Posted in: Exploring Florida, Museums & Tours, Sightseeing

Finding weird museums in South Beach

We had a great sunrise on our last day there. We took the trolley (it’s free!) to the South Beach Park/Pier. It was a nice area to enjoy the views. We saw several pelicans diving into the water for fish.

After that, we were at a bit of a loss on what to do. But you know how we love weird museums? We found one. We had no idea what it would be like, but we decided to check out the WEAM (definitely not family-friendly). I’m only including some of the tamer pictures below. It was interesting, to say the least. They had several antique items that show the fascination with the human body has always been around.

Posted in: Exploring Kentucky, Exploring Ohio, Exploring Virginia, Hiking, Museums & Tours, National Park, National Parks, Parks, School, Sightseeing

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a great start to 2023!

We had some big events in 2022. We started keeping a memory jar to read at the start of the New Year, to help us keep track of our new adventures. (Click on links to read the posts.)

Posted in: Exploring Virginia, Hiking, Museums & Tours, School, Sightseeing

The International Spy Museum

I knew Dad would get a kick out of the International Spy Museum, which was relatively close to our campground. I knew Dad would get a kick out of it, so we planned a day to go see it.

Waking up at 7AM, we headed to Washington DC to check out the Spy Museum. The drive was an easy hour and a half. We found free street parking because it was Sunday. Our tickets were for noon, but Dad was eager to see it and they let us in early at 10:30. This was my second time to the museum. I contend you need at least 8 hours to see it all, likely over 2 or 3 trips because saturation sets in after a couple of hours. I probably still need one more trip to really soak it all in. They had added a few things since my last trip in 2019. (I would definitely recommend checking it out if you love history and are in the area.)

It was really neat to see the museum with Dad this time around. One, he had more patience reading the signs than the kids did (granted Nick was around 10 when we went as a family, so his tolerance was much lower then). Two, I got to see part of Dad’s work that is now on display in the museum (VOA as “white” propaganda; radio briefcase from the 1970s, a radio jammer). He has become history. It was neat to see it with him.

We became masters of disguise. I actually like this as a look for him and changed my contact picture on my phone to match.

My disguise was good enough not to be caught at the East-to-West Germany border.

We claimed success on our missions by 3PM. I had the spy skills of Technical Know-How and Strong Memory. Dad had Keen Observation and Technical Know-How.

On our way out of Washington, I saw a sign for an All You Can Eat Blue Shell Crab meal. Knowing this is one of Dad’s favorite things, I pulled off the highway and we checked it out. We ate at The Blue Ridge Seafood Restaurant.

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I only went one round with the crabs (about 10). Dad went two rounds. The Old Bay and the amount of effort were too much for me. The sides of hush puppies and fries carried the meal. ($40/person on the crab meal.) It was a fun place with a live band playing.

We had already packed up from the campground and were now off to the new cabin in Shenandoah. 

We raced sunset for the hour-and-a-half drive, but we made it to the lodge just in time. It was an older-style lodge, but still welcoming. This is a nature lover’s primitive motel; it was clean and had a tv, but WiFi seemed to only work at the Lodge. Our view from the room was majestic. We finished the day with a beer in the lodge’s tavern.

The Lodge, Our Room/Patio
Posted in: Exploring Pennsylvania, Museums & Tours, National Park, National Parks, School, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Exploring Gettysburg

Our day started bright and early around 7 AM. Before leaving the campground, we grabbed a bagel sandwich, breakfast potatoes, and two coffees at the KOA ($10). Dad donned his Beards of Gettysburg* t-shirt and we were off. 

We were early to pick up our tour guide (Mike Strong) for the Gettysburg National Military Park 3-hour tour ($125 + tip). The tour guide was outstanding. This was his 18th season as a guide. It was amazing how much he shared about this 3 day battle in such a short time. He has a gift and a passion. My biggest learning was about why they fought the way they did. They used the formations and flags because smokeless gunpowder had not been invented yet, and it was exceptionally difficult to direct action and prevent friendly fire. (Gettysburg Tour Audio Clip)

After the tour, we checked out the Visitor Center. The battleground and Visitor Center of the Park are free; however, the Film, Cyclorama and Museum do charge admission ($36 for us with a AAA discount). The film was okay. The Cyclorama is an oil painting reaching 42’ high and 377’ in circumference, depicting the end of the 3-day battle. It was rather amazing and took 12 artists a year to complete. 

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The museum was okay. The best part of the museum and Gettysburg, in general, is they maintained the actual damage from the war. Below are the rafters that were damaged by a cannonball in a barn at the battle. They were removed from the barn and relocated to the museum. You can see this type of wall damage throughout the town.

After the Visitor Center, we rushed to Auto Tour stop 12 by the Pennsylvania Memorial to see and hear a cannon being fired. It was a blast (pun intended). We were able to talk to the team after the show. 

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YouTube video link: Cannon Demonstration

On the way to our next event, we had car issues as the Subaru lost its mind and thought it was running when it wasn’t. This was pretty stressful as we tried various solutions. We eventually got the problem fixed and were able to relax and enjoy the rest of our night.

We ate dinner at the Blue and Gray Bar and Grill. We sat outside since it was a beautiful night. Live musicians were playing and the food was great. We got the Philly Cheesesteak Waffle Fries and mustard-based coleslaw. For the entree, Dad got the General Warren and I got the General Archer burger.

We capped the night off by sharing a Reese’s Pieces Sundae at Friendly’s. While we were waiting in line, a trio of guys walked by and I commented about how I liked his Confederate hat. We got to talking and found out that he was a history teacher and had had the hat for 30 years. I told him I was there visiting with my dad, who is also a history nut. He gave me a replica Civil War bullet for Dad!

Back at the cabin, we played cards before going to sleep.

Lots of action for a single day.

-Ben

*Amazon affiliate link

Posted in: Exploring Pennsylvania, Hiking, Museums & Tours, National Park, National Parks, School, Sightseeing

Adventures With Dad

For years, my Dad and I talked about taking a trip together. He got to pick the destination. He finally decided on Gettysburg. That was not what I had been anticipating, but I started looking at accommodations near the old battlegrounds.

I found a KOA nearby and booked it for a couple of days. I also wanted to see Shenandoah National Park, so I booked us there as well.

We started our 6.5-hour trip at 8:00 am. The drive was easy and we made it fun.

Checking into the KOA Gettysburg, I realized that when they say bring linens, they meant towels too. We made a quick trip to Walmart for towels and washcloths. The KOA seemed to be the older style of campground, with tighter spacing and it looked like it would be hard to bring a larger RV in. As far as KOAs go, it was middle of the road. They did have a breakfast option on-site though.

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We had booked a Deluxe Cabin with a full bathroom. They claimed it could sleep 5, which would have been extremely tight as it was a small cabin.

After settling in, we drove in to see the town. It was only about a twelve-minute drive. There were quite a few restaurant options, but I had made a list of some of the neater-looking options and we decided to eat at the Dobbin House Tavern. The restaurant had a great ambiance and I enjoyed the meal. We hit the gift shop on our way out to grab a keychain and postcard.

We walked around town, exploring a little bit before grabbing ice cream for dessert at Mr. G’s. After a round of cards, we headed to bed. I was eager to see what our Gettysburg experience would be like.

Check in next week for our continuing saga.

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Kentucky, Museums & Tours, National Park, National Parks, Parks, Sightseeing

Mammoth Cave

Ben and I had been to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky when we were both kids. It is the world’s longest cave system (currently 420 miles mapped) and we thought the kids would enjoy seeing it.

The Mammoth Cave National Park has a nice Visitor Center with bathrooms, ticket booths, a gift shop, and a book shop (basically another version of a gift shop). There is another smaller gift shop in a trailer outside. There are spots to eat lunch outside as well.

MAMMOTH CAVE TOUR

We booked tickets for the extended historic tour ($92 for 4 tickets). Book your tickets early and online! When we went, there was only 1 tour that wasn’t completely sold out (over the course of two days).

Will is our history buff, so we thought he would enjoy the history tour. We got to see the old mining equipment that had been left there for saltpeter and a house that was part of an experimental tuberculosis hospital.

The tour is listed as moderate, but we found the 2-hour tour to be pretty easy. There was some stooping and bending with a tight squeeze in Fat Man’s Misery, but it was a relatively slow walk (Ben’s watch said it was a 42-minute/mile pace). There was some uneven ground, which could be tricky in the low light if you have bad ankles/knees or balance issues. There were also some stairs. Ben’s note: At 5’10” and 260 Fat Man’s Misery (narrowest part) was more fun than scary. I found this and Tall Man’s Misery the best part of the tour as you felt like you were actually caving.

The black writing on the ceilings is old-school graffiti, made from candle smoke. There was a bathroom down in the cave, but it is a while to get to it, so I would definitely recommend going before your tour (some tours do not go by the bathroom!).

It was pretty, but I found Carlsbad Cavern a much better experience overall. I felt rushed during Mammoth; the tour guide pretty much said this wasn’t a picture-taking tour and he would not be stopping for long. Without being able to use the flash (to preserve the cave and its creatures), taking pictures can take a little bit of time. I didn’t want to hold up the group, so I did not get very many. Carlsbad had an audio self-guided tour, so we could go more at our own pace and were able to take more pictures. The monochromatic interior of Mammoth Cave and the lack of copious Stalagmites and Stalagtites left me wanting more. The main plus is that Carlsbad is very desolate and tough to get to, whereas Mammoth Cave is fairly close for many visitors and has a more built-up infrastructure around it. We did see a cave cricket and a bat in Mammoth though, whereas we didn’t see any at Carlsbad (we were a month too late for the bats). Now, to be clear, we saw pictures of different cave features that are supposed to be in Mammoth Cave on postcards and posters, so it may have just been the tour we were on that lacked a lot of cave features.

SAND CAVE HIKE

Mammoth Cave Rating: 3 stars out of 5 (Will liked it the most.)

Posted in: Exploring Ohio, Museums & Tours, National Park, School, Sightseeing

Carillon Historical Park

Will and I explored the Carillon Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio. Admission was $20 ($12/adult, $8 kids).

We ended up going on one of the hottest days so far this summer, complete with a heat warning. We paid for our admission and decided to do the outdoor area first before it got even warmer. Our first stop was the oldest house in Dayton. There were information signs throughout the downstairs (upstairs closed off), as well as a docent. The docent had some great information to tell us and was enthusiastic about the history.

There are a few other houses on the park grounds (the houses have been moved from their original locations). The one had a neat summer kitchen and we saw how they would make lots of candles at once (Would use a dipper with multiple strings. The dipper would hang on a rack for the was to set and then they would dip again. Rack held multiple dippers.)

If you follow the trail from the museum to the right, it is like a journey through Dayton’s history. After exploring the historical houses, we made it to the electrical era and manufacturing. I had no idea that Dayton, Ohio made cars!

The NCR, National Cash Register Company, was huge in Dayton. It was amazing to see the different things this company did, as well as the different types of cash registers. There were some beautiful ones on display in the museum building.

Because the area has several rivers nearby, flooding happens every few years. There are also the floods that are called 100-year floods as well, where there is a huge amount of water deposited and the flooding is extreme. Dayton’s major flood was in 1913, when the water got to 20 feet deep in some areas!

I was beat by the time we got up and down the tower due to the heat, but the views were pretty nice. The modern buildings (not historical buildings) did have air conditioning, so that did help keep us cool as we walked around the park.

We learned a lot of new things and enjoyed the park. We found a few things in the gift shop, got a pressed penny, and enjoyed the air conditioning while exploring the interior museum. There is a carousel inside the museum building/visitor center; it costs $1 to ride.

DETAILS:

  • WHERE:
  • HOURS: Monday to Saturday 9:30 am to 5:00 pm, Sunday 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
  • COSTS: $12/adult, $8 child (3-17), $10/seniors
  • PARKING: Yes 
  • BATHROOM: Yes
  • TIME RECOMMENDED: 1.5 hours+
  • COVID RESTRICTIONS: N/A
  • Details correct at time of posting, please double-check before you go.
Posted in: Exploring Ohio, Hiking, Museums & Tours, School

Fort Ancient

Will is a huge history fan, so we decided to take a trip out to see Fort Ancient.

The price is pretty reasonable at $7/adults, and $6/students. Admission is paid at the museum/visitor center (not the unmanned booth in front) and covers the grounds and the museum.

The museum had some interesting information (a lot of reading), a few mannequin types of displays, and a gift shop. (Restrooms are also located in the Museum building.) There are a set of round mounds right near the visitor center/museum.

There are a few hiking trails available on the grounds. We went along three short trails. Our first trail, Mound Trail, was not maintained that well and was not very well marked. We did not get lost, but there were a few spots along the trails that seemed like another path joined in or it wasn’t well defined. I would recommend bug spray and long socks or pants, as we came across a lot of poison ivy.

The mounds were hard to see in the woods, as nothing is cleared around them and nature has taken over (trees, grass, weeds, etc. growing out of them). The Mound Trail supposedly had 5 mounds; we did some numbered posts, but it wasn’t clear if those were the mounds. If it was, we did not see them for the forest.

We did see a fawn in the woods and they had a decent sized picnic area available. It was a decent short excursion, but if you are looking for well-defined/visible mounds, you may be disappointed. There are several long ones along the park road, but again, the forest is reclaiming them. I want to take him out to Serpent Mound, which is much more visible as a mound (trees/grass/weeds trimmed around mound).

Posted in: Exploring Illiniois, Food, Hiking, Museums & Tours, Sightseeing

Exploring Chicago: Day 3

I gave Nick three options for today: Art Institute, Lincoln Park Zoo, and Museum of Science and Industry. He chose the Museum of Science and Industry which featured The Art of the Brick ($71 total for admission).

I had eaten an omelet while Nick slept in. On our way to explore the museum, we stopped at Stan’s donuts to get Nick some breakfast and to check it off my list. The donuts were crazy, very thick and full of decadence; it was like biting into a doughy candy bar. Too much sugar for me, but Nick seemed to like it. With an iced coffee for me, the total came to $15. Nothing seems cheap these days.

A quick Uber ride later and we made it to the Museum. The museum was amazing. I had such a great time teaching and learning. There is a reason I am an engineer. The Art of the Brick was a great exhibit. I took a bunch of pictures because what this artist does is so remarkable. That being said, the $14/person adder cost was steep. One of the best parts of this exhibit was the interactive Lego build I did with Nick. It’s fun to just play with him.

The museum also had a farming exhibit. I loved getting into the tractor and combine. It is clear why these pieces of equipment are very, very expensive. From sailing, to bicycles, to U-boats, to genetics, to Lego art, to Outer Space, to Chemistry, to farming, and even the circus, this museum covered a lot of ground. We went from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM and were exhausted.

Lunch was disappointing as they are working on a new cafeteria space and only have vending.

We hit some peak Uber time on the way out of the museum, so I opted to try the Chicago bus. The native Chicagoans were very helpful in figuring out the route home. Although crowded and slow, the bus was a good experience for Nick and cut our travel cost from a $40 Uber ride to a $5 bus trip.

I had read about the Ventra card in preparation to take the L to Wrigley Field later in the night and opted to load $10 onto the new $5 card that I purchased ($15 total). This covered both trips. Based on the crowds, we wore masks on both the bus and the L.

Sarah helped us figure out that we couldn’t bring backpacks/bookbags into Wrigley Field, so we had a quick stop at the hotel to reorganize. We had bought Nick a Cubs jersey for the game that he needed to change into as well.

It was getting close to rush hour, so we decided to go early and make sure we got to the game in time. The L red line was close to the hotel and we got on with no problems. It was a fun experience to take the subway/elevated train.

We got to the stadium around 4:30 PM. The gates didn’t open until 5:00, so we grabbed some drinks from a close by 7-11, took the mandatory picture for 1st timers to Wrigley, and got in line.

It was free cowboy hat night for the first 10,000 attendees; since we were 2 hours early and likely the 20th attendee, we got a hat. It was sponsored by Jim Beam, so only ages 21+ received hats. Nick ended up wearing mine and looked great in it.

Our first stop in the stadium was for the Chicago dogs. This was not for the newbie as they gave you the basics and then had a fixings bar. If we hadn’t had one the day before and did our Chicago dog research, this would have been a disaster. As it was, it was just kind of a mess as both Nick and I went a little heavy on every possible topping, making these some sloppy dogs. Still delicious, but it required two fistfuls of napkins to manage and we still ended up having to hit the restroom to clean the mustard off Nick’s shorts. ($16 for two dogs). Side note: The bright green relish looked a little scary, but didn’t have much of a taste at all.

We found our way to our seats (2nd to the top row, along the 3rd base line). It didn’t seem like there was a bad seat in this ballpark. Our seats were under the cover/overhang, providing some nice shade and since we were up high, it also allowed for a nice cooling breeze.

After taking in the views, we decided it was too hot and not much action was happening yet. So, another trip to the food stand got Nick a baseball helmet ice cream and me a souvenir cup with Diet Pepsi.

We watched batting practice for a while and took in the sites. With my phone battery low, we tried out a phone charging station and walked the stadium. Along the way, we grabbed a soft pretzel and Nick found a pressed penny machine.

Unfortunately, the game was delayed due to inclement weather. We watched the grounds crew roll out the tarps, and collected my phone just in time to shelter in place for a Tornado warning. It was a little crazy with huge amounts of rain and 90 minutes of hanging out on the steps with our fellow Cubs fans.

The weather passed and the game restarted at 8:30 PM. Nick got Pizza and a Gatorade before returning to our seats. With the long delay, the stadium was only half full when the game restarted. We made it through about an inning before Nick was ready to go. To his credit, the first inning ended around 9 PM. We took an Uber back to the hotel, and while it seems like we shouldn’t be hungry at this point, we both were, so we stopped at Elephant & Castle to get Fish and Chips for me and a Burger for Nick before grabbing showers and crashing for the night.

Posted in: Exploring Illiniois, Food, Hiking, Museums & Tours, Sightseeing

Exploring Chicago: Day 2

(NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.)

We got up at 6:45 AM to beat the crowd at Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe. We rolled out of the hotel around 7:30. A fog hung in the air still, which gave the cityscape a different look from the day before. On the walk to breakfast, Nick suggested we stop at the Bean and get pictures. Yesterday Millenium park was crazy with a festival, but this morning it was empty. In fact, the whole city was nearly empty at this hour on a Sunday morning. It made for easy pictures.

We got immediate seating at Wildberry which was a great surprise since many reviews called out wait times over 2 hours on a Sunday. Nick got the Oreo S’more pancakes. I got the egg white veggie omelet with a side pancake (Key Lime pie). Everything was delicious. I couldn’t even finish my whole omelet.

Nick wanted to do the Architectural boat tour, so I put him to work booking us tickets. We took a short 1.25 mile walk to the boat. The end cost for a 90-minute tour was $121 ($116+$5tip).

The boat was the Ft. Dearborn, named after the fort that started Chicago. Marshal was our docent (tour guide) on the boat tour. Captain Carol drove the boat. We explored all 3 branches of the Chicago River. It was very educational and neat to learn the difference between “Modern” architecture (Modern architecture has a flat roof and no ornamentation) vs. the other styles. We did learn an interesting fact about the Chicago flag as well.

Chicago borders Lake Michigan on the East. Chicago’s name comes from the smelly wild onion plants that used to blossom on the shores. In the Native American language, it sounds somewhat like Chicago. Willis Tower was constructed with a tube construction (9 towers bundled together to fight the wind). They dubbed the area around the rivers as “From warehouse to our house.” (Conversion of river warehouses to upscale apartments and condos).

Next, since we were close, we walked to Navy Pier. It was pretty lame. But on our way out we shared our first Chicago dog from Relish ($6). It comes with jalapeño, pickle, celery salt, mustard, relish, tomato, cucumber, and of course the all-beef hotdog. We both liked it a lot. Which was strange for me because I don’t normally like mustard, relish, jalapeños, or pickles. Who knew I would like it when you shove them all together?

On our way to the Magnificent Mile, we detoured to see a beach at Lake Michigan. People had donned wet suits and were swimming in the lake. It was 60F and windy. These are some tough people.

We wandered the Magnificent Mile. We stopped at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, which was an insane 5-story Starbucks that we had to wait in line to get into. We didn’t buy anything because it was nuts inside, but they did have a tempting flight of Starbucks-themed martinis and a silk-lined blazer made from coffee bean bags for just $525. Unfortunately, they didn’t have my size.

We souvenir shopped our way back to the hotel area, picking up a Cubs hat for me and postcards.

We stopped at the Buckingham Fountain for the quintessential Chicago picture. Nick noted that the horses look like they are vomiting and are surprised about it. Strangely I agree.

We walked over 9 miles before stopping back at the hotel to rest before dinner. When I told Nick we were over 20,000 steps, he said, “No wonder my feet hurt.”

~Ben

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