We are now THAT family. You know, the one which can only travel and do fun things around the schedule of the public school system. Our lives are now dictated by the order of the White County School Board... and we just finished our spring break trip. There will be many pictures attached to this post so consider this fair warning.
This year we decided to do museum visits and orient our travels around the museums we wished to see. We have a membership to a local children's museum (
INK) and with that membership we also have
reciprocal memberships to a ton of others around the country... for FREE!! We started the trip early Saturday morning and headed toward Roanoke, VA to visit and stay with our friends, the Hartmans.
Michelle and I worked together for several years in Gainesville before Bobby's job took them back north. As much as I wish they were still around, it's nice to have an excuse to visit other places and they are conveniently located half-way to Lara's in PA. Sunday we all ventured to Lynchburg to play at
Amazement Square which is highly recommended by all the kids. We stopped for a delicious dinner at Red Robin with the 6 hungry kids and managed to watch the Kansas/Davidson basketball game... almost the Cinderella upset we were waiting for. It was a quick visit but Monday morning was back to normal for the Hartmans and so we headed back south.
Our next stop was at the
Children's Museum of Winston-Salem which had a large area specifically oriented around Fairy Tales and it was one of our favorites.
Curtis noted how much imagination it drew out of the kids as they put themselves into the stories they knew. It wasn't just playing with various toys but actually making story lines and becoming different characters.
The kids all found "their" letters and posed for Daddy. I meant to rotate the sideways ones but never did and now that they're on here... well, I think you can turn the monitor or your head! :)
Tuesday we went a little further south and hit the
Greensboro Children's Museum. This one is all on one floor and has a real race car, airplane, rock wall and more things that the others don't.
One of Lydia's favorites was called Nonie's Place,a farmhouse that reminded us of Grandma's. She cooked, served and had tea for almost a solid hour. We probably spent the most hours at this museum compared to the other 3 we visited this trip. The kids were great travelers... and without naps too!
Wednesday we went further south and stopped in Charlotte at
Charlotte at Play. Can not recommend this museum for anyone older than 5. It is very small and geared toward the pre-school crowd. Lydia enjoyed her time but the patience of the others didn't hold much more than an hour.
We saw this fun water tower one afternoon and had to stop for this photo op. One day he'll appreciate it. He was a wee bit tired from all the playing he'd been doing... but he cooperated with his father for
several shots!
Thursday we did the NASCAR thing and visited Lowes Motor Speedway and the Hendrick Motor Sports plantation.
Ok, it really wasn't as good as all that. They were having the largest old car get together in the world this weekend so LMS was crowded with old men who have nothing better to do with their lives than restore old classics then sit around and talk about all they've done and which tools they had to use.
Hendrick's museum and store is closed until May for renovations... so it was a bit of a disapointment for Curtis and Bennett. We did get to see Junior's shop and get couple photos for the memories. We'll have to go back after May when there's more to see and do. We went to see Dale Jr's stuff... the picture with Gordon's car is for our cousin Micah! That's his favorite. ;)
We definately enjoyed our time in the hotels. We liked swimming the most. I got up early each morning and went down to the excercise room to work up a sweat before we had to start the day. Bennett woke up with me one morning and asked to join me, so I let him. He was a good sport and sat and watched TV since there was another fellow using the equipment and I didn't think a 7 year old should take up a machine. :) One morning Maggie went with me and got to walk on the treadmill. Such fun! ha
Breakfast was always a special treat. We made many hikes to the spread, picked out what looked most delicious and traipsed back to the room to eat in peace. Plus, it helped since Daddy is always the last out of bed. The kids were the cutest trying to ever so carefully carry their loot back to the room.
Bennett and Maggie were both able to participate this year in the Grand Prix... a fancy name for watching pieces of painted wood roll down a kind of sloppy track as the kids cheer and yell and laugh. It was fun. Sometimes I think the parents get too involved and want to win more than just watch the laughter. 
There are only a handful of the kids who actually care if they cross the finish line first. Most just want to cross the line. They each ran 4 heats and the cars that finished 1st in their 4 heats got to run head to head. Of course, our cars were not the fastest, sleekest, prettiest, or best engineered... but they were the kid's! 
Maggie counted each time her car crossed the line. "I finished 1st one time, 2nd two times, and 3rd two times"... and she only ran 4 times. :) The brain of a 6 year old. Her car was faster than Bennett's. My theory is because the lead weight was placed further toward the front of the car. They had no control in that. 
