- Tower of London
I found it a little funny that while the curators at the Tower of London are clearly trying to move away
from the Victorian Gothic notion that the place was awash in blood from beheadings (the fact that very few people were
actually executed there is reinforced continually in all of the panels I read) there is an executioner wandering around
among the other historical reenactors. See more at Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/bqz0fs
- St James's Restaurant at Fortnum & Mason
Although the dining room is lovely and the food is fancy, the atmosphere at the St. James's is
decidedly relaxed. Everyone who worked there was friendly and clearly used to children. And don't worry too much about
dressing up (unless, of course, you want to!). Do avoid shorts and t-shirts; boys should wear closed-toed shoes. My boys
wore polo shirts and chinos and were appropriately clad. See more at Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/9O77OB
- Greenwich Market
If you're looking for lunch in Greenwich, England you can't go wrong heading for the Greenwich Market. Kids will love the rabbit warren of stalls. And you'll love the food choices, everything from pastries to tamales to gyros to tangine. Many of the vendors sell local and organic food and I believe I saw gluten-free options as
well. See more at Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/d9QOBA
- Wagamama
One favorite of mine is the Asian noodle chain Wagamama which offers a wide range of noodle and rice dishes
all cooked to order. The boys and I lunched there on the day that we visited the British Museum (it's right around the
corner at 4 Streatham Street). A sleek aesthetic, relatively low prices, communal tables, and super-fast service make this
a great place for both kids and grownups. See more at Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/bEd9ii
- Legoland Windsor
We spent a full 8 hours at the park - arriving when they opened at 10 and closing the place down at 6....Wanted to add a few photos to share our day, which was as fun and LEGO filled as one could hope for. See more at Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/dekG8Y
- The British Museum
The British are wonderful about making museums that aren't automatically kid-friendly more so by
offering a wide variety of different activities from worksheets to interactive videos to age-appropriate audio guides. The
British Museum is no exception, offering all of these things as well as themed activity backpacks for children aged 5 to
11. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/9faGAd
- Heavenly Biscuit
I liked everything about the Heavenly Biscuit from the produce stand out front selling fruits, vegetables,
and the freshest of juices. To the acoustic guitar concert. To the cinnamon rolls. The rest of the food was delicious as
well.br /The atmosphere at the Heavenly Biscuit is friendly, chatty, and low key. See more at The Mother of All Trips:
www.motherofalltrips.com
- Franklin Fountain
If you are craving ice cream while in the area, don't miss the Franklin Fountain, a genuine old- fashioned soda fountain where you can still order a phosphate and where the hot fudge is homemade. It's just a few blocks up the street. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/16JEfX
- Arden Theater Company
The Arden Theatre is an intimate space that's perfect for young children - and they have a fantastic children's series. They also have a drama school and summer camps for kids of all ages. There's a parking lot right across from the theatre, but it tends to fill up during performances. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/16JEfX
- Mex-Tex Trio
Your dining option at Three Rivers Landing is limited to McDonald's. However, a block away on 3rd Street you'll find Mex-Tex Trio, where we had an affordable and delicious lunch. There are a wide range of tacos, enchiladas, and quesadillas on offer, as well as vegetarian plates and lunch specials. See more at The Mother of All trips:http://bit.ly/1D00yB
- Bomboy's
...the local ice-cream parlor where Tommy ordered Snickerdoodle and Duck, Duck Goose (vanilla with chocolate-covered peanut butter chunks) and Teddy had banana and chocolate. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/bAtR6h
- Crayola Factory Discovery Center
The space is primarily dedicated to different stations where kids use Crayola products to make things. The
boys liked making leaf rubbings, "painting" with hot wax, and creating paper-bag puppets, although honestly those
mostly
things we could do at home. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/1D00yB
- National Canal Museum
We started our visit in the waterworks room where there is a 90-foot model canal complete with working locks and inclines. The volunteer working there spent a lot of time explaining the physics of the various mechanisms to Tommy and also talking about the history of the canal. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/1D00yB
- National Canal Museum
The rest of the museum is dedicated to explaining the history of transportation in the Lehigh Valley via train and canal boat and it's really pretty interesting. One room has a large model train display, a train to climb in, and a railroad scale where the kids can weigh themselves. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/1D00yB
- Blue Ball Barn
Now it has been restored and is home the park office and also to an exhibit about the history of farming in the area and the Delaware Folk Art collection. I like looking at primitive art with the kids, because it really engages them. The statue in the photo was Teddy's favorite piece on display. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/dhMsyV
- Alapocas Run State Park
I found the Can-Do Playground, a huge, wonderful, all-access play area for children of every ability. Even though it was freezing the boys spent a very happy hour here. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/dhMsyV
- Christ Church
The church is free to visit, although they do ask for a donation. Talks are given regularly throughout the day. The one we heard was simple enough for my seven-year-old to understand, especially since he hada good working knowledge of the history of the American Revolution. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/16JEfX
- Christ Church
Five signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried in the churchyard. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/16JEfX
- Triumph Brewing Company
We had finished lunch at the Triumph Brewing Company, which is my ideal type of lunch-with-kids place because it serves both burgers and more sophisticated food, all of it delicious. It also has stylish decor that's cool to look at without being fragile and a friendly staff who don't mind spills (I can attest to that fact). See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/16JEfX
- Winterthur
The house contains one of the biggest assemblages of American decorative arts in the world. Of course, many
people with kids might look at this and say to themselves "clearly not for us!" But let me assure you - I've been
going to
Winterthur with my children since they were very small, and we've always had a wonderful time. As such, I
consider it a
bit of a hidden gem for families. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/4EFSOO
- Longwood Gardens
There are so many things about Longwood that make it a fabulous place to go with children. It is huge and offers a wide variety of terrain from forest to meadow. It has a tower and a waterfall. There are multiple ponds, dozens of fountains, and two children's gardens, one inside and one out. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/atIK05
- Quechee Gorge
We stopped quickly on the way home to look at Quechee Gorge, "Vermont's Grand Canyon," one last peek at the
sublime. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/9lee2a
- Vermont Toy & Train Museum
We walked over to investigate and discovered the Vermont Toy & Train Museum, a small and musty homegrown kind of place. The toys were displayed by decade, and in the 1970s case were a Dorothy Hamill doll complete with wedge haircut and gold medal, a Six Million Dollar man inside his own rocket ship, and an I Dream of Jeannie doll who was peering out of the top of a plastic bottle about ten times bigger than she was. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/9lee2a
- Famer's Diner
We were on a pilgrimage of sorts, to the Famer's Diner, one of the places mentioned by Barbara Kingslover in her book Animal Vegetable, Miracle, a favorite of mine. I have made lots of efforts during the past year to feed our family as much local food as possible and was curious to check out this restaurant, which serves diner food at reasonable prices, but tries to get 80 percent of its ingredients from local sources. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/9lee2a
- Billings Farm and Museum
The Billings Farm and Museum is both a working farm and a museum of rural history. Kids can see cows and horses up close in person, learn about rural life and create their own quilts using blocks and colorforms. See The Mother of all Trips:http://bit.ly/9lee2a
- Marsh-Billing-Rockefeller National Park
Our first stop the Marsh-Billing-Rockefeller National Park, the only U. S. national park that according to
its brochure tells "the story of conservation history and the evolving nature of land stewardship in America." The
park is
home to the oldest continually managed forest in the United States as well as the oldest Norway spruce in
Vermont. See more
at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/9lee2a
- Shelburne Farms
Shelburne Farms sits right on the edge of Lake Champlain and is a Platonic farm, absoultely immaculate, fastidiously landscaped, with a glorious barn and outbuildings. Its staff works hard to educate its visitors about the virtues of caring for the environment and eating locally. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/9MDa6s
- Shelburne Farms
Today my children got to milk a cow, card wool, touch chickens, feed baby goats, and look in on a pile of baby pigs. Oh, and they also sampled some artisinal cheddar cheese. See more at The Mother of all Trips: http://bit.ly/9MDa6s
- Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
Learn about the history of the Lake Champlain region at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/4yOaIv
- ECHO Center
Study the ecology of Lake Champlain at the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/4yOaIv
- Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/dmMnHd
- Midway Oh Boy Restaurant
This is a true old-fashioned diner, one that's been around since 1953. I suspect that little has changed on
the menu there since its opening: Oh Boy burgers, open-faced roast-beef sandwiches with gravy, cabbage rolls (but
only on
Tuesday nights), and a "Dieter's Delight" consisting of 5 ounces of chopped sirloin, cottage cheese, and
Jell-o. See more
at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/k6c1Z
- Reading Terminal Market
When I'm in Philadelphia with the kids, I really like to go to lunch at the Reading Terminal Market. It's chaotic and crowded and not for the faint of heart, but if you've got kids who like food and enjoy a wide variety of choices, it really can't be beat. We like to get there a little ahead of the lunch rush and stroll around to view all of our dining options before committing to what we want to eat. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/5LbJ0e
- Woodside Farm Creamery
Woodside Farm Creamery sells its ice cream by the ounce and is famous for the huge number of flavors it offers... I'd be hard pressed to choose my favorite although both the Peach and the Raspberry Chip are superb. And the boys love Dirt: Chocolate ice cream stuffed with crushed Oreos and gummy worms. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/afOkrZ
- Joe's Farm Grill
I had the Ahi Tuna burger topped with Asian slaw and it was divine - my one quibble is that even though the tuna was rare, it could have been cooked even a bit less than it was. But that was mitigated by the phenomenal onion rings, the deep fried broccoli and cauliflower, and the vanilla bean milkshake. Most of the vegetables served in the restaurant come from the organic farm on the premises and most of the other food is locally sourced. See more at The Mother of All Trips: http://bit.ly/cwu5iv
