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 ...

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 ...

Wednesday will now be the day when I focus on a particular state.  I will give you links to helpful sites, pictures, and some state facts.  So, whether you are able to go there right now or not, you can learn about it and dream of going someday. Alabama We visited Alabama for the first time in 2008 and stayed in Orange Beach.  I really enjoyed our stay and have fond memories of Alabama.  We traveled back through this summer and I think it is a great state to visit.   Main Cities (2000 Estimates)* Birmingham - (Blount, Jefferson including the city of St. Clair, and Shelby counties) 921,106 Mobile - (Baldwin and Mobile counties) 540,258 ...

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...

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,...

A few hours Northeast of Little Rock, AR lies the city of Memphis.   It sits on the Mississippi River and connects Tennessee to this important body of water.   On the banks of the Mississippi lies the Great Pyramid of Memphis.   So far this is the closest thing to the Great Pyramids of Giza that we have had the opportunity to see in person.   Unfortunately, it now stands empty and alone.   Chain link fence surrounds the property and this amazing edifice appears forgotten.   We have heard rumblings of a Bass Pro Shop developing the property and putting a store in the pyramid that once housed the University of Memphis basketball team as well as the Memphis Grizzlies.   We hope that in a few years we will be able to come back and go inside this unique structure sitting on the banks of the Mississippi and that it will no longer be cursed by poor plumbing.   (The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan uses the Memphis Pyramid as part of its plot.)  ...