Travels with Children

On a beautiful November day (and by beautiful I mean 40 degrees with no wind), the kids and I headed to the Linden Hills station on the west side of Lake Harriet in Minneapolis to ride the “Holly Trolley” with Santa Claus.  We’ve ridden the Como-Harriet Streetcar before, but it was fun to see it decorated with lights and garland.  Carolers greeted us as we boarded the trolley and dropped in our real trolley tokens, and Ebenezer Scrooge was there as well.  Santa wandered up and down the trolley car along the ride, offering to sit with the kids or pose for a picture and handing out candy canes to the children on board.

Unlike the regular-season trolley rides which include a history lesson, the Holly Trolley is merely for fun and goes up the line past Lakewood Cemetery, back past the station to the garage, and then returning to the station.   The ride is short but festive.

After the ride, the kids wanted to watch for a while longer, so we stood by the fired that volunteers had built and watch the trolley come and go a few more times.  The volunteers are knowledgeable about the trolley and its history and answered the kids’ questions about how the track switches work, how many stations are left in Minneapolis, and so on.

The Holly Trolley was a just-right ride for the kids.  It will be running today and next weekend as well, so if you want a chance to ride with Santa, head down there!

Sometimes on our travels we come across things that are truly off the beaten path.  Such is the case of Cliff Haugen’s sculptures near Larimore, North Dakota.  They’re on a gravel road a few miles northeast of the rest area, and not marked in any way.  My mom just happened to know about them and so I ventured off the highway to take a look.

I’m guessing most of these pieces are made of scrap pieces of metal from around the farm, so this is recycling taking on an interesting form.

Some of the pieces are in motion and move gently with the wind.

I apologize for the quality of the photos; it was a cloudy day. And these are only a few of the pieces along the farmsite; my camera battery died after I snapped these pictures.

While these aren’t the masterpieces that others have seen at the Louvre or other famed museums, they’re pieces of art nonetheless.  I love these types of finds on my travels!  If you ever want to see this collection for yourself, make your way to Larimore, ND, and ask someone for directions to Cliff Haugen’s farm.

For more travel photos, head over to DeliciousBaby for Photo Friday.

Here in rural Minnesota, our communities are made up almost entirely of people whose heritage is from either Germany or Norway.  Blonde hair and blue eyes are common; languages other than English are not.

So how do we teach our kids about other cultures?  Museum visits are a great way to learn about other countries and their ways of life.

Currently in the Twin Cities, there are some great opportunities to teach kids about other cultures.

• The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is hosting an exhibit called INDIA: Public Spaces, Private Places.  This exhibit was also the basis for a recent Family Day at MIA.
• The Hmong at Heart exhibit at the Minnesota Children’s Museum gives visitors a look into the Hmong culture in Laos and in America.
• Urban Expedition programs at St. Paul’s Landmark Center explore the culture and traditions of countries such as Germany, Uganda, and Latvia.

Museum visits are an excellent way to introduce children to new cultures, as well as history, science, and art.  Giving children the opportunity to learn about other people in the enjoyable setting of a museum can spark them into wanting to learn more.

And how can they learn more, without traveling the world? Books and movies can be a good way.  I was recently made aware of a DVD series for children called Global Wonders, which teaches children about India, Mexico, and more.  I’ll be looking for them on our next trip to the library, where we can also find books, movies, and music reflecting any culture we’re interested in.

Do you live in a culturally diverse area?  How do you teach your children about other cultures?

For more ideas, see what other twitter moms have done.

Here’s a look at interesting, fun, and useful information from other travel bloggers this week.

• Minnesota’s Split Rock Lighthouse and the Edmund Fitzgerald at A Closer Look at Flyover Land.
• An Unexpected Adventure (my favorite kind) at Family Adventure Guidebooks.
• Top 5 Tips for Finding a Family Vacation that Fits Your Budget at Traveling Mamas.
• Recharging in Keystone at Travel Savvy Mom.
• Maurice Sendak retrospective in Philly at We Just Got Back.  (We’re considering adding 3 days and 900 miles to our Christmas trip so we can visit Philadelphia. Hmmmm… )
• We Just Got Back’s freebies series continues with free things to do in Baltimore, San Francisco’s North Bay, Milwaukee, Lexington, Portland, Boston, Chicago,
• Things for kids at the San Francisco airport at Family Travelogue.
• Free and Kid Friendly in Washington, D.C. - The Smithsonian Institution at Uptake Vacations.
• Space Shuttle Launch at Family Travel Planet.
• California Academy of Arts and Sciences at Frisco Kids.
• Top Travel Tips at Boston Mamas.
• Family Vacation Ideas at Family Travel Planet.
• Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory at Uptake Attractions.
• Some book/CD combos that will probably be added to my in-the-car playlist at Boston Mamas.
• Kid-friendly restaurants at Milwaukee Moms.
• Great Chicago-area children’s book stores at Being Savvy.
• Going to the Beach in MIchigan at Uptake Attractions.
• Family Fun in Downtown Boise at Uptake Vacations.
• Portland Christmas Activities at Suite101.
• The Dallas Zoo at Uptake Attractions.
• Safety for kids while traveling includes many different things. Near-tragedy at Scenic Overlook describes one family’s close call.
• Santa Claus visits Chicago Downtown at Suite 101.
• The Christmas Lights at Clifton Mill at Uptake Vacations.
• Some great Holiday Light Attractions at Uptake Attractions.
• Kids Night on Broadway is now Monthly at Mommy Poppins.
• Holiday Family Fun at Navy Pier in Chicago at Suite101.

When people hear of the places we take our kids, they’ll often make comments about traveling any sort of distance with four young children in the car.  “How do you do it?” they’ll ask.  “They’re good travelers,” I’ll reply, and for the most part they really are.  Of course, I have a few tricks up my sleeve, like snacks, magazines, coloring books, and the like.  Sometimes they’ll take a nap in the car.  We play a lot of games of “I Spy” and spotting the letters of the alphabet.  We switch back and forth between talk radio and “kid music.”  And once in a while they even argue with each other.

Would it surprise you, though, to hear that we don’t have a DVD player for the car?  I’ve heard people say that’s it’s a “lifesaver” or that they “couldn’t live without it” when traveling with kids on long trips.

For some reason, though, I’m philosphically opposed to car DVD players.  My kids watch TV at home, and I don’t think it’s necessary for them to be tuned into a tiny screen in the car when there’s so much to see out the windows.  We enjoy the conversations we have in the car and would miss out on that if they were plugged in to a movie.

Once in a while, the kids ask if we can get a car DVD player, but they really don’t grumble too loudly when we tell them no and explain our reasons.  Judging by the landmarks they recognize and the signs they read, they don’t feel like they’re missing out on too much.

If you’re a DVD-in-the-car family, I don’t begrudge you your ways of keeping travel peaceful.  In fact, I may someday change my mind, perhaps on a really long cross-country trip.  But for now, I’m happy to have my children enjoy what they see out the windows of our mini-van and enjoy the conversations we have with them en route.

Here are some family travel ideas from the past week, west to east, and some travel tips to keep in mind.

• Visiting the Vancouver Aquarium at Suite101.
• Stretch Your Family Vacation Dollars in San Diego at Travels with Baby Tips.
• 10 Activities Near Disneyland and Disneyland on the Spur of the Moment at DeliciousBaby, and Disney’s California Adventure at Uptake Vacations.
• Top 10 Free Attractions in Las Vegas at Cheapo Air, and Las Vegas Aquariums at Uptake Vacations.
• Firefighters Hall and Museum in Minneapolis at Uptake Attractions.
• 24 Hours in St. Louis with Kids at TravelMuse.
• Chicago for Families at Uptake Vacations.
• Miller’s Country Gardens in Delaware, OH, at Uptake Vacations.
• 15 Best Places to Get Scientific with Kids at Mommy Poppins.
• Belvedere Plantation in Fredericksburg, VA, at Uptake Vacations.
• Family Attractions and Things to Do in Atlanta at Suite101.
• Downtown Disney at Uptake Attractions.
• Free Things to do in Atlanta, Tucson, Disney World, San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, and Minneapolis-St. Paul at We Just Got Back.
• Family Adventures without Wheels at Family Adventure Guidebooks.
• Family River Rafting at CNN.
• Ski Resorts for an Affordable Family Vacation at Cheapo Air.
• Surviving Long-Haul Flights with Kids at TravelBlogs.
• Tips for Taking Kid- and Travel-Worthy Photos at Travel Savvy Mom.
• 8 Things Every Traveling Parent Should Know at Boots’n'all.
• Navigating Airport Security with Kids at Jet With Kids.
• The Low-Down on Flying with Children of All Ages at Wanderlust and Lipstick.
• Infant Travel at TravelMuse.
• Thanksgiving Parades at Suite101.

There was a time when I liked museum gift shops almost as much as I liked the museums themselves.  Museum shops always seem to have such unique, thought-provoking, beautiful items.

With kids, however, museums shops are basically dangerous.  It’s hard to single-handedly keep four little kids from touching things, and tiresome to ward off their begging for trinkets.  I’m not much for buying souvenirs on our travels; grandmas and grandpas are good enough to bring back mementos of their vacations, but for our own journeys, I figure we have the memories and the photos, so I don’t need to buy anything to remind us of the visit.

There’s one area, though, that’s my downfall:  books.  Specifically children’s books.  I suppose it’s because I was a librarian in a former life, and got to go to library conferences where I’d have books autographed by Rosemary Wells and Tomie dePaola and Eric Carle, even before I had any children to share them with.

So now, it’s hard for me to pass up a good book when we’re out on our adventures.  We have biographies of Grant Wood and Kate Shelley, books about the Hinckley Fire and the Great Chicago Fire, books autographed by authors like Jill Kalz and Rick Chrustowski, and our latest addition, a book about Wanda Gag.  (I haven’t been to the Wanda Gag house in New Ulm, MN, yet, but the kids went there on a field trip last year.)

Books aren’t the cheapest of souvenirs, but neither are they the most expensive.  They’re sharable, and able to be passed down to new adventurers, and helpful in recalling the details of a visit or writing a school report.

Yes, I think books are souvenirs we can be proud to have.

These are some of the books we’ve collected on our travels:

What types of souvenirs do you collect on your travels?

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My latest entry at Uptake.com is about one of our all-time favorite museums. I’ve written about it here before, but if you want to read a more general review of it, see Uptake Attractions.

When we’re looking for good, free fun, we often head to our local library. Whether for story time, the summer reading program, or just to get more books to read, it’s a favorite destination. I feel fortunate that our libary is only a few miles away and I can oblige the kids when they ask to go. When I was growing up in North Dakota, the library in Grand Forks was an hour away, and although it was always a stop when we were in town, it wasn’t somewhere we’d go unless we were already in Grand Forks.

A beautiful thing about libraries is that you can go to any one you want. Even if you can’t check out books, you can go in with your kids and browse, play with the puzzles and games, see the fish, use a computer, look at the artwork, and . . . well, you get the idea.

I’ve written about the St. Paul Central Library before, as well as the libraries in Mankato and Springfield, Minnesota. Here are some other libraries we visited this summer.

Gaylord (MN) Public Library: Recently opened in a renovated building down the street from its old location, the new Gaylord Library is beautiful. It’s warm and welcoming, with artwork from local artists, coffee brewing for the adults, and a raised story area and special computer station for the kids.

Morgan (MN) Public Library: We enjoyed a special program at the Morgan Library, a concert by folk singer Dennis Warner, where the kids in the audience enjoyed the performance so much that they just sat there at the end, not moving until we convinced Dennis to perform an encore. The special programs that go along with summer reading programs are great for kids.

New Ulm (MN) Public Library: Here we were treated to a reading and book signing by author Jill Kalz, whose book Farmer Cap received a Minnesota Book Awards reader’s choice award. It was a delight to watch the children as they tried to guess exactly what it was that eccentric Farmer Cap was growing in his field. The children’s area at the New Ulm library was moved and expanded a few years ago, and is an inviting place for kids to visit.

Excelsior (MN) Public Library: In Excelsior, we needed the library for information. We wanted to ride on the Excelsior Streetcar, but we didn’t know where to board. The reference librarian helped us then, as well as on our return when we decided we might like to ride the local steamboat. Libraries are information sources even if you’re not there to check out books.

What interesting things have you done at your local library? Do you ever visit other libraries just for fun?

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I know this isn’t a typical travel photo, but since all of our journeys are done by car, carseats are a big part of our life.

As a child passenger safety technician, (CPST or “carseat tech”), I love to play around with different seat combinations to see what can fit.

This past spring, a friend and I went on an adventure together. We had my four kids and her two girls, with an age range of 2-7, and I was delighted that I could get them all into our Toyota Sienna safely.

In the back row, I had my 5-year-old in a Britax Husky, her 5-year-old in a Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe, and her 3-year-old in a Cosco Scenera.

In the middle row, I had my 7-year-old in a Britax Parkway booster (which we took out at each stop for 3rd-row access), my 2-year-old rear-facing in a Britax Marathon, and my 4-year-old in a forward-facing Britax Marathon.

The brands of the seats aren’t so important for safety, but the types of seats are. Kids in harnessed seats are safer in a crash than kids in boosters, so even the three kids who would meet the requirements for riding in a booster were in harnessed seats. Infants and toddlers are safer rear-facing than forward-facing until they meet the height and/or weight limits of the seat, so my youngest remained rear-facing until she met the weight limit at age 2 1/2. And although my seven-year-old has long since passed the requirements of Minnesota for being in a child restraint, he will remain in a booster until he meets the 5-step test for fitting a regular seatbelt.

Each of the seats in this configuration had a good independent install, meaning that although it might have been touching another seat, it was still securely installed when the other seats were removed.

Are you wondering if your children’s carseats are installed correctly, or if they’re in the right type of seat, or if you have them harnessed properly? The best way to be sure is to have your seats checked by a CPST to be sure your kids are as safe as they can be.

To see more Photo Friday fun (and more exciting pictures than the ones I’ve offered today!), head over to DeliciousBaby.