Cultural experiences Archives 500 Places With Kids

Old Town San Diego – Visiting Old California

By placeswithkids | February 28, 2012 - 3:30 pm | blog, California, Cultural experiences, Frommer's 500 Places, Historic sites, Historical recreations, Museums & More, US/Pacific West

Walking the Red Carpet at the Academy Awards

By placeswithkids | February 27, 2012 - 7:28 am | blog, California, Cultural experiences, Museums & More, US/Pacific West

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Hollywood's Real Red Carpet

It may be hard to believe, but each year the ~~Kodak~~ Hollywood and Highland Theater, located within a high-end mall, is transformed into the entrance to the Academy Awards. Lined with columns listing the names of the Best Picture winners,

Best Picture-Slumdog Millionaire

Hollywood magic is performed and the names of shops are artfully hidden while the red carpet is installed over the permanent red carpeted grand staircase leading up into the theater. According to our guide, the red tile lining the risers of the staircase came from the Wizard of Oz’s yellow brick road (which in the movie has two spirals – one yellow and one red).

Tiles in the red carpet

Somehow it seems fitting that the tiles leading to the wonderful land of Oz was used to create this ultimate “red carpet.”

Congrats to all this year’s nominees!

Agate Fossil Beds – A Nebraska Detour

By placeswithkids | January 24, 2012 - 2:42 pm | blog, Cultural experiences, Frommer's 500 Places, Historic sites, Museums & More, Natural Wonders, Nebraska, US/Midwest

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Agate Fossil Beds

There are times, such as our visit to Agate Fossil Beds located near (as in 22 miles away) Harrison, Nebraska, when I question the choices the author of Frommer’s 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up made when deciding to select an item for the “500 List.” And while I would agree that for a serious dinosaur-loving/fossil-loving child Agate Fossil Beds might be an interesting stop, I’m not sure it deserved a spot in the “500 List.” But since we had to somehow get from Rapid City, South Dakota to Rocky Mountain National Park – our last stop on our US Western trip, I decided a small detour to Agate Fossil Beds was merited – plus my kids were distracted by watching a movie on our computer during the long drive there.

Fossil display

The fossils on display were those of the Miocene era mammals. Anyone expecting huge T-Rex skeletons will be sorely disappointed.

One interesting exhibit, however, were the fascinating corkscrew burrows (called Daemonelix) that the land beavers of that era built.

Daemonelix

And although there are hiking paths that lead you to areas where these burrows were found, you can also take “virtual” hikes . . . which conveniently avoid “real” rattlesnakes.

Virtual Hike

Also part of the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument is a collection of Plains Indians artifacts originally owned by the Cook family – the former owners of Agate Springs Ranch.

Cook Collection of Sioux Artifacts

These artifacts were gifts given by the Lakota Sioux to the Cook family when they left their reservation in South Dakota to visit the Cook family. Outside are reproductions of the tepees the Sioux used when they stayed on the ranch.

Tepees at Agate Fossil Beds

72 places visited – 428 to go!

San Antonio Mission Trail – Mission Concepcion

By Anne Patrone | June 29, 2011 - 9:29 am | blog, Cultural experiences, Historic sites, Museums & More, San Antonio area, Texas, US/Southwest

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Mission Concepcion

With four beautiful and extremely different missions easily linked along the San Antonio Mission Trail, it would be a shame to only visit one. We chose to complement our visit to Mission San Jose with a short stop at Mission Concepcion.

Mission Concepcion is quieter than Mission San Jose, but no less beautiful. It somehow feels more feminine than Mission San Jose and inside, its restored frescoes are stunning.

Fresco above altar Mission Concepcion - San Antonio

Fresco inside Mission Concepcion

I was so glad we took the time to learn a little about the history of the Texas Missions. The kids were able to understand their importance in the settlement of Texas and how they created “mini” communities along the Camino Real between Mexico and Texas frontier. The missions are still part of active parishes and Catholic masses (and weddings) are held in their churches. Although we drove between the two missions, there is also a 17 mile bike trail that connects all four missions along the trail. The trail follows the San Antonio River and would be great for a day’s adventure. Maybe next time . . .