Are you ready? Why not try eBook Family Travel Guides…
eBOOK BENEFITS
QUICK DELIVERY – After completing the checkout process, you’ll receive an email that takes you to the download page for your book(s).
INTERACTIVE WEBSITE LINKS & DIRECT LINKS to FREE ACTIVITY SHEETS or GAMES. This feature at the minimum works with your PC ePDF reader. It also works with many portable eBook readers (ie iPAD, Nook, Kindle, tablets).*
VERY AFFORDABLE – Less expensive than our printed books.
EASY TO UPDATE – Using the ePDF editor on your reading device.
SHRINK OR ENLARGE TEXT SIZE – Using the zoom feature on your reading device
PRINT SELECTED PAGES – From home computer printer
ALLOWS FOR HIGHLIGHTING – On PC and select readers
SAVES TIME – Instead of “Googling” your time away, you purchase an inexpensive e-book on the topic, taking away the guesswork. Written by family travel experts who have personally visited over 5000 places with their kids.
www.indians.com. Tours (small fee) include Kidsland, a press box, a suite, a dugout, a fun video…all lasts about one hour (Monday-Saturday 10am-2pm, some summer sundays).
www.pirateball.com PNC Park. On game nights the city closes the Roberto Clemente Bridge to vehicles so street performers, vendors and pedestrians swarm the area – everyone decked out in black and gold attire. The concessions at the park are upscale fair food and many are grilled to order. Primanti is a must if you want Steel City, hold it with two hands, kinda food.
A fellow mommy blogger wrote this adorable post about not only the infamous Saugatuck dune buggy rides but some suggested eateries and shopping venues we haven’t tried:
Want over 50 different ideas for family travel in southwest Michigan (and hundreds more across the state)? Start reading on page 162, Southwest Chapter of KIDS LOVE MICHIGAN, 7th edition
Longhorns Head to Tail Tours of Dickinson Cattle Co, Barnesville, Ohio (PG 45). Those stampeding through the ranch will….
~~ Visit the newly expanded Longhorn Store, Gallery and Theater. ~~ You will hand feed the largest horned Texas Longhorn cattle in the world — that includes other parts of the world (Texas) we will not mention by name. ~~ You will travel the historic areas made famous by Hanging Judge Isaac Parker, Johnny Appleseed, Hopalong Cassidy, Mexican General Santa Anta and most recently, Sarah Palin. For more info on doing the ranch check the tour site at…………
Visitors to Cleveland-area attractions will catch the attention of classmates and co-workers alike when their reports on “what I did on my summer vacation” include standing in the nation’s longest underwater sea-tube, browsing the aisles for retro candies at the nation’s largest candy store and standing next to the “world’s largest rubber stamp.” For a vacation worthy of the record books, visitors should be sure to include these attractions on their Cleveland itinerary.
Greater Cleveland Aquarium Visitors can wave to the smiling Rays as they glide overhead at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium’s SeaTube, a 145′ walk-through tunnel considered to be the nation’s longest sea tube. The Powerhouse located in the West Bank of the Flats is now home to the new 70,000-square-foot Aquarium. The unique facility includes 42 tanks integrated into the historic building to create an exciting underwater environment with more than 5,000 fish. Not only does the facility feature different habitats, such as a Louisiana Bayou, but it also features the creatures found in local rivers and streams. 216.862.8803, www.greaterclevelandaquarium.com
Free Stamp Often considered to be the “world’s largest rubber stamp,” this large sculpture is located in Willard Park right in the center of downtown. Designed by pop artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen known to recreate common items into giant proportions, the art was donated to the city of Cleveland nearly 10 years after it was originally commissioned by Standard Oil of Ohio. With dimensions measuring more than 28 feet by 49 feet, the sculpture is a bold reminder of American freedom. Downtown visitors can visit the park to snap a picture of the sculpture.
b.a. Sweetie Candy Company What do bugs, toxic waste and chocolate worms have in common? All are edible! At b.a Sweetie Candy Company, a family-owned candy warehouse that’s been around for generations, children can indulge their wackier tastes. Sweetie’s have just about every kind of candy imaginable. For those who aren’t ready for the extreme candies, they can choose from nostalgic favorites such as wax lips, PEZ dispensers and gourmet jellybeans. 216.739.2244, www.sweetiescandy.com
Once you have a copy in your hands, it’s hard not to open it and explore its sections. I like to be organized when I travel so the pocketed folder pages placed strategically throughout the book caught my eye. Large text and spiral notebook style publishing were next. What mom doesn’t need to work on last minute plans while driving down to Disney? Readable text and a “workbook” that can grow in size work nicely on the road.
More about the book:
With the help of this planner, you’ll make exciting discoveries like where in Epcot to find Mickey-shaped tomatoes and the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it eerie surprise on the Tower of Terror. In addition to these never-before-revealed secrets, you’ll also discover:
The best places to stay and eat for every budget
Scheduling strategies to cut your waiting time in long lines
Prime viewing spots for parades
And hundreds more money- and time-saving (and fun-maximizing) tips!
Complete with journal pages to record your memories, fold-out maps to help you find your way, and pockets to hold your keepsakes, The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World Planner helps you step into your own “Once Upon a Time” and make your Disney dreams come true!
BUT, we all know there’s more magic to Florida than just Disney. Want to read reviews about the family-friendliness (on a budget) of the other 599 things to do in Florida?
Wondering where to take the kids this summer? Budget Travel has some great ideas and is pleased to unveil 15 More Places Every Kid Should See Before 15. (2 of them are favs from the KIDS LOVE ILLINOIS book)
Last year, Budget Travel chose 15 places they thought every kid should see before they turned 15. This year, they took it one step further and invited readers to weigh in on their favorite kid-friendly destinations. The editors then used the reader-generated nominations (562 to be exact) to create the 2012 list.
What made a destination worthy of inclusion? It needed to be fun, educational, and especially magical through the eyes of a child. It needed to inspire adults to tap back into that childlike sense of wonder. And it needed to have universal appeal.
In case you were wondering…my fav pick of the 15 is from our KIDS LOVE ILLINOIS book…Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield…Disney does Lincoln…overloaded!
I’m sure you are aware of all the well-known cultural destinations in the Windy City – the museums, Wrigley Field, Millennium Park, Sears Tower, but there is one little-known gem that I want to put on your radar. In the heart of Chicago’s River North area, Open Books is a cultural experience that has been described as a Wonka Wonderland of Books.
The award-winning bookstore provides a vibrant, fun, creative place for guests of all ages to read and play. Adult visitors can browse through a selection of 50,000 books and relax on the oversized couches, while kids can enjoy flipping through the 10,000 children’s books and playing in the children’s corner.
Travelers can even feel good about spending their money (books average between $3 to $5), which we know can get tight during vacations, because book sales support the Open Books literacy program. The store funds 50% of Open Book’s literacy programs which pairs volunteers with Chicago Public School students to help them with reading and writing – thousands of volunteers- 4,000 students. There is so much more to say about the store, but I don’t want to bombard you with information. Feel free to check out the website whenever you have a free moment: http://www.open-books.org/.
Atlanta – 121 Baker Street (adjacent to Georgia Aquarium at Centennial Olympic Park Drive, I-75 exit 249C) 30313. Phone: (800) 676-COKE. www.worldofcoca-cola.com Hours: Daily 10:00am-5:00pm. Longer open/close hours during peak season and most weekends. Closed Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Online discounts. Timed entry tickets. Miscellaneous: Movies to view on each floor. Photo ops on every floor, too. Giant Coke gift shop. Cafe. Educators: click on the Teacher’s Toolkit for worksheets and activities.
Atlanta is the birthplace of Coca-Cola. The story is told through a bright collection of memorabilia, classic radio and television ads, a fantasy representation of the bottling process and a futuristic soda fountain. It started with a syrup created by a pharmacist. Accidentally, a soda jerk added carbonated water and the customers loved it – Coke was born!
Guests are greeted by a enthusiastic guides who direct you to start by viewing the 4-minute audio visual history of the product (later you’ll get a chance to watch the Secret Formula 3D movie with moving seats!).
After that, you are turned loose to explore the many sections of the museum. At Bottle Works you’ll view a slow-motion production line so you can see robots in action filling bottles.
Really interesting history is found at Milestones of Refreshment. On display- a can that flew on the space shuttle and the original prototype bottle.
The highlight of your visit is the last station – taste testing! Try flavors, old and new, plus many found in foreign countries. Some are quite unusual, some very sweet. If you try them all, like we did, you’re bound to have a belly-ache – so, be wise, and choose carefully. Don’t forget your free Coke as you leave.
Did you know the secret formula is still a secret? Where is it kept?
Disclosure: While the review of this attraction is completely my own (with no bias), the attraction did provide me with complimentary admission.
The Phoenix Bat Company is a specialized wooden-bat creator and manufacturer located just outside of Columbus, Ohio, in Plain City. The company produces premium rock maple and northern white ash baseball and softball bats. Combining premium grade woods with the most advanced, state of the art lathe in the bat manufacturing industry, Phoenix Bats delivers high quality wooden bats consistently to major league players and little leaguers alike. Ohio made and Pro approved!
And the best part, they offer tours! Open tours are available on Tuesdays at 6pm and Thursdays and Fridays at 1:30pm. No reservation required – just show up.
Tours are $10.00 per person and include a custom engraved mini bat to commemorate your visit.
During the one hour tour you’ll learn about how the business got started with vintage baseball players and a man who liked to make wood spindles. Next, they highlight which MLB pros use the bats and show samples of their specially ordered bats. Names like Ordonez, Carerra and Ramirez perked the boys’ ears.
We next moved into the computer corner to see how the bat is generated on a graphics program first, then sent into the factory to be produced. Good job if you love to take measurements again, and again.
The computer generated model is now fed into the humongous Italian lathe that takes a large dowel of wood and in one slow back and forth motion forms and sands the baseball bat into shape!
The finishing process is messy. Lots of dipping (and dripping stations) abound in a separate temperature controlled room. Finally, you watch the engraver embed a special logo or message into each bat. That same engraver is used to specialize your personal mini-bat tour souvenir.
They have birthday packages, too, combining the wood bat tour with time in the batting cages.
We took the tour offered on Tuesday night. We also allowed for time in the batting cages as a few from our group of baseball players were interested in trying out wood bats to purchase as their practice bats. Watching them smile when they hit the ball on that special “sweet spot” exclusive to each wood bat was a thrill (and seeing them whimper when it stung on the “not so sweet spot” – not so sweet).
Admittedly, I am a factory touraholic. This tour was especially exciting because it combined my family (and friends) love of baseball while supporting an American-made product (made close to home).
Phoenix Bat Company 7801 Corporate Blvd Suite E Plain City OH 43064
By phone: Local: 614.873.7776 Toll free: 877.598.BATS (2287) Fax: 614.873.7796
Greater Cleveland Aquarium
Free Stamp
b.a. Sweetie Candy Company
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