TripLearning

Battleship New Jersey In January we purchased a membership to a local museum ( Havre de Grace Decoy Museum ) because I knew we could get the NARM reciprocal benefits . Many museums are connected to various groups like NARM or ASTC and then members are able to use their membership at one museum to get into other museums. This is how our family is able to visit lots of locations affordably. To help you see the benefits of such a membership, here is where we have gone so far and how much it would have cost: Havre de Grace Decoy Museum ($12) Delaware Museum of Natural History ($36) Battleship New Jersey ($65) Penn Museum ($44) Hagley Museum ($27) Eastern State Penitentiary ($32) These visits would have cost $216 and I didn't even take the whole family on these outings. The Association Membership at the decoy museum cost $100. We still have almost 11 months left to use this membership and have already saved over $100. I also like being able to support a local ...

Do you like art museums? Are you intimidated by the idea of taking your kids to an art museum? Don't be. Art museums are for all ages and there are many art museums that are free, have free days, or pay-what-you-wish times. Many have a wide variety of art, so you may find pieces you love and pieces you detest in the same building. That's part of the fun! Pick your favorites and least favorites. Baltimore area residents:      We have 2 amazing art museums in Baltimore that are free!       The Walters Art Museum has a wonderful collection of ancient art, as well as European, Renaissance, Asian, and more. If you have kids that find ancient Egypt interesting, they will enjoy this museum. It has a variety of rooms and displays, so explore the various floors. They even have magnifying glasses for kids to use in some of the rooms to look at jewelry and smaller items. Walters Art Museum- Special Faberge exhibit on 1st floor       B...

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 ...

This is a great park along the Susquehanna River near Havre de Grace, MD. There are numerous trails to give variety to your hikes. We often park near the old mill where it's free and there are bathrooms available in the bottom of the barn at the top of the hill. The trail along the river follows an old railroad track, but there are hilly trails as well that give you an opportunity to enjoy beautiful plants and trees as well as large rock groupings. There's also the occasional wildlife to come across. We recently saw a small deer that decided to follow the trail we had just walked on. We have also parked at Steppingstone Museum, but that means that you will be hiking downhill at the beginning and uphill at the end. You can find more information at Susquehanna State Park .

The first zoo we visited with our Salisbury Zoo membership through the AZA reciprocal program was The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, MD.  We had paid $36 ($45 membership with a 20% off coupon) for a family membership at the Salisbury Zoo and saved $56 on admission costs at The Maryland Zoo.  Our one-year zoo membership had already paid for itself! We were very impressed by The Maryland Zoo.  A lot of people make trips to The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., but I enjoyed the layout of this nearby zoo and appreciated the variety of animals they had on display.  We also didn't have the traffic concerns of D.C. and parking was free. The Maryland Zoo has educational materials on their website and I printed off the Safari Exploration Sheet , attached it to a clipboard, tied a pen to the clipboard with a piece of string and each of the older kids marked the animals they found along the way.  The older kids enjoyed looking for all the animals listed on the sheet ...

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....

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 i...