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 Workplace Tours

Sorry, but you'll have to purchase our book to read this post!

Jelly Belly Factory

    

Arkansas - our 30th state

We have now visited three-fifths of the states on our Napkin Dreams trip. Arkansas had the distinction of being number thirty. How many will we get to? Forty, forty-nine, maybe even fifty? Time will tell how far we get!

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!

650 feet below the surface

Sunday we visited the Kansas Underground Salt Museum in Hutchinson, Kansas. This museum is designated one of the eight wonders of Kansas. We visited two other of the eight wonders as well, the Oz Museum and CW Parker Carousel Museum.

Sorry, if you want to read this psot, please buy our book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Napkin-Dreams-ebook/dp/B00AZR24LG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358457775&sr=8-1&keywords=napkin+dreams

Wichita, Kansas Kidology to Go

Sorry, but this post has been deleted because it is a part of our new book called Napkin Dreams!

Kevin Shutterbug - interview with the Kidologist to Go

Kevin Shutterbug interviews me (Marty) before tomorrow's Kidology to Go in Wichita. Looking good!

Campground review - OK Corral RV Park

While traveling through Kansas we wanted an extra cheap place to plug in while visiting the Oz Museum. The OK Corral RV Park in Emmet, Kansas was a nice fit. While definitely not a destination park, please keep in mind this RV Park is still in the beginning stages as you read my review.

Cleanliness - 6 - While it was a newer park, I did pick up a little bit of garbage around my site.

Bathrooms - NA - They have none, first time I have taken a shower in the RV. Not too bad!

Facility fun - 4 - Bring your imagination and energy to run, because this park has no amenities.

Facility usefulness - 4 - Hmm, new park so they have nothing but full-hook-ups and small laundry facility.

Nearby attractions - 4 - Topeka and Manhattan both around an hour away. Oz Museum 15 minutes from here.

Staff - 8 - Only met the owner. He was helpful and even helped us get hooked up! Not sure why, but never look a gift horse in ......

Natural surroundings - 3 - No trees in park, next to some fields and a factory of some sort looms up on the skyline about 5 miles away (no smell or noise from factory though).

Value - 8 - $10 for a night for two nights with Passport America card for full hook-ups.

Roominess - 7 - More room than the average RV park, plus there are some open fields with nothing on them right now, which made for some great exploration and relay races for our boys!

Overall - 4

Wizard of Oz Museum

We are sorry, but we have removed this post because it is a part of our new book entitled Napkin Dreams.

Campground Review - Cottonwood Park

Recently we stayed at Cottonwood RV Park in Bonner Springs, Kansas. We pulled in here rather late at night but did use the facilities quite a bit in the morning.

Cleanliness - 5 - It is getting a bit run down and there are quite a few potholes in the road.

Bathrooms - 5 - The bathrooms were clean, however the showers were not evenly warm. Turned cold quickly. They did have three showers in each bathroom.

Facility fun - 6 - They have a big swimming pool which of course was closed and a walking some walking trails.

Facility usefulness - 7 - Large laundry room, big pull-thru sites but no propane. Dump station was closed for the season (huh?).

Nearby attractions - 7 - Very close to Kansas City metropolitan area and a stone's throw from the Kansas Speedway for you NASCAR fans.

Staff - 8 - Met two staffers. At one point I thought I had lost my cell and one staff member called it for me and gave me and my son a ride back to Howard on his golf cart, which was a thrill for Tanner!

Natural surroundings - 3 - A few trees, close to Interstate 70, but not too close to hear the loud trucks.

Value - 4 - $27 for a night - off season rate..

Roominess - 5 - Average for a RV Park

Overall - 5

Kevin Shutterbug - Cooking in an RV

Another webisode of Kevin Shutterbug! Brought to you by One Way Street.

CW Parker Carousel Museum

One of the things I hoped for when embarking on our crazy RV adventure was to give ourselves some one of kind experiences and learn a few things along the way. The CW Parker Carousel Museum in Leavenworth, Kansas fit the bill nicely. Not only did we get to learn some new things, like carousels started as training tools for knights in the middle ages, but we got to ride a 100 year old fully restored carousel. This beauty is a real piece of history and surprisingly moves much faster than the modern slow-pokes I have been on. We also got a chance to view, and touch, some amazing pieces of crafted carousel horses that have been beautifully restored as well as two other carousels, one dating to the 1850s. We all enjoyed our trip to the museum and recommend it to your family. Well worth the modest charge.

As a side note the museum is in Leavenworth because CW Parker had a factory and made them there along with other carnival rides and shipped them all over the world!

Kansas McDonalds

So the Kansas McDonalds was more out of necessity than plan! It was a cold, rainy and windy night and after a couple of hours on the road driving through the wind, she needed a break, so we pulled over early and gave up on the idea of cooking dinner that night. We were going to spend the night at a Walmart in Wichita that ended up having a Mickey Ds right inside so it provided the easy dinner. On a side not I guess we won't be going to McDonalds in San Francisco while in California! Gangs, murder, urban plight, teen pregnancy and a host of other issues aside, San Fran has declared war on the Happy Meal! Isaiah 5:20

Fritz Railroad Restaurant

This is a fun little restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas not too far from the rail lines situated there. While it was fun, I did receive a conk on the head when I stood up to receive a phone call on my cell! After that the train kept dumping food before it got to the designated table, which m kids insist was a direct result of my melon getting in the way!