind the barn, playing on top of the old red tractor, and jumping in and out of the hay bales. There is a small pumpkin patch behind the main building, with sizes to suit every need (excellent photo-op too!). After a time, we will venture inside the Pie Shop and emerge sometime later with our pie slices to eat on the picnic tables.

In the fall, the pies offered include pumpkin, several varieties of apple, and berry. Slices are served plain or ala mode, and you can also purchase whole pies to go. We love the by-the-slice plan, as the four of us can rarely agree on only one kind of pie!