150 places we have been but did not go on this trip

So we got to thinking of all the places we have been in America and Canada that we did not visit on this trip and would still recommend as fun places to stop and see. We came up with 150 places either Patsy or I have been to in these two great countries that we did not visit during our Napkin Dreams Excursion. Most of them we have been to together since we have been married. Can you tell we love to travel? Here is our list in alphabetical order:

150 places we have been but did not go on this trip

Adler Planetarium, Chicago, IL

Adventure Land, Des Moines, IA

Amana Colonies, Iowa

Amish Country, Lancaster, PA

Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, MD

Appomattox Courthouse National Historic Site, VA

Aquarium of the Smokies, Gatlinburg, TN

Arlington National Cemetery, VA

Art Institute of Chicago

Banff National Park, Alberta, CA

Betsy Ross House, Philadelphia, PA

Biblical Tabernacle Reproduction – Lancaster, PA

Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC

Booker T Washington National Monument– Hardy, VA

Brookfield Zoo, Brookfield, IL

Burpee Museum, Rockford, IL

Butterfly Conservatory, Cambridge, ON

Cahokia Mounds State Historical Park, Collinsville, IL

Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland

Canal Walk, Richmond, VA

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras, NC

Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina

Cape May County Zoo, NJ

Capitol Building, Washington DC

Carowinds, Charlotte, NC

Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds, WI

Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta, GA

Chancellorsville Battlefield, Virginia

Chase Tower, Indianapolis, IN

Claytor Lake State Park, Dublin, VA

CN Tower, Toronto, ON

Colonial Michilimackinac, Makinaw City, MI

Comiskey Park (US Celluar Field), Chicago, IL

Coronado Theater – Rockford, IL

Cowtown, Wichita, KS

Crazy Horse Memorial – Crazy Horse, SD

Creation Museum – Kentucky

Disneyworld, Orlando, FL

Dixie Caverns, Salem, VA

Dodge City, KS

Donley’s Wild West Town, Union, IL

Empire State Building, New York, NY

Fairy Stone State Park – Martinsville, VA

Family Museum, Bettendorf, IA

Faust Landmark, Rockford, IL

Field Museum, Chicago, IL

Ford’s Theater, Washington DC

Fort Sumter, Charleston, SC

Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial, Washington DC

Galena, Illinois

George Washington Office Museum, Winchester, VA

Gettysburg National Battlefield, Pennsylvania

Gino’s East, Chicago, IL

Grand Ole Opry Hotel, Nashville, TN

Great America, Gurnee, PA

Great Wolf Lodge – you pick location

Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, MI

Henry Villas Zoo, Madison, WI

Hershey Farm Restaurant and Inn – Strusburg, PA

Hershey’s Chocolate World, Hershey, PA

Hoosier National Forest, IN

Hotel del Coronado - Coronado, CA

Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke, VA

House on the Rock, Spring Green, WI

Humpback Covered Bridge, Covington, VA

Illinois Railway Museum, Union, IL

Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA

Independence Historical Park, Philadelphia, PA

James Madison Gravesite, Montpelier Station, VA

Jamestown, VA

Jay Cooke State Park, Carlton, MN

Jefferson Memorial, Washington DC

John Deere Pavilion, Moline, IL

John Hancock Building, Chicago, IL

Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, FL

Knotts Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA

Korean War Memorial, Washington DC

Lady and Sons, Savannah, GA

Legoland, Carlsbad, CA

Liberty Bell Center, Philadelphia, PA

Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC

Lincoln’s Boyhood Home, Lincoln, IL

Lookout Mountain, TN

Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, Louisville, KY

Luray Caverns, Luray, VA

Mackinac Island, Michigan

Magic Waters – Cherry Valley, IL

Mayflower 2, Plimouth Plantation, Plymouth, MA

Times – choose your location

Midway Village, Rockford, IL

Milwaukee County Zoo, WI

Monticello, Charlottesville, VA

Mt. Rainer, Washington

Museum of Flight and Space – Washington DC

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL

National Archives, Washington DC

National Zoo – Washington DC

Natural Bridge Zoo, Natural Bridge, VA

Natural Bridge, VA

Navy Pier, Chicago, IL

NFL Hall of Fame, Canton, OH

Niagara Falls, ON, NY

North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro, NC

Ocean City Boardwalk and Beach, NJ

Oriental Museum Institute, Chicago, IL

Packers Hall of Fame, Green Bay, WI

Patriot’s Point – Mt. Pleasant, SC

Petersburg National Battlefield, VA

Pony Express Station, Gothenburg, Nebraska

Port Discovery, Baltimore, MD

Putnam Museum, Davenport, IA

Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia, PA

Redwood National Park, CA

Roanoke Island, North Carolina

Roanoke Wiener Stand, Roanoke, VA

Rogers Centre, Toronto, CA

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON

Ryan Round Ban, Kewanee, IL

Science Museum of Western Virginia, Roanoke, VA

Sears (Willis) Tower – Chicago

Seattle Aquarium, Seattle, WA

Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, KS

Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL

Sinnissippi Gardens, Rockford, IL

Smith Mountain Lake State Park, Moneta, VA

Soldier Field, Chicago, IL

South Carolina Aquarium, Charleston, SC

Space Needle, Seattle, WA

St. Andrew’s Church – Roanoke, VA

Statue of Liberty, New York, NY

Stratford Hall Plantation, Robert E Lee Home, Stratford, VA

Sweden House, Rockford, IL

Times Square, New York, NY

Underground Station, Atlanta, GA

Vietnam Memorial, Washington DC

Virginia Aquarium, Virginia Beach, VA

Virginia Beach Board Walk

Virginia Safari, Natural Bridge, VA

White House, Washington DC

Williamsburg, VA

Winterplace, Beckley, WV

Wonderworks, Pigeon Forge, TN

World of Coca Cola, Atlanta, GA

World War II Memorial, Washington DC

Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, NC

Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

Stadium, New York

Yorktown Victory Center, Yorktown, Virginia

Yosemite National Park – California

Top 10 Great Americans

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Statue of Dwight Eisenhower
in Denison, Texas

Top 10 Museums

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Higgins Armory Museum

Top 10 Tacky Tourist Traps

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Devil's Tower

 

First year in review

It has been awhile since I, Sunset the Snake gave one of my reports from the road. So since I do not have as much to do I thought I could report on the first year the Martin family has spent on the road. Yes a snake has put together a video, made the map and compiled the stats! If you do not believe this then you're imagination is seriously lacking and I am afraid you may suffer from serpent prejudice! Sorry about the lack of sound on the video, youtube has been having fits accepting the music, but we are trying to replace the sound with an audio swap but youtube is also having fits with that!

So here is the adventure by the numbers:

• We started in Cambridge, IL and ended the year in Pittsburgh, PA.
• We traveled over 35,000 miles between the RV and the vans.
• We visited 22 states
• Over 100 Walmarts and 1 Target
• We replaced eight tires.
• We visited 17 Zoos/Aquariums.
• We lost a total of 7 teeth.
• We explored 49 National Parks.
• We soaked up the sun on 10 different beaches.
• We ate at over 70 unique eateries and 25 different McDonalds and 95 other national or regional restaurant chains! 
• We saw at least 277 different species of animals.
• We toured 27 workplaces.
• We went to 6 different amusement parks.
• We spent time in two different countries.
• We traversed through 42 state parks.
• We stayed at over 120 campgrounds!
• Celebrated 7 birthdays.
• Expanded our horizons in over 40 museums.
• All in 372 days (this is from 9/23/10 - 10/1/11)

more...

Check out the basic path we took on our trip in the first year!

Chase swimming summersaults

Even our youngest Chase is becoming quite a swimmer now!

Campground Review - Oak Wood RV Park

We had a nice time at Oak Wood RV Park in Clear Lake, Iowa. They have a very old church on site and they hold services there on Sunday morning. We enjoyed the service here a lot. they preached the Bible there which is refreshing!

Nearby attractions - 7 - Lots of fun things to do on Clear Lake! Mason City is also close by.

Staff - 9 - The couple that checked us in were super friendly and helpful!

Natural surroundings - 8 - Area we stayed in was newer so no mature trees. Park is surrounded by forest and corn fields.

Value - 6 - We paid $35 a night for a pull-through gravel site with full hook-ups. Normal price is $25 a night, but extra for the kids.

Bathrooms - 6 - Older, but well kept-up.

Roominess - 8 - Huge sites- especially in length!

Facility fun - 7 - Small Playground, fire pits at campsite. Really close to Clear Lake State Park with a beach and nice playgrounds.

Cleanliness - 8 - Nice and clean park.

Facility usefulness - 8 - Dump station, picnic tables at each site, laundromat, exchange library.

Overall - 8 - Church was great and beach at park was nice except for zebra mussels. Brendan got his hand sliced by one, even after we made the boys where the sandals into the water. Be careful if you go!

Campground review - Black Hawk Park

We stayed at a nice little county park near Cedar Falls, Iowa called Black Hawk Park. Very nice and restful place.

Nearby attractions - 7 - very close to Wate

rloo and Cedar Falls.

Staff - N/A - Total self-registration process. Never talked to a park ranger.

Natural surroundings - 9 - Lots of trees and close to river and pond.

Value - 9 - We paid $17 a night for for a pull-though gravel site with water and electric.

Bathrooms - 7 - Typical of state parks and county park bathrooms, clean, but slightly older.

Roominess - 8 - Nice big sites.

Facility fun - 7 - Playground, fishing, walking paths

Cleanliness - 9 - Very clean and tidy.

Facility usefulness - 5 -

Dump station, picnic tables and fire rings at each site.

Overall - 9 - Nice park with being close to nature and the city.

Galleria de Paco

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Kevin Shutterbug at Matchstick Marvels

 

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Kevin Shutterbug was so impressed with the matchstick marvels he had to show you his pics and his attempts at the unusual art form!

Campground review - Shady Oaks RV Campground

The Big Treehouse attraction is on the same property as the Shady Oaks RV Campground, so we stayed there to tour the treehouse the next day.

Nearby attractions - 6 - in between Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Waterloo. Near Marshalltown.

Staff - 7 - Spoke to owner and her daughter. There was some confusion as to the number in our party, but things worked out alright in the end.

Natural surroundings - 9 - Park is filled with large Burr Oak trees and lots of flowers. Across the street from a corn field.

Value - 7 - We paid $26 a night for for a back-in gravel site with full hook-ups.

Bathrooms - N/A - Bathrooms were under repair.

Roominess - 8 - Decent amount of room in between sites.

Facility fun - 6 - Treehouse on site for extra money you can tour it!

Cleanliness - 9 - Very clean and tidy.

Facility usefulness - 2 - Dump station.

Overall - 7 - It is a nice quiet little park with a feeling of being out in nature.

Big Treehouse

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Trainland USA

Our family visited Trainland USA in Colfax, Iowa for the sheer fun of it! What boy does not love model trains? One of my best Christmas memories was waking up and finding a model train layout my dad had made for me. I still have many of those old engines and cars from that set. I dream one day to have a set in a basement - probably for my grandkids!!

This video is set to Wabash Cannonball by Boxcar Willie. Not only were there a ton of Lionel trains and amazing layouts from various locations at Trainland USA, but there were also lots of buttons to push to make things happen in the layout. This was a big attraction for our hands-on group of children!

Visitors to Trainland USA get to set off fireworks, tip an outhouse, buy some ice-cream and swing on a tire-swing! What a cute and fun stop for train-lovers and non-train-lovers.

Pella, Iowa

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National Balloon Classic Indianola

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50 McDonalds - Iowa

Our Iowa McDonalds is in the fair city if Urbandale. We stopped here after driving by the building that once housed Patsy's alma mater - Open Bible College. After such an emotionally exhausting trip the only cure for the drain was some french fries and hamburgers, so off to the Golden Arches it was! The happy meal toy was Smurfs, and we got three different ones in the little guys boxes. However one was Smurfette and that would not do, so had to trade her in for a boy Smurf! Tragedy narrowly averted.

Patsy's alma mater

Campground review - Cuttys Camgground

During our stay in the Des Moines area we hung out at a place called Cutty's Campground. We could only stay here through our Passport America club card. They also accept Coast to Coast, but are mostly a purchase only campground.

Nearby attractions - 8 - near all the Des Moines area attractions including Living History Farms and Adventureland.

Staff - 7 - Only spoke to the guys at the guardhouse who were just friendly enough.

Natural surroundings - 8 - Right on lake and lots of tree though most of the park.

Value - 8 - We paid $22 a night for for a pull-through gravel site with full hook-ups.

Bathrooms - 6 - Bathrooms at clubhouse were pretty nice. Bathrooms where we were camping were horrid, so we never used them. Mixed reviews, but if you go here, use the clubhouse bathrooms.

Roominess - 7 - Normal sized lots for an RV Park.

Facility fun - 10 - Three swimming pools, one indoor and two outdoor, splash pool and large playground with western town to play in. Fishing without a license and mini-putt (free except you have to buy golfballs), volleyball court, shuffleboard. Lots of activities on weekend.

Cleanliness - 7 - Decent enough, some older models permanently parked there. Bathrooms were worst part.

Facility usefulness - 9 - Dump station, laundromat, large camp store, free wifi at clubhouse and store, restaurant on site.

Overall - 9 - We swam everyday and played mini-putt several times.

Birthplace to the Duke

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Bridges of Madison County

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Sergeant Floyd

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