My first press trip
We were on a press trip for the past three days. This press trip (aka “the free vacation”) was for a series of family friendly adventures and I got to go based on one particular story I was told to write. The idea is that you’ll pitch and write a whole bunch of stories after you go and goodness knows that I’ll try. They kept referring to me to the travel writer and I kept looking behind me to see who they were talking to. Everything was comped and it was luxurious indeed to try out everything without worrying about our budget.
This was our itinerary:
Saturday
–Start driving at 7am.
–Stop for lunch.
–Arrive at our first destination at 1pm.
–Tour Dr. Ted’s Musical Marvels. This was so fun. Noah was pretty excited about the music and was also thrilled to find the fun house mirrors. He danced himself into oblivion in front of the one that makes you short.
–Check in at Lake Rudolph. We stayed in one of the rental RVs. We got a tour in a golf cart all around the camp. Our guide was a very nice but tired gentlemen with an 8-week old baby at home. The RVs have two double bed (one pulls out) and four single bunkbeds.
–Visit the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. We saw a short movie, took in the museum and visited Lincoln’s mother’s grave site. We were too tired for the living farm. Noah was in charge of pictures until he took a shot of the sign reading “Watch Your Step” and we realized we didn’t have that much film left.
–Go miniature golfing at Frosty’s Fun Center and enjoy pizza as well.
–Head out on the 40 minute trip to the Holiday Drive-in — Noah’s first drive-in movie. We saw Finding Nemo. It started to rain halfway through the movie but that just made it more fun. We turned on the windshield wipers and watched anyway.
–Go back to our RV with Noah snoring in the back.
Sunday
–Wake up and check out of the RV.
–Enjoy the breakfast buffet at nearby Santa Lodge.
–Visit Buffalo Run, where Noah got to feed the bison apples on a stick and Brett and I both tried buffalo burgers (tasty). Noah was disappointed not to see their lone ostrich but we did get to visit an unusual 2-story pioneer cabin and hang out in a teepee while it rained. Our guide there was so great. He’s the owner’s father (and the other owner’s father-in-law) and was the nicest man. Not that everyone we met wasn’t fabulous but we particularly enjoyed spending time with him.
–Visit Noah’s first amusement park, Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari. The PR person there organized the whole trip. She took me on a tour while the boys played in one of the kiddie areas. We had a great time talking, not just about the park. The park itself was really impressive and clean. The day started out rainy and then turned sunny and warm but not too warm. We stayed there for about eight hours, riding everything and spending the thirty bucks in gift certificates they gave us. Brett and I were happy to discover that alongside the typical fair food, they also served grilled chicken salads and sandwiches, not that we didn’t indulge in a funnel cake, mind you. Noah rode his first (kiddie) roller coaster and we all crammed into the Tilt-A-Whirl and got hysterical watching Brett get nauseous. We had a great time. I generally don’t like amusement parks but this one is so clean and friendly (and serves free softdrinks in little kiosks) that I would totally go back even if I had to pay for it myself.
–Drive to Leavenworth to stay at the Leavenworth Inn. The Inn is lovely as is the view. Our bed was so comfortable that we contemplated refusing to leave. When we got in that night, I plopped Noah in the deep, deep bathtub and read to him from The Black Stallion. Then we tucked him into bed where he fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.
Monday
–Wake up and reluctantly check out of the Inn.
–Go to the famous Overlook Restaurant for fabulous homefries and a terrific view. Kill some time rocking in the chairs on the deck overlooking the river and contemplating early retirement.
–Drive to Marengo Cave. We stopped on the way to help a baby turtle trying to make it across the street. Very cute. Our guide at the cave was a cheerful young woman who had been homeschooled. In between cave talk, we chatted about her experiences as a homeschooler in a very small town. She has strong feelings about phonics instruction (she’s for it) and was very patient with our increasingly tired and whiny son. First Noah got to pan for gem stones and then he climbed through the cave simulator. Brett did, too, but only made it half-way before claustorphobia set in and he turned around to clamber back out. Our guide says there’s not really room for a grown man to turn around in there but Brett says that fear makes you do wonderous things. Then we toured part of the cave and came back in for lunch. Noah wasn’t up to the rest of the tour so she gave us a ticket for a free return visit and we headed over to their canoe launch.
–Enjoy a leisurely canoe ride at Cave Country Canoes. I’ll be honest and say I have a fear of water that borders on phobia. I can swim, I can bathe but certain things terrify me beyond reason. A rocking canoe in 2-feet of water is one of those things. I spent the first ten minutes of the trip hyperventilating, which is insane. Let me remind you, 2-feet of water. And we had to wear life jackets. After I calmed down (I asked Brett if my small freak-out was annoying and he said on the contrary, it was pretty amusing), we enjoyed a three hour canoe ride. Noah helped paddle. We saw turtles and fish and chatted. Brett sat in back and Noah sat in the middle on a little cushion. He told us two Peanut stories and also sang.
–Drive home.
We got in at 11pm last night. I mistakenly turned on the computer to check about an email we were expecting and discovered all of the work waiting for me. Panic — not unlike the beginning of the canoe trip — engulfed me.
It’s amazing how all that vacation relaxation disappers when the computer boots up!
That totally sounds like fun, Dawn, but i’m a traveling, adventure kind of woman. I need to get a writing gig. My dream is to have a publisher pay for a road trip around the U.S. so I can write about traveling with kids on a tight budget.
And then, traveling around other countries.
I’m totally envious.
Oooo, I’ve been to the Overlook Restaurant. Was all that stuff in southern Indiana? Cool.
You dog, you! How fun, and all comped? I miss that part of the reporting game.
My friend Rick just did the redesign on the Holiday World website in exchange for tickets for life. Small world.