You can say a lot of things about Derek and me. But you absolutely cannot declare that we don’t know how to road trip. Seriously. We are so good at it. This month we took a cross country road trip. It was one of our longest road trips of all time…and one of the best. So sit back, get comfortable, and remember to avoid caffeinated beverages {no pee breaks}…because we are embarking on Road Trip 2015.
The map above shows our route. It’s pretty darn far. Today we’ll get all the way to Kansas City! I’m excited to tell you about the trip stop by stop, but first–here is a list of in-car things that kept us occupied through all those hours of driving.
Audio Book–Boys in the Boat. I love this book. You should read it or listen to it soon. It’s amazing on audio. And read by perfectly voiced by the late Edward Herman. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry for joy, you’ll cry for sadness, you’ll learn, and you’ll want to take up rowing. It’s a 12-disc, or 13 hour listen.
Audio Mystery–Serial. If you are in to Dateline mysteries, you’ll totally dig Serial, a audio documentary from This American Life. The podcast investigates a murder case from 1999. The case is closed, but the man convicted has maintained his innocence all these years. The series looks in to the case and trial and will leave you wondering if they really did lock up the wrong man. Because it’s a little street-wise…there is a bit of language {including a few F-Bombs} and some talk of drug use. I still found it to be a fascinating listen. It’s 12 episodes ranging form 25-55 minutes.
Colossians. We spent a good long time reviewing the verses we already had memorized and added new verses {we are at the end of chapter 4!} Reciting the whole thing takes a good 25 minutes, and learning a new verse takes about 15-20… so this was a good time eater for us once a day.
Trivia. I downloaded a new app called Quizoid. It works without a data connection or wireless.
Now…the trip. Leg one took us from Minot to Omaha. It was by far the longest part of the journey. And while we really wanted to stop to see Corn Palace…we decided the extra two hours it would add onto the trip wasn’t worth it.
In Omaha we visited Joslyn Castle. Because it’s off season, we were the only visitors and enjoyed a private tour of the Castle. It’s gorgeous. It’s fascinating. I wish I lived in Omaha so I could attend the lots of super-cool events they hold here. {Murder mystery dinner anyone?}
The Joslyn family also donated funds for an art museum. And…since Derek had never in his life laid eyes on a real Monet…we just had to go. Not to mention, it’s got free admission. As far as I’m concerned, the Joslyn Art museum rocks. Good layout. Lots of awesome works. And an amazing interactive level. Some may say it is the “kid’s area,” but who says grownups can’t enjoy making stop-motion movies and virtual paintings? Here is a stop motion video we made. {They email it right to you!}
After the Joslyns showed us all they had to offer, we headed to the Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. It. Was. Amazing! I was skeptical about going to the zoo in January, but it totally paid off. We were there for three full hours–just on the indoor exhibits. They’ve got the world’s largest indoor desert. {Which features the world’s cutest creature–the klipspringer!}
They’ve also got a mind-blowing “kingdoms of the night” exhibit filled with night-dwelling creatures, and a way creepy-but-cool insect pavilion.
But my favorite, favorite part was the aquarium. Stunning. I liked it even more than the Shedd in Chicago. And that’s really saying something. I love the Shedd aquarium. It had a HUGE aquarium tunnel. It’s like you are right in the tank! There were penguins and puffins and weird looking fish and a swamp habitat. Simply awesome.
From Omaha we went to Kansas City, MO. Recently I’ve gotten really into learning about WWI. Mostly because I picked up an audio series that NPR put out in honor of WWI’s centennial. You can see the series here. As I listened to the discs {there’s only three} I heard a short snippet about our country’s only WWI museum…in Kansas City, MO. The piece made it sound so cool and we were going to be so close…I begged Derek to take me. {Because I’m really that lame.}
So we went. And I was so impressed! Really, one of the best museums I’ve ever been to. Ever. It made the material easy to understand. It was well laid out. The design was beautiful. The exhibits were fascinating. It’s interactive and techy and traditional–all at the same time. I learned a million things. {Photo below from the museum’s Facebook page.}
I love interactive portions of museums and this museum had some great interactive exhibits. There were “listening booths” that let you play music, writings, and diary entries from the war years. There were also tables of touch-screen games, plans, photo albums, and DIY propaganda posters.
When you are done with your creation…you can email it to yourself! Here are our masterpieces. I’m pretty sure I’m on my way to being a sought after propaganda artist.
After hours at the museum, we ate an amazing lunch at Jack Stack BBQ. It’s delightful for the taste buds and they eyes. The decor is so lovely. Seriously, one of the best meals we had on our trip! {Photo from the Jack Stack Facebook page.}
Tomorrow I’ll tell you about the second half of our road trip–Memphis, NOLA, Montgomery, Pensacola, and Orlando! Okay, so…technically, it’s more cities…but we didn’t do nearly as many touristy things in those places. So it’ll be less of a read. I’ll see you back on the road tomorrow!
Amy
