TripLearning

I hate to leave people out of the loop on deals I find out about, but I also know I can't always remember to personally tell all my friends. So, I have decided to post deals on Fridays. (I have linked to most of the pages. Just click on the name to go to their website.) This Friday's deal is time-sensitive, so it takes priority. " Six Flags has 18 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada with world-class coasters, family rides for all ages, up-close animal encounters and thrilling water parks." - from their website They are currently offering VERY good deals on their season passes. They do vary by park. Six Flags America (Baltimore/DC) has one of the best deals at $61.99/person. It also includes lots of extra benefits right now, including free admission and parking to all the other Six Flags parks. There is another Six Flags in NJ and that one has a safari area that looks similar to the safari ride at Animal Kingdom in FL. I rode my first roller ...

Do you like history? How about weapons? Or water? If you like all three, then you should definitely take time to visit the Rock Island Arsenal if you are in the Quad Cities area. With 14 different points of interest, you could have a fun outing for the whole family. Due to time, attention spans and cold weather, we visited 3 of the 14 points and talked about some of the others. This is a military installation on an island between the Mississippi River and the Sylvan Slough. All adults must show picture ID to enter one of the gates. We have visited many military bases and this is required at all of them. Our first stop was the Rock Island Arsenal Museum , housed in one of the ten stone buildings that were constructed from 1867-1893 for manufacturing general ordnance material and small arms. This is the second oldest military museum in the U.S. It opened on July 4, 1905. It's open Tuesday through Saturday from 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm and it's FREE. After signing the gue...

Helping take Flat Stanley around the area for a cousin's school project. Visiting the Quad Cities (Moline and Rock Island, IL and Davenport and Bettendorf, IA) in March can feel limited. The zoo is closed, the snow has melted and it's still pretty chilly outdoors. However, if you have access to a library card you have the option to check out family passes to some of the local museums as well as the Quad City Botanical Center . The outside gardens are pretty bare in the winter, but the indoor sun garden is a wonderful tropical oasis in the northern city of Rock Island, IL. As a resident of Houston, Texas, it felt like home. The kids had fun feeding the Koi fish in the indoor ponds. They sell fish food in small containers for $0.25 at the front desk. Not only did we enjoy all the plants and water, but we also enjoyed spotting a small tortoise wandering around as well as a small frog. Outside we saw more fish in a pond and spotted a rabbit, robins and lots of morni...

We said goodbye to family and headed to Chicago, the third largest city in the United States.  Now the kids want to go to Los Angeles, the second largest city, so that they would be able to say they have been to the top five. Growing up in the Midwest, Chicago was the big city that I visited the most and traveled to on my own as well as with friends, school groups and family.  I have always loved Chicago.  It has a beautiful skyline with the Sears Tower as a prominent landmark.  It sits on the edge of Lake Michigan, one of the five Great Lakes, and has a river that runs through the city.  It has some spectacular museums, a wonderful zoo and my favorite kind of pizza.  It has something for everyone and no visit is ever the same. Since my children have not been to Chicago as often, I wanted to make sure we had a few hours to do something there before we headed toward the East Coast.  After getting some wonderful suggestions from friends of places to ...

A day full of activities in the Quad Cities! John Deere Pavilion - A free place to see lots of John Deere equipment, learn about the company and farming.  The kids were able to climb on things, play in a kid's area and enjoy simulation games.  They also offer factory tours , but you must be at least 13 years old.  John Deere's headquarters are located in Moline, IL Lots of farm/lawn equipment to see and climb inside Several simulation games to play.  This one showed how farmers can use GPS to steer their equipment, which was much better than our attempts.  We just looked like drunk farmers who shouldn't operate heavy equipment. Putnam Museum - We have visited there a few times, but hadn't been back in 3 or 4 years.  They have made some changes, but there were also several things that were worn or broken.  Now that we have visited a lot of museums this one has dropped on my list.  Our kids would have had fun in some of the areas,...

Happy Independence Day, America! We had a busy day in the Quad Cities.  A parade in East Moline, a movie in Davenport, a cookout in Moline and fireworks in Bettendorf.  The parade lasted about an hour with a few slow times in the middle.  The kids gathered up lots of candy, necklaces and even some pop ices and bouncy balls.  We packed a lunch so we could eat while we waited for the parade to start.  Spending some time in preparation beforehand can make an outing so much more enjoyable.  We made up bags for each of the 9 kids we took to the parade, so when we arrived we could just hand them out and the kids could dig in to the food.  Then we used the lunch bags to collect their candy and they were already marked with their names, so we could tell them apart afterwards. We had to wait until almost the end of the parade for the horses to come by. Later this afternoon thirteen of us went to see "Brave" at Rave Motion Pictures in Davenport. ...