Oliver Mansion

Every year, we go to the Center for History in South Bend in December because the Oliver Mansion is decorated for Christmas. This year was a big disappointment as the small children were not allowed on the tour. This would not had been an issue if they told us. The staff told us the small ones were unable to go through the "worker's house", but misled us about the rest of the tour. The other ones on the "full" tour, said they felt rushed through the whole thing.

As I said, we do this field trip every year. We told them beforehand what ages would be on the tour. The kids were only able to be in the hands-on play area for 15 minutes! Overall, it was a bummer for everyone and we will probably never go back.

http://www.centerforhistory.org/

no t-shirt!

Fort Wayne Museums

We've been to the Ft. Wayne Zoo many times and always enjoy it. I think we're planning another visit there at the end of this school year. It's only 90 miles from home and easy to get to. Fort Wayne is a good-size city, but I never had to find my way around, so we brought the GPS. We got to the Botanical Gardens (almost on time). It was actually better than expected. There were some planned activities for the kids (like a puzzle scavenger hunt), which we didn't do. The gardens were very impressive with hundreds of types of plants. They did a good job with the landscape and design. Be sure to see all the photos . The price was right for homeschoolers (teacher/student rates).

We had a quick and disappointing lunch at the closest fast-food place, then on to the science museum. We were again thankful for the GPS because of the one-way streets in the downtown area, but all of our stops were within a few blocks and parking was not a problem.

I had doubts about Science Central when we arrived and the parking lot was pretty empty. We had been told by employees that it would only take a few hours to see it all, so we arrived only a few hours before closing. I wished there was a discount for afternoon admission. We were again pleasantly surprised but what the museum had to offer. It consisted mostly of hands-on physical "science fair project" type exhibits. At first look, it appeared to be small, but as it turned out, there were 3 floors. Our kids of every age were able to run loose and enjoy. There was even a walled section for littler ones.

Another successful field trip. I don't know if it will be an annual "must see", but it was worth the trip, time, and money.
180 miles round-trip; 1 day event, 2 attractions plus meal (oh yeah, Dairy Queen stop on the way home!)

 

God's Creation in 3 states in 4 days

Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio



We went to southeastern Indiana last week: an almost 200 mile drive (one way). Stayed in cabins at the state park. From there, we went to the Creation Museum one day; went to Ohio Caverns the next. Then back home.
Didn't have much time to enjoy the cabin, and no time to explore or enjoy the park. It rained most of the time anyway...good thing the places we went were not in the weather.
The Creation Museum was great. It was actually better than I expected. The quality and content of the exhibits exceeded my expectations. Because it is still new, I think I was expecting mostly galleries with paintings and drawings. The figures were very detailed: each one had different-sized fingers and toes. Even one archeologist figure had a Band-Aid on his thumb! Each room (garden of Eden, Noah's ark, modern city street, etc.) was effective in encompassing the visitors into the scene; it was so much more than walking past an exhibit as a spectator.

I don't know if we'll go back every year, but it was worth the trip, and I recommend everyone see it once.

We even saw Ken Hamm there.

The Ohio Caverns were also different from what I expected. A few weeks ago, we went to Marengo Cave. It was our first cave experience: vast caverns, effectively illuminated, with stalactites and stalagmites galore. I'm sure every cave is different, but I had a preconceived idea that it would be similar to Marengo. Some of us (including my wife) enjoyed this more than Marengo. This cave was like a long tunnel. There were some formations, and a lot more water. It was also not as deep underground. The passages were narrow at times (for me), but not claustrophobia-causing. It was very different. Which one is "better" is just a matter of preference. I drove 100 miles (literally) out of our way to see a cave with the thought, "you've seen one cave, you've seen them all." Not so. For someone who does not like to travel, I enjoyed the day and was glad we added it to our trip.

On our trip: went to Walmart twice, ate at at least 7 different restaurants.
Had to buy: new moccasins, new stroller, new cooler, more Sea Bands (these are great).
Also: Abby & Josh visited at least a dozen restrooms!

Total miles: over 700

Total time: 4 days.

Here are the photos!