Vacations Blog

Poinsettias at Garfield Park Conservatory Holiday Flower Show

Grab some green during your holiday excursions and visit Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory  for the annual holiday flower show, which runs through January 10.   Nestled in a historic building on Chicago’s west side, the  Garfield Park Conservatory is the nation’s largest “glass house”  in the country and offers tons of earth-centered, family-friendly activities.  Start with the holiday flower show, which features an explosion of color highlighting poinsettias, Jerusalem cherry plants, ornamental peppers, Christmas trees and more.  Read More »

Iron Maiden torture chamber at Ripley's Believe It or Not!

I loved the Ripley’s Believe  It or Not! cartoon as a kid.  Learning about  Robert Ripley’s weird and wacky discoveries around the world was always intriguing.  So there was no way I’d pass up the strip of Ripley’s attractions on Ocean Blvd in Myrtle Beach.  I grabbed my reluctant 12-year-old and headed to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum. I wouldn’t recommend it for children under 10 because the museum is filled with creepy and eerie artifacts. Once you walk past the  photos of the 8″11 tallest man of all time and the Egyptian barge made from toothpicks, the offerings grow scarier. There’s a whole wall devoted to medieval torture  devices and a gruesome “Iron Maiden”, a wooden, female -shaped, cabinet equipped with 13 spikes to pierce the eyes, throat and heart of religious heretics.  Read More »

Digging in the dirt at the Fossil Fair

October 31st might signal Halloween treats to you, but for South Carolina science fans it’s also a day of archeological fun at the South Carolina Fossil Fair hosted at the Ocean Lakes Family Campground’s Recreation Building in Myrtle Beach.  The day-long event features a mock dig site, PCS Phosphate Mine, a fossil hunt and lots of bones.  Experts from the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of Natural History will dust off your discoveries and identify the fossils.

Start at the mock dig site where a museum specialist will illustrate how to create a plaster cast to move a specimen from the dig site to a museum.  You can observe how the fossil is removed from the plaster and prepared for display. The fun part is that you get to help clean the specimen. Read More »

I would never suggest you need kids to visit the zoo.  In fact, while recently visiting the Reid Park Zoo during our latest Tucson vacation (get there before it’s HOT!) I overheard one guest ask another why there were so many kids at the zoo, which just goes to show that you don’t have to be smart to visit one either.  Anyone can visit the zoo!

The Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Arizona isn’t the biggest or fanciest zoo you’ll ever visit (unless it’s the only zoo you ever visit), but it’s just big enough and what it lacks in exotic animals it more than makes up for in quaint ambiance and friendly staff.

The zoo is located within a large park that offers spring-training baseball and concerts under the stars.  It’s a quick drive from everything you need to complete your day, whether it be food, shopping or a place to catch a few winks- that Tucson sun can wipe out the best of us.

The Reid Park Zoo is affordable, too:

Admission Fees
$6.00 adults ages 15-61
$4.00 seniors ages 62 and over
$2.00 children ages 2-14
FREE for children under 2 years
Reserved school groups $0.50 per child
FREE for members.

The kids had a blast.  There are interactive exhibits and walk-through aviaries and places to get wet.  Who doesn’t love that?

Wherever your journeys take you, a trip to the zoo is a good way to make a lasting memory for the entire family.

Photos: Whit Honea

Disney offers many nutritional options for keeping children quiet.

1.  As evidenced by the annoyed people seated next to me on the Nemo Submarine Voyage I get excellent cell-phone reception up to 20,000 leagues under the sea.  This despite dead zones in my own home.

2.  Until a wrong turn on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride took me there, I never realized that hell was not just hot but also quite humid- not unlike Florida.

3.  After walking through Innoventions I can’t help but feel that Microsoft’s biggest issue is not lack of innovation, but rather a failure to communicate.  They make awesome stuff for the home and nobody knows it.

4.  Old country bears don’t die, they just retire to the Hundred Acre Woods.

5.  If a princess has found her prince she is highly unlikely to kiss a frog, no matter how nicely you ask.

6.  The best way to keep pirates from boarding your boat is flash photography.

7.  If visiting the parks in February the crowds will be small and the rides will be closed.

8.  Not all of the 999 spooks are grim or grinning.  At least two ghosts appear indifferent.

9.  Should a ride have the word “terror” in its name, there is good chance you may find it somewhat terrifying.

10.  Despite Flick’s insistence to the contrary, some bugs deserve to be swatted.

11.  The whole thing about human children contaminating monsters is an urban legend.

12.  With just 10 Dalmatians Cruella de Vil could have had a nice handbag.

13.  A full bar, a winery, a tequila booth and a beer cart are a nice touch.

Read more about the Disneyland Resort here and here!

Photo by Whit Honea