Maus Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 This will be long, but I figure you'll need details. We are leaving on Tuesday for Barbershop Harmony College in St. Joseph, Missouri. (DH is an awesome first tenor and assistant director of our local Barbershop Harmony Society - formerly SPEPSQSA - chapter.) We are taking our RV from here in Utah and traveling along I80 there and I70 back. We plan to stop for the night in Rock Springs, WY; Cheyenne, WY; Omaha, NE; Oakley, KS; Golden, CO; and Green River, CO, and during the conference itself, we will be staying in Platte City, MO. (Overnight stops are based on RV parks that take big rigs and have wi-fi so DH can get some work hours in, and on tolerable driving distances with a toddler.) DS8 has located in his well-worn "Tourist Train Guidebook" what must be nearly every train related site along our route, but we don't really know of any sites that will appeal to DD6. She's into ballet and science. (We know a few of the obvious biggies, like the Henry Doorly Zoo, the Pony Express museum in St. Joseph, and the KC children's museum, but not much else.) Is anybody here familiar with any of these areas? Especially the KC, MO to St. Joseph area, as the kids and I will have all day to explore for the six days of the conference. (One of the days, I plan to drive up to Red Oak, Iowa to do some genealogy, as that's where my grandmother was from. They moved to Oregon when she was in High School.) Also, any heads up any sites with overly small parking lots would be appreciated, as I will be driving our tow vehicle, which looks a lot like this: and when I try to park it, I feel just like I did negotiating theater seats at 8 1/2 months pregnant! :lol: We love to Geocache, but figure the change in climate will literally dampen our enthusiasm for extended outdoor adventures! Thanks for any suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in Austin Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 We went to Independence, MO last year and *loved* the Truman museum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 (edited) The Truman Library is right there in Independence as well as Truman's home. Jesse Jame's house is there in St Joe. The KC Science City is in Union Station. There is also some train stuff there, you get 2 for 1! It has more stuff than the Children's Museum but the two are not far apart. The zoo here isn't one of those that has a lot of inside stuff, it is mostly outside and it is way too hot! The Nelson Museum is nice but I don't know whether or not your kids will like it. Monet's waterlilies will be on display there all three panels are being displayed together There is a Toy and Miniature Museum, there is a Barbie exhibit there atm. There is a Rainforest Adventure thing going on at Crown center, which is attached to the Children's Museum. Crown center is Hallmark corporate headquarters. It has some fun crayola stuff there but don't eat at the crayola restaurant, it is overpriced and boring. If you go down to the bottom floor of Crown Center there is a diner place were a little train brings the food to your table. Kids get engineer hats (like burger king crowns) it has some train stuff like train whistle and such http://fritzskc.com/ A "Lee&Grant" exhibit is at the National Archives here in KC The WWI Memorial has a very nice Museum in it. I really enjoyed it when I was there. http://www.visitkc.com/things-to-do/arts-and-culture/arts-culture-exhibits/index.aspx Edited July 22, 2011 by Sis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 There is a Money Museum at the Federal Reserve http://www.kansascityfed.org/moneymuseum/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 DH just got home and said I had to put up a picture of our truck and rv, silly man! Boys and their toys. :rolleyes: Yay! Those suggestions look great! The Truman house and museum look great for roadschooling on the sly, and the museum with the Barbie exhibit is likely to be a hit. They might even go for the Monet's since they've seen them in one of our books, either Art Detective or Mathterpieces, can't recall at the moment. Sounds like we could do the Children's museum, Science City, and the Rainforest thing on one day without having to park more than once (bonus!). Ooo, cool! I'm starting to get excited now! Thank you, thank you! To both of you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 There is a Money Museum at the Federal Reserve http://www.kansascityfed.org/moneymuseum/ Oh, we just read Betsy Maestro's "The Story of Money" last week! That could work, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Sounds like we could do the Children's museum, Science City, and the Rainforest thing on one day without having to park more than once (bonus!). Children's Museum and the Rainforest thing are in buildings attached by a walkway, the train restaurant is there as well. If your kids get hot they can run through the fountains. There is a parking garage there. http://www.crowncenter.com/AboutUs-Fountains/Index.htm The Science City place, with the train stuff is very close by and it has decent parking, it is a functioning train station. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 (edited) Oh, we just read Betsy Maestro's "The Story of Money" last week! That could work, too! It is right by the WWI memorial. The WWI memorial is very nice. http://www.theworldwar.org/s/110/new/index_community.aspx There is decent parking but the Fed is across a pretty busy street from the Museum. I would park twice rather than walk it. It looks all green and park-like but people use that road to hop on the highway. Edited July 23, 2011 by Sis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Just a quick heads-up about traveling from Omaha to St. Joe. You cannot travel on I-29 as most of it is under water. You can take US highway 75 down and either cross the river at St. Joe on US highway 34 or meet I-70 in Topeka and get to KC that way. I will just second all of Sis's recommendations. KC is a lot of fun. If you do travel on US75, you will be passing through Nebraska City, which is the home of Arbor Day. If you want to stop, I recommend this. My kids really enjoy it. Grand Island, NE has the Stuhr Museum. I haven't been there yet, but another hs mom I know said her kids really enjoyed it. That's all I can think of right now. Enjoy your trip! It sounds like loads of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Just a quick heads-up about traveling from Omaha to St. Joe. You cannot travel on I-29 as most of it is under water. You can take US highway 75 down and either cross the river at St. Joe on US highway 34 or meet I-70 in Topeka and get to KC that way. Wooops!! I forgot about the water! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PIE! Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 If you like the sort of thing - The Winter Quarters visitors center in Omaha would be a good stop. They've got some great stuff for kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 Just a quick heads-up about traveling from Omaha to St. Joe. You cannot travel on I-29 as most of it is under water. You can take US highway 75 down and either cross the river at St. Joe on US highway 34 or meet I-70 in Topeka and get to KC that way. Wooops!! I forgot about the water![/Quote]Thanks for the heads up about the flooding and road closures. We've been looking online, and if we are understanding the information, it looks like the stretch between St. Joseph and Kansas City is open, but the stretch between St. Joseph and Omaha has a major closure just south of Nebraska City. Does that sound right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 If you like the sort of thing - The Winter Quarters visitors center in Omaha would be a good stop. They've got some great stuff for kids.Oh, DH said something about that months ago and I had forgotten. It's good to know they have kids activities. That can be a make or break decision with little ones, no matter what Mom and Dad would like to see. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Thanks for the heads up about the flooding and road closures. We've been looking online, and if we are understanding the information, it looks like the stretch between St. Joseph and Kansas City is open, but the stretch between St. Joseph and Omaha has a major closure just south of Nebraska City. Does that sound right? I think that is right. The river is still way up. So while in St. Joe you can go see the flooding river. The Pony Express museum is there too. Further down the road is Atchison, KS, home of Amelia Earhart. Weston MO is another little town with some neat attractions. It's between St. Joe and KC. They have a lot of antique shops and wineries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamis Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 I can't believe you are doing all of that being 81/2 mo. pregnant!! WOw..maybe you will go into labor!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 In Kansas: Monument Rocks (not the best place to visit in 100-plus temps, though) Sternberg Museum in Hays Lucas (Garden of Eden, Grassroots Art Center, Garden of Isis, and the World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things Traveling Roadside Attraction and Museum) My kids love going Fritz's Railroad Restaurant in Crown Center where little trains deliver the food. Also take a look at the Kansas Sampler Foundation's list of 8 Wonders of Kansas in different categories to see which ones might on your route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 I can't believe you are doing all of that being 81/2 mo. pregnant!! WOw..maybe you will go into labor!!Whew, no, no, not pregnant this road trip, though we did go on an extended road trip in the rv during my last pregnancy! No, I was just saying that parking our rather large truck just gives me that same sense of not knowing quite where I am in space that I've always had in late pregnancy. I was huge for all three pregnancies. Apparently, I carry quite low and to the front, so I was always getting asked if I was having twins. All my babies were tiny, too. The biggest one not quite seven pounds. The only one who waited all the way to her due date was my smallest. I drive a small Accord most of the time, so driving our big truck feels really big and bulky. I trend to huge the line and I always have to hop out and make sure I'm properly within the stall when I park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted August 11, 2011 Author Share Posted August 11, 2011 Just a quick heads-up about traveling from Omaha to St. Joe. You cannot travel on I-29 as most of it is under water. You can take US highway 75 down and either cross the river at St. Joe on US highway 34 We took your suggestion, and it worked really well! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted August 11, 2011 Author Share Posted August 11, 2011 Thanks to everyone that responded! We had a great time with many of your suggestions. We liked Science City so much, we went twice! (We are ASTC members, so it only cost parking.) I let my daughter have the final vote, since we'd seen so many train things along the way. I told her we could go see the Barbie exhibit at the Toy & Miniature museum or we could go back to Science City. She didn't have to think about it long. As much as she likes Barbies, science is her thing. The kids loved the walkway over to the Crown Center, and the Rainforest Adventure, and Fritz's, too. (Fritz's was really busy, though.) I was impressed by how well layed-out and hands-on the Pony Express Museum was. The kids liked that, too. They liked the Patee House, too. I thought they'd be bored, from the description, but DD6 liked the "What doesn't belong" game they put into the "downtown" part of the exhibit, and DS8 loved the train, of course. We had some mechanical misadventures that used up several days we'd hoped to have. We had to get new tires for the trailer on the only day we had in the Omaha area, and had to leave the truck at a service center for three days in St. Joe after I put unleaded gas in it (it's a diesel). I assumed green handles always meant diesel, but one station chain there, which we don't have here, has a green color scheme as it's decor. The small silver lining in that very, very costly mistake was that we rented a small car similar to my own at home for those days, so parking wasn't a problem when we went to downtown Kansas City. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 I am so glad you had fun. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Wow, I missed this the first time around, but it's awesome that you had fun. Those mishaps with cars stink! I had one where I was looking for diesel, so I went to the tank labelled diesel to fill a 5-gallon portable tank. I didn't realize it was a special high-volume one for filling semis, and managed to completely cover myself with diesel. :( Also, both my brothers sang barbershop for a while, one still does. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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