Posts

Showing posts from July, 2012

Day 26: The Blue Angels

Image
While in Pensacola we enjoyed a great morning at the Naval Air Station .  We went to the National Naval Aviation Museum .  It is FREE admission and has planes, special exhibits, simulators and a nice kid's play area.  They also have a FREE 45 minute trolley tour to see other aircraft outside.  We did not have time for the trolley ride, but we did get to go inside the new hangar bay which had Vietnam era aircraft as well as a Marine One Presidential Helicopter.  A view of one side of the main museum from the 2nd floor balcony.  There are exhibits on both floors as well as a new hangar. There are several Blue Angel planes on display in the atrium as well as on the base.  They also have planes for children and adults to sit in near the front entrance. The kid's play area Part of the WWII Home Front Exhibit on the 2nd floor.  WWII Ration Stamp Books Nixon Era Marine One- The President's Helicopter The Pensacola Lighthouse and Fort Barrancas on t

Day 23: Something Old, Something New

Image
Our oldest daughter and I wanted to see penguins.  Riverbanks Zoo & Garden in Columbia is one of the zoos in the U.S. that has penguins and we couldn't pass up an opportunity to go while we were in town.  Once again, they are part of the AZA reciprocal program , so we saved $60 and got in for FREE.  Can't beat those savings! The penguins were being fed when we entered the Birdhouse where they are housed.  It was fun to watch them swim and burst out of the water onto the land when they are done.  We also saw the Koalas again and one of them was holding a baby on their lap while they both slept.  They have a new Kangaroo Walkabout where you can walk through and there is nothing between you and the kangaroos.  There are a couple other zoos in IL and OH that also have walkabouts.  Riverbanks also has gorillas, baboons , African elephants, Komodo Dragons, giraffes and many other big and small animals. This one woke up long enough for me to snap a picture. They s

Day 22: Charlotte

We went to North Carolina to revisit some places we used to live.  It is always interesting to go back to places that were part of your past.  Our oldest was born in North Carolina and lived there until he was two, so we like to take him back and remind him of people and places he used to know.  When we lived in North Carolina we were introduced to Hibachi cooking and a wonderful thing called Shrimp sauce.  We moved to Maryland and the Hibachi restaurants near us did not use shrimp sauce, so we love to eat Hibachi when we are back in North Carolina (or other southern Japanese restaurants that have shrimp sauce). Of course, a Hibachi grill can be costly and many charge extra if you share a plate with your child, so we opted for the less expensive and faster alternative in Gastonia , NC.  Sake Express is more of a fast food type Hibachi restaurant that offers great service at much more reasonable prices.  It did not disappoint.  The food was as delicious as I remembered it from our

Day 20 & 21: Ocean Living

Image
We are not "beach people."  We may go to the beach, but we don't live at the beach.  For eight years we lived about 30 minutes from the ocean, but we only went there a couple times a year to swim and sit in the sand.  We are a fair-skinned family of redheads.  Our children love to play in the sand, but would prefer a pool over the ocean.  I love to walk on the beach or just sit by the water and read, but with four kids neither of these are easy to do right now. That being said, I really liked Folly Field Beach on Hilton Head Island.  It was convenient, not crowded, and cheap.  Now, parking is limited, so it is best to get there early to get one of the spots.  The nice thing is the parking lot is mostly shaded due to all the trees.  It costs $1/hour and the walk from the parking lot to the beach is short and easy.  They have a boardwalk area with bathrooms and outdoor showers as you head toward the beach.  Then it changes to rugs and mats that are laid out and fastened

Day 19: See Ya Later Alligator

Image
Columbia, SC is a city full of things to do.  But, we headed out of the capital city to visit Hilton Head Island .  It's about a three hour drive.  I've been to Myrtle Beach several times, but this was my first visit to Hilton Head.  We got there Thursday afternoon, so after meeting up with my sister-in-law and her family, we headed to Jarvis Creek Park . They had a nice playground, picnic areas, paved trails, a pond and plenty of shade.  There was also a dock where you could fish.    Of course, I went to see the alligators.  We saw two small alligators as well as lots of turtles and a large bird that didn't seem to care about the turtles or gators that were swimming near its perch.   Then we went to The Crazy Crab and gorged ourselves on delectable seafood.  I had the broiled seafood platter and it was SO good.  My husband and I split a bowl of the She Crab soup as well.  Having lived in Maryland for eight years, it wa

Day 18: Bowling- AMF Style

Image
It was quite evident we needed to slow down after the hectic pace we had been keeping on this trip.  We are over half-way through, so the late nights, busy days and different eating habits is beginning to affect our attitudes and bodies.  So, we got up and relaxed at my in-laws home.  The kids were excited to play some video games, checkers with grandma and try out their new scooters on some walks around the neighborhood with their grandpa. But, since I am not one for sitting around the house all day long, we decided to go bowling.  Our family of six went to Columbia Lanes, an AMF bowling alley, and played two games a piece for a total of $8.10.  Would you like to know how we went bowling for so little? AMF has a wonderful summer deal .  Children 15 years and younger can bowl two games every day for free all summer long.  You just have to register them online and then print off the weekly voucher to show them.  We signed up with the AMF closest to our home in Houston, but it is

Day 17: Heading South

Image
Image Credit We had another long day of driving.  We left the Eastern Shore of Maryland , traveled south through Virginia , across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and stopped to visit a cousin in Portsmouth.  I wish we had time to explore Portsmouth further.  I saw lots of neat shops and a sign for a children's museum that was hard to ignore.  From Portsmouth we traveled to Emporia, which was our normal place to stop for food, restrooms and fuel.  Our only regret was buying fuel there because just a couple miles south on I-95 there was fuel for 30 cents cheaper.  When we entered North Carolina on I-95 South I stopped at the state Welcome Center.  These are great places to get out and let the kids stretch their legs.  Our kids like to pick out a brochure or two as a free souvenir and most of them have something for kids.  Don't be afraid to ask.  I went into this one alone, so I asked if they had coloring books for the kids.  They provided me with four and would have

Day 15 & 16: Salisbury, MD

Image
We enjoyed a couple days in Salisbury/Fruitland, MD where we lived for eight years.  It was nice to visit and already see changes in the last year.  Since we had only a short amount of time, we spent most of it seeing family and friends in the area.  My parents and children did take a walk through the city park and FREE Salisbury Zoo.  Our 7 1/2 year old daughter agreed to be the photographer in my absence.  Flamingos get their beautiful pink color from eating shellfish. One of the Llamas resting on a hot day. Jaguars are one of my personal favorites and my daughter got both of them in one photo even though they were pacing the enclosure. There are many geese that live in the zoo and park in Salisbury. The Salisbury Zoo is a small zoo, but that makes it very manageable.  When we lived nearby we would visit on an almost weekly basis during much of the year.  We were able to learn the names of almost all the animals and because it is free they do need support from m

Day 14: Delayed in D.C.

Image
We have made many trips to Washington, D.C.   When we lived two and a half hours from the New Carrollton Metro Station it was a nice day trip option.  We have been to the National Zoo , the Smithsonian museums, the monuments on the Mall , Jefferson Memorial , the Holocaust Museum , Arlington National Cemetery , the National Archives , the National Gallery of Art and Ford’s Theater .  During a father-son weekend, my husband and oldest son visited the Spy Museum (admission costs), saw the Pentagon and FBI building from the outside (found out you can’t take pictures of the Pentagon) and saw the Iwo Jima Memorial at Arlington. The great thing about D.C. is that so much of it is FREE.  We normally ride the Metro into D.C. and walk, so we actually used it as a practice before taking all four kids to New York City a few years ago.  It is normally less crowded than the New York Subway , so it was a good way to test the kids to make sure they could follow our directions, stay clos

Day 13: My Husband's Home State

Image
As we walked around the Virginia Welcome Center off I-64, I began to realize that we have seen a lot of Virginia over the past 17 years.  College trips, day trips, family vacations and driving through to other destinations has meant we have many memories connected to Virginia.  Of course, it is also where my husband was born and lived for the first 8 years of his life, so it holds a special place for us.  I am married to a Virginian and I am happy to claim that.  There are many famous men who came from and/or lived in Virginia.  Meriwether Lewis, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, George Mason (one of my husband's ancestors), eight Presidents, Edgar Allen Poe and John Carter.  Ok, so John Carter is one of Edgar Rice Burroughs fictional characters in his Mars series , but he chose to make him a Virginian. When we visited VMI, Virginia Military Institute , today there was a quote in the museum from George S. Patton that after he transferred from VMI to West Point he said West Point