In American Sign Language, the sign for milk is two fists, "milking" a cow. The sign for milkshake, is one of those "milk" fists shaking up and down.
I love milkshakes....lol. Oh has anyone seen that Dairy Queen has the new brownie batter blizzard back?!
Haven't read thru all the ideas to see if anyone posted for coastal VA yet. Twice per year, Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center offer CHEAP entrance for homeschoolers. It usually falls in Sept and Feb/early March and can be found on their websites (just google it). Col W'burg offers discount all the time but the homeschool days are LOTS less. The National Park Service also has the Historic Jamestown Island (the original settlement) and the Yorktown Battlefields....you can do a waiver letter to get in free for an educational purpose (free to kids under 15 all the time). Additionally in the area, are Busch Gardens and Water Country USA....museums in the areas include: The Virginia Living Museum, The VA Air & Space Museum, The Mariner's Museum (with the USS Monitor Center), Nauticus, The VA Children's Museum, The Casemate Museum at Historic Ft. Monroe, The US Army Transportation Museum at Ft. Eustis, The VA War Museum, and a slew of other cool things....plus the Chesapeake Bay (and further down the Atlantic at VA Beach). Have traveling!
You are right. I forgot that there is an age requirement for the tour. Young children are not permitted. The age limit is 12 accompanied by an adult. They say they have a special area for kids under the age of 12, but it wouldn't be the same as seeing the factory. To the OP, if no one has suggested this, I'd recommend getting a membership to your local zoo and science museum. There is reciprocity among many zoos and museums, and it will save you a ton of money.
I doubt there's a state with more historical sites than Virginia. There is so much to see and do in Virginia. My kids love Jamestown Settlement. We go there several times a year, but then, we get in free. We haven't been to Colonial Williamsburg in a long time, and I keep telling dh that we need to do that, especially while they still have interpreters (they've gotten rid of so many in the last couple of years in order to save money, instead of getting rid of some of the too-well-paid executives :roll: ). We went to Yorktown Victory Center recently. We also went to Yorktown Visitor Center/Yorktown Battlefield a couple of months ago. Dh took the kids to Historic Jamestowne shortly before that, and that was where he was told we could get in free to all the National Historic Parks for being homeschoolers. My little kids like to do the Junior Ranger programs. We recently went to Mount Vernon. It is fabulous now. We spent all day there and still didn't get to see everything. Dh bought the President Package plus the National Treasure 2 Tour, and there was just too much to do. We didn't get to see all the museum, and we didn't get out to the gristmill and distillery. I definitely advise getting the audio tour, especially if your kids tend to just breeze by things and don't stop to read the signs. There is even a kids' version audio tour. Dh, 17yos, and I listened to the kids' version in addition to the adult's. :lol: The National Treasure 2 tour was very enjoyable. We got to go places that other visitors aren't allowed/supposed to go, and we had a great tour guide. She told us additional info about Mount Vernon, plus tidbits about the filming of NT2 and things the actors did. It was very interesting. I wish we hadn't done the sightseeing cruise. It was a waste of time. It was supposed to be narrated, but there wasn't much narration, and we heard all the info at other places on the estate. We probably could have finished seeing the museum if we had skipped that cruise. We went to Monticello last month. It has recently been revamped. There are three guided tours to go on, and they're all part of the admission. You could spend all day there and then go over to Ash Lawn-Highland, which took us less than an hour to tour. There are lots of Civil War sites in Virginia. We recently went to Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville. General Stonewall Jackson was shot at Chancellorsville and died a few days later. We were there on the day after the anniversary of his being shot, and three men who were coming back from a historical music program in Northern Virginia stopped in to pay tribute to SJ when we were there. They were in their Civil War costumes, and they played fifes and drum. They asked us for song requests, although they said they didn't know many Yankee tunes :lol: (because they misheard something that my dd said, they thought we were Northerners). Anyway, that was rather neat to be there for that -- a bonus we didn't expect. We went to Petersburg and Appomattox Court House (where Lee surrendered to Grant) a few weeks later. All four of those sites are free and all have Jr. Ranger programs, but there isn't a lot to do there (Appomattox has the most). When we were touring the main house at Appomattox, a couple of men saw a picture of George Washington on the wall and asked the docent why Confederates would have a picture of GW. 17yods was quite astonished at the question and could only shake his head at it. Well, that's a few ideas for you. There are plenty more places to visit in Virginia.
Also just outside of Williamsburg, VA is Presidents Park.. that was WAY cool... we even got a scavenger hunt paper to do while we were there.. I'm not sure if the museum offers them or not, but we got ours from a group of school kids who were there on a field trip (hubby flirted with one of the chaperones to get a copy..lol.)
Oh.. not far from us is Knoebles Grove, it's an amusement park with free entrance and parking, you buy tickets for the rides... it's a very very nice park, we go at least twice a month even if its just to walk around and eat an ice cream cone or get a pizza and watch the free magic shows or the free bands.
It's been fun to read everyones suggestions. We don't road school, but we do travel whenever we can and these are my must haves: reciprical zoo membership http://www.aza.org/ForEveryone/SpecAdmissions/index.html Science center membership http://www.astc.org/members/passlist.htm National Parks Pass http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html I'm from the northwest so a different side of the country from many of the responses. In my part of the west the Oregon Trail history is BIG, we have been to a couple visitor centers one in eastern ID one in eastern OR. http://www.oregontrailcenter.org/ http://www.oregonreservations.com/easternoregon/oregontrail.html Salt Lake City has several fun things, including a fun (little kid friendly) science center, zoo, aviary, parks and botanic gardens. The must see there is Temple Square. I'm not a morman, but I love to visit, especially at Christmas time when it is beautifully lighted. Park City, UT not far from SLC has Winter Olympic stuff that is cool. Portland, OR and Seattle, WA are my two favorite big cities for activities. Both have zoos and science centers. Portland's rose garden is amazing. The Space Needle is a must see in Seattle, but it is outragousely priced now days. The Oregon coast has amazing beaches (with really cold water), good shell collecting often, tide pools, beautiful big haystack rocks, and sunsets over the water. Our favorite factory tour is the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook, OR http://www.tillamookcheese.com/VisitorsCenter/ Another great one is the Aplets and Cotlets factory in Cashmere, WA http://www.libertyorchards.com/factory_tour WA and OR have many dams for hydroelectric power, several of the dams have visitors centers, but the best is Grand Coulee, they also have a laser light show every evening in the summer.
Get AAA books for whatever state you're visiting. Look for the "Gems" in there. It's usually dependable. Sometimes sites don't seem like they would be good when you see them from the outside, but they could be wonderful inside. That's the way Kentucky Down Under was. We rode by it twice, because we didn't see the entrance. When we finally found the entrance and went up to the building, we almost left without getting out of the van. We decided to go in since AAA rated it as a Gem. Were we sure glad we did! It was the most memorable experience of our family vacation that year. We got there about forty minutes early, because it had changed hours due to school starting up after labor day, and we didn't know it. After about ten minutes or so in the gift shop waiting for the park to open, the employee told us we could go in early, since we would probably be hanging around outside looking into cages and wouldn't bother anyone before it actually opened. So, we did that, and by the time we got to the Lorikeet cage, no other visitors were around. The employee let us in, and we got to be in there all by ourselves with hungry birds, since they hadn't yet been fed. Then we went to the kangaroo and wallaby area. We were let in there, too. The employee took us inside and gave us a personal tour. We petted the black swan and ruffled the feathers of the emu (he likes that better than just petting). We saw the wallabies but didn't get to pet them. Then we went over to the kangaroos. I couldn't believe that we actually got to pet kangaroos -- even our 6yo, who looked no more than 4yo, got to pet them. We stayed in that pen for 30 minutes, spending most of the time right up next to the kangaroos. Two of them were fighting just a few feet from us. We didn't get to pet the joey, because he was so young, but we were right next to him, and he jumped in his mom's pouch while we were standing there. The employee was telling us all about them and answering our questions, and it was obvious that he had a love for those animals. We finally had to leave, because we had to be somewhere else at a scheduled time (I think it was the cavern tour). The employee seemed disappointed that we were leaving, and we were disappointed, since we were having so much fun. By the time we left, though, some other people were just reaching the pen. There are also other animals at that zoo to pet. There was a sheep herding demonstration. Dc got to feed lambs, and dh got to flip a sheep like shearers do. Dh and dc milked a cow, but I passed on that. It was just a wonderful day! I also highly recommend the Creation Museum in Northern Kentucky. Even if you aren't a creationist, it will help you understand why creationists say there is evidence for creation. We had a great Kentucky vacation that year. We went to a Toyota plant, which had a tour. We went to Mammoth Cave and did one of the tours there. We also went to Kentucky Horse Park, a Shaker village, and Newport Aquarium. We probably did some other things, too, but I don't recall right now. With the exception of the Creation Museum (of which we're charter members), we found all those sites through the AAA book.
I had to agree with Tillamook Cheese factory! it was wonderful! and they have free samples! Also the applets and cotlets I want to go to! , the Space Needle is cool, but teh whole center there has stufff going on a lot! There is a science center there too and the old Pike place market and underground stores are a must too!
I do not know how I forgot about this but if you are in NY up by Rochester you must go to the National Museum of play (formerly the Strong Museum). The place is amazing for kids and very educational. The are the home of the Toy Hall of Fame. They have things for all age ranges too. I really need to get back over there soon.
GA ideas I am from GA!!!near ATL Stone Moutain Park, the largest granite formation in the world I think! Six flags is fun! Georgia Aquarium, world of Coke, fernbank meseum, high museum of art.Mayfield dairy is in my town of Hoschton GA MLK birthplace We are tent campers so I recommend... Andews Cove, near Helen GA (tiny campground right on creek) Desota Falls, Cleveland....near helen Cloudland state park..never been but here it is amazing Anna Ruby Falls, Amicolola Falls, Talullah Gorge (all in N. Ga mountains) Okefanokee swamp (south GA) Nantahala Forest is in NC and BEAUTIFUL! Wayah road is a must see...lots of whitewater rafting!!! The great smoky mountains (TN) are WOnderful and SMOKEMOUNT park is awesome also Caves Cove! you can camp at both these places Civil rights museum, memphis TN Hope this is helpful! ps....i went out west as a kid! Mesa verda (spelling?) nat'l park and great....yellowstone! WOW and 4-corners is a pic my mom still has up today! PS....how do you manage/afford to roadtrip all year? Not my business, but I would love to do this!!! amy hoschton GA
I didn't read all 8 pages or if anybody mentioned PA, but if you come up this way, you'll have to check out Lake Erie and Presque Isle. Presque Isle is the only state park that's free (if I remember hearing that right) and it's just beautiful this time of year and going in to summer. Here's some links! http://www.visiteriepa.com/ http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/presqueisle.aspx
Central Oregon, Bend is beautiful. There is Lava Lands, Lava River Caves, Lava Cast Forest, Tumalo Falls, Smith Rock, Cascade Lakes Highway, Mackenzie Pass, Metolius River and Fish Hatchery, Mount Bachelor, Sunriver Observatory, High Desert Museum and TONS of Hikes. If you plan on coming to the area I recommend the book Bend Overall. Many of the things just require a Forest Service Pass which is $30 for the year. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful .
I have a friend who lives in portland oregon and I've visited several times. It was beautiful. I loved the zoo. No matter where I go I always try to visit a zoo it is always so diverse and different. My fav place in portland is Moonstruck Chocolates. It is devine.
I haven´t read through everything so far, so don't know if this has already been mentioned... But hte Birds of Prey National Monument outside Boise, Idaho is really neat! YOu can visit the visitor center to learn all about the birds, then head out to the Snake River Canyon (which is spectacular) and see the birds int heir natural habitat. Also - Craters of the Moon in Idaho is really neat as well.
