Mom Blooper #2: St. Patrick's Day in Chicago

St. Patrick's Day began as a public holiday in Ireland in 1903.  It celebrates Patrick, a missionary and bishop who converted Irish citizens to Christians.  The shamrock, a three-leaved plant, was used to explain the Holy Trinity (unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  March 17th marked his date of death.  Christians of the Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, and Lutheran Church especially recognized the date.  Many countries now celebrate St. Patrick's Day and people enjoy wearing green and shamrocks.

Chicago is often cited as ranking within the Top 10 of St. Patrick's celebrations in the world with four locations prior: 1) Dublin, Ireland, 2) British Virgin Islands, 3) New York, and 4) Boston.  Chicago's famous tradition is using eco-friendly vegetable dye to make the river turn a vibrant emerald green.  The color lasts five hours, so citizens and tourists line the river and later walk to the parade.  The parade is also recognized because it is one of the largest St. Patrick's Day parades.  

With downtown Chicago only an hour away, it sounds like a terrific family event.  I knew parking could prove difficult considering the expected 400,000 spectators.  It made sense to take the train downtown.  There begins the Mom Blooper.  If I had conducted a bit more research, I would have also seen the event descriptions as "raucous pub crawls to lively parades, jovial crowds."

I might have noticed the Wikipedia description of the U.S. celebration as including "copious consumption of alcohol".  

The minute we boarded the train, I knew we had an adventure on our hands.  Most of the other passengers were drunk teenagers, drinking hidden alcohol in water bottles.  Each stop picked up more loud drunk teenagers.  We needed a restroom on the walk to the river.  The women's restroom with an overflowed toilet, I had to referee a bunch of teenage boys and explain that both the girls and the boys could take their turns using the one boys bathroom stall.  The kids still found the river amazing.  The kids still liked the costumes and balloons.  We followed the crowd to the parade route.  We walked slowly and carefully through the thick, dense crowd; we thought we'd lose a kid.  If the train was full of drunk teens in the morning, I could only imagine the ride home.  I was right.  The conductor raised his voice and tried to get some control.  On the upside the journey provided a teaching moment, "see what happens when teenagers drink too much." 

Animal Lesson #9: 9 Places in Florida Where Your Kids Might Spot a Manatee

Not only kids have curiosity about animals.  Travel & Leisure magazine article 12 Places to Swim with Animals states "your travel bucket list just got 12 items longer."  The article included swimming with manatees in Florida as one of the twelve places.  I admit that it was on my list.

All three species of manatees (West Indian, West African, Amazonians) have endangered animal status.  The Florida Manatee and Anitillean Manatees are subspecies of the West Indian species.  If you are a globe trotter, perhaps you visit the Anitillean Manatee in Puerto Rico or Mexico or the African Manatee in Kissama National Park in Angola, Africa.  Boat traffic and cold stress from temperatures below 68 degrees present risk factors for manatees.  If you go on a tour, the guide will reinforce instructions on how to observe without disturbing and rules such as not touching the manatees.

One of the few places to swim or snorkel with the Florida manatees is the Crystal River, north of Tampa.  In fact the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz lists "Swimming with Manatees" in Crystal River, FL and claims the river as the exclusive place "This is the only place in the world where you can have a face-to-face encounter with these gray-blue marine mammals."

A tour makes it easy, providing you wet suits and a short boat ride (under 30 minutes).  Make certain to arrive early to watch the mandatory regulations video.  Related to the elephants, these gentle giants or "sea cows" typically grow to 10 feet in length and can weigh over 3,000 lbs.  Manatees can live 50 to 60 years.

We saw manatees both active and swimming around us and manatees sleeping at lower levels.  Even during napping, manatees surface for air every twenty minutes.  Manatees eat large quantities of vegetation each day including sea grass, aquatic plants, algae, and mangrove leaves.  These friendly creatures swim gracefully.  It's a magical treat to swim near them.

The best time to spot manatees is during the winter and early spring when manatees gather near warmer water such as near springs or electric company channels.

If you take a Crystal River tour, swimming skills help.  You'll likely be in cool water for an hour and a half.

If seeing manatees from a boardwalk sounds most appealing, I highly recommend the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge in Crystal River.  It is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System.  Look online for office directions.  After parking, a shuttle bus takes you to the refuge. 

There's many places to observe manatees including these 9 places:

1.  Citrus County's Homosassa River, paddle toward Ellie Schuller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

2.  Weeki Wachee River, warm Weeki Wachee Springs; check out Paddling Adventures located next to Weeiki Wachee Springs Park for a 5 mile, 3 hour paddle

3.  Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge observation area near Cape Canaveral, plus look nearby at Bairs Cove Boat Ramp

4.  Manatee Springs State Park Chiefland, Suwanee River, 100 million gallons of clear water comes from the springs

5.  Blue Spring State Park, north of Orlando, although access prohibited in winter

6.  Edward Ball Wakulla Spring Park, Wakulla Springs, the deepest freshwater spring in FL

7.  Lee County Park, Fort Meyers, discharge canal from electric company, check out Calusa Blueway Outfitters

8.  Manatee Lagoon, West Palm Beach, near electric company

9.  TECO Manatee Viewing Center, Apollo Beach near discharge canal

Experts estimate the total Florida manatee population at approximately 4,000, so you are not guaranteed to spot a manatee.  If you don't want to disappoint your kids, consider the Lowry Park Zoo or Miami Seaquarium. 

Transportation Lesson #1: 8 Steamboat Rides Ranked by Ticket Price

Photo by Krenda

One of the ways Cincinnati inspired me is its history, especially on the waterfront I feel connected to bustling years of commerce and drama.
 
Cincinnati celebrated the steamboating era with a festival named “Tall Stacks Festival”. Over half a million people visited and more than a dozen steamboats visit the Cincinnati port.

The Magnolia Belle, The Natchez, The Mississippi Queen, The PA Denny, Delta Queen, General Jackson, Majestic, Spirit of Peoria, and more have all docked upon the Cincinnati shore.  The Tall Stacks Festival had so many steamboats and ride options, making it difficult to choose.  We enjoyed cruise both during the day and at night.

You don't need to wait for a festival.  If you want to treat your family to a steamboat ride, here's a few options in descending cost order:

1.  The African Queen (Marina del Mar, Florida) - family four approx. $200
Famous because it starred alongside Humphrey Bogart and Katherin Hepburn in The African Queen movie.  The $49 cruise takes you down the Port Largo Canals to Atlantic Ocean.  The two hour dinner cruise cost $89.  If you time it right, you may also attend the Humphrey Bogart Film Festival in May.

2.  General Jackson (Nashville, TN, Opryland) - family of four approx. $150
The largest inland shipbuilder in the US (Jeffboat in Indiana) built one of the largest showboats in the world.  Multiple shows available.  Taste of TN showband or Sunday in the South show $45 cruise and balcony seat, $30 child.  Nashville Nights show $60 adult, $45 child.  Pay more for better seats and/or meal.

3.  Katahdin, Maine (Moosehead Lake, Maine) - family four approx. $140
Leisure boat turned to log hauling vehicle and back to leisure boat docked at the Moosehead Marine Museum.  Katahdin operates June to Columbus Day with multiple cruise options:  Sugar Island cruise 3 Hours $35 each, Mt. Kineo cruise 5 Hours to see cliff side of Kineo Mountain $40 each, Head of the Lake Cruise 8 Hours $75 to Seboomook and includes dinner

4.  Steamboat Natchez (New Orleans, LA) - family four approx. $128
Cruise on New Orlean's only steamboat while enjoying the music.  Jazz cruise $48 adult and $21 children.  Jazz pianist or jazz trio plays.

5.  Sabino Conneticut (Mystic, Conneticut) - family four approx. $76
Sabino is believed to be the oldest wooden coal-fired steamboat still operating in the United States.  The 90 minute downriver cruise costs $18 per person, but does not require museum admission.  Sabino offers shorter, cheaper ride.  The half hour cruise costs only $8, but that offer requires Mystic Seaport Museum admission ($29 adult, $19 child age 4-14).  Although I did not cruise the Sabino, I admired it in the sunset.
 
6.  Belle of Louisville (Louisville, KY, Ohio River) - family of four approx. $66
Take a sightseeing cruise on one of the oldest operating steamboats in the world (built in 1914).  The Belle operates April to October with a capacity of 1914.   

7.  Minne-Ha-Ha (Lake George, NY) - family of four approx. $47
Minne-Ha-Ha was built in Lake George in 1969, not Minnehaha Minnesota.  Lake George Steamboat Company offers rides spring, summer, and fall including a summer pirate cruise giving kids treasure bags.  The one hour cruise costs $16 for adults and $7.50 for kids.  When you disembark, enjoy the sounds of a steam calliope on dock.

8.  Minnehaha, Minnesota (Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota) - deal during special events $20 for four total!
It once ferried residents and then sank in 1926 and raised in 1980.  It has a 90 person max. capacity.  Standard cruise $15 adult and $5 children or 2 hour Grand Minnetonka Voyage $25, but check out specific dates for special events with $5 special pricing:  Excelsior Art on the Lake (June), Wayzata JJ Hill Days (Sept.), and Excelsior Apple Day (Sept.)

Engineering Lessons: 6 Lock and Dam Visitor Centers

"The Ohio is the most beautiful river on earth.  It's current gentle, waters clear, and bosom smooth and unbroken by rocks and rapids, a single instance only expected."  Thomas Jefferson.

Like the Ohio, I am connected to the Mississippi

Born near the Mississippi, living and working near the Ohio, I travel back to the Mississippi

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, to the Mississippi

Like the Ohio, I believe in freedom

Like the narrow river enabling escape from South to North, from slavery to freedom

Like the Ohio, I live to travel and connect

The river connects communities, I connect people and stories

And whether I'm watching the barges from upon a hill in Cincinnati as I've photographed

Or watching the sun rise and sun set from an Evansville office window

I appreciate the Ohio River, it's beauty, it's peace, and it's ability to change

You can teach kids about Science & Engineering by taking them to a lock and dam visitor center.

Through one of my jobs in which I met lock and dam engineers, I learned that there are many facilities throughout the US open to families to view the lock and dams.  I've been to the Mississippi River Visitor Center with my family:

Mississippi River Visitor Center Locks & Dam 15

Rock Island Arsenal, IL

April - Dec. watch boats pass through the locks

Jan. - March spot bald eagles

Here's 5 additional places to explore:

1.  Lock 16 Center & LaSalle Canal Boat, IL

April- Nov. 1 hour boat tour $14 in 2014

mule pulled replica of a 19th century canal boat

5 miles from Starved Rock State Park

2.  McAlpine Locks and Dam Visitor Center

Louisville, KY

includes a public fishing area from the bridge

3.  Bonneville lock and dam

near Cascades Locks Oregon, 40 miles E of Portland

declared a National Historic Landmark

You can call for a group tour request

4.  Lock & Dam No 1, Minneapolis, MN

Near Minnehaha Park (also a great family place)

Panoramic views from a pomenade three stories above the dam

5.  Lock & Dam No 7, St. Paul, MN

view lock operations from visitor center