Business Lesson #2: Moon Marble Company and three Marble Events

The English proudly claim The British and World Marbles Championship has been held at Finsley Green, West Sussex, England every year since 1932.  However, Americans can claim the National Marbles Tournament founded in 1922 and held in Wildwood, New Jersey.  It gives kids an opportunity for a scholarship, competing against other kids age 7-14 who have won a local championship.  If you don't compete, you may still want to visit and witness a game or two.  The event holds over 1,200 games over four days.

Learn a few of the terms before you arrive:
- "knuckle down" means the position adopted at the start line with his or her knuckles against the ground
-"keepsies" the player keeps all the marbles he or she wins
-"quitsies" allows any opponent to stop the game without consequences, if quitsies are allowed
Plus marbles have different names depending opon the marble size:  Peewee (under 1/2"), Shooter (3/4"), Targets, Duckies, or Alleys (5/8"), Boulder (1"), Jumbo (1 3/8"), Super Jumbo (1 5/8"), Toebreakers (2"), Grandfather (billiard ball or tennis ball size)
If you plan to compete, you'll need your Shooter.  It's the only size accepted in U.S. tournaments.

I spent hours playing with marbles, watching them move down the wooden run in my grandparent's house.  A form of kinetic art, the marble run or rolling ball sculpture, can mesmerize you. Kids don't play with marbles as often these days which makes it understandable why it's difficult to find a marble plant tour.  The United States had two factories, Jabo Vitro in Reno, Ohio and Marble King in Paden City, West Virginia.  Despite Ohio's fame as the marble-producing capital of the world, Jabo Vitro shut down.  Marble King as featured on The Travel Channel's Made in America and Discovery Channel's Some Assembly Required does not offer factory tours.  However, you can see hand made marble creation at a small toy shop in a small town called Bonner Springs, Kansas.  Moon Marble Company is located less than 30 miles from Kansas City.  We took a seat in the bleachers and watched the glass art demonstration.  If you plan for the right timing, you can see over 25 artists at Moon Marble Company.  The company hosts "Marble Crazy" event with free admission.  Here's three other marble events to consider:
1.  Badger Marble Show:  October, Madison, Wisconsin, show presenters exhibit marbles in their rooms Friday and Saturday prior to the show, free admission
2.  Des Moines Marble Show:  First Saturday in June, Des Moines, Iowa, six day event with in-room trading, free admission
3.  Humboldt Marble Weekend:  February, Eureka, California, visit artists, see glass blowing demonstrations, participate in a marble hunt, and attend the Bella Vita Fire Dance (dance entry requires a minimum $20 dollar donation to charity)

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)