On The Road Again

There was a family wedding in Fort Collins, CO so we opted to drive out there and make a trip of it! This was our first long road trip, a total of 10.5 hours each way. I was a little nervous and a lot prepared. Happily, our trip went smoothly and everyone had a good, safe time!

Unfortunately, most of the travel game books I checked out from the library were more appropriate for older kids, but we found enough ways to keep the kids (ages 4 and 1) busy. We had several kids' CDs to listen to and sing along. One of our favorites is Disney Block Party. We also made up our own songs along the way, with my daughter (4) leading the chorus! I brought several read along books on CD which were a big hit, including Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and one of my personal favorites, Officer Buckle and Gloria, by Peggy Rathmann.

The days leading up to our trip were filled with lists, packing, and shopping for supplies. The funnest shopping trip was to the Dollar Tree to get some little toys to help pass the time. A favorite was the recorder I got for each kid. My husband even played his Irish tin whistle in the car while they played (and I got to read, through the racket). Another great buy to go along with our bottled water was some packets of pink lemonade, just the right size for a single bottle of water.

On our way home, we stopped at the Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure and Museum in Salina, KS and it was really great! We got in for a great discount with our AAA card and FOTZ (friends of the zoo) card from the Kansas City Zoo. The whole zoo was probably less than a 2 mile walk so it wasn't too tough but was a great stretch for our legs! I was impressed with the enclosures and my husband liked the rinos. Molly liked the anteaters and Ben liked the pink lemonade... which he poured on his lap. haha!

The museum part was really great! It was like walking through all sorts of terrain and historic times to see the plants and animals that would live there. Throughout the displays there were mechanical people who would tell the story of their lives and the animals they depended on, such as Native Americans depending on the buffalo. There was also a separate classroom with a huge tree inside, a balcony you could climb up on, and lots of books and animal puppets. Seeing all these animals up close and walking through the forest-like building was right up our alley!