City Adventure - Part Two

Good Tuesday morning!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! It looks like a lot of people are skipping Thanksgiving this year (but I know they're not). We spent Sunday with Mike's family in Oxford, and it was pretty amazing how many people were putting up their Christmas trees and outside lights. And I'm pretty sure that everything was lit up last night after we pulled out. It makes me a little breathless and nervous... but I have to stop myself and enjoy Thanksgiving... even though there is a big ol' gingerbread house sitting on my dining room table!

Okay. Just a little info. If you go to Becky Higgin's Blog (see my Blog List), always make sure to check out the Recipe section of her blog. I have tried at least a dozen of her recipes and they are very good, and a lot of them are very easy. Her Chicken Noodle Soup and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are some of my favorites, and I've started taking the soup to families who have just had a baby with some homeade cornbread, etc. Anyway, it's a good recipe source.

Also, check out the Cornbread Pudding recipe on the sophistimom blog (see my Blog List). I haven't tried it yet, but I'm going to very soon. It looks really good to me.

I guess I'll get right to it for today. My last goal (for now... not forever).

Goal Number Four

My fourth goal is very new. Since I started my blog almost six weeks ago, and I don't have it on a blogging list anywhere, and since I have "advertised" by word of mouth only... well, I suppose you can guess the rest. I would like to have 50+ hits a day on my blog by January 1. Right now, I average 23 to 26 hits a day which is great, but being a number person, it would be fun to see that number grow.

So, if you are one of the 23 to 26 people who read this blog every day, I am asking you, the Few and the Faithful, to share my blog address with someone who would be interested. If it's someone who doesn't have the slightest interest in the stuff I have an enormous interest in... please don't bother them. But, if there's a young mom out there you know, etc., etc. who might have an interest, by all means, SHARE!

If you don't know me personally, you probably think this is a pretty shameless plug. But keep in mind, I call people and beg for Christmas cards, so I guess I am pretty shameless. (One of my better qualities!)

I have a little sitemeter that keeps up with how many hits I get a day, so I'll be watching and updating. I guess I can let you know every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the month of December when I give you my Christmas card count. Let's try to be efficient, shall we?

(I've probably lost 15 to 20 readers just by posting this request!) Oh, well! For those hanging in there, I've got two more tips for the City Adventure. Also, I've made a list of some things coming up in the next few months other than the norm at the bottom of this post.

City Adventure - Part Two

Here are two more questions (and answers) regarding City Adventures:

How do you pick activities for your family?

I usually go to the library and check out a book on the city if there is one available. Also, I Google "Family Fun in (Name of City)," and I get a ton of information there. I call the Chamber of Commerce and ask them to send me any and all brochures they have regarding anything vacation-worthy their city has to offer. Then, I start talking to anyone and everyone to see who has family in the city, who has gone there for vacation, what was their favorite thing to do, where was their favorite place to eat, etc., etc., etc.

I've even gotten names and numbers of people I didn't know from people who were family or friends with them, and talked with them personally to see what they liked. (Always get the family member or friend to check with the person first to see if they would be willing to talk with you a few minutes before you call. I've never had a problem with this.)

Also, you can call one of the larger hotels in the city and ask to speak to the concierge. All you have to say is that you're looking into planning a trip and ask what he would suggest for a family of four with young children (or teenagers, or grandparents, etc.). These people are loaded with wonderful information and they do not mind sharing.

Another resource is the local library in the city. Librarians know many, many things about their city, and they may even have an event calendar with concerts in the park, etc. listed on them.

Whenever you talk to someone and get an idea for a place or restaurant to visit, write down the name of the place to research on-line at a later time. Most of the time, the person you're talking to will not remember how much tickets or menu items cost. You'll need to get this information from the specific place.

How many activities do you pick for a two and a half day stay?

My "rule of thumb" is to try to pick ten things to do that cost (tours, restaurants, zoos, museums, etc.) and five things to do that are free. After you find 15 things, narrow the ten "costly" items down to five. Now you have to find out how much the tickets are and times. Keep in mind, you will not do ten things in two and a half days, but you need the options. Here is the original list from our Memphis Trip:

Orpheum Theater ($)
Graceland Tour ($)
Gibson Guitar Tour ($)
Canoeing at Mud Island ($)
Picnic Only at Mud Island (FREE)
Peabody Hotel - March of the Ducks (FREE)
A. Schwab Drug Store (FREE)
Beale Street (FREE)
Duck Tours ($)
Zoo ($)
Sun Studios (FREE)
Corky's Barbecue ($)
The Little Tea Shop ($)
Central Barbecue ($)
Stop at Tupelo on the way home to visit Elvis' Birthplace (FREE)

Now, what we actually ended up doing for free was the following:

Walking down famous Beale Street (during the day)
Looking at one of the most famous and oldest stores in the country - A. Schwab
Picnic at Mud Island
Watching the ducks march in at the Peabody Hotel
Stop at Tupelo on the way home to visit Elvis' Birthplace

The things we did that cost some money were as follows:

Graceland Tour
The Little Tea Shop
Gibson Guitar Tour
Corky's Barbecue

The restaurants were famous and excellent. We had gotten several good recommendations from residents and visitors alike saying how good they both were. The Graceland Tour was wonderful and we spent several hours there. One of the unexpected favorites was the Gibson Guitar Tour. I was probably the only one who wasn't crazy about it, but it was hard for me to breathe in the factory because of all the fine dust. No one in our family has breathing problems, but I wouldn't suggest this tour to someone who has asthma or any other kind of respiratory problems. However, all the kids and Mikie loved it.

The things we ended up not doing just did not fit into the time schedule. We weren't disappointed because we were able to experience such new and different things, and we'll do the other things next time we go to Memphis... because we definitely want to go again!

We went back and forth about whether to canoe at Mud Island (which is a pretty little island right beside downtown Memphis and next to the Mississippi River). It is beautiful. However, when you put your canoe in, you are in the fast-flowing Mississippi River... you know, the one with the barges and the white caps and... did I say fast-flowing water? Having only canoed once before (we think... we weren't even sure), we decided we were not experienced enough "canoers" to survive that adventure on the Mighty Mississippi. (However, the picnic was very nice, and the view was great, and did I mention it was FREE?)

I wanted to share a quick story about Elvis. One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Memphis was to see Graceland. I was, and am, a huge Elvis fan. At age 14, I was in attendance at his last concert in Birmingham before he passed away the next year. I watched every movie he was ever in with my cousin, Becky, growing up. He was "it."

When Austin was nine years-old, the old Alabama Theater had an Elvis Movie Marathon, and on Sunday afternoon, I took Austin to see Blue Hawaii. The old theater had been redone and it was so beautiful. It was fun sharing something that had been so important to me growing up. They even had an Elvis impersonator there to perform before the movie. (He was great, by the way.)

Austin and I walked into the theater and went to get popcorn and a drink. We walked up to a counter and they had these beautiful turquoise drinks in these fun huge glasses sitting on the counter top. Austin slapped his hand down and said, "I'll have one of those, please."

The person behind the counter said, "You can't have one, son, but your mother certainly can."

I wasn't really paying attention, so I said, "Sure. I'll have one. What are they called?"

"Blue Hawaii," was the reply.

"Cute," I said. I did not hesitate ordering one because I thought the only reason they didn't want a nine year-old boy having one was because he might spill a bright blue drink all over the Alabama Theater. I totally understood that. "Give me two straws, please," I requested.

"Why?" the person asked.

"So we don't have to share a straw," I pointed out. That was an odd question.

"Ma'am, this is an alcoholic drink. You can't let your child have any of it."

Wow. It never even occurred to me that the Alabama Theater would serve alcoholic drinks on a Sunday at an Elvis movie. Wow, again. "Two Cokes, please," I said.

Austin, of course, had taken all this in. "You would have let me get drunk. You were going to give me alcohol. Alcohol is a drug, you know." Thank you, D.A.R.E. Program.

"Austin, it was a mistake... and if you ever tell anyone (and I mean anyone), that will be an even bigger mistake. Do you understand?"

He nodded and we headed to our seats. Close call. I've had several of those, but hopefully this will serve as a warning to all of you out there... I've asked around and most turquoise colored drinks do, in fact, have alcohol in them. Just so you know.

Tune in tomorrow for Part Three of the City Adventure where I'll share one more question and answer, and I'll post a couple of good/bad experiences we've had in our two city adventures. Every "bad" helps you tweak things for the next adventure.

Okay. In December, everything will be back to normal (Monday - Party/Event; Tuesday - Recipe; Wednesday - Seasonal Tradition; Thursday - Child or Spouse Date; and Friday - Book). In January, there will be one week devoted to "How to Start Camping With Your Family." We have almost three dozen camping adventures under our belt (I'll have to count by then and give you an exact number), and I'll share what I've learned, and maybe some others will jump in with advice about what they've learned during their camping experiences. After the "Camping" week, we'll get back on schedule once again.

Then, in February, I would like to share some of my son's story. Josh has been ill since December 5 of 2005, and although he is much improved right now, there is no cure for his illness. (He has good days and bad days... and always will.) When he was diagnosed, Mike and I were in a place where there were not many resources and fewer people to talk to, so I would like to talk about this time in our lives because maybe there is a chance it might help someone else (or even us if there is any feedback). And again, since February is a huge holiday month, I will get back on track for a lot of Valentine fun to have with your kids and spouse. (I've got some great Valentine/February "stuff.")

I hope everyone has a great Tuesday. I'll talk to you tomorrow!