Travels with Children

Here’s this week’s list of places I’d love to go with my kids, and ideas for traveling with kids that I find useful:

• Looking for Halloween ideas?  Read about the Monster Splash Nighttime Halloween Bash at the Miami Seaquarium and the Ascarium at the Aquarium in Brooklyn at FlyAway Cafe.  Mommy Poppins knows about 15 FREE Halloween Events for Children in New York City.  CNN Travel has a list of spooky fun and games for the whole family.  For some family Halloween fun, see if your local zoo has a Boo at the Zoo program, like these reported by CBS.
• Thanksgiving?  See Frommer’s post on Thanksgiving at U.S. National Parks for some family-friendly ideas.
• These are right up my alley:  Twenty Ways to Soak Up the Season at Divine Caroline offers simple ideas for spending family time together, and Midwest Guest shows us the road less traveled.
• BackPack to Buggy has suggestions for five super low-budget, family destinations for fall.
• Michelle Tripp wrote about a Family Day at Bodega Bay.
• Fall ideas: Read about a mother & son trip to Highland Orchards at The Mother of All Trips, the fun some cousins had at a hayride at BagMomma, and Bizzie Mommy’s trip to a pumpkin festival in L.A.
• On the Go with Amy discusses Exposing Kids to Democracy in Washington, D.C.
• The Q Family Adventure headed to Six Flags over Georgia.
• Travels with Baby gives information on family stops in Long Beach, California, and Salem, Oregon.
• TravelMuse provides ideas for a Tampa and St. Pete Family Vacation, How to Pack for Road Trips with Infants, Top U.S. Aquariums, and a Sarasota Family Vacation.
• Families who need a break in New York City can head to the Bryant Park Reading Room, as reported by FamilyTravelLogue.  And if you’re planning to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, see TravelingMamas’ tips.
• Travels with Child wrote about a trip to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia.
• Kid-Friendly Travel shares its picks for Downtown Chicago with Kids,  Day-Tripping Downtown Minneapolis, Washington, D.C.-Virginia area, Washington, D.C. with Kids, and  Kid-Friendly San Diego.
• Frommer’s recommended family-friendly travel locations in Rappahannock County, Virginia; describes fall fun at several United States children’s museums; and offers tips for traveling with toddlers by car.

I’m going to make a confession.  I don’t go to Mall of America to shop!  In fact, quite often when I go there the only money I spend is on food.  That was the case with our most recent trip to MOA.

We first stopped at the mall to eat lunch.  If you’re eating food-court style with kids at Mall of America, I’ll give you a hint:  Choose the south food court, which overlooks the amusement park.  It will keep the young ones entertained watching the roller coasters, and it’s where McDonald’s is located.  We found a table along the railing, and the kids mindlessly (meaning quietly) ate their lunch while ooohing and aaahing at the rides.

After lunch, we walked through Legoland, and then wandered through the Nickelodeon Universe theme park.  Most of the rides are revamped and repainted from the park’s Camp Snoopy days, but it appears that they are adding some new rides as well.

When we got through the park, we headed to the transit station to ride downtown on the light rail train.  When we returned, we walked through the park again and saw the character meet-and-greet area, where a freakishly large Diego was greeting fans who were ushered one at a time to his fenced-in area.  My kids were scared to go anywhere near him.  So much for meet-and-greet excitement.

We headed back upstairs to eat supper at Famous Dave’s.  We did stop in a store or two on the way out. (The kids’ clothing stores are conveniently grouped near each other), and headed out into rush hour traffic that was surprisingly manageable heading south on Hwy. 77.

Someday I’ll have the luxury of going to Mall of America without children so I can do some actual shopping.

Read more of our adventures to Mall of America .