Gym Class #5: Kids Sailing Camps from High to Lower Cost

Hoofer Sailing Club

UW Madison, Photo by Krenda

Before classes at University of Wisconsin Madison even begun, I took the Hoofer sailing club up for a deal to sail for free as part of orientation.  Not only did I love the sport, I met lifelong friends.  Now when strolling outside Memorial Union, I always admire the sailboats and imagine having a little more time to sail on the water.

Sailing may seem unobtainable for kids to begin due to lesson prices.  I've done a bit of research for you to show that sailing can cost thousands of dollars to begin, but it does not have to be so expensive.  Look beyond the yacht club and search park programs or YMCA camps.  In descending order from most to least expensive, here's eleven options:

1.  Adriondack Camp (Putnam Station, NY) offers a diverse sailboat fleet including Mercury Sloop, Capri Sloop, Lasers, Sunfish, JV Sloop, Classic 420, and 6 Flying Juniors; 2 week session $4,600

2.  Coral Reef Yacht Club (Miami, FL) teaches 8 to 17 year olds $750

3.  Coconut Grove Sailing Club (Miami, FL), learn how to rig, launch a boat, basic knots, and develop wind awareness; age 6-17 9AM-4PM $600

4.  San Diego Yacht Club (San Diego, CA) host of the Junior Olympic festival, fleet of 24 new CFJ sailboats; $590 for Junior Summer sailing

5.  Northwestern University Sailing Center (Chicago, IL), 420s and lasers, 9AM-noon $575

6.  Premier Sailing (The Tides, Irvington, VA), founded in 1998 by Irish sailors, one week young sailors course for age 6-17 $445

7.  Sail Sand Point (Seattle, WA), non-profit community boating center, separated by age such as youth beginner (8-12 year olds), teen beginner (12-17 yr olds) $410; same pricing at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Seattle

8.  The Watersports Camp (San Diego, CA), sponsored by the YMCA, basic sailing morning camp and option to upgrade to afternoon activity for only $50 incremental; $370

9.  St. Petersburg sailing (Florida), Learn to Sail Camp for age 7 to 12 teaches rigging, steering, and maneuvering around docks 8:30-4:30PM; $321

10.  Sail Buffalo Sailing School (Buffalo, NY), Junior Sailing Camp Nautical Day Camp 9AM-4PM age 8 to 18; full week $294

11.  Hoofer Youth Program (UW Madison, Madison, WI); sailing day camp 10AM-4PM or beginner racing (3 hours) for $265; also offers windsurfing lessons

12.  Wilmette Park (Chicago suburbs, IL) group sailing lessons age 9-15, 8 lessons 12:30-2:30 or 3-5PM, learn on Lake Michigan; 12 students max. per class; $196 each

Before the kids begin lessons, give them a head start by teaching them the terms:  rudder, centerboard, tack, stern, boom, head mast, jib, jibstay, jibsheet, bow, etc.

Gym Class #4: 7 Top Fishing Spots in the US

Our Catch, Photo by Krenda

Wanting to share nature and sports with your kids? It's time to go fishing.
Fish, so graceful, you can get hypnotized watching them swim back and forth.  When your kids catch one, that's when peace turns to excitement.

You can go to a top destination, but we've found the local parks to provide plenty of excitement for beginners.  Check out license requirements.  Our kids caught this fish at the Voice of America pond in West Chester, Ohio.

When my kids got older, my dad bought a fishing boat to use in his pond in the photo below.   The kids relived the rush of catching a fish.

Tips

-Safety first.  Talk about fishing hooks.
-Go early, avoid the heat of the day.  Bring sunscreen & hats.

If you want to make the experience more memorable, plan ahead to include fishing in a trip.  The US and nearby islands are known for quality fishing.  According to americasbestonline.net, here's 7 places included in their Best Fishing Holes in the USA:
1.  King Salmon Fishing in Alaska:  look for youth only fisheries (anglers age 15 or younger) - Campbell Creek in Anchorage, AK (Sat. in June), and Seward King Salmon Fishery (specific dates)
2.  Salt Water Fishing in the Florida Keys
3.  Trout fishing in Yellowstone National Park
4. Tarpon Adventures of Galveston
5.  Rogue River Wilderness Adventures - Oregon
6. Montana Fishing and Fly Fishing
7.  Lake Sinclair

 -Set expectations or plan for higher odds.  When kids don't catch any fish, anticipate the disappointment.  It's happened to our family - rent a fishing boat at the park, but catch nothing.  Another time we planned ahead.  We made the extra effort to drive to a paid fishing pond/restaurant near the Smoky Mountains and the sure catch was a big hit.  See my cabin rental blog www.lightningbuglodge.blogspot.com

Geography #3: Belize and Cave Tubing Adventure

My husband and I had an amazing jungle river boat tour in Belize while I was pregnant with our second child.  Our fearless guide took the boat right up to a crocodile leaping into the air and splashing back into the water.  Our guide pulled  the boat close to shore, so we could see the giant iguanas hanging from the trees.  Our guide enthusiastically insisted we all need to move to Belize, really not that dangerous of a country.  We bought wooden bowls and vases at a local market in the jungle.  Our items wrapped in newspaper gave us reading material on the bus including the story of a foreigner murdered yesterday.  

Sharing the photographs would have been amazing...except my husband left the camera memory card in the Norwegian cruise ship room safe.  We had to return to Belize someday.  Who would know how to top such experience?  Pauline Frommer!  The award-winning travel writer would speak at the Chicago Travel and Adventure Show.  So I asked Pauline and she quickly replied that we must take the family cave tubing!

Not too many places offer cave tubing.  However, Belize has the largest cave systems in the Americas.  Humans have discovered over 300 caves in Belize and still looking for more.  The Dark Night Three Cave Tubing Adventure Cave Exploration tour takes you to a journey deep into Jaguar Cave.  Jaguar tracks left in the soil led to the cave name.  While I kept my eyes out for jaguars, I had a two surprise.  

Surprise #1 - Friendly Scorpion

The first surprise came after the hour plus bus ride including a bumpy section over a dirt road.  Employees warned us to use the restrooms because the trails had no restroom.  The signs clearly stated not to throw paper in the toilet.  I didn't expect the scorpion crawling out of the wastebasket.  I didn't freak out.  In fact, I waited patiently for the opportunity to photograph him.  I didn't follow the scorpion too long.  It's generally unwise to stalk a venomous animal.  I told my husband about the scorpion and he shrugged.  If your spouse lived in South America for a year and Spain for a year, you can get shrugs.  As if I just told him I saw a fluffy, cute cat or dog.  For goodness sakes, I probably just say a centruroides gracilis, the most common black scorpion in Belize.  

Surprise #2 -Termite-Eating Guide

The second surprise came from our tour guide.  Before you get to tubing, you hike in the rainforest, across wooden bridges, and near towering cliffs.  The caving tour company claimed guides were versed on jungle plants, herbal medicine, and Mayan history.  Boy, our guide more than delivered.  From Mayan descent, his father taught him at a young age how to survive in the thick rainforest.  He seemed to know every plant and animal.  At one point, he stops to show us termites and encourage us try them.  Surprise!  Termites are packed in protein!  You should eat them!  Despite my enthusiasm for protein, I let the guide eat the termites.  The kids really liked our guide as he let the kids climb vines and ask lots of questions.  

Historically the Belize citizens used caves were for sacred rituals and ceremonies and caves could cause fear.  You need not fear the caves.  The guides give you headlamps and it never seemed pitched dark to me.  The Jaguar Cave has enormous 100-foot ceilings.  I think even claustrophobic people would enjoy this cave tubing.  Indian Creek's calm waters let us enjoy the views.  Emerging out of the cave made for a beautiful scene of blue skies, bright blue green water, and green plants surrounding us.  

After all the hiking, we had quite the appetite and so grateful for the local lunch included.  Chicken, stew, and beans brought back good taste and scent memories of visiting Central America.

The neat part of the long bus ride was having the opportunity to see the city, the countryside, and even the above ground cemeteries.  I booked the excursion through the Royal Caribbean cruise.  The cruise traveled to Belize, Honduras, and Mexico.  Read about our dolphin excursions in Honduras in my article "Dolphin Kisses".  Travelers know that you can't just appreciate the destination, you need to appreciate the journey too.  A special thank you to Pauline Frommer, encouraging us to take another adventure.

x

Science Lesson #2: 2 Free Venus Fly-Trap Viewings + 4 Other Botanical Gardens

Meat-eating plants!  Oh my!  Plants eating ants, flies, spiders, and other insects sound like a bizarre science-fiction film, but you and your kids can see the process in action.  Visit a fly-trap farm or botanical center with venus fly traps, pitcher plants, bladderworts, and sundews.  

 

How does a plant capture an insect?  The venus fly-trap emits a fruity scent that attracts insects.  Tiny bristles within the leaf trigger the plant to close when an insect brushes against it.  Once the insect gets captured inside, the plant has a "green stomach", producing digestive enzymes and transporters to take up nutrients.  It can take several days to digest the insect.  

The venus fly-trap is native to Cape Fear, North Carolina.  The loss of habitat has led to 95% of the original plants to disappear.  There's now less than 30,000 plants in the wild.  However, farmers grow the plants and sell them at their nursery or online.

We visited the largest botanical collection of carnivorous plants on display to the public in the US.  Located 45 minute north of San Francisco in Sebastopol, CA, California Carnivores is open Thur. to Mon. 10AM-4PM to the public.  The owner has grown carnivorous plants for nearly 50 years, wrote the book The Savage Garden:  Cultivating Carnivorous Plants, and featured on Martha Stewart Living.  Unfortunately the plane transportation meant we couldn't buy plants onsite.  However, it inspired us to visit our local home improvement stores and we easily found a kit to buy.

 Another way to see the plants for free - visit The United States Botanic Garden Savage Gardens in Washington D.C. from 10AM to 5PM.  Here's four other botanical gardens featuring meat-eating plants:

1.  MOSI Museum of Science & Industry Coleman-Lienhart Savage Garden, Tampa, FL, adults $27, child $21

2.  Frederick Meijer Garden Kenneth E. Nelson Carnivorous Plant House, Grand Rapids, MI, adults $15, children under age 13 for $7, over 150 acres

3.  Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden The Carnivorous Plant Bogs located in Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden, adult $15, child under age 12 for $10

4.  Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Garden Savage Gardens, Columbus, OH; $14 adults, $7 child under age 17, plants and sculptures

Lighthouse Lesson #3: Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse in Manteo, North Carolina

Before you begin your lighthouse tour, check out The Outer Banks Lighthouse Society website.  Besides hosting America's largest keepers' descendants' gathering, the society teaches children about lighthouse history.  Before getting in your car, print off their free 19 page coloring book.  If ambitious, tell your kids about the Lighthouse Explorer Patch Program.  If your child completes 7 out of 10 activities, noting 3 are required, he or she can earn a OBLHS embroidered patch.  

While in the Outer Banks, you should visit the relatively new Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse.  Built in 2004, the lighthouse stands as a replica to the 1877 lighthouse also known at the third Roanoke lighthouse.  Due to the lighthouse protecting river traffic versus ocean traffic, the light doesn't need to stand as tall.  Even at 37 feet tall, you will easily see the lighthouse.  It jets out 40 yards into the Roanoke Sound with white exterior, black shutters, and a red shingle roof.  

Several lighthouses have served to protect boats entering and leaving the Shallowbag Bay:

- First Roanoke lighthouse (1831) experienced floods and repairs that led to abandonment

- Second Roanoke lighthouse (1858) suffered wood rot

- Third Roanoke lighthouse (1877) sold to a private owner in 1955 who placed it on a barge; the lighthouse fell off the barge and sunk into the Albemarle Sound

Fortunately, the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum manages today's lighthouse and light still shines 19 miles offshore.  In the spring, summer, and early fall, you can visit the interior which also includes a fourth-order Fresnel lens and local Manteo exhibits.  Just walk down the wooden boardwalk and visit.

Lighthouse Lesson #2: Bodie Island Lighthouse

Bodie Island Light Station stands proud at 170 feet tall and noticeable with it's black and white stripes. It's iconic look likely helped it make the Frommers travel guide article list "7 All-American Lighthouses".

Did you know it's not the first Bodie Island lighthouse?  Marine safety is worth the continued effort for a structure to watch over the "Graveyard of the Atlantic."  A poor foundation caused the first Bodie Island lighthouse to be abandoned.  Confederate troops who feared the lighthouse would be used as a Union observation post during the Civil War destroyed the second lighthouse.  The third lighthouse was built in 1872 and became part of the National Park Service in 1937.  The third time's the charm!

1937 was also the creation of the first national seashore.  Bodie Island Light Station is part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the first national seashore.  If you visit, consider timing your visit between the third Friday in April to Columbus Day in October.  That's when the park service allows visitors to climb the 214 steps to the top 70-foot structure.

Today the Keepers Quarters brick house also serve as one of the three Cape Hatteras visitor centers.  You can expect a small exhibit area and a bookstore.

Bodie remains as one of only a dozen remaining tall brick tower lighthouses in the United States.  It's also special because it still has it's original Fresnel lens.

Stay on the trails as signs warn of snakes.  Take the boardwalk leading from the lighthouse to an observation platform near marshes for another view.

If you love the National Park Service like me, take your kids to the other National Seashores too.  Not only will you learn about history, but also shoreline conservation.  Here's the other nine national seashores:
1) Assateague Island National Seashore (MD)
2) Canaveral (FL)
3) Cape Cod  (MA)
4) Cape Lookout (NC)
5) Cumberland Island (GA)
6) Fire Island (NY)
7) Gulf Islands (MS)
8) Padre Island (TX)
9) Point Reyes (CA)

Lighthouse Lesson #1: Cape Hatteras and 6 Lighthouse Events

Perhaps it's because I grew up near the Great Lakes that I find maritime history fascinating and lighthouses as majestic, protecting our coasts with the values of safety and stories of heroism.  Celebrate lighthouses and their keepers.  August 7th is National Lighthouse Day. 

We saw many lighthouses at the Outer Banks and the iconic Cape Hatteras in Buxton, NC stood as the most memorable.  By climbing the lighthouse, we also heard stories about the lighthouse.  Our guide pointed out where this lighthouse stood prior to 1999.  Due to erosion, the lighthouse moved to higher ground.  Known as "The Move of the Millennium", the lighthouse became the tallest masonry structure ever moved.  Perhaps it was memorable because as we looked out over the beautiful sunny & blue sky view, we also knew a hurricane watch was coming and we could imagine the danger on water years ago; overlooking "The Graveyard of the Atlantic.

Kids can expand their vocabulary:
Pharologist - one who studies or is interested in lighthouse
Wickie - a name given to lighthouse keepers, derived from the task of trimming the wick of the lamps
Prism- a tansparent piece of glass that refracts or disperses light
Beacon - a lighted or unlighted fixed aid to navigation
Lantern - a glass enclosure at the top of the lighthouse tower which housed the lighthouse lens
See the United States Lighthouse Society site for more terms.

Light up their imagination.  There's more than one day a year to teach kids about maritime history, whether touring a museum or climbing a lighthouse.  Here's six special events:

1.  Maryland Lighthouse Challenge - Sept.
You must see all mandatory stops (10 lighthouses) to proclaim "I've seen the lights" and collect a specialty designed souvenir.  Scouts have an opportunity to earn "Keeping the Lights Shining" patch.

2.  Maine Open Lighthouses Day - Sept.
Sponsored by the United States Coast Guard; climb and learn about over two dozen historic Main lights including Bass Harbor Head, Burnt Coat Harbor, and Owls Head.  Plan ahead.  The event attracts 15,000 to 18,000 visitors per year.  Stop into the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland where you'll see the largest collection of Fresnel lenses display in the US

3.  Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival - Sept. - Washington
Free, 50 year festival, fireworks, art show, children's parade, fly-over, salmon bake, fishing derby

4.  Lighthouse Challenge of NJ - Oct.
Visit up to 11 lighthouses; $2 registration fee includes a special passport book
Climbing ranges from donation to $8 (Cape May)

5.  Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival - Oct. - Alpena, MI
20 year festival; Free four day event close to Mackinaw City
Lighthouse tours, entertainment and over 100 maritime related vendors
Alpena also has the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center - free admission and you'll see shipwreck exhibits and a full size replica wooden Great Lakes schooner

6.  Lakeside Marblehead Lighthouse Festival - Oct. - Ohio
Lakeside Chautauqua and Marblehead Peninsula, crafts, pumpkin decorating contest, hayrides ($2), lighthouse tours ($2), and sailboat rides
Marblehead, 2nd oldest lighthouse on the Great Lakes, had the first female lighthouse keeper in the US