Ultimate Road Trip Day 12: My New Favorite City

St. Louis.  It's one of those cities that you've heard of, you know basically where it is.  You can probably even say a few things about it.  Mississippi River.  Big arch thing.  American history stuff.  But you don't really find yourself there much, unless maybe a layover at the airport.  It's not usually a destination.  Which is why we wanted to check it out, since we were passing through anyway.

After just a few minutes' research, I wanted to stay for a week.  I was especially taken by a project local second-graders did for the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission - a kid-made tour of the city, with kid-made activities to do at each spot.  (See here, scroll down.)  Love it. 

But we only had a half-day.  I thought maaaaybe we can squeeze in two things, but probably just one.  It seemed City Museum was not to be missed, so we went there first, more out of curiosity than certainty, hoping to visit the Gateway Arch briefly on our way out of town. 

The thing about City Museum in St. Louis is that there are actually no adequate words to describe it.  One website tries by saying, "Explore the unexpected at this exciting, interactive museum for children and adults. A mixture of funhouse, playground and architectural marvel."  But those words do not quite do it.  Others that may come to mind, like labyrinth, rebar, fantasy, concrete, caves, slides, hidden tunnels, scrap metal, shoelaces, body skate park, industrial design, maze, Tim-Burton-meets-Dr.-Seuss, mosaic, and wonderland, also do not even scratch the surface.  Two days later, I am still speechless.  All I can say is, I don't know when, but we are going back.  As often as possible.  And I recommend it to EVERYONE. 

Pictures don't do it justice, either, but I still couldn't help taking some anyway.

This is what you see from the parking lot.  And you know you're going to have a good time.

As soon as we got there, the girls climbed up this tunnel.   

 The tunnels at the top were dark and went in all directions; they were too scared to delve in, so they backed back down.  Only after exploring the underground caves for an hour or so did they become very courageous, and suddenly the tunnel labyrinth in this space's ceiling was no biggie.

You can hardly tell but this is a snack area.  See the table/bench under the stairs? 

The underground labyrinth.  Too dark and tight-spaced to take good pics.  A kid's dreamland.

 They had a vintage shoelace-weaving machine in here, and a small shop where they sold stuff it wove.  I bought the girls woven headbands for Easter baskets, and a new pair of shoelaces for myself.

There were even some real museum-y rooms.

Concrete slide bowl; Poppy instinctively chose the section right for her (green pants to the right; Hazel is in the pink coming down.)

 

And then we went outside.

Ginger is the middle person up there in the tunnel...and I took that picture from one story up; at the highest, it was four.  She was fearless!

We played hard for almost four hours.  There was always more to see and explore; we still didn't do it all.  Dude, if I lived anywhere within 2 hours, we would be members.  Best play area.  EVER!!!  I need to read a little history of the place; it looked like my brother and his buddies had designed it.  I just wondered how it ever got the funding - things this cool usually don't exist.  It made me an immediate fan of the entire city. 

Even though we had a hard time getting there.  Turns out it was the day before St. Patrick's.  Which I knew but didn't think about.  They had a fun run followed by a parade downtown.  Just used my trusty iPhone to navigate around things, but we did lose some time.

Everyone was tired, hungry, and very sweaty when we left.  Poppy fell asleep before we were out of the parking lot.  Which kind of dashed hopes of visiting Gateway park.  So instead, we pulled over, jumped out for a few pictures, jumped back in, and drove off down the highway.

A few miles into Illinois, pulled off for a mid-afternoon lunch at Golden Corral.  I could write a whole blog post about that place.  I don't think I'd been to a buffet-style restaurant in over ten years; the thought made me cringe.  But it was just right for us that day.  Something for everyone, even me, including a decent salad bar and some really good yeasty rolls hot from the oven.  Fun dessert bar, too, including chocolate fountain and cotton candy. 

Then we had to make some hay on the road.  We drove late into the night, with just a small supper in Indianapolis, landing exhausted in Richmond, Indiana, and only getting so-so sleep thanks to Poppy who was restless and kicking everyone.

Ultimate Road Trip Day 1: Comin' atcha from Appalachia

We're on a road trip, did you know?  Chillin' like Dylan with my girlios in Kentucky tonight.  They're on spring break for like a month, and Ed's sister is getting married in Utah, so voila.  Road trip.  Only Ed can't get away until later so he will meet us in Denver in a couple of days.  In the meantime, it's me, the girls, the van, (some wicked good mix CDs), and the open road. 

Long drives are in my blood.  Ask anyone in my family.  And it's been a long time since I went on a good and proper cross-country one.  I had the thought today that I'm finally doing that trip I wanted to do when I was 18, in a VW van, with my hippie friends.  That one never materialized, but this is even better.  Only the details are changed.  I was surprised at the reactions I got from people when they found out I was doing this - awe, and not in a good way.  By YOURSELF?  Are you crazy?  Have you done this before? 

It's not a big deal.  The girls are awesome, I love to be with them, and I'm used to it.  Yeah, I'm tired after a long day, but that's the same as at home.  The only diff is I don't have as good a bed to sleep in. 

Ed and I detailed the car last weekend, inside and out, complete with RainX on the windshield.  I wrote up a daily schedule for the girls and put it in their backseat bin with a travel clock so they can check the time and not have to ask me what's next.  There's a snack bin, cases of water, and a daily surprise bag we open during our morning rest stop; each contains a DVD they've never seen, a special treat/snack, and an activity they've never done (and sometimes a toy or book for Poppy; you can find them in our Daily Report, below.)

This whole time I was planning on taking I-70 out, through Ohio and Indiana.  But we've been watching the weather, and with the snowstorm coming through the Midwest, we decided last night a more southerly route would be prudent.  So we took 66 west to 81 south to 64 west all the way into Kentucky.  I think it was the right choice.  We had some light rain throughout the day, becoming heavier in the afternoon, and only turning to snow the last 10 miles before we stopped for the night.  Tomorrow we'll hook back into 70 at St. Louis.

When visibility was at its worst, due to rain, road spray, and heavy dark cloud cover, I was thankful for two things.  One, the new glasses I got two weeks ago, that have a current prescription and actually help me see clearly.  Two, the RainX'd windshield.  What a difference, night and day. 

Daily Report
Miles: 597
DVD: Felicity - An American Girl Adventure
Activity: National Geographic Ultimate U.S. Road Trip Atlas and License Plates Across the States
Poppy: Tasha's Tea Party
Special Snack: Raspberry Lemonade Fruit Rope Twists
High Point:  Driving through the mountains in West Virginia, and the bridges and rivers around Charleston - gorgeous in a wintery way.  Patches of snow on the ground, and shades of gray, white, gold and amber everywhere.  I was sorry at first to not be in Ohio; I love that drive.  But WV was really beautiful today.
Low Point:  Twenty miles from home, realizing what I'd forgotten - 1) my coat; 2) my allergy eyedrops; 3) the cooler.  No way I was going back, though.

Fall Break Beach Vacay

Ed's hunting trip always falls during the girls' two-week fall break from school.  Which I hate.  But this year I got over it by taking the girls to Virginia Beach for four days.  It.  Was.  #1!  Here's why:

Going to the beach in October is #1
The place is completely deserted.  Here's who was there - some retirees, a few surfers, the occasional family with children under 5, and us.  Nary a school child nor teenager in sight.  Restaurants whose Yelp reviews claimed 1.5 hour waits, we just waltzed in.  Acres of beach all to ourselves, every day.  And the weather was perfect.  70 degrees and breezy - perfect for playing in the sand, a bit of wading/splashing, and never getting too hot.

Did I mention it was deserted?

Playgrounds on the beach are #1
There were at least two, right on the beach, within walking distance of our place. 

Beach + playground + no other people = a very happy morning

Grandma is #1
My Mom came with us for two of the days.  She led us on an expedition to the beach shop across the street, where we invested in proper shovels, new watering cans, and other necessities.  She brought surprise activity bags for the girls for each day, which included "beach buddies" (small teddy bears with tiny pillows and quilts she had made), lip balm, books, Skittles, and lacing cards, among other things.

Twinners Poppy & Grandma having a snack at the playground

Cutest group EVER, in a particularly windy spot

 She stayed with Poppy during her nap, while I took the older girls exploring the town, including the fudge shoppe.  Natch.  She also sent me off on my own after bedtime, for a couple of relaxing and much-needed solitary beach strolls.  She even went out one morning to buy the girls each a small treasure chest, with a sparkly gold keychain as treasure, for them to bury and unbury, which they did over and over again.

Playing in the sand is seriously #1
Kids, at least my kids, don't need much else.  Or they didn't for those four days.  We went out to the beach each morning after breakfast, around 9, and came back for lunch around 12.  Then went back around 3, until we got hungry for dinner, or the hotel shadows became so long we got cold, whichever came first.  And most of that was sand play.  You cannot beat it!  (Especially since we got good and proper digging shovels.)

Allowance, post cards, and journals are #1
The girls have been getting allowance for a few months now, and they brought their money to the beach.  We scoped out the beach shop the first night, then counted their money and talked about all their buying options, which they slept on.  In the morning, they wanted to go back right away to make their purchases - each bought a roll of bubble tape and some postcards.  The second day, we wrote them - one to Ginger's friend, three to Hazel's teachers, and one to Grandma Marsha in Colorado.

I also brought their journals, and we wrote in them during Poppy's nap our third day.  Hazel liked it so much she wrote in hers almost every day.

 While coming home is not, and was not, #1 - we were all sorry to have it end - it was still pretty sweet when Ed finally made his way home to us last night, in all his annual mountain man bearded glory. 

 
Pretty cute, right?

I'm pretty sure we will be going back next year.  If not sooner.

Weekend at the Cabin

 You might remember this post about my parents' cabin in West Virginia.  We do try to get out there a couple times a year, but it can be hard to get all our schedules free enough to do it.  Luckily, this spring break we went for broke and spent a few days in practically-unplugged peace and fresh air.

 I wouldn't immediately say, "There's so much to do at the Cabin!"  but my girls would.  Even though it's been at least half a year since our last visit, they rattled off a surprisingly long list of all the must-do's.
Go to "the beach"
Play in the treehouse
Fill the bird feeders
Make s'mores
Swing on the hammock
Color
Hike down "Bottles & Bones", a trail my Mom named
Ride the golf cart
Ride "Grandpa's motorcycle" (ATV)
Pick flowers
Play with the toys downstairs (a collection of mismatched toys saved from our 80's childhood, with a few thrift store additions)

Could you die?  When I heard their list, my perspective shifted like a gear, and I saw the natural playground my parents always intended it to be for their grandchildren.  And it is. 

The treehouse at dusk

Those hills to the east are called the Seven Sisters

 So much running.  So much laughing.  So much for creative minds to enjoy.

On the treehouse steps

The redbuds were in bloom, and my amateur inner photographer went wild

Last year at Christmas Ginger said she wanted a toy tractor "just like Grandpa's."  So my Dad hunted down an exact toy replica, same color, same brand, on ebay, and gave it to her.  She cherishes it.

Ginger has had terrible allergies this spring, so I worried about taking her out where there would be nothing but nature, and no air conditioning for relief, but in fact they didn't bother her one bit all weekend, her watery eyes only returning when we got back home.  

 Not to say she didn't cry; she wouldn't be Ginger if she didn't.  It just wasn't because of allergies.

Fire pit

Building sand castles at "the beach", a just-the-right-size sandy spot.  My Mom keeps a stash of buckets and shovels for year-round sandy fun.

As usual, we hated to leave, and everyone wants to know when we can go back again.  We love the cabin!