Tips

Ville Time in Montréal

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As a family, we do a lot of state and national parks, camping, hiking…  We don’t always visit cities.  First of all, we have a penchant for the outdoor adventures.  But also, we have a large family and cities are expensive.  So from a practical sense, we just don’t always choose cities.  When we do, we try to take them to cities that are somewhat different from our own.  We also are choosey about what we do when we are there.  Of course, we are budget-conscious.  But also we want to get the biggest bang for our buck in terms of culture.  What are the things we want our kids to learn and experience being somewhere different?  Montréal was no exception.

First of all, this was our first trip as a family of six to another country.  So we definitely tried to give them a sense of the Eastern part of Canada.  Montréal is very unique.  They speak another language and culturally the lifestyle is different as well.  You really do get a cosmopolitan, European, French-y vibe in Montréal, so we definitely wanted to play that up.  We also always use public transportation if possible when we are in the cities to help our kids get a sense of that as well since our own city doesn’t have as integrated public transportation as many others. We stayed in a small cozy place in the city near a subway station so we would have quick access to public transport. We had a balcony, and the kids really enjoyed this. We also, apparently, stayed in a party area so there were lots of restaurants nearby (more on food later!).

We rode the city bus and the metro in Montréal.  This was thrilling for all of them!  Nick and Lucy have lived experience with subways in other cities, but Nick and Rami were new to this.  The sights and sounds were very exciting to them, and we taught them how to use the map and let them figure out the routes when we could. 

It didn’t look like this most of the time. Most of our trips, the bus was super crowded.

We also took a day to just enjoy the city.  Our visit to the Parc Olympique was not a whole day event.  We took just a part of the morning doing that.  So we decided to take the rest of the day to enjoy Montréal.  We went to the Marché Jean-Talon which is a famous open-air market in the city.  The sellers were so kind to our kids.  Many of them did not have great English, and so it was fun to get to practice our French.  We encouraged our kids to say bonjour and merci throughout.  They tried to read the signs and figure out words for the fruits and vegetables, among other things.  We had lunch at the market and bought some fruits and things for later in our day.

We then took the city bus to a park.  We climbed a hill and enjoyed a playground.  There were many kids around- we were not sure if it was school or camp.  But the kids enjoyed playing here for a long time. 

We had a snack in the sunshine and then headed over to a small lake where we rented a couple of boats and paddled around.  We were the only people on the lake.  We had girls in one boat and the boys in the other.  We tried to compete!  The girl boat had the easiest start but a disappointing finish.  The boys had some infighting, but ultimately gave up paddling and made Kareem do it.  😀  We had a delightful time on the water!  In the wintertime, Beaver Lake is used as an ice rink!  We went inside and saw where they rent the skates and there was a little café in there as well.

We visited Parc Jean-Drapeau on the St. Helen’s Island in the Saint Lawrence River to close our evening.  I had heard that the sunset from here is especially nice with the city in the west and the sun setting behind it.  They weren’t lying- it was spectacular!  We explored the park before the sunset.  We skipped the Biosphere, but did take some pictures around it. 

While taking pictures, we had a very nice Québecois cyclist stop to offer to help us.  He did not speak English really at all, and I was glad I was able to understand him and use my French.  He complimented me on my French which always feels good, even after all this time.  The Canadian accent is quite different, so I was pleased that I was able to communicate with him with ease.  He told us about a fireworks show off the bridge and a number of other cool things about Montréal. 

We sat by the river and just enjoyed the waves and the sunset and the togetherness.  It was a great evening in Montréal. We really lucked out with the weather. They had been calling for rain for our whole trip there. We got one downpour and we happened to be inside a museum for it. The rest of our few days there were absolutely gorgeous.

The next morning, we ascended Mont Royal, the “mountain” or hill for which Montreal is named. It was very cool because we had heard lots about it through our times in museums in Montreal and the origin of the city. We had a lovely view of the city for saying au revoir to Montreal!

One Day in White Sands NP with Kids

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One of our priority stops in New Mexico was White Sands National Park. It is something I have always wanted to see, and I wasn’t sure when or if we would be coming back to New Mexico, so I really wanted to make it happen.

Turns out, we fell completely in love with the Land of Enchantment! So we will definitely be back.

Anyway, we had one day to spend in White Sands. We set out from Santa Fe in the morning. We were behind schedule and it has SNOWED- big surprise! I was very nervous driving through the Glorieta Pass due to the snow, but we had a very lovely drive down. It is about 3.5 hours from Santa Fe to White Sands National Park.

We arrived a little later than I had wanted to, which was okay. The family we were traveling with were nervous about things filling up with the crowds that we encountered. We didn’t have to wait long to get in, we stopped briefly at the Visitors Center and then we were on our way. The park is huge, but there aren’t a ton of roads or anything. In fact, there’s pretty much one road. We didn’t encounter traffic, but we did see some full parking lots.

It was an incredible drive in. At first, there’s white sand and plants, and then the road and the plants disappear and you are surrounded by dunes of white sand. It’s incredible!

We found a place to park and began to explore. Something we were very excited about was sledding down the dunes! I had read lots and lots and lots of information regarding the sledding. We had brought a couple sleds, including those slide boards that are very flexible. These were not the best. They worked, but the sand would get caught up. Our friends bought some long plastic sleds and these were great. The best recommendation we found were for saucer sleds. They also recommended wax. The shop was out of wax, and we did just fine without it. I was grateful our friends had brought their sleds!

These dunes were 40-60 feet tall for the majority of what we were sledding. So the trek back up was no joke! I spent a lot of time sitting in the sand. It is not silica sand as many people think. It is selenite basically. It is unlike any sand I have encountered before. The best part is that it just dusts right off with no problem. I imagined we would all be covered and it was really easy clean up! So we took advantage of sitting in, laying on, and experiencing that sand!

My bucket list item was to see the sunset at White Sands. So the sunset hike was top of my list. We played in the sand all afternoon and we wanted to be early to the sunset hike because I had read that the parking lot fills up quick- they were right! We were early so we hung around that area for a while. Then we went on the ranger-led sunset hike. We learned a ton about the formation of the White Sands. The ranger had dug a hole and there was a wood pole in there. You could see that not very deep below us was water! It was very interesting and engaging for both kids and adults!

Nick was sworn in as a junior ranger right there on the hike- a very unusual but special event! He was very proud.

Then the moment we all been waiting for- the sunset! Oh so glorious. We had clear skies, so not a ton of drama from clouds but there was total drama from our surroundings. Definitely in the top ten sunsets I’ve ever seen in my life.

As soon as the sun dropped behind the mountains, the temp dropped a ton! I couldn’t believe how fast it happened. And then we sadly had to make our way out of the park because it closes.

It is located outside of the town of Alamogordo. We stayed there that evening. Inside of the park, there are no services such as food or lodging. The town is really only about ten minutes away from the entrance to the park, so it is okay.

That evening, we got some Mexican food and in the morning, we began our journey home. We had to stop for some souvenirs though- and to see the largest pistachio in the world! Another perk of staying in Alamogordo. 🙂

I am excited to return here soon and share even more that we discover about the park!

**This post have been in draft for nearly a year…. but in preparing for our triumphant return to the Land of Enchantment, I wanted to get this out into the world!

KC on the Cheap

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So President’s Day weekend was calling my name, and we are just coming off a bit of a financial slump with Kareem having lost his job etc. Too cold to camp, we were racking our brains to find a fun getaway we could treat our kids to…. after throwing around LOTS of ideas (and now generating lots of fun long-weekend getaways to try out some other time!), we landed on Kansas City. Mostly due to a deal on lodging that I got for there- I have said it many times, but flexibility is key when trying to travel on a budget! Be open to the deals.

I have been to Kansas City a handful of times, but never was super enthralled with it. Had a good time each time, but was never really compelled to return. I was usually there because of an event happening, not as a destination. Well, this time it was a destination and I was determined to find some fun- and as close to free as possible!- things to do there.

We arrived late- later than I wanted to- Friday night. We got some food and got to the hotel to get some sleep- I knew we were going to be busy!

Being Presidents Day weekend, I wanted to include some presidential stuff, so on Saturday we hit up Independence, MO. Truman Home National Historic Site includes multiple sites that were significant to President Truman’s life, and guess what- it’s all free! Some of it was still closed due to COVID, but we had a nice home tour and saw some other sites as well.

We hit up the Presidential Library and Museum. We spent much more time here than I thought we would. The kids were very engaged, and it was awesome. The tickets for this were $12 a piece, but all the kids were free, so total was $24. Pretty great!

We hit up Clinton’s soda fountain for ice cream, which was super affordable. This was the spot where President Truman worked as a kid.

We walked around some other sites in Independence including the Community of Christ Temple which will reopen to visitors on March 1. We also visited the Visitors Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We did the (free!) tour and watched the (free!) films and did the (free!) exhibits and playroom. The kids really enjoyed this stop.

We also stopped by the National Frontier Trails Museum. I don’t remember the breakdown in ticket prices, but it cost us about $24 total for our family of six. We really loved this museum. And afterward, we hiked out to see the swales (ruts leftover from the wagons on the Oregon, California, Mormon, and Santa Fe Trails) which was one of the kids’ favorite parts of the whole trip. And that was free, of course.

When doing places like this where we know that evening entertainment may be limited, if we are staying in a hotel, we try to get a hotel with an indoor pool for some (free!) wear you out type of evening activity. We also like a hot breakfast provided. 😀

On Sunday, we visited two art museums. At the Nelson-Atkins, we did the outdoor sculpture park trail. We did not do the interior of the museum this time, but it is free. We also visited the Kemper Contemporary Art Museum which is much smaller than the Nelson-Atkins which was a contributing factor to our choice of bringing small-ish kids with us. This museum also had free entry and free parking. There was also an area for the kids (or any visitors, it was not just for kids) to create art.

After that, the biggest ticket item we did was the science museum. The tickets were $14 each. However, we had FIVE HOURS of fun there and could have stayed even longer. It was definitely worth it.

The science museum is located in Union Station which is still a working train station. We walked around there and enjoyed the beautiful architecture. We walked across the freight bridge over the tracks, and they have a model train exhibit which stole Jimmy’s heart. All the kids really enjoyed it. And this was all- you guess it- free!

We ate at Fritz’s restaurant and walked around Crown Center. Fritz’s is very reasonably priced, and the kids loved seeing the trains deliver the meals. It was very fun.

We did an evening sunset at the Liberty Memorial high atop a hill in the middle of the city. Which, of course, was also free. And a really lovely memory together.

On the way home, we went out of our way to visit St. Joseph, MO and the Pony Express Museum. This Museum charged $8/adult and $2-$3 per child, depending on age. Kareem wasn’t able to join us, so we did this very cheaply as well. This was very neat, but it was the only site we really enjoyed in St. Joseph, so I’m not sure I’d go out of my way to go there again.

We hit up Let’s Make Art. If you’ve followed me for long, you know that we are big fans of LMA and their YouTube channel. We got to see the store and the kids got to go in the back and see their filming studio. They loved this! We let them pick something out from the store, but my cousin had given them each $25 to spend on the trip, so it was free for me. 😀

We needed some outdoor time- it was so gorgeous out! So we went hiking at one of the four remaining covered bridges in Missouri. (More about that here.) This wasn’t a long or strenuous hike, so we lingered and had a lovely time.

We also stopped in Marceline to see Disney’s boyhood home and dreaming tree and barn. My stepson is a HUGE Disney fan, so I knew he would love this. And so we enjoyed the sunset from the barn.

So. A very FULL weekend that did not empty our pockets! Attractions for six of us altogether was about $150. Can’t beat that! We used some Christmas money we had gotten and a tank of gas, and it was really worth it. None of the kids wanted to leave, and they all had lots of great things to say about the trip. A success!

Congaree National Park with Kids

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Congaree National Park was an absolute treat.  I am always looking for National Parks to visit on our trips, and I came across this one about halfway between Charlotte, NC and Charleston, SC.  Perfect!  As I started researching, I found that it is regarded by many as one of the most underrated national parks in the system.  It really offers a lot more than you might expect from a national park with virtually no roads through it! 

The park is located near Columbia, SC.  It is some of the tallest deciduous forest on Earth and the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States, according to the NPS.  

We opted for hiking as our choice activity, as we only had a few hours for our stop.  But you can canoe, kayak, and camp here as well.  There are even canoe trails!  They offer frequent ranger-led activities too, and a great junior ranger program, which we did while we were there.  

We started with a picnic at the picnic area outside the visitor center which was as fun as it looks here- hah!

Attitudes improved once they had some food and got amped about the cool hike! It’s amazing what a little food, rest, play, and water will do for a person.

We did the Boardwalk Loop Trail which had a really cool “tour” pamphlet associated with it.  You can also get this digitally if you prefer.  It was super informative!  Between that and our Junior Ranger activities, we learned a ton!  🙂  While planning this trip, I read that the boardwalk floods from time to time, so check before you go.  We also spurred off on another trail- I think it was the Bluff Trail.  Gorgeous!

The park is swamp and forest.  On the Boardwalk Trail, you will see the river floodplain, an oxbow lake, swampland, and hardwood forest.  It is incredibly diverse landscape over a few short miles.  The loblolly pines were our favorite thing to say on the hike, and we loved seeing and hearing lots and lots of birds and animals.  

We had visited Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve in March, and it had swampland too.  The kids noticed similarities and differences to that one, and it was really fun to hear their observations.  Lucy said it looked like a fairy forest, and I quite agree. 

The kids all earned their Junior Ranger badges! They take this pretty seriously, and the activities were really great for discovering plants and wildlife on our hike.

It was a great way to spend the Sunday afternoon.  We followed it with pizza at a classic dine in Pizza Hut and then drove straight to the ocean- more about that here.  

Exploring Historic Charleston with Kids

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Whenever we go on vacation, as you may know from my previous post, I try to find things that are free or low-cost.  It’s also important to me that we all experience the uniqueness of the destination.  While putt putt golf is fun and entertaining, it’s pretty much the same everywhere.  So our list usually includes historic and cultural sites so that we can appreciate where we are in a deeper, more meaningful way.

Charleston has a lot of history and a lot of culture, so we were excited to explore!  The first morning we were in the city, we took time to walk around the historic area of the city.  We also made a few stops, including visiting the historic Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon.  This building has been there since 1771, and it is currently a historic site revolving around the history of colonial Charleston and the American Revolution.  Many American revolutionaries were imprisoned in this dungeon.  

You can enter for a small fee.  Kids under 6 are free, and kids under 12 get in for $5.    They offer a combo ticket of this and the slave market museum, but we took a hard pass on the combo due to the ages of our young children.  It is open everyday.  

You are free to explore the main and upper floors of the building, and there is a guided tour of the lower level (the dungeon!) offered.  The people who work here were dressed in period dress and were very excited to have children visiting, so they were very enthusiastic and welcoming to our family.  The kids got to sign a copy of the declaration of independence, and at the time we were there, there was a man doing a musket demonstration.  George Washington visited here and held a big party in the ballroom, so that was an exciting point of interest for our older boys.  There was a lot to see and learn about regarding the American revolution.  We haven’t gotten to visit many revolutionary historic sites, so this was especially interesting and fun for us.

There were also a number of models of historic ships that really piqued all of the kids’ interest.  We went down to the dungeon for the guided tour.  This was a very informative and entertaining tour.  There are also exposed old foundational city walls to see down here, and there were many stories of brave and loyal American revolutionaries that were very intriguing to our older kids.  Jimmy lost interest and became somewhat disruptive, so we took a break.  He was tired, as you can see, but he did well the rest of the time at the place.  We were there for a couple hours.

We walked around the city and got to see the famous rainbow row.  We visited the pineapple fountain as well of course.  Charleston is a beautiful city, and it was a treat to just take it all in.  The kids noticed differences between home and here, and they asked lots of good questions about why it was the way it was.

The city has a big historic market called the City Market which is also open daily.  We had lunch across the street from it on our city day.  It was very lively and busy!  There were many people weaving and selling seagrass baskets, which we came to see pretty much everywhere we visited.  

Our first morning getting acquainted with Charleston and its history and charm was delightful!  We were so happy and grateful to be there and excited for what was next!

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