Some Stuff We Tried

This is the spot where I'll put details of what we tried from the activities listed on this blog

Castle Park (Boo Memorial Park): This is a one-of-a-kind place! My kids love exploring the castle and the other sculptures in the park. To find it, from Carbondale, head south on Giant City Road. Go about 2.5 miles. You'll pass Drury Road and Phillips Road on your left. After that, take the next left on No Name Road (that's really the name!). It is open from dawn to dusk. You can bring lawn chairs or a blanket and a picnic to sit under the trees. On weekends, there is sometimes also an ice cream vendor on site. Be sure to make a donation in the memorial box before you leave! While we were in the neighborhood, we also continued south on Giant City Road to the Giant City State Park Visitor Center, where my kids enjoyed looking at the large map of the park, seeing the animal displays and watching the movie about the park. We also tried out the 1/4-mile, easy trail right next to the center and took a climb up the water tower located at the lodge parking lot. On the way back to Carbondale, we stopped at Cool Spoons.

Harrison-Bruce Historical Village: We've always wondered what those historical-looking buildings were for on the east side of the John A. Logan campus. When we read in the newspaper they would be open for free tours recently, we decided to check it out. There are four buildings to tour - a log cabin, one-room schoolhouse, general store and a family home. Even my six-year-old enjoyed the 45-minute guided tour and seeing who people lived many years ago. Each building has interesting pieces from the appropriate time period and the tour guides were great at telling stories about how they were used in the past. Right now, they are only open on certain weekdays for tours, but they have plans to open on some Saturdays, too - so watch the paper or this site for details. While at John A. Logan, we also got snacks at the cafeteria and took a look at the giant horse statue in the lobby of the main building.

Kids Bowl Free all Summer: The local bowling alleys have a great deal for the summer - kids bowl free! No other purchase is necessary. Just sign up at www.kidsbowlfree.com and pick your favorite bowling alley. They will then send you coupons every week for two free games per day. We signed up for SI Bowl in Carterville. We showed the cashier our coupons and also got 10 free prize tickets each and a drink coupon. We just paid for bowling shoes, which was $2 per kid. While in Carterville, we also tried out the Pizza & Pasta Express lunch buffet (available Monday through Thursday) and fed the fish at the Cannon Park lake. Because it was a Wednesday, we also stopped by the Cannon Park Farmers Market, where the fabulous Professor Play was making free balloon characters for kids.

Rend Lake Bike Trail: We recently tried out the bike trail that goes around Rend Lake. It is a really nice, paved, well-maintained path that is great for biking, running and walking. You can see the lake in several spots, but most of it goes through the forest. Beautiful, quiet scenery. We started at the North Sandusky Day Use Recreation Area off of North Rend City Road. If you go from there to the dam it is about 5.7 miles (plus the 5.7 miles to bike back!). If you keep going past the dam, there are about seven more miles of the trail. While we were in the area, we also visited the Rend Lake Visitor Center and the picnic area and layground across the street from it. And, we stopped at The Custard Stand in Sesser on the way back.

Side Trip to Paducah: We took a road trip to Paducah to visit the River Discovery Center. It is a small museum downtown right by the river. My kids enjoyed the displays of riverboat models, the locks, calliope and the dam. And, they loved the boat captain simulator that really made them feel like they were on a ship. Some of the displays had a lot of reading that was too much for my early elementary kids, but it was still worth the visit - especially for the boat simulator. While in Paducah, we took a walk on the riverfront and tried Kirchoff's Deli - they don't have a kids menu, but they made a special order plain salami sandwich for my picky-eating son. And, we stopped at the Noble Park Playground - drive all the way to the back of the park for the largest playground. Some other stops we made: Antique stores on Broadway in downtown and Books-a-Million and Sweet CeCe's Frozen Yogurt by the interstate.

Friday Night Swim: Too cold to play outside and suffering from cabin fever, we went to the Family Swim Night at the Carbondale Life Center Pool. It is open every Friday from 7 to 9 p.m., and your whole family can swim for just $5! It is a large heated pool with a shallow end (3 feet) and several pool toys for the kids. There are lockerrooms and a lifeguard on duty. I wish it started a little earlier in the evening to accommodate early kid bedtimes - we could only stay until 8 p.m., but this is now one of our favorite winter activities.

Extreme Bounce: My pre-Ker tried out the open bounce session at Extreme Kids in Marion. There is an open gym time Saturday nights from 6 to 7 p.m. for $5 per kid. He was intimidated by the large play gym (too hard for him to climb through it alone), but he loved the trampolines and bounce houses. There is an open bounce for older kids from 7 to 9 p.m. for $7 per kid, but it gets much rowdier.

Side Trip to Cape Girardeau: We took a road trip to Cape Girardeau to visit the Conservation Nature Center (2289 County Park Drive). This is a wonderful, free, kid-friendly, educational activity in a beautiful facility. Very hands-on exhibits teach kids about animals and conservation. We enjoyed the bird-watching, beaver dam replica, live bee hive and turkey calls. Other displays include a two-headed snake(!), frogs, turtles and fish. We plan to return during warmer weather to try out the nature trail, too. While in Cape, we also visited My Daddy's Cheesecake (265 S. Broadview), the Cape Library (711 N. Clark Street) and the History/Art Museum (518 S. Fountain Street), which was free and had several hands-on historical exhibits for kids.

Ft. Massac: We go to the Fort Massac Encampment every year. They have great food - we tried the kettle corn, homemade root beer, ribeye sandwich, corn on the cob, apple crisp and fry bread. There are a lot of people dressed in period dress to re-enact what life was like in late 1700s. The event was free but food cost us about $25.

Attucks Spray Park: We went to the Attucks Spray Park and we loved it! My kids spent almost two hours running through the sprinklers. There are some benches in the shade right next to the spray area so I could watch them without getting wet and hot. They also enjoyed the "obstacle course" that goes around the park. And, there is a great playground with lots of equipment. We saw a nature preserve with a trail at the back of the park, but we didn't have time to try it.