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

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.

Animal Lesson #11: 7 Aquariums with Shark Viewing

Whale Shark, photo by Krenda

You are more likely to have lightning strike you or get killed by a tornado than get attacked or killed by a shark.  Yet over 100 million sharks get killed each year.  While the world has over five hundred shark species, only a dozen species are known to attack humans.  Sharks are powerful and graceful, using six senses including electroreception through special sensors.

Whale Shark Georgia Aquarium

A friend of mine at work recommended that I swim with whale shark off the shores of Mexico.  Intrigued, I researched the endangered shark to find out where I could view one in the United States.  Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta holds the record of the first and only place to keep whale sharks outside of Asia.  The book Amazing Places to Take Your Kids by Laura Sutherland recommends the aquarium and recognizes the amazing exhibit, "They roam the waters of a six-million-gallon tank they share with thousands of other fish, including sawfish, giant grouper, stingrays, and hammerhead sharks.  I've been to a lot of aquariums; this exhibit is spectacular.

Whale sharks hold the record of being the largest known fish species.  The largest stretched 41.5 feet and weighed approximately 47,000 pounds.  Originating approximately sixty million years ago, whale sharks are filter feeders.  Only two other filter feeding sharks, megamouth shark and basking shark, exist.

The whale shark gentle nature and sheer size steals the show at the Georgia Aquarium.  As the largest aquarium in the world, you may easily spend a half day at the other exhibits, touch tanks, and the dolphin show.
You may travel to exotic seas, go diving, and have the opportunity to see a whale shark in the wild.  Whale sharks also live off the Bay Island Honduras, Thailand, the Philippines, the Maldives, Western Australia, Belize, and Puerto Rico.  However, for an easy way to see sharks with your family, consider the following aquariums:

Visitors and Whale Shark Georgia Aquarium

1.  Monterey Bay Aquarium, California, adults $49.95 and child (age 3-12) $29.95
second largest aquarium in the world, offers education including "Project White Shark" 15 min. talk about the threatened white shark, and "Kelp Forest Feeding" diver hand feeds sharks and other animals during 15 minute presentation

2.  Shedd Aquarium, Illinois, adults $39.95 and child (age 3-11) $29.95
90 minute behind the scene to see shark mealtime $89.95

3.  Florida Aquarium Tampa, Florida, adults $28.95 and child $23.95 discounted online pricing
Shark Swim experience allows age 9 and up to snorkel with sand tiger sharks for $110 each
Scuba dive with sharks requires certification and $160 fee

4.  Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada, adult $25, child (4-12) $19
100 sharks including grey reef, blacktip, zebra, sand tiger, sandbar, nurse, and whitetip reef
$650 to dive with sharks

5.  Newport Aquarium, Newport, Kentucky, adults $24.99, child $17.99
Suspended rope bridge takes you inches above sharks, over 12 species including sand tiger, blacktip, California leopard shark, and Port Jackson shark
Private overnight on Mon. Tue. with min. 20 people and $49.99 per person

6.  Florida Keys Aquarium, Florida, adults $20, child (4-12) $15
Predator Reef Tank includes nurse, blacktip, sandbar, blacknose, and bonethead shark,
Big Shark Bay Encounter offers Pet and feed nurse shark $18

 I've also been to the Shedd and Newport Aquarium and recommend these aquariums too.

NPS #1 & Science: Niagara Falls National Park

Niagara Falls  Photo by Krenda

Rainbow intersects Niagara Falls

Driving through Canada to Niagara Falls with our two month baby made our son an early international traveler and national park visitor.  

Niagara Falls is listed as one of the 501 Must-Visit Natural Wonders because it's the best known falls.  The book comments on the sound too, "The local tribespeople call the falls 'onguiaahra', a 'thundering noise', which may seem like an understatement when you are faced with the sheer noise of almost 185,000 cubic m (6,600,000 cubic ft) of water roaring into the gorge every minute.  
     Glaciers melted and formed the Niagara Falls, a combination of three waterfalls (Horseshoe Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls, and American Falls) located in two countries.  Whether you visit in Canada or the United States, take the opportunity to get closer to the rushing water.  

My Youngest Tourist

According to 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, Niagara Falls is a must see site and should be seen by boat too, "The classic way to view them, and also the best, is from aboard the Maid of the Mist, a sturdy 600-passenger boat that's the tenth in a same-name line of crafts, taking passengers right into the spray at the base of Horseshoe Falls since 1846."  We took the Maid of the Mist tour (adult $19.25, child age 6-12 years old $11.20, age 5 and under free) and experienced the sights and sounds of rushing water and appreciated the tour giving us raincoats.

Niagara Falls at Night

You may only spend a day around Niagara Falls.  I'd suggest visiting both day and night, so you can see the colored lights light up the falls at night too.  This is also recommended by Amazing Places to Take Your Kids, "Don't miss seeing Niagara Falls after dark, when powerful spotlights bathe the water in ever-changing colors."  On the US side, the falls are located within a national park, but the commercial surrounding area is very close and the competing bright lights and trinket stores could drive you to find less crowded natural sites.  

Not far away, you will find Whirlpool State Park.  Read my post "Science:  Niagara Falls Whirlpool and 9 Other Whirlpools" for more information.