Doing the Smithsonians

We were only able to hit a few Smithsonian museums on our visit, and we left a lot unseen at each of them, unfortunately. We hit a couple major ones, and a few less known locations. Each of the following locations had free admission.*

         -Botanical Gardens – So this is not technically part of the Smithsonians I don’t think, but it’s right on the mall, between the Capitol and the American Indian Museum (someday I will get to this one). This isn’t a place I can spend a ton of time, but there are some really cool areas, including a children’s garden where kids can dig and water plants, a balcony walk through a rain forest area, and a medicinal plants (all joking aside) section that are really interesting. My favorite, however, would be the orchid section, which is beautiful. The kids enjoyed the watering and digging, but 45 minutes here was plenty for them.

         -US History – this was actually the first place we visited. Our first stop was walking through the wars of US history, starting with the American Revolution. We quickly realized, after taking time to stop at each exhibit and explain it to the kids that we needed to choose between depth and breadth. In the classroom, I would go with depth. On our whirlwind tour of DC, we chose breadth. After about an hour in the “wars/conflicts” section, we knocked out First Ladies exhibit, gun boat, American Presidency, coins, and a new farm to table exhibit in about another hour. After convincing the kids that we didn’t have to spend their shopping money at our first stop, we took off to the Natural History museum.

         -Natural History – I had never been here until about a year ago, and it now easily ranks among my favorite all-time museums. We made it to the second museum before the kids opted to spend their money on stuffed tigers. The animal exhibits were among their favorite, although the dinosaurs and gemstones ranked pretty high up, as well. They weren’t as excited as I was about the Egyptian remains or the human genetics areas. We took the obligatory “shark mouth” photos and made sure we saw the penguins before leaving this one. The giant elephant that generally sits in the rotunda was under construction, so that was a little disappointing. We were able to show them from the second floor balcony, but it loses a little something when it’s behind a large barricade.

         -Air and Space Annex – Last year was also the first time I’d visited the Air & Space museum, and I liked it so much I immediately added it to our list with the kids. That was until Mark suggested the Air & Space Annex at Dulles. Here’s where the * from above comes in. The museum is free, but parking is $15. It’s totally worth $15, but it does need to be noted, especially when you think you’re doing the “free” Smithsonian stuff like the zoo. While the museum on the mall is cool, the Annex is home to the Discovery space shuttle (yeah, like the real one that was in *SPACE*), the Enola Gay (yeah, like the real one that dropped atomic bombs), several Nazi fighter planes, an air and space restoration bay where they are working on old planes, and numerous other bada** planes. They also had several interactive exhibits for the kids to check out, along with flight simulators you could ride in. J could have spent several more hours there, but we had tickets to go see the Minions movie.

#KeehnsDoDC - Kids on the Mall

One of the saddest days of my teenage life was on my first trip to DC when they told us we were going to the National Mall and quickly realizing that it had nothing to do with shopping. That disappointment aside, we did a “mall” day anyway. When you hit DC, there are a few things that are on the “must do” list, and even my 7 and 9 year old children know it. First on A’s list, was to see the monuments. His requests included Lincoln and Washington, so we did the entire loop. My favorite is WWII, so we made sure to spend some extra time there.

Before we left for DC I downloaded the NationalParks Service National Mall app, which helped me answer all those “fun” questions that any 7 year old is sure to ask. “What year was this built?” “How much did this cost?” “Why did they do it this way?” That, combined with bits and pieces of tour knowledge I’ve picked up on my numerous trips to our nation’s capital, and several Forrest Gump references, I was able to satisfy the curiosity of my little boy. R was more interested in the stories than the facts and numbers, and the app included a few of those as well. It’s not anything fancy, but I definitely recommend it as a quick reference guide. In fact, I whipped it out several times a couple weeks later when I was touring the same area with some of my ASCD Emerging Leader friends. So it’s not just info for kids, adults find it interesting, too! J did not appreciate my tour guide voice impression though. Oh well. Fun hater. He probably doesn’t like glitter or unicorns, either.

On our monument tour we made sure to include the White House, since that was at the top of R’s list. I didn’t plan far enough in advance to get a White House tour (approximately one month out), but the kids seemed happy enough with taking pictures outside, especially when we took them to the White House Gifts store across the street (across from Dept. of Treasury) and they got to take pictures in the “oval office” and give a pretend press release. I’d say for elementary aged kids that’s probably cooler than the actual White House because you actually get to touch stuff. Their biggest disappointment at the White House was that you aren’t allowed to pet the Secret Service dogs.

Our National Mall day also included a visit to the Capitol. Fortunately, this one you don’t have to book forever in advance. This is one of those things that’s cool to say you did, but the kids would probably not ask to go back again. A few helpful tips:

1. One of the highlights of the entire tour for my kids was getting to wear a headset to hear the tour guide, so decide if that is worth your time.
2. The dome is under construction for like another year, so be sure to check the website to see what is actually available to tour at any given time.
3. If you sign up online to reserve your spot, you do a little less waiting in line. While they do offer same-day walk-ins, scheduling it in advance is really helpful in terms of planning the rest of your day.
4. Final tip – the theater where you watch the short introductory film is hypothermia cold. Be prepared. If you visit in July like we did you probably won’t want to wear a sweater, since DC in July is what I imagine the heat is like in the outer circles of Dante’s Inferno, but you may want to bring someone to snuggle with. In an appropriate way, of course. It is our nation’s capitol after all.

If you’re familiar with the locations that I just mentioned at all, you’ll quickly realize that we put in about 3 days worth of FitBit steps in just a few hours. If you’re traveling with little ones, especially in the summer, it’s worth the few extra bucks to jump on the metro when going back and forth between long distances.

I Miss Mayberry...

I miss Mayberry, sittin' on the porch drinking ice cold cherry coke, where everything is black and white... - Rascal Flatts

Nothing on our Indiana trip seemed to go as planned, especially when it came to timing and schedules, but one thing we did make time for was a visit to the Mayberry Café in Danville, IN. Fully decorated in 1960s themed Andy Griffith style, the Mayberry Café is a split level restaurant that plays reruns of the Andy Griffith show all day long. It’s kind of epic. We were seated upstairs, and since it wasn’t super busy on a Tuesday evening, we had a lot of space and I wasn’t quite so worried about the kids being loud or disturbing people.

The menu reflected a wide variety of “Aunt Bea” style down-home cooking, pasta, and sandwiches. We started our order with some fried pickles, which is a “must order” for me on any menu in my attempt to find someone who makes them as well as my dad. Our waitress also brought us a basket of bread and some cinnamon butter that was amazing!

J had a black and bleu burger, while I opted for some of their famous fried chicken and mashed potatoes. The kids went for pizza and hot dogs, but in true toddler form, E enjoyed pickles, a hot dog bun, and several spoons full of ranch dressing.

The kids were very satisfied with their meals, and it seemed like the portion sizes were large. J’s burger was grilled, which he definitely appreciated, and my chicken was excellent. I did the “cheater” version of fried chicken and ordered the fried boneless, skinless chicken breast, which I know isn’t real fried chicken, but if you’ve met me you know I have an aversion to touching my food, so the fact that I could cut it with a fork and knife was a big plus for me. The highlight of my meal? The mashed potatoes and gravy. Holy yummy. They were just like homemade (probably because their food is made to order), and rivaled something my mom would make. I won’t say “something I would make” because let’s be honest. I make real mashed potatoes about once a year, and gravy even less. Sorry husband.

We weren’t able to save room for dessert, although E’s baked cinnamon apples tasted just like the inside of an apple pie, so we ended our meal by allowing the kids to spend their tokens (provided with each kids meal) in the little “store” area downstairs. We left with a football, handcuffs, and a paddle ball game, though the tokens could have also been spent on ice cream. We finished our experience with a quick picture outside the café next to the replica Andy Griffith squad car.

I will definitely be back to visit, because the hot beef sounded so good that I almost ordered two meals for myself, and I’m pretty sure a handstand picture in front of the car is going to be a necessary component of #HandstandsAcrossAmerica.

A Day at the National Zoo

One of the major highlights of our recent DC trip was the National Zoo. Visiting the zoo is actually a free experience, though it ended up being one of our most expensive trips. It’s definitely worth the money, but don’t think you’re going to get by without spending any money. Parking is $22 if you drive, maps are $3, and lunch was astronomical. We wouldn’t have had to buy lunch, but because the zoo is so big, we spent 5 hours there, which meant we definitely hit meal time.

We arrived at 9:30am, knowing the zoo opened at 10:00am, thinking we’d hit the visitor’s center first. What we weren’t clear on though, is that you can walk in and see animals well before 10:00. It’s the buildings that don’t open until 10:00am, like the reptile house and small mammal exhibit. We were able to see zebras, cheetahs, and a whole plethora of weird animals I can’t remember the name of before the zoo actually opened.

This kids were VERY excited to see the pandas, so that was one of our first stops. It was cool to see pandas, but the area was super crowded and they were all indoors eating their breakfast (or lunch?), so they weren’t overly exciting, and they were sitting pretty far away. The close quarters did not stop me from getting a #HandstandsAcrossAmerica picture of R in front of a panda though!

The kids took a ton of pictures, literally stopping at every animal to take several photos. At the beginning of the day, even after 10:00am, it seemed like there were several empty habitats. It’d probably be smart to loop back around at the end of the day, but we were exhausted by then. Don’t take this the wrong way, because I know it’s better for the animals to have larger habitats, but seriously everything is so. Spread. Out. If you are questioning whether or not to bring a wagon or a stroller, especially if you drove your own vehicle, do it. I’m pretty sure if I’d had the option I would have been the one riding!

There are maps posted all over, but we spent the $3. You wouldn’t have to, but it’s a fun little souvenir and it was helpful to have the list of special activities throughout the day. Plus, it’s a great cause, all the money goes back to the zoo.

We ended up eating lunch at the zoo café, which was, as you would expect, average food, and sky high prices (I think the kids' meals were around $10). One thing you should note though, is that while it looks like a place you should stand in line and wait your turn, they actually want you to do it cafeteria style, and just walk up to whichever counter as food that interests you. That took us (and everyone else) a little while to figure out. When we left we realized there were a few restaurants right across the street. We could have walked out, left the car parked, and eaten better food, but it wouldn't have been much cheaper. Remember, you’re in DC. Pretty much all the food is expensive.

Some of our favorite exhibits included:

• The monkeys and gorillas – you had a chance to get pretty close to them when you were inside the building, and they have some sort of orangutan jungle gym that lets them climb out and up above the zoo. They also do educational talks with the gorillas, which was really cool to hear.
• R’s favorites were the pandas and the tigers. A liked the tigers. My issue with both the lions and tigers was that they were super far away, it was hard to get a good look.
• J enjoyed the elephant habitat, even though we weren’t allowed to go inside that day since there was a sick elephant. You get to look down on them from above, but can also see them around the sides.
• The small mammals building was kind of fun, but while the kids and J were excited about the reptile house, I mostly thought it smelled ridiculously bad.

Overall it was a great experience. We would definitely take the kids again, though we might plan our meal times differently. In fact, R actually said she would love to work at that particular zoo someday, and that she would invite us to visit whenever we wanted. She’s so passionate about animals and animal care, it was fun to see her in her element. Both kids actually took the time to read every bit of posted information about the animals as we walked through, which sort of surprised me, so don’t underestimate those learning opportunities while you’re there!

And then... the raccoons invaded our camp site

I have never had quite the adventures camping as I did on our most recent trip to Shades State Park in Indiana. We camped all the time when I was younger, though we stopped tent camping when I was in… upper elementary, maybe? When we got married, Jeromy and I registered for a bunch of camping gear, but we haven’t taken our tent out since Aaden was probably Easton’s age. First, life tends to get in the way, and second, my sister in law bought a nice camper a while back, and the kids like going with them in the air conditioning.

Anyway, since my sister and I had camped while we were in Indy for training camp several years ago, and we could do it for $17/night instead of $70 (or more) in a hotel, so we decided to go for it. The first night was uneventful, aside from putting up the tent while it was pitch black. Shades does not have much as far as lamp posts – it’s definitely back to nature kind of stuff. The DNR ranger who helped get me registered the next morning said this was one of the best parks for tent camping. We actually found a nice little spot right across from the bathroom, so we had a little light, and the older two could easily walk across the street without me worrying. Other than setting up in the dark, the hardest thing about night number one, was the ground. Since we hadn’t camped in years, we had no idea where our air mattress was. We remedied this for the second night by buying clearance pool floaties at Wal-Mart on the way to Anderson. At $4.50 a piece, we each had our own bed that will double as a flotation device in case our tent falls in a lake!

We spent all of that next day at training camp, so we didn’t spend a lot of time in the campground, but it was quite large, and the map showed tons of trails around the grounds. Then… we came home from training camp. And as we pulled in, I saw a raccoon. And as we pulled in farther, I saw the door to our tent open, and a pile of food in front of the raccoon. Obviously, I did what any good wife would do, and made J get out and go check the tent after honking at the coon to get it to move. Sure enough, the little guy (at the time I did not have such kind words) had broken into our tent, gotten into my duffle bag, and stolen several bags of trail mix.

As we attempted to make a fire, and after we had gotten rid of the food remnants outside the door of our tent, the friendly raccoon kept coming back. He’d jump on our picnic table or creep around the back of the tent. Persistent little guy. As J worked on the fire and I blew up our “mattresses” with some help from A, we went to get the s’more stuff out. Guess what. It wasn’t just the trail mix that had been stolen. Gone were an entire bag of jumbo marshmallows and a container of fudge stripe cookies.* Shortly after, J asked about the chips. Yep, they’d also taken the jumbo bag of snack size chips (you know, the variety packs with like 20 little bags?). I will note they left the veggie straws and granola bars. Probably way too healthy for them.

So. There we are, s’more-less, fireless, and sitting in the dark. Did I mention I forgot to bring a lantern? Then the fighting began. Not myself and J, or even the kids. The raccoons. The animals were growling and fighting over the remaining food that they had stashed in the wooded area behind our camp site. That was the last straw. Ry jumped up on the table, terrified, and then all three kids took off for the van, proclaiming it the safe spot for the evening. As the fighting continued, J and I debated the merits of just grabbing our stuff and going home, knowing that there was no way we were going to get the kids to sleep in a tent next to angry critters.

Next, we did what any good parents would do. We grabbed all our stuff, left the tent set up, and dragged everything we owned, in the dark, across the road to an empty site in a much more open setting, away from the remnants of our would-be snacks and thieving camping companions. The kids remained in the van until we had everything squared away, and then didn’t leave the tent for the rest of the night.

We later thought better of keeping the cooler in the tent as
part of our "wall" and moved it to the van!

This all, of course, has nothing to do with a bad experience at Shades, and really just speaks to our amateur status as campers. Or our Beed’s Lake status, which is generally so packed full of people that I don’t think raccoons would ever set foot in the area. However, a note for those camping here in the future, especially as I lay writing and listening to raccoon chatter outside my tent – there is plenty of wildlife in the area. Keep your food and coolers in your vehicle! We had to barricade our tent door with bags and suitcases to make the kids (and maybe mommy) feel safe for night two. R proclaimed our “visitors” the worst part of the trip, even worse than the drive.

*If you ever don’t have graham crackers and chocolate, fudge stripe cookies are a great substitute. In fact, sometimes if there aren’t any good seasonal deals on “camping supplies” this is actually a significantly cheaper and easier way to do a s’more.

#coltscamp 2015

When I realized a birthday party with friends was not going to work out this summer for Aaden, I told him we could either wait and try to do one after school had started, or he could pick a fun family trip instead. He chose fun family trip, and at my suggestion, he agreed that heading out to Indy for Colts training camp was an excellent idea.

If you’ve never been to Anderson for training camp, there are some things to be aware of. As I mentioned in a previous post, my sister and I had gone several years prior, so I sort of knew the lay of the land. Parking in Anderson is on campus. When we had gone earlier, I’m pretty sure we paid $15-20 to park. Sometime in the span between then and now, they regulated the parking at made it $5. This was awesome. We had to walk the equivalent of a couple blocks, but they had golf carts running the whole time for people who needed assistance, and port-a-potties around the route. If you go on an “event day” like kids day or BBQ Bash day, it is possible they will run out of parking (they did this year), so be sure to get there early. A bonus of getting there early, the players apparently have a little free time, because we saw Coby Fleener riding around on a golf cart (largely unnoticed without any football gear on), and E waved and said hi. Fleener waved and said hi back! E had no idea, of course, he told me he was “wavin’ to the people.” The translation of the video at the top of the post is E, excited to be heading into training camp, telling SnapChat that we're gonna "Go see the Colts!"

Colts City opens about an hour and a half prior to practice starting, so we showed up right at 12:30 in our Colts gear. There was plenty of stuff to do until practice started. They had a full pro shop set up, tons of booths from vendor types, autographs from cheerleaders, inflatables, an NFL Play 60 zone where you could test your football skills, and all kinds of snacks for purchase. A declared the snow cone one of his favorite parts of the trip, but they also gave away free ice cream at one station!

We camped out along the fence in the end zone for practice, because there was a little more space, and it was close to the entrance/exit where they players would arrive and depart. This can sometimes be a good place for post-practice autographs, though those are really hit or miss.

R said she loved the whole training camp experience – despite the fact that it was long (although she pointed out that her practices are longer) and hot. Once again, my kids impressed me with how patient and well-behaved they were. E entertained himself with rocks and water bottles all afternoon while the rest of us watched the team workout. Side note, there is not a ton of shade in the sports complex, so be sure to pack plenty of sunscreen and water!

After practice, if you’re lucky, you’ll get some autographs. Remember E’s previous interaction with TE Coby Fleener? Well this time, as the players walked off the field and E practiced his stellar parade wave, Adam Vinatieri noticed him and made a beeline right for E to ask for a high five and to sign his ball. Vinatieri was a class act, taking it all in stride – you could tell he’s a veteran with 20 training camps under his belt! He even managed to return every marker he used to sign to its rightful owner. After kind of a long wait, and a couple tears that they’d only gotten one autograph (E got two), we noticed Coach Pagano still hadn’t left the field. A few die hards, ourselves included, were still waiting around, and even though the golf cart driver told the fans it was time to go, Coach hopped off the cart and started signing. We seemed to keep missing him, and the driver said that they really needed to leave, and my kids were looking a little sad again, when some guy standing next to us said, “Coach, how about these kids right here?” Coach Pagano came back for one more set of autographs for R and A – totally making their day!

Next time we’ll probably come a little later in the day, though that would mean parking farther away, but practice got a little long for the kids. If it wasn’t the sole reason we’d come we maybe could have cut it a little shorter, but since it was the purpose of our trip, it seemed like a good idea to get the most out of it.