Traveling 50 States with Kids

We crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge and drove to Hagley Museum in Wilmington (an ASTC museum ). The Hagley grounds includes the first Du Pont family home in America and the original Du Pont Company powder mills. Walking the grounds, I was just taken aback at how lush and serene it was. It reminded me of the original Anne of Green Gables setting.  We came on a good day where the free activity was fishing on the Brandywine Creek. They provided bamboo fishing poles and bait. We all fished and after about an hour, we caught 2 fishes as a family. Afterwards, we toured the Du Pont family home and office and learned about generations of the family and about their business. There were other tours available but it was nearing closing hours. I would have loved to stay another 2 to 3 hours just enjoying the grounds, the beauty, and the lush greenery.

We flew into Philly and drove to New Jersey and Delaware. We visited the Riverview Beach Park in Pennsville, NJ, a picturesque park next to the Delaware River with views of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. The kids got some energy out on the playground before we strolled around the park and along the river.  We found some kind of beetle! 

We flew into Chicago to see the Field Museum and try some Chicago style hot dogs. It was a rainy day and we only had one umbrella, so we ran from the parking deck to the museum. Our shoes were a bit soaked but for the kids, running through the rain added to the fun. Before entering the museum, we stopped by Kim & Carlo's Chicago Style Hot Dog Stand  and picked up a beef Chicago style hot dog, turkey Chicago style hot dog, and hot dogs with only onions, relish, and ketchup. I don’t usually eat hot dogs (except occasionally at Costco) but this would definitely be my choice in how to dress up a hot dog. Our daughter liked all of the toppings as well but took out a few of the  pepperoncinis . Our boys didn’t really like the onions and relish and took them out. We ate our hot dogs at the Explorer Cafe in the Field Museum. The Field Museum is one of the largest natural history museums in the world. I was surprised to see that basic admission was covered through our ASTC members...

We drove from New Orleans to Bay St. Louis Historic L & N Train Depot in Mississippi. Along the way was the INFINITY Science Center (a NASA visitor center), but it was closed on Wednesday. They only open Thursday through Sunday.  The Bay St. Louis Historic L & N Train Depot was a small but neat museum. On the lower floor was intricate and grandiose Mardi Gras like costumes along with some history of the area. The nice lady who gave us a tour let us know that the below costume set actually costs $50,000!  There are 3,000 peacock feathers on this costume. Admission was free for both floors (but donations appreciated). On the second floor was the Alice Moseley Folk Art & Antique Museum . I love that she was self taught and started painting when she was 65 years old.  From their website: “Miss Alice, as she was referred to by friends and admirers, was a self-taught idyllic folk artist who began painting at age 65 to maintain her sanity while caring for her Alzhei...

We held a baby gator! We flew into New Orleans, and the very first thing we did was try beignets at Café Du Monde at the airport. There was a window where we could see them making it fresh. Mom had a large café au lait to start off our trip. We took the rental center shuttle from the airport to pick up our car and was surprised by how long it took, a good 10 to 15 min drive from the airport. Afterwards, we headed to Cajun Pride Swamp Tours (about 20 minutes from the airport). It was a 1.5 hour tour and immediately after pulling from the dock, the alligators were swimming towards us. Our captain told us about the area, the wildlife, and the curse of Julia Brown (a voodoo priestess).  Julia Brown’s Grave We saw raccoons, hogs, turtles, birds, dragonflies, and large grasshoppers. With a muzzle on, we were excited to hold a baby alligator, 1 year old Baby Bruce.  We then drove to the French Quarters and ate at The Market Cafe . I’m not the greatest at parallel parking so I was ...

Las Vegas, baby! We had a fabulous time in Vegas with extended family and staying at the Venetian . We arrived in the evening but even with the time difference, the kids were surprisingly energetic. The Venetian was one of the nicest hotels they've stayed at, and our daughter wondered why the soap had a throne. 😆 We rested up and spent most of the next day walking the strip and enjoying the 11 pools and hot tubs at the Venetian and their connected sister hotel, the Palazzo . Several of the pools were kid-friendly being only 1 or 2 feet in depth, and there were lifeguards at every pool.  For dinner, we ate at the Wynn Buffet . We tried to reserve online but they were fully booked for the night. We joined the line at 4:50 pm thinking it would be an hour or so wait, but it turned into a 2.5 hour wait! We were all getting a bit hangry, but the kids were troopers. The food was good, but nothing stuck out to me as amazing. The desserts were my highlight as I did have two crème brûl...