Business Lesson #1: Jelly Belly WI tour and 10 other Candy Factory Tours

What kid doesn't love candy?  Show him or her how it is made by taking a factory tour.  The Jelly Belly company offers tours at two locations - Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin and Fairfield, California.  I've taken my kids to both locations.  I usually highly recommend factory tours.  In this case, I'd like to give warning that the Wisconsin location is mostly a trolly tour around a warehouse.  You don't see major production lines.  The trolley stops at stations with video screens explaining the process of making taffy, gummies and the famous jelly beans.  The most action we saw was a small area of employees assembling shipments for online sales.

At the time, the tour ended at the shop which made it worth the visit.  However, please check their website for status of the shop.  Laura Sutherland, author of Amazing Places to Take Your Kids, also highlights the store as most exciting, "The Jelly Belly tasting bar is definitely the highlight of this sweet-smelling, family-oriented factory tour, which offers visitors samples of many of the 100 candies the Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin, company makes, including a wide variety of Jelly Bellies."  The tasting does give you an opportunity to try new flavors you might not normally gravitate towards.  I think they know their pre-teen and teen audience think the bad smelling flavors (rotten egg, dirt, earthworm, stinky socks, lawn clippings, moldy cheese) or mystery flavors are hilarious.  I'll stick to the fruit flavors like pear, coconut, cherry, and pineapple and sometimes search for buttered popcorn.  Another bonus in-store was the discounted bags of Belly Flops.  The misshapen jelly beans tasted just as good to me.

I've also visited The Hershey Company, Jelly Belly Candy Company in California, and Long Grove Confectionery Co.  These companies made the Fodor's Travel Top 10 Candy Tours list.  The article by Kristine Hansen gives you more tours to consider:
1.  Jelly Belly Candy Company:  Fairfield, CA, self-guided free tours
2.  The Hershey Company:  Hershey, Pennsylvania, free tours
3.  Long Grove Confectionery Co.:  Long Grove, IL, tour by appointment
4.  Hammond's Candies:  Denver, Colorado, free tour
5.  Pez Candy:  Orange, Connecticut, $5 self-guided tour
6.  Raaka Chocolate:  Brooklyn, NY, book a tasting tour or chocolate-making class
7.  Theo Chocolate:  Seattle, Washington, weekday tours
8.  Kimmie Candy (Sunbursts):  Reno, NY, weekday tours by appointment
9.  Sweet Candy Company:  Salt Lake City, Utah, free weekday tours
10.  Spangler (Dum Dum, Smarties):  Bryan, Ohio, trolley tour

Thinking Global in the USA #4: Jungle Jim's International Market - Fairfield, Ohio

Jungle Jim's Entry, Photo by Krenda

How can a grocery store provide an international experience?  If you visit Jungle Jim's grocery store in Fairfield, Ohio, you take your mind to 75 countries through food.  While living in Ohio, this store provided both education and entertainment.  When we had visitors, it was a must stop attraction with no entrance fee and lots of wonder.

Let's start with the numbers.  This place has scale, spanning seven acres.  Even the food inside has scale.  Just visit the 781-pound block of cheese.  If you like variety like me, you can explore to your hearts desire with 180,000 items and 60,000 International items.  Certain sections seem disproportionately big including the wine section (15,000 different wines -one of the largest collections in the United States), beer section (4,000 beers), cheese (1,400), and honey (140 types).  It takes 700 employees to operate this business.

You'll have to choose the store entrance.  The one closer to the parking lot entrance, across from the garden center, is relatively plain (for Jungle Jim's) with the NASCAR racing car and animatronic corn and butter inside.  Keep walking to see the talking Campbell's soup can.  I usually drive further to the main entrance.  I like to take a moment and enjoy the sounds of a waterfall and jungle calls when entering the grocery store.  I may snap some photos of the fiberglass giraffes, gorillas, pelicans, and elephants.  Past the wine and bakery section, I also stop to wait for the animatronic Lion dressed as Elvis and will sing you a song every five minutes. 

Fruits and vegetables acts as my favorite section.  The naturally colorful section entices me to try something new.  Although others have warned me to stay away from the durian.  I also like to look up at this point to see the "Cereal Band" play in a 55-foot boat between the fruit and seafood section. 

Keep walking towards the seafood live tanks and non-perishable international sections, clearly labeled.  Every corner of the store has delight, look up and you'll find a Robin Hood like scene with a horse and giant tree.  The Europe section has delightful facades representing each country.  The tiny theater with a video about the store origin is a must visit nook.  The message of the owner Jim and his determination is one you want your kids to hear.  He talks about starting as a farmers market worker to finding land and convincing local authorities in 1975 to give him a permit for a fruit and vegetable market.  His message rings loud and clear to follow your dreams.

Jungle Jim just kept expanding.  There's an event center and strip mall in the same lot.  My company had an outing to the store because it has a cooking school.  As a team building event, we made apricot stuffed dates.  So delicious and I conveniently ended at a location that takes my mind everywhere just by shopping.

If you or your kids need a restroom, don't let the Rumpke portable toilet facade fool you.  Open the door to modern, award winning bathrooms.  Jungle Jim not only exhibits determination and creativity, he has a sense of humor too.

NPS #8: Adams National Historical Park

Where can you teach your children about two Presidents at the same time?  Take your kids to the Adams National Historical Park in Massachusetts.  Part of the National Park Service, this historical site is located 10 miles south of Boston in Quincy, MA.  You can enter the buildings only through a guided tour, so go to the Visitor Center (1250 Hancock Street) early.  Tours are based upon on a first come, first serve basis between May 18 and Nov. 10th.  First tour begins 9:15AM and last tour leaves at 3:15PM.  No big bags or backpacks allowed.  The visitor center also provides an approximately 30 min. orientation film Enduring Legacy:  Four Generations of the Adams Family.  Allow up to three hours for the tour.

 The first tour stop takes you to two homes declared a National Historic Landmark: 1) John Adams Birthplace, and 2) John Quincy Adams Birthplace.  You will learn the history of our 2nd U.S. President and 6th U.S. President.  The stories are full of love and patriotism.  After marrying Abigail Smith, John Adams settled the family in a house less than 75 yards away from his birthplace.  You'll see where Abigail wrote John letters and the fireplace where her son John Quincy helped make musket balls for the war.  You can imagine Abigail and her son watching the battle on Breeds Hill from another nearby hill.  John Adams served as a leader in the American Revolution, assisted in the Declaration of Independence, served two terms and Vice President, and elected President.  His son John Quincy joined John Adams in Europe and John Quincy learned seven languages.  Both John and his son began practicing law and served as U.S. Presidents.

Stone Library   Photo by Krenda Frushour

   You'll board the trolley again to transport to the next Adams family home.  The Old House or Peacefield has a Georgian-style estate.  The Adams family made numerous additions over the 140 years.  My favorite were the English-style garden and the Stone Library.  John Adams constructed the garden and pond.  The grounds still hold a yellowood and black walnut that John Adams planted.  John Quincy Adam's son Charles Francis Adams, an ambassador to the Great Britain during the Civil War, added the library, greenhouse, and carriage house.  The library is stunning and holds 14,000 historic volumes and believed to be the first presidential library. It also served as the location for Charle's sons Henry and Brook Adams to serve as historians and write.  We visited on a beautiful day in which bright flowers bloomed, the sun shined, and we ended the tour on the vine covered porch.

Peacefield or Old House

NPS #7: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore & 2 Other Dunes

A new environment can make getting outside and exploring fun.  Dunes are a geological wonder enabled by wind.  Diverse in size, the hills and ridges add to the visual wonder.  Did you know Michigan is home to the largest dune system in the world?

 

Let's start with the dunes operated and protected  by the National Park Service (NPS).  The federal government created the national lakeshore in 1970.

Trip One:  At 450 feet above Lake Michigan, our kids enjoyed the challenge of climbing dunes at Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. The book Amazing Places to Take Your Kids puts the size in perspective, "The dunes are among the largest in the world, matched only by those in Colorado, the Sahara, and Saudi Arabia." As a toddler, my daughter didn't go far.  Her bigger brother gleefully ran higher up a dune than her.  She still had fun in the giant sandbox.  We returned with the kids as teenagers and we all enjoyed hiking to breathtaking views.  At the top, we stood in awe with other tourists and the Park Ranger providing stories.  The blue water, the light sand, and surrounding greenery make it a picture perfect spot.

 
Trip Two:  On a later vacation, we visited sand dunes protected by the state park system.  Jockey's Ridge State Park has the tallest sand dunes on the Atlantic Coast.  While located on the Outer Banks, Nags Head, North Carolina, the dunes are not located on the coastline beaches.  Geologists believe hurricanes blew sand inland.  At a height of 80 to 100 feet, my kids, niece, and nephew enjoyed doing cartwheels on the sand.  We enjoyed the beauty of the sunset over the water.

Trip Three:  On our most recent vacation, we sought out another state park with a sand dune.  Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Utah has fabulous salmon pink sand created by iron oxide and minerals.  It comes from Navajo sandstone from the geologic period called Middle Jurassic.  Although the dunes have an estimated age of 10,000 to 15,000 years old, the landscape quickly changes.  The hills can move as much as 50 feet in just one year.  This time my kids, niece, and nephew ran up and down the hills.  Those moving at a slower pace found the rare Coral Pink Sand Dunes tiger beetle, only found within the 500 acres of the Coral Pink Sand Dunes.  Conservationist worry about their extinction.  A 370-acre conservation area was established in which off-roach vehicle use is prohibited.  ATV trails are just beyond the park and you can schedule a guided four-seater tour or be the ATV drive with Coral Pink ATV Tours.

Here's 7 other sand dunes in the United States for your kids to explore:
1.  Juniper Dunes, Washington (WA) for hiking, wire keeps out the off road vehicles (ORV) and motorcycles http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/juniper-dunes-wilderness

2.  Syracuse Sand Dunes, Kansas for the family into adventure and able to use ORVs http://www.syracusesanddunes.com/

3.  Killpecker, WY, another play zone for ORVs http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/field_offices/Rock_Springs/rec/dunes.html

4.  Christmas Valley Sand Dunes, Utah (UT), the largest inland shifting system in the Pacific Northwest http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/site_info.php?siteid=85

5.  Oregon Dunes, Oregon, if your kids are old enough, the family can go horseback riding on the dunes  http://oregondunes.org/horse-riding.html

6.  Great Sand Dunes National Park, 35 miles north of Alamosa, Colorado (CO), kids can even sled on the dunes  http://www.nps.gov/grsa/planyourvisit/directions.htm

7.  Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana (IN)  http://www.nps.gov/indu/forkids/index.htm

We've also been to the Indiana Dunes.  It's also fun for kids, but don't expect perfect scenery...a few smokestakes could be in your horizon.

History Lesson #7: Renaissance and 14 Fun Festivals

Where can your kids dress up in a period costume other than Halloween?  Renaissance festivals across the nation not only enable dressing up, but also learning a little European 14th to 17th century history while having fun watching shows and buying crafts.

Many festivals have multiple stages including music, comedy, and drama.  I believe the most dramatic shows are the fire whip show and the jousting competitions.  Read the show descriptions carefully.  Some shows like trunk shows using props and audience participation may be family friendly and make the kids laugh.  Other acts are meant for adults only with adult humor.

Plan for the cost to go beyond the typical $20 entrance fee per person because your kids will want to try the unique food and drinks.  My son begged for a turkey leg and opportunity to eat with his fingers.  We also liked the sassafras drink, a mixture of root beer and licorice taste.  Plus there's games and crafts to buy.  My daughter could not resist the archery.

The shows and craftsmanship demonstrations get included in the entrance fee.  Look for blacksmiths, glass blowing, and pottery making.

We've taken our kids to both the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Kenosha, WI and Ohio Renaissance Faire in Harveysburg, OH (located between Cincinnati and Columbus Ohio); both rated as best renaissance festivals in the US by the Travel Channel.  Photos taken at the Kenosha festival.  However, you don't need to live in the Midwest for the festivities.  The first one began in Agoura, CA in 1966.  Festivals occur throughout the US today:

1.  Minnesota Renaissance Festival; Shakopee, MN; Aug.-Labor Day
Claimed as the largest in the US with 300,000 attendees

2.  Florida Renaissance Festival; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Feb., March
Large fair with world's largest rocking horse and 12 stages

3.  Georgia Renaissance Festival; Spring
Squire of the wire, hypnotist, acrobatic daredevils, wheel of death

4.  Carolina Renaissance Festival; Charlotte, NC; early Oct. to late Dec.
Fairhaven villagers in charming cottages

5.  Maryland Renaissance Festival; Aug.-early Sept.
Village of Revel Grove, 43rd year of comedy sword fighting show, pirate ship

6.  King Richard's Fair; Carver, MA; Aug.-Oct.
80 acre with royal zoo; vow renewal and Bachlorette Ball

7.  Pennsylvania Renaissance Fair; Mount Hope, PA; Aug.-Sept.
Kings Court, tournament joust, human chess, and trunk shows

8.  New York Renaissance Faire; Tuxedo Park, NY; Aug.-Labor Day
Theme weekends include Time Travelers Weekend and Masquerade Weekend and Ball

9.  Texas Renaissance Festival; Todd Mission, TX; late Oct to Dec.
55 acre theater, polka dancing, and holiday themes such as Oktobersfest and Celtic Christmas

10.  Scarborough Renaissance Festival; Warahachie, TX (south of Dallas)
Wedding packages available

11.  Sherwood Forest Faire; McDade, TX; Feb. to March
All you can eat dining, parade and 40 stage acts

12.  Arizonia Renaissance Festival; Apache Junction, AZ;
250,000 attendees, 2,000 actors, over 200 craft shops

13.  Northern California Renaissance Faire; Hollister, CA; October
Concert series every Saturday; costume contest

14.  Valhalla Renaissance Faire; South Lake Tahoe, CA; two weekends in June
Shakespearean bignettes

Animal Lesson #12: Rare Alligators at Newport Aquarium in Newport, KY

While alligator populations have risen and were removed from the Endangered Species List in 1987, it's rare to see white alligators.  There's two types: 1) albino, meaning lack of melanin resulting in white shin and red eyes, and 2) leucism, meaning partial loss of pigmentation resulting in white or patchy skin and normal color eyes.  Biologist estimate only 100 white alligators in the world and two of them are at the Newport Aquarium in Newport, KY (across the river from Cincinnati, OH).  Leucistic alligators are even more rare with 12 believed remaining, two featured at Gatorland in Orlando, Florida.  

While the white alligators may lure you to the Newport Aquarium, you'll also like the kid friendly activities.  Included in your admission, approximately $28, is three unique activities: 

1) Shark Touch at Shark Central where you can touch sharks with two fingers

2) Tide Pool Touch where you can touch sea stars, horseshoe crabs, and anemones

3) Shark Bridge - dare your kids to cross a 75-foot suspended rope bridge to walk across a 385,000 gallon shark exhibit.  

I like that these activities are for everyone vs. an extra charge.  There's also many exhibits including 

1) Shipwreck Realm of the Eels - batfish, frog fish, green moray eels, and spiny lobsters

2) Seahorses Unbridled Fun - seahorses, sea dragons, razor fish, and pipefish

3) Stingray Hideaway

4) Gator Alley - see two white gators named Snowball (male) and Snowflake (female)

5) Penguin Palooza

6) Freshwater Falls - tunnel underneath a Kentucky waterfall landscape includes bass, black crappie, and perch

7) Coral Reef - rays, eels, unicorn fish

8) Amazon Tunnel - 32 foot tunnel and 117,000 gallons of freshwater with exotic species including Arapaina and Pacu

Also, consider the aquarium for a business event.  I attended a training at the Newport Aquarium and having a penguin as the surprise lunch guest certainly makes a joyful impression.

For more information visit the Newport Aquarium website http://www.newportaquarium.com/; for a couple more personal photos visit "Newport, KY" set at http://www.flickr.com/photos/krenda/sets/.

If you want to see more white alligators, here's two more places open to the public for viewing:

1) Clyde Peeling's Reptileland in Allenwood, PA ($16)

2) St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park St. Augustine, FL ($28)

Agriculture Lesson #8: Frankfurt Germany's Market Hall & 15 U.S. Farmers' Markets

When my business partners take me to local sites, it's a real treat to learn about the culture, history, and local agriculture.  I appreciated my business partners taking me to the Klein Market Halle in Frankfurt, Germany.  The market had a building built in the early 19th century, but it World War II destroyed it.  Reconstructed in the mid-Fifties, you can now appreciate the European art deco style.  With over 1,200 sq m of space and 156 market stalls, you can find a wide variety of fresh produce and flowers including wurst, mustard, dried fruit, and Frankfurt's famous green sauce.  The fishmonger resides downstairs and we treated ourselves to fresh oysters upstairs, overlooking the market.

You don't need to fly to Germany to give your kids the experience of buying fresh produce from farmers.  Visit your local farmers' market.  When you plan a vacation, look up the dates and places of farmers' markets.

As a college student at the University of Wisconsin, I enjoyed beautiful summer and fall days at the Dane County Farmers' Market on the Square.  Located on the sidewalks surrounding the State Capitol, the smells, bright colors, and sounds was like a weekly celebration.  Instruments played, people laughed and ate on the lawn.  Who can resist bread full of melted cheese?  I'm not the only one who enjoyed the experience.  I met Peter Greenberg, New York Times Bestselling Author and fellow UW-grad, and he included Madison in "Best Places to Visit Food Markets" within his book The Best Places for Everything:  "Guess where my favorite farmers' market in the country is located.  Napa Valley?  New York City?  Nope.  It's in Madison, Wisconsin.  The Dane County Farmers' market is the largest producer-only farmers' market in the United States.  The "no resale" rule means that the person behind the tables is the same person who grew or made the product."

I've sold behind the table a few times, invited by my aunts, uncles, and cousin who are the farmers growing the produce.  It's healthy to buy local and fresh.  If you visit the Quad Cities (Davenport, Bettendorf, Rock Island, Moline), stop by the farmers' market say "hi" to the farmers and purchase vegetables or flower. 

The 2014 Fodor "America's 15 Best Farmers' Markets" includes the Dane County Farmers' Market and these 14 other markets:
1.  Portland Farmers' Market on Portland State University's campus (WA) - 140 vendors
2.  Union Square Greenmarket (NY) - 140 farmers, open year-round
3.  Pike Place Market (Seattle,WA) - 80 farmers
4.  Santa Fe Farmers (NM) - 150 vendors
5.  Charleston Farmer's Market (SC)
6.  Davis Farmer's Market (CA)
7.  Green City Market (Chicago, IL) near Lincoln Park - 55 vendors
8.  Ferry Plaza Farmers Market (San Francisco, CA)
9.  Eastern Market at D.C.'s historic Capitol Hill
10.  St. Paul Farmers' Market (MN)
11.  Santa Monica Farmers' Market (CA)- 75 farmers
12.  Sweet Auburn Market near Atlanta (GA) - 20 vendors
13. Crescent City Farmer's Market New Orleans (LA)
14.  Burlington Farmers' Market (VT) - 40 vendors, Sat. May to Oct. since 1980

Geography #4: Spain and Four Flamenco Dance Festivals

My most direct exposure to flamenco dancing began as an exchange student in Spain.  My host family dressed up in flamenco costumes and danced as their uncles played guitar and sang on the tv.

I took my kids to a flamenco performance at our local library.  Our library goes beyond expectations, offering cultural events.  Check out your local library calendar.

When I returned to Spain years later, a business partner recommended a beautiful opera house named The Gran Teatre del Liceu on La Rambla.  I followed his recommendation and took a stroll to the opera house.  To my luck, the box office had tickets for the evening performance featuring flamenco dancing.  The building had beauty outside and even more inside.  You enter and admire the Corinthian columns and brass and glass lamps.  You sit in an armchair of steel and red velvet.  The show matched the drama - costumes with flare, vibrant colors, explosive moves, and the distinct sound from shoes hitting the wood floor.  What a sensorial treat!

While Barcelona rates as one of my favorite cities in the world, you don't need to fly to Barcelona to experience flamenco.  Here's four flamenco events in the United States:

1.  Festival Flamenco Internacional de Albuquerque - New Mexico

Considered the oldest, largest, and most significant flamenco event outside Spain.  An eight to nine day festival with over sixty artists from Spain.

2.  Austin Flamenco Festival - Texas

Five days of workshops, feria offers paella, tapas, and wine

3. Flamenco Feria in Boston - MA

Dance halls using make-shift tents inspired by Seville, food includes chorizo, ham, and tapas

4.  Chicago Flamenco Festival - Instituto Cervantes in IL

Opening includes networking event with wine and beer, variety of performances

World of Difference #2: Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Years working in the pet industry made me especially enthusiastic about helping pet adoption.  I looked forward to our volunteer day every year.  The entire office team worked together to upgrade an adoption facility.  Lots of heavy lifting, planting, and painting and everyone left on the bus with a smile.

The National Geographic book 100 Best Affordable Vacations lists volunteer work as a vacation idea.  In the section "nurture the big cats", the author highlights Best Friends animal sanctuary, "The country's biggest no-kill sanctuary, Best Friends of Kanab, Utah, welcomed volunteers to work with it's dogs, cats, horses, waterfowl, pigs, parrots, and rabbits to name its most common residents.  On an average day, the shelter is home to 2,000 animals, rescued all across the country."  The sanctuary rents cabins at reasonable rates.  We chose to rent a log home offsite and make the sanctuary part of our vacation.  

Due to the popularity, I recommend you plan ahead and understand whether you can schedule volunteer spots ahead.  We lucked out with an extra special tour guide.  As the grandson of the original land owner, he had historical stories to share while driving the mini-van around the site.  He stopped and showed us the key buildings, taking time to introduce us to the animals.  We hit the timing in which well known, televised pitbulls were being rescued.  We cuddled with the cats.  We heard about the onsite cafeteria and so glad we hit lunch timing.  We ate our salad buffet lunch outside on the patio with an amazing view.  Meanwhile, my dad and stepmom ate indoors with a bigger surprise - the founder joined their lunch table!

We had such a great experience, we rearranged our vacation schedule to fit in another afternoon at the sanctuary.  This time we watched the horse demonstration and learned about their training techniques.  By donating financially, we became part of their magazine mailing and every month, we are reminded by the amazing work at the Best Friends animal sanctuary.

NPS #6: Wild Ponies & Assateague Island National Seashore

The children's book Misty of Chincoteague helped make the ponies on Assateague Island the most famous mammals on the island.  Some believe that the wild ponies of Assateague arrived on the island when a Spanish cargo ship sank off the coast and the horses swam to shore.  Others believe the wild ponies descend from colonial horses allowed to run loose.  While the history remains uncertain, I'm certain your kids will enjoy seeing wild ponies.

Some sites will call the famous ponies "wild horses" and others will call them "wild ponies".  They are called ponies because they fall under 14.2 hands (85 inches).  The ponies are feral animals, descendants of domestic animals that have reverted to a wild state, which roam freely and feed mainly on saltmarsh cord grass.  You can see them from a distance by visiting Assateague Island along the coast of Maryland or Virginia.  We visited from the Maryland side through the Assateague Island National Seashore.  According to Patricia Schultz’s book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, the Maryland side is the more popular entry point “Two-thirds of the island is in Maryland, where a good portion of the 2.5 million annual visitors gain access”.

The National Park Service dedicated the land as a national seashore in 1965.  For nine other National Seashores, visit my article.  Also visit the nps website for tips.  I should have read their tip to wear bug spray considering the mosquitos and biting flies.  We hiked to see the ponies from a viewing platform which was a beautiful site.  However, we paid for it in bug bites.

You can support the conservation efforts by fostering a horse through the Assateague Island Alliance.  You could also visit the Pony Penning Day auction in July.  Once a year a portion the Salt Water Cowboys from the Chicoteague Volunteer Fire Company round-up the ponies to swim across a channel at low tide and many are put up for action.

Assateague Island makes the list of the Smithsonian magazines "The Best Places to See Wild Horses in North America".  Five other places make the list:
1.  The Virginia Range (NV)
2.  Theodore Roosevelt National Park (ND)
3.  The Pryor Mountains (MT & WY)
4.  Outer Banks (NC)
5.  Sable Island, Nova Scotia (Canada)

Assateague has more to explore than just observing ponies.  Your kids will enjoy seeing or hearing the many birds on Assateague.  The island has over 320 species of birds.  This includes the piping plover, a threatened species that nests on the island.  Besides admiring wild animals, the island offers clamming, swimming, hiking, four wheel driving, and kayaking.  With so much diversity, it's no wonder that Assateague attracts over a million visitors per year.  

Lighthouse Lesson #9: Assateague Lighthouse in Virginia

Looking for a small workout while traveling and learning with the kids?  Climb the 175 steps of the Assateague Lighthouse in Virginia.  The steep stairs seemed like no challenge going up.  On the way down, the cast-iron spiral staircase challenged a few muscles going down.  Can you imagine the keeper taking oil up on an hourly basis?  Of course, our kids bounded down in fast fashion with seemingly no effort at all.

The view certainly makes the climb worth the effort.  You will get a view of Assateague and Chincoteague Islands and the Atlantic Ocean.  Look up at the light.  The lamp flash every five seconds and still brings safety to vessels between the Atlantic Coast and Cape Henlopen.  A nearby museum exhibits the original Fresnel light.

The view from the ground is also delightful.  The tall red-and-white striped lighthouse looks iconic.  At 142 feet high, the lighthouse is easy to see.  Noah Porter, who also built Ocracoke Lighthouse, constructed the original lighthouse in 1833.  The original stood only 45-feet tall and deemed not effective enough at that height.  The current lighthouse, constructed in 1867, took the light to a higher level.  The lights could then be seen 19 miles out to sea.  The red-and-white painting of the conical lighthouse didn't happen until 1968.

The lighthouse has connections to multiple organizations.  Your $5 fee will help support the lighthouse.  While the Coast Guard transferred the lighthouse to the Fish & Wildlife Service in 2002, the U.S. Coast Guard still maintains the active navigational light.  The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuse takes responsibility for preserving the lighthouse.  The non-profit Chincoteague National Historic Association restores the lighthouse and makes the lighthouse accessible to the public.  The lighthouse made the National Register of Historic Places list.

You can only tour the lighthouse between April and November.  Check the timing.  While open throughout the week during the summer, visits are limited to weekends in Spring and Fall.  Also, it closes during their lunch hour.  The Old Keepers Quarters moved offsite and not open to the public.

Transportation Lesson #2: Mail Boat Delivery Jump Tour (Lake Geneva, WI)

Lake Geneva, Photo by Krenda

"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat...", we all hear about how the United States Post Office employees deliver mail despite bad weather.  We also hear about the many different transportation methods needed throughout history to transport the mail - horse drawn wagons, airplanes, trucks, etc.  There's stories about mail delivered by bush pilots in Alaska and mule train to the Havasupai Indians at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.  To learn more, you can take your kids to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum.  

The museum includes an exhibit about the relationship between mail and our national parks "Trailblazing 100 Years of Our National Parks."

Then I heard about an experiential learning opportunity on CBS News Sunday Morning segment in which Bill Geist describes a timeless place where the arrival of summer is announced by the first mailboat.  In Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, mail still gets delivered by boat daily from June to September.  It began approximately 100 years ago before the government built roads around the lake.  Before the summer season, Gage boat company holds tryouts for mail jumpers who will ride the boat, jump onto the pier, put mail in and out of the mailbox, and jump back on the boat.

You can take your kids on the Gage boat tour "U.S. Mailboat Tour".  The 2.5 hour tour takes you on a cruise around Lake Geneva to watch a mail jumper in action.  He or she delivers the mail to about 75 homes on the lake with approximately 160 tourists watching.  The service continues as a free service.  To watch the action on Wadsworth 11, the only mail jumping boat in the U.S., you'll need to pay $38 for adults and $22 for children.

Our mail jumper had skills.  He'd sprint to the mailbox.  At one point, he had to jump off the boat and put mail in an entire row of mailboxes, run about a mile, and time it right to jump back on the moving boat.  He really showed off by jumping off a dock and then doing a cartwheel before placing mail into the box.  Everyone cheered for him.  The residents also seem to enjoy the service.  Some would sit on their pier in big wooden chairs waiting for the mail delivery and waving to the tourists.  Another resident waited by his box for a hand delivery.

Besides the entertainment, the boat emcee provides history lessons about the mansions surrounding the lakes and the famous business families like Wrigley owning them.

Today email works fast.  But think about the years of news delivered by the mailman.  Letters from soldiers, love letters, holiday cards, postcards giving you a glimpse of a place far away.  I still find joy in sending and receiving postcards.  Thanks to the U.S. Postal Service employees for delivering through difficult weather or taking a risk to fall in the lake so residents can open a envelope of joy.

Lighthouse Lesson #8: Eagle Bluff in Fish Creek, Wisconsin (Door County)

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Fish Creek, Wisconsin tells the story of three different keepers and their families that helped protect sailors passing through the Strawberry Channel.  The light helped sailors pass between the Strawberry Islands and Door County Peninsula.

Henry Stanley served as the first keeper, beginning in 1868.  An immigrant from Norway, he had an adventurous spirit, looking for gold in California, sailing the Great Lakes, and then raising two kids with his wife in the lighthouse.  The Fresnel lens at this time shone 16 miles out.

The second keeper story continues since the youngest son helped Door County Historical Society in restoring the lighthouse and donating items for the interior.  William Dulcon served for 35 years and raised seven sons with his wife.  The boys formed a band, making them known in the community.

The third and final keeper, Peter Coughlin, served until the light was automated in 1926.  If you take the $8 tour, you'll learn more about the families.  You need to arrive between 10AM and 3:30PM during the season.  Tours happen every 30 minutes.

The lighthouse has stories of change and survival like others.  The rock wall was built in 1877, barn added in 1893, and oil house in 1890.  Twice the lighthouse went vacant (1906 to 1930).  Then the Fruit Growers Union Cooperative leased the place as an office.  After the Wisconsin State Conservation Commission gained the lighthouse, park employees lived in it.  It went vacant again in the 1950s.  Fortunately, the Door County Historical Society made restorations beginning in 1961.

If you miss the tour, you'll still want to see the grounds and view.  The lighthouse stands on a bluff 76 feet above water.  The cream-colored brick two-story dwelling looks like the Chambers Islands lighthouse, but purposely has a different shaped tower to help sailors differentiate them.  The Eagle Bluff lighthouse tower stands 9 feet and 4 inches.  Since the lighthouse is located within the State Park, you'll need an admission sticker.

 

Lighthouse History Lesson #7: Cana Island Lighthouse

The kids get wet.  The parents have an opportunity to hike and climb a lighthouse.  What a great combination!

If you want this experience, drive up northeast of Bailey's Harbor in Door County, Wisconsin.  Park the car and take a complementary hayride to the island.  Note that while the lighthouse remains open 10AM to 5 PM during the season (May to October), the last tractor hay-wagon leaves the parking lot at 4:15PM and the last tower climb begins at 8:30PM.  You'll see the lighthouse from afar as the tower stands 89 feet tall.  

The peninsula separates Moonlight Bay and North Bay.  We took the hayride to the lighthouse, but the kids begged to walk across the lake on the way back.  So guess who waded in two feet of cold lake water?!?

The triangular island spans across 8.7 acres.  When you arrive at the island, you buy your ticket to climb the tower ($12 adults, $10 kids age 5 to 17 years old).  To climb, you must be at least 5 years old and 42 inches tall.  Take a short hike to the lighthouse and climb the 97 cast iron steps up a spiral staircase.  At the top, step onto the balcony and admire the view.  You'll also notice the

Fresnel lens made in France and once fueled by lard.

 Many years ago, President Andrew Jackson reserved Cana Island in Wisconsin for the light, but only in the last decade can visitors climb the tower.   The lighthouse was built in 1870.  The tower stood as the tallest brick structure in Door County when it was completed.  In 1970, control of the island and lighthouse was given to Door County Maritime Museum.  In 1976, the lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historical Places.  In 2008, visitors were allowed to climb the tower and gain a spectacular view from the lantern room.

If you want to visit Cana Island through a tour, consider attending the Spring Door County Lighthouse Festival (early June) or Fall Door County Lighthouse Festival.  Tickets become available months earlier, so plan ahead.  Here's five tours:

1) Door County Trolley Lighthouse 7.5 hour Tour:  $82 to see 5 lighhouses including Cana Island, lunch included
2) Narrated Naturalist 6.5 hour Tour:  $87 to see 5 lighthouses including Cana Island and lunch
3) Lakeshore Lighthouse 2 hour Cruise:  $52 to see 3 lighthouses including Cana Island
4) Cana Island Kayak 4 hour Expedition:  $80 for kayak and climb Cana tower
5) Bailey's Harbor Kayak 3 hour Expedition:  $80 see 3 lighthouses including Cana