Thursday Thesicle

Grandma knows how to pick strawberries the best.

Prairie Dog Town, Kansas

Although driving through Kansas is not on my list of the worst days of my life, you have to consider that I’ve had some major, painful accidents, bone graft and tumor-removal surgeries, seizures, and a pretty horrible experience involving undiagnosed appendicitis and an internal ultrasound. If I hadn’t had those, however, driving through Kansas in 108 degrees with twin three year-olds would probably be on that list. For a pictorial version of that trip, see this entry.

We had to put in a lot of miles that day and there is nothing to see in Kansas. Seriously. The wind turbines are cool for two kids obsessed with ceiling fans, but that can only last so long. When researching places to see with kids for this trip, whenever I typed in Kansas, the only addresses that came up were Kansas City (Missouri), a few in Lawrence (just outside KC), and Topeka (not on our route) attractions. Many of those were local playgrounds or pools. I love how our GPS just came up completely empty when we typed in area attractions.

So, when we saw signs boasting things like wild Russian boars and rattlesnakes and 6-legged cows and the world’s largest prairie dog, we actually considered making Prairie Dog Town in Hays, Kansas a stop-over. We hadn’t decided whether or not we’d go, but a few minutes before the exit a boy did something in his diaper that necessitated a stop at the nearest opportunity, and after the boys ran around the truck stop pissing off the greasy truckers and entertaining the bored attendants by clanging all the inspirational wind chimes (why do they put them down low if they don’t want them all to be chiming at once?) and misplacing all the car accessories (what’s in God’s good name is a tire thumper and why does anyone need one?), we decided to go ahead and go next door to the parched Prairie Dog Town. First we coated the boys and ourselves in sunblock and hats and headed into the horrible dump of a building—at least it looked horrible while looking through the swirling heat waves in front of my eyes.

We tried to play it up for the boys and not be too sad for the animals, but the truth is, that place is a parched wasteland with no shade and no animals should have to live that way. The owners have them in small pens and the water was all gone. There was some sort of big pig trying to cool itself in mud, but the mud was cracked and dry. The only animals that showed any sort of life was a baby pig and a friendly miniature donkey. We couldn’t see the extra legs on the 5 and 6 legged cows—they must have been tiny limbs. We didn’t care though. Everything was cooking in the sun, including the penned doves and pigeons. The world’s largest prairie dog was a plastic statue by a pen with a buffalo in it. There were no workers out tending to the animals. 

We lasted maybe ten minutes before we were back inside the store. I read something afterward online that the way the owners have avoided trouble with the law is that the animals they keep are ones no one would want anyway, so they would be euthanized if Prairie Dog Town did not take them in. It seems to me that a lot of the animals would be better off dead than living there. We paid $35 to walk through all this and now I’m sad all over again for writing about it. 

Moral of the review: Don’t go there. And try to avoid Kansas in general. Though I'd love to hear of any cool places that might exist, because I really want something awesome to be in Kansas.

0 SHOUTS

Read my other road trip reviews here.

Fritz's Railroad Restaurant: Kansas City

The last time I drove through Kansas City I remember it was overcast and it seemed like everything I looked at was an old grey factory. But while planning this year’s trip, I read about a train restaurant—Fritz’sRailroad Restaurant—where model trains bring the customers’ food to their tables. I’m not sure how anyone with kids could pass up the opportunity to visit such a place. 

We visited the downtown location, but there are actually three locations in and around Kansas City. The one we went to was at the Crown Center—a mall of sorts located in downtown Kansas City. This time on our visit it was a nice sunny evening and the city was quite pleasant. There was a festival by the Westin Crown Center (Which incidentally rhymes with Reston Town Center, where we live, which the boys thought was hilarious.) and the restaurant inside was not crowded. 

The way it works is: you order drinks from a server, order your food via an old school telephone located in your booth, and the train comes out with a whistle, flies around a track by the ceiling, and drops a tray of food off at your table. The place is ingenious. What a great idea! There are other model trains going around the perimeter of the restaurant, and decorative train sets as well. 

The food is nothing to write home about—pretty standard burgers and fries joint—but the presentation is such an anomaly that you barely notice the taste of the food. Our servers were not great or overly attentive, but they got the job done and we left happy, with our paper conductor hats in tow and our bellies satisfied for the moment. 

If you find yourself in the area, you should check it out—it’s worth it for the fun kids’ experience. 

4 SHOUTS

The conductors wait for their food.

Here comes some!

The Amtrak train runs along what looks like windows by the tables.

Here comes our food! Brought to us by ingenuity and hydraulics

Ketchup knows no bounds.

Interior train set

Photo op 

To read my other road trip reviews, go here.

St. Louis Shouts

Last time Brian and I did a cross-country road trip, which was before we had responsibilities or children, I noticed St. Louis. I had never thought much of anything about the city, but as we passed it in a blur four years ago I remember thinking it looked like a cool place.  I noticed the new baseball park right off the interstate in downtown and the sun was setting over the city, which, together with the shining Gateway Arch, made the city look sparkling clean and welcoming. So I planned to spend a good day in St. Louis on our road trip this year.

The day we drove into the city the boys colored a picture of the Gateway Arch and the cityscape (I found this coloring sheet online), so they sort of had an idea of what the arch looks like. We got into the city a little before sunset, and the boys immediately recognized it.

This is talent.

Drury Inn and Suites, Forest Park What really set the tone for our day in St. Louis was the hotel we stayed at the night before. Up until then we had been staying at friends’ houses, which is hard to top as far as a friendly overnight experience. Drury Inn and Suites are quite prevalent in the Midwest, as well as in some southern and western states. We stayed at the Forest Park location in St. Louis, which is near the zoo and some of the museums. At that point I had a bunch of writing to catch up on and we stayed in a suite, which allowed me to stay up (way too late) to work on it while the boys slept in the other room. I’m no hotel connoisseur but the people at Drury clearly know their business because I’m not sure I’ve felt more welcomed and clean at a hotel in the past. Everyone was nice and professional from the front desk to the room service personnel. We were a little too late to take advantage of their 5:30 Kickback—which is a daily event with free hot food and cold drinks. 

The boys thought the hotel was heaven after the car ride.

Brian had some unanticipated paperwork he was working on in the hotel computer room, but their scanner wasn’t working. A manager came and helped him out by taking the document back to the office, scanning it, and emailing it directly to him. This was hugely helpful since it was a time-sensitive document.

Breakfast in the morning was no plastic tray of stale supermarket donuts and watery coffee, but a huge spread of hot food as well as easy-to-grab food like yogurt and fruit. There were hotel staff constantly refilling the breakfast foods and the boys got to help make their own waffles. They didn’t want any help eating them, however. They wolfed them right down. We were full of a yummy breakfast to start our day of exploring St. Louis. Of course we brought Scratchy Cat and Smoochy Bear along for the ride.

5 SHOUTS for DRURY INN!

Core of Discovery Riverboat Cruise The first thing we did was to take a cruise on a Mississippi riverboat. Our boat was the Tom Sawyer and our cruise took us first up the river and then down. The tours start on the riverfront down just below the Gateway Arch. There are a couple different riverboats and they take a few cruises each day. The boat dock also has a restaurant and gift shop with restrooms. The trip takes an hour and is kid-friendly. The captain meets all the children and warns parents to cover the kids’ ears before he blows the whistle. The boys got to steer the wheel, and Scratchy and Smoochy even took over the controls at one point. Some photographers take pictures of your family before you get on the boat and you have to option of buying them when you get off. I'm not a fan of that type of thing, but there's no obligation.

The top of the boat is where you can see the river the best from, but it did get pretty hot. There are also seats down below in the cabin, and refreshments. Our little sunblocked boys didn’t want to go anywhere else though. The best views were clearly on the top with the sun and the breeze. As we took the tour the captain explained the various sites along the river and the history of riverboats and the navigation rules they follow. I kept looking for Huckleberry Finn’s cave, but I didn’t see it. I guess that was the idea, though. Top secret. It's a fun outing. Just don't do it in the rain.

Our boat

Happy boater

Riverboat Captain Clark

Scratchy and Smoochy take the wheel!

5 SHOUTS for Gateway Arch Riverboats

The Arch! We heard interesting facts about the towering Gateway Arch on our riverboat cruise—things like how many daredevils have tried to land on and climb up the arch—as well as the history and building of the monument. It is 630 feet high, which makes it the tallest monument in the US. After the riverboat cruise we climbed the many steps up to the arch. It is gigantic! We live by the Washington Monument, which is tall and seems huge, but the arch is even more dizzying. You can take trips to the top of the arch via the Core of Discovery's underground visitor’s center located right below the arch. I heard the view is amazing, but I think our guys are a little young to brave the shaky elevator ride to the top and down. Let me be a little more forthcoming-- they might be fine, but I would be a mess. So we skipped that part this time. Underneath is a big field that the boys loved running through.There are actually vintage baseball games played under the arch in the summer, but there wasn't one the day we were there. It was a beautiful day on the Mississippi. Scratchy and Smoochy loved the arch too.

Westward ho!

Touching the arch

Scratchy and Smoochy liked the arch too!

In the arches

CityGarden Beyond the arch and the courthouse (which looks like the National Capitol Building and the White House combined) is a bustling downtown. I had read about downtown fountains for kids, so we headed there on foot to check them out. There are several ornamental fountains behind the courthouse and then four or five blocks beyond is CityGarden, an area with sculptures and fountains to play in. It was built just three years ago, and is a little kid’s summer haven. It was a hot day and St. Louis kids were out frolicking in the water. If only Cal and Clark didn’t have an irrational fear of water…we could have had so much fun. They loved watching the other kids play in it and Brian and I cooled off in it a little, but it wasn’t enticing enough for them to leave their fears behind and embrace the water. Boo.

The boys loved this pink water.

A visitor's center is next to this fountain.

Swimming time at CityGarden!

The Reluctant Splasher

Normal kids in the summer

On the way back to the car we bought some hot dogs from a street vendor and ate them by the arch before we hopped in the car to drive on down the road toward Idaho.

If we had had more time to spend in St. Louis we would have toured Busch Stadium, home of the world champion St. Louis Cardinals’ baseball team and gone to a Cardinals’ game. (They were out of town while we were there.) We noticed that baseball parking is only $5 just a couple blocks from the stadium, which amazed us since you can pay $40 to park by Nationals Park in DC. We would also love to visit the zoo and some of the museums. 

This city is located in a perfect place for us-- I think we'll probably be able to go through the city on most of our road trips out to Idaho, and each time do something different! What a gem of a city. Maybe next time the boys won't be afraid of water.

To read my other road trip reviews, go here.

We Have Arrived!

We got to my parents' house last night after an exciting day of driving through Montana. The boys pulled another no-nap day, but instead they did a good job of entertaining themselves in the back with the help of Sid the Science Kid and Elmo. At one point they complained to us about making them go places and do things. Grr. When we got into Idaho they spent about 45 minutes talking about what Roxy (Mom and Dad's dog) would do when she first saw them. Then they kept looking for Gramma and Papa's cars. (Every car was theirs.)

I have a whole bunch of reviews and posts to write about all the other awesome things we saw and did and places we stayed, but wanted to put up some pictures from our Idaho day. (High of 72 degrees, sorry Northern Virginia folks) 

Feeding Winnie with Gramma

On a walk with Roxy

This is happiness-- little boys racing a dog on a gravel road by a lake.

Swim, Roxy!

Astronaut Clark tests out the life jacket.

They named Aunt Bean's scarecrow "Advertisement."

Friday Thesicle

Since we've been on the road the past ten days, I've forgotten about my Thursday Thesicles. Here is a Friday Thesicle from a cozy log cabin in West Yellowstone.

We're almost there!

We Drove Through a Wildfire

Well, not exactly through a wildfire, but it looked like it. Then we drove through even more of Wyoming and it got awesome. Tomorrow we plan to climb the Grand Tetons. And by climb, I mean Cal and Clark will crawl around on some boulders near the base of the Grand Tetons.  This is a beautiful place. And it was great to be greeted by family with wine at the end of that drive. Ah.

Somewhere, Wyoming

Somewhere Else, Wyoming

Clark found a baseball field in Debois, Wyoming!

And someone left a catcher's mask!

What the Grand Tetons?!

Oh no! It's a gruffalo!

Road Report: Colorado

We had a couple great days in Denver after our marathon through Kansas. We stayed with my friend Erin and got to spend time with other friends we hadn't seen for awhile. We also visited the Denver Children's Museum, Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum, Hammond's Candy Factory, and went to a Rockies game. The Rockies played the Nationals! It was weird to be the only red shirts in the stadium, but the fans were nice to us anyway. The Nats lost, so that was dumb. Maybe as a first place team they were just trying to be nice to the poor Rockies. Tonight the Nats beat up on them with 12 runs. I wish we'd seen that game instead.

Today we spent a leisure morning with Erin (except for the part where I went running a mile high) and then played at Rocky Mountain National Park, which is north of Denver. It was awesome! I'll do more complete write-ups on the visits, but I wanted to check in since I hadn't for a couple days.

We are here for the night in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It smells like a giant cow, but not in our hotel room, so that's good. I feel like I should also mention that there is a giant cowboy boot outside. I believe it is the hotel sign.

Tomorrow we have another long drive-- only 433 miles though. Should be cake after Kansas. Here are a couple pictures until I can write more complete stories. Night, night.

Clark engineers a giant bubble at the Children's Museum

Smoochy and Scratchy take in the romantic view
at the Rockies game.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Parents, don't try this at home.

This boy loves to climb.

Louisville Slugger Factory, Louisville, Kentucky

While planning this road trip, I came across a helpful index of US factory tours. One of the ones I found listed as a favorite was the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory in Louisville, Kentucky. I dismissed the idea because I knew Kentucky was certainly not on the way to Idaho. 

When Brian asked why we couldn’t take a detour to see it, I looked on a map and saw that it was only a two hour drive south of Indianapolis, which was our second night’s destination. I figured in the mileage and it wouldn’t be too bad of a setback, especially for how cool it sounded and for how into baseball the boys (and we) are. So we told the boys about it and it quickly became the destination that, other than Gramma and Papa’s, they talked about the most before we left.  

So, after our night at Margo’s, a delicious Margo’s-mom (This is what the boys call her, not what I call her) breakfast, and a morning jog with Margo, we headed down south from Indianapolis and into Louisville. We easily saw the gigantic bat on the side of the old building downtown from blocks away.

Ready to hit the factory

While we waited for the tour, we visited a room that seems to serve as a type of baseball park graveyard. There are pictures of dozens of old ballparks that have since been laid to rest—parks like Candlestick Park, the Metrodome(Go Twinks!), and the Kingdome(Go M’s!) are framed and mounted on the walls. There are also bats signed by entire World Champion teams. I was happy and a little nostalgic to see the 1991 Twins bat. As an 11 year-old at the time, I was quite obsessed with the World Series that year, thanks to my baseball-loving, Minnesota Dad.

The tour itself is about half an hour and takes you right through the working factory. Our tour guide, Valerie, was an excellent leader and dedicated baseball-lover. You get to see the life of a bat, from tree to finished product. There are helpful videos that supplement the tour guide’s speaking, and even though the factory is loud, there is a microphone for her at each stop, and the TVs are turned up plenty loud enough to hear. We got to see the shelves used for the bats that Major League players order. (Major League players go through around 80-100 bats per season!) Photography inside the actual factory is prohibited, so I have no pictures from inside.

Outside there is a museum with a lot to see and do and touch. You can see what a 90 mile-an-hour pitch looks like, watch videos about baseball players and history, and there are a ton of bats to touch and stories and facts to read. (Of course I didn’t tear up watching the one about Ken Griffey Jr.!) We got to touch bats signed by Mickey Mantle and Johnny Bench (while an attendant also held it, and while we wore batting gloves). The lifelike statues were a little creepy, but mostly cool. 

Scratchy and Smoochy hanging out in the dugout

Clark uses a 32oz bat like a hockey stick

Mickey Mantle's bat, handle with batting gloves!

Loved the tour!

The Great Bambino and the little bambinos

Smoochy, Scratchy, and Derek 

Ken Griffey, Jr.!

Watching 90 mile-an-hour pitches 

Ceiling decor

Cal Jeter

Bat trees!

We were surprised to see a couple placards about Bryce Harper being hit by Cole Hamel’s pitch a couple months ago. Guests can vote about whether or not hitting Harper was acceptable behavior and whether or not his suspension was warranted. (Um, no it was not acceptable, yes his suspension was warranted, and yes it was flippin’ awesome when Harper stole home after being beaned on purpose.)

After the main museum displays we found the kids’ area where the boys decorated bat nubs (pieces cut off bats before they’re finished) and hit off a tee for probably close to an hour. We caught up with Tour Guide Valerie, who went and found a bat with a Nationals’ W on it for the boys, and we spent time talking about her plans and dreams for expanding the kids’ area of the museum. She also wants to start a baseball day camp program for little kids. If you’re in the area, keep that in mind for next season.

So. If you’re considering driving through or somewhat near Louisville and your kids like baseball, you must see this place. It was worth the detour.

5 SHOUTS!

Decorating bat nubs

Swung on and belted!!

National League East...woot woot! Nats!

To read my other road trip reviews, go here.