The Field of Dreams Movie Site is tucked away in Dyersville, Iowa, about a 40 minute drive east of Dubuque. After years of talking about it, the hubby and I recently planned a trip to this field as the centerpiece of a long weekend in the Buckeye State. You can read my full recap of the experience here, but a picture is worth 1000 words.
The photo to the bottom left shows how the field looked the whole time we were there – just enough people to allow for a sense of atmosphere, but not enough to make the place feel crowded. Everyone was “playing nice” and sharing the field well during our visit. Guests can walk right up to, but not into or completely around, the house and other outbuildings featured in the movie.
There are no organized tours, movies, or other traditional tourist offerings at the Movie Site. We simply played catch in the outfield, popped in and out of the corn, and then sat on one of two tiny sets of bleachers and watched some future major leaguers in action.
The only organized facility on site is the itty bitty gift shop, which sells a wide variety of Field of Dreams merchandise as well as the movie itself. I look like a fool in a baseball cap, but couldn’t resist buying a magnet and water bottle under the guise of “supporting the field.” Prices were pretty reasonable although you can find the Field of Dreams DVD much cheaper on Amazon.
Overall, this site was a truly refreshing experience, exactly as advertised, and well worth the trip. The Field of Dreams Movie Site is open seasonally, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Admission is gloriously FREE, as is parking. You can check out the official website here.
Let me tell you about the new love of my life, Zingerman’s. This fabulous company dominates the Ann Arbor food scene, one bite at a time, with its tasty restaurants and manufacturing operations. We visited several of Zingerman’s franchises during our weekend of eating, ending up at the Creamery and Bakehouse for some goodies and an afternoon tour.
Surprisingly, these two upscale food-making businesses are tucked away in a rather unassuming industrial park a couple of miles outside the city center. The whole affair looks rather like a rent-by-the-month storage center. Zingerman’s must not be aiming to reel in the casual passerby, as this area gets no foot traffic.
Fortunately, the facility’s interior is much classier than its in exterior. In addition to three different on-site stores (the Bakehouse, Creamery, and in-progress Coffee Company), we explored various eating/lounging spaces, demonstration kitchens, and wall displays discussing the company’s history and future plans.
One of the highlights of our visit was checking the wedding cake gallery, full of artistically designed cakes which almost certainly cost more per person than our entire wedding meal. I love the black and white one to the far right the most, but the draped one to far left was also stunning in person.
The tour we took was the Creamery Tour scheduled for 1:30 p.m., which is priced at $5.00 per person. We arrived in the creamery early and spent the half hour before it sampling the store’s wares until our stomachs hurt. We tried lots of cheeses (Manchester, Mozzarella, Manchego, Great Lakes Cheshire) salami (Felino – literally the best salami I’ve ever had), and gelato (dark chocolate, chocolate chip mint, vanilla). By the time we finished, the tour was almost beside the point as we’d gotten more than our $5.00 worth in samples and a discount coupon for that price.
The actual tour was good but not great, as there isn’t really much to see and 45 minutes was kind of long. We did enjoy a demo of mozzarella cheesemaking and then got to taste the freshly made cheese. We also watched gelato being run through a mixer and then got to taste that too. Are you seeing a pattern here?
After the tour, we bought some cheese and the amazing Felino salami which was $19.99 a pound but well worth it. We also hit up the Bakehouse for bagels and Zaaang! candy bars which are one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted. We ended up leaving the Zingerman’s about two hours, $40, and 2 million calories after we arrived. Overall, it was an afternoon well spent!
Yes, I know Christmas is long past, but consider this tardy post an early entry for next year’s holiday season! Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry is well-known for its annual holiday celebration – Christmas Around the World. We visited for the first time this year to check out the decorated trees as well as the museum’s newest exhibit, “You! the experience.” The final verdict? I would definitely return for the Christmas display, if not for You!
The Museum of Science and Industry is located about ten minutes from downtown Chicago. We often ride the Southshore Railroad and exit at the museum stop. The museum is also accessible via Metra from downtown. If you drive, there is a nice attached parking garage available. Current museum hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day except Sunday, when the facility opens at 11:00 a.m.
Standard adult museum admission costs $15.00, which is a substantial increase from a few years ago. Kids are $10.00. The Christmas Around the World display is included with standard admission, but there are always several extra cost experiences. During our recent visit these were The White House: A Look Inside ($5.00), U-505 Submarine optional on-board tour ($8.00), and Omnimax movies Wired to Win, The Human Body, and Mysteries of the Great Lakes. Because of the museum’s large size, we rarely do the extra charge exhibits. I will say that I saw Wired to Win in Louisville and it was fabulous.
The Christmas Around the World display is dominated by a central giant tree flanked by dozens of trees dedicated to countries around the world. We explored the trees in a counter-clockwise pattern. It took about forty-five minutes to see them all, and we didn’t even read every word of the plaques detailing holiday customs in various countries.
Here are a few of the trees. My absolute favorites were Greece (far left) and Japan (far right). I’m not sure how “authentic” any of the trees are in terms of being what would actually be on display at the holidays in the listed countries. They seem more like symbolic representations with iconography specific to these places. In any event, they’re very pretty.
We had a very difficult time finding the tree for Poland, where my people are from. Finally we reached it – it just happened to be the last one we came to! Near the display, there is a little gift store set up where visitors can buy ornaments representative of their heritage.
After we finished admiring the trees, we headed over to check out You! the experience. This newish exhibit is an “interactive” look at the human mind, body, and spirit. Quite frankly, it seems a little redundant to me in that some of these themes are already touched on in the museum’s Genetics display.
The You! gallery, while offering some interesting exhibits, suffers from many of the same problems as most displays of its type – long lines and frequent malfunctions of the interactive experiences. We very much wanted to try a game where visitors can move a ball back and forth with their brain waves, but after waiting fifteen minutes behind a mother and son who had camped out there we gave up and moved on. We attempted to play with a touch screen maze but found the table to be non-responsive to our touching. I did like the simple display pictured to the bottom right which allowed guests to lift the weight gain associated with eating the pictured snacks each day for a year. Not that it had much effect, in that I’m drinking a soda while writing this entry and will probably enjoy a candy bar shortly!
After fighting our way through the crowds at You! we stopped in to experience two of my favorite things at the Museum of Science and Industry – the Brain Food Court and Mold-A-Rama! The museum’s food court is one of the best I’ve seen at this type of facility, offering a wide variety of tasty healthy and not-so-healthy foods. My mom opted for the taco salad, while I had a tasty pretzel bread sandwich. Christmas cookies were also available during our visit.
As for Mold-A-Rama, The Museum of Science and Industry offers several different types. This visit, I made myself a lovely grey wax U-505 submarine to add to my collection.
We had a great day at the Museum of Science and Industry. Although we don’t visit here as often as the Field Museum or Shedd Aquarium, we are going to make an effort to make the trip more frequently. Perhaps we’ll go in March to see Science Storms, the soon-to-be-opened addition to the museum’s collection.
The Indianapolis Children’s Museum has always been amazing, and continues to invent and improve itself. I personally consider this museum to be the biggest “must-see” attraction in our state for both adults and children.
While the museum is worth visiting year-round, it pumps up its offerings during late November and December. This year’s “Jolly Days Winter Wonderland” celebration takes place daily (except for Christmas) between November 27, 2009 through January 10, 2009. Despite having no kids in tow, we bundled up and made the drive to check out this holiday event.
The center piece of the Jolly Days activities is the “Yule Slide,” which is set up right in the middle of the museum atrium. The line was short for the first half-hour after opening but seemed to hold constant at about fifteen minutes thereafter, so encourage your little one to bring his/her patience. Adults can go down too although we felt strange doing it without any kiddos in tow.
From the atrium, we headed into the designated “Jolly Days” area, which is located in one of the special exhibit galleries on the second floor. There are designated play areas for various ages, a tiny pond for “sock-skating,” an ice-fishing exhibit with velcro fish, a play kitchen (above, right) and a “stable” where children can groom fake reindeer. This area is also home to Santa and a queuing area that leads to his home.
While we are definitely “kids at heart,” this area was a bit much even for us. Within an hour of museum opening time it was jam-packed with pushing, shoving, screaming, crying kids battling for space in the too-small exhibits.
Fortunately, we fared better in the rest of the museum. In fact, Jolly Days seems to absorb a lot of crowds, so the remaining areas of the museum were surprisingly empty for a Saturday morning. We started by checking out Dinosphere, which was added to the museum around five years ago. It has an actual working paleontology lab onsite and the scientist on duty was eager to answer our questions and let us touch a T-Rex leg fossil. We also took advantage of the uncrowded craft area to create a couple of textured clay dino-heads.
We also stopped by three other major permanent exhibits: What If…, Take me There: Egypt, and The Power of Children. What If… is one of our old favorite exhibits but, sadly, is currently the part of the museum which could most use a fresh coat of paint. I wouldn’t be surprised if this exhibit is on someone’s list to be gutted, as several aspects of its displays (dinosaurs, Egyptian tomb) are dealt with elsewhere.
Take Me There: Egypt is promoted as the museum’s newest permanent exhibit, although I could swear some variation of it existed during my last visit a few years ago. Be sure to take the “plane” into Egypt to maximize your immersion experience. I think Egypt will be a huge hit with kids, as there are tons of opportunities for active play in model houses and markets. Adults should be sure to catch the very interesting video featuring different Egyptian women and children discussing their views regarding wearing the traditional hijab.
The Power of Children is quite good, but very sad. It follows the lives and stories of three children: Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges, and Ryan White. Proceed with caution if taking young children. I think the content of this gallery is very important, but parents must be prepared to explain concentration camps, AIDS, and racism which may be a lot for a five year old to handle in a single afternoon.
Finally, art lovers should not miss the very interesting Fireworks of Glass featuring artwork by Dale Chiluly. Much of the sculpture is tucked away on the museum’s bottom floor, next to the Lilly Theater.
Overall, while the Indianapolis Children’s Museum’s Jolly Days celebration was not entirely a hit with our group of childless adults, the museum’s regular offerings were more than enough to keep us busy and happy for several hours. If you haven’t been to this awesome museum, or if you haven’t been lately, I highly recommend making the trip.
Shedd Aquarium has been hyping its “Reimagined” Oceanarium for years, since before the marine animals were even removed. They’re back now, and I visited Monday for the first time since the reopening to check out the renovated spaces and the new show, Fantasea. I also became a member for the year, something anyone within driving distance should seriously consider. A single membership costs just $80 and includes a guest for each visit. This means the membership pays for itself with the second visit.
Shedd’s exterior looks pretty much the same as always except for some banners and giant inflatable dolphins promoting the “reimagining.” This was my first and only weekday aquarium visit to date (hey, I have to work!) and I was shocked and thrilled by the lack of crowds both indoors and out. Instead of heading straight to the Oceanarium, we started our touring with the Shark Reef and Amazon Rising exhibits. It was incredibly relaxing through these spaces without being surrounded by thousands of our closest friends like we usually are. Weekend or weekday, I think we will follow this reversed touring pattern for all future visits because the Oceanarium is always going to be crowded no matter what.
First, it is worth nothing that the beluga area has doubled in size, or at least the beluga family has. There are now two separate pods of whales to be viewed and enjoyed. We found the pod to the right to be friendlier and more interactive, particularly the oh-so-pregnant Naya, pictured above. She is such a friendly girl, but she looks ready to POP!
We attended the 10:30 a.m. showing of Fantasea. The arena itself has not been changed substantially. It still offers rocky steps for guests to sit on and overlooks Lake Michigan. Once the show starts, though, a screen comes down and blocks all outdoor views. Images are then projected on the screen throughout the show.
Fantasea kicks off with a sea lion performing some antics and progresses into some business about magical sirens and a little girl making a wish to spend a day with sea creatures. My mom and I argued all day about whether or not the girl was a ringer (they try to pretend she is part of the audience). However, I just looked at press materials for the show and they depict the same little girl we saw, so I guess I win that debate.
After the little girl rides to the island in a boat, she gets visits from beluga whales, penguins, and a hawk. There are also human trainers dressed to match each of these creatures. As much as I love the Shedd’s belugas, I’m not sure they are cut out for show business. Whale natural behaviors are rather subtle, and without any jumping or splashing things get a little dull. The penguins, in turn, were absolutely out of control – one of them made a beeline for the crowd and ended up somebody’s lap. I bet it won’t be long before that portion of the show gets retooled to make things safer for both humans and birds. The hawk, at least, behaved himself.
After all the other animals have their turn, the Pacific white-sided dolphins get their turn. They splash and jump, often in unison. These guys are the real star of the show, and I would have enjoyed watching them for longer. The end!
Overall, Fantasea is certainly an improvement from Shedd’s prior dolphin show, at least in terms of theatrics. It actually reminded of some of the presentations I have seen at Sea World. Still, I think there are some kinks to be worked out and I worry that repeat visitors will be bored with a second or third viewing of such a highly choreographed show.
Finally, we ended our tour of the new facility by checking out the new Polar Play Zone on the Oceanarium’s lower level. Gone are the leaky ceilings and dreary water table displays. The space certainly looks much nicer, with clean, brightly painted walls and fresh carpeting.
As to the actual substance, meh. I am a little baffled as to why children need a playground at an aquarium. Isn’t the entire aquarium kid-friendly? The part where parents can dress their kids up as penguins with human heads is particularly odd. I was also disappointed to see that underwater viewing space for the whales and dolphins seemed to be decreased. We never spent much time on this level anyway, though, so I guess I’m just glad that it has been spruced up enough to be of interest to some visitors. There were definitely lots of kids playing when we were there.
We heard tons of positive feedback about this free, family-oriented zoo before our trip to St. Louis and bumped it to the top of our must-do list as a result. The weather was perfect, and it was overall a nice day at the zoo. A couple of tips for your visit:
1. Arrive early, arrive early, arrive early! Whether due to the price (free) or the day (Fourth of July holiday weekend), the zoo became a madhouse by around 11:00 a.m. Seriously, this was one of the most crazy busy zoos I have ever visited.
2. Strategically plan your visit. While arriving early is necessary, some of the animals aren’t let out into their enclosures until an hour after zoo opening! Start with the inside exhibits that are clearly open to avoid back-tracking like we did.
3. Don’t miss the penguins! The indoor open-air penguin exhibit is definitely the coolest of its type I have ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of penguins!
4. Food and gift store service is slow, slow, slow. It took us about fifteen minutes just to get a drink, and don’t even get me started on the debacle I encountered while trying to buy a magnet! Plan to eat lunch early, late, or elsewhere.
Looking for something yummy to eat this weekend? If you’re a midwesterner, look no further than the fabulous Milwaukee Public Market! Located in the historic Third Word, the market is a great place for a meal, a snack, or a little grocery shopping. Plus, they have cooking classes, art displays, and other activities!
Here are some pictures of the two-story facility:
As you can see, it’s a bright, well-organized indoor space that encourages wandering and tasting even in inclement weather. My favorite things we tasted were the scrumptious cheese curds from West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shop and a wonderful juice blend from The Green Kitchen. My husband loved the stuffed pulled pork sandwich from Sushi-a-go-go.
If you’d like more information about the market’s extensive offerings, I did a complete write up here right after our visit or you can go to the market’s website.
Instead of taking the freebie brewery tour offered at fifteen minute intervals throughout the day, we booked ahead and opted for the $25.00 per person “Beermaster Tour.” Our group was not full so we probably could have snuck in at the last minute, but they keep this tour kind of quiet so you will want to at least email ahead to make sure it is offered the day of your visit. The address is stlouisbrewerytour@budweisertours.com.
No one under 13 is allowed on the Beermaster Tour. You have to wear closed-toed shoes, a hat, and safety goggles, and sign a waiver. Now that’s my kind of tour!
Here’s the outside/inside of Anheuser-Busch’s main tourist building. The factory complex is massive but the parking lot and entrance are clearly marked. While we waited for our tour, we passed the time by looking at some exhibits on old and new brands, the Clydesdales, and Anheuser-Busch during the Prohibition Era.
At promptly 4:00 p.m., our friendly tour guide met our group of ten to begin the tour. He told us that “of course” we could take pictures anywhere we wanted, which was a pleasant surprise. This was only the first example of Anheuser-Busch being amazingly laid-back for a big corporation.
We learned quickly that there are seven steps in the Budweiser brewing process, as detailed on this sign. These are 1) Milling; 2) Mashing; 3) Straining; 4) Brew kettle; 5) Primary fermentation; 6) Beechwood lagering; and 7) Finishing. We got to taste some of the malt and found it surprisingly addictive.
Here’s the brew kettle stage. It looks like a big washing machine through the round windows. It is EXTREMELY hot in this room, but there’s a lot of great architectural detail as shown to the right.
This big screen regulates the addition of hops to the brew kettle. The guys in our group all tasted the hops which are apparently disgusting.
The highlight of our tour was definitely the bottling/packaging facility. With all the automation, it felt like we were on an episode of “Unwrapped.” I can not BELIEVE how close to stuff they let us get. These are two of many fun shots of the bottling portion. Note the party foul to the right!
Here we are in the packaging area. The boxes look a little out of focus because they were really whizzing by!
Part of our tour took place outside. This historic clock tower has been onsite since 1891. Many of the buildings had dates on them so we could see how the brewery has evolved over time.
We got to see, and pet, this guy, who is one of the famous Aneuser-Busch Clydesdales.
These guys were hanging out in the barn. Notice the dalmatian the lower left corner – so sweet!
After working our way down the hill, we got a ride back up on our own private trolley. We noticed that each of the complimentary tour groups was large enough to fill three of these coaches.
Finally, we ended our tour by getting a chance to taste beer right out of the finishing tank. They were making Bud Light our day, but you might get something different. The beer was so fresh and fabulous we didn’t even mind the 35 degree temperatures! After drinking at least a glass each, we headed to a private hospitality suite where we each got two bottle-sized “samples” of Budweiser products. I found that I really like Budweiser’s American Ale, although I doubt it will be as fresh anywhere else.
Our tour lasted a whopping 2.5 hours but the time flew by. Our group was fun, the guide knowledgeable, and the sights incredibly interesting. This was by far the best brewery tour I’ve ever enjoyed and I absolutely recommend the Beermaster Tour to anyone traveling to the St. Louis area.
The Field Museum has long been one of my very favorite museums. As compared to some more stagnant natural history museums, (National History Museum, I’m looking at you!) the Field does a pretty good job of making history exciting instead of dead. Yes, there’s a good number of exhibits containing taxidermied “animals under glass”, but there are also quite a few vibrant, exciting, recently renovated displays.
The Field Museum is located on Chicago’s Museum Campus, along with the Shedd Aquarium (excellent) and the Adler Planetarium (decent). I did a full write-up of the museum here, but the following is a rundown of my favorite exhibits which you should NOT miss during your visit:
1. SUE – Sue is the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton anywhere. The skeleton itself is pretty cool, and so are the interactive exhibits surrounding it. Sue is definitely the best reason to visit the Field Museum.
2. Underground Adventure – Guests can have sort of a “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” moment while exploring under the soil from a bug’s eye view. This is a really neat exhibit, although a couple of the audio-animatronic bugs needed refurbishment the last time I was there.
3. Inside Ancient Egypt – Mummies are awesome, and this large display does an excellent job of exploring various aspects Ancient Egyptian life and culture. The “tomb” used to really freak me out when I was a kid, but in a good way!
4. Grainger Hall of Gems – See some of the biggest precious and semi-precious stones you’ll ever lay eyes on, neatly displayed amongst plaques providing information about different types and cuts of gemstones. This is definitely the “prettiest” room in the museum.
5. Africa – This is, in my opinion, the best of the museum’s many areas devoted to various world cultures. The displays are bright and colorful and at least somewhat interactive. I like the one where guests can sit on a “bus” to view a video of a day in an African Village.
Here are some pictures to help you prepare for your visit.
This is the front entrance. “Nature Unleashed” must have been the special exhibit at the time I took this photograph. By this time, “Real Pirates” has taken its place. You should definitely buy advance tickets if you want to see any special exhibit during your time at the Field.
Here’s a view of the museum’s multi-story atrium, which houses several major artifacts and displays.
These are the “Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo,” which are ridiculously hard to find in the museum. It took us three visits! Do yourself a favor and ask a docent for help right at the get-go. These lions don’t look menacing enough to live up to their name, but apparently they were bigger before the taxidermy.
The Field Museum has Mold-A-Rama! You can get a wax sauropod, stegosaurus, tyrannosaurus rex, or triceratops.
Finally, one of the best reasons to visit Chicago’s Museum Campus is to take advantage of some fabulous views of the city skyline. This picture was taken from right outside the Shedd Aquarium.
Anyone who has grown up in or near Indiana recognizes the familiar jingle, “There’s more than corn, in Indiana, there’s Indiana Bee-ee-each!” Monticello’s little lakefront amusement park figures prominently in my childhood memories, and probably those of many of my classmates. Indiana Beach was also the place to go for high schoolers playing hooky and Hoosiers looking for an inexpensive vacation option. We used to ride the carnival-style rides until someone puked and then spend hours blowing dozens of quarters to win cheap, misshapen stuffed toys. Good times!
I revisited the park last summer, hoping to rediscover some of its magic. Unfortunately, the reality wasn’t quite as good as the memory. I wrote a review here in which I described my frustration with the park’s dirty rides and disappointing corn dogs. After doing some online research, I learned from various sources that the park was bought out by Morgan RV Resorts in early 2008 and seems to have received negative reviews from most sources ever since.
In retrospect, I may have been a little harsh in my two out of five star rating, as the park does maintain some special features and worthwhile rides. The fifteen-year-old Hoosier Hurricane is a fun, rattly wooden roller coaster of the type rarely made anymore. I also love Den of Lost Thieves, an old school dark-style shooting ride that keeps your score and is somewhat addictive, assuming you get a car with a functioning gun. For those looking for a quiet, peaceful hour on the lake, the Schafer Queen pontoon boat provides a surprisingly pleasant ride with great views of the park. Plus, there’s cotton candy. Don’t get me wrong, the place could use a coat of paint, but I think a family on a budget could have a pretty nice day here if they go in knowing it isn’t Disney.
According to http://www.indianabeach.com/, admission is free this year. This sounds like it would be a huge savings, but I believe its only ever cost $2.50 to access the boardwalk and admission was always free with purchase of a ride pass. There are various ride/waterpark passes available for kids and adults or visitors can purchase tickets to individual attractions. Those with an Indiana Entertainment book can take advantage of an excellent two-for-one coupon.
If we visit again this summer, I’ll update this post to give a current status on the park’s cleanliness. In the meantime, I’d be curious to hear from anyone else who has visited Indiana Beach in 2009.
