Activity: Ice Skating

Location: There are several ice skating rinks and community centers that offer this activity. We went to: Line Creek Ice Arena. Contact nubmer 816-513-0760.

Cost: Varies depending on where you go. Look for the fee to be under 10 bucks a head. Our cost was 5 bucks for ice time and 2 bucks for skate rental.

Age appropriate: 3 and up. Keep the younger kids at home.

Review:

The KCDADS were fortunate enough to have a KCDAD set this up for us which might have made all the difference in the world. He offered to take us and our kids out on the ice and give us Ice Skating lessons. We would like to offer a big thank you to Jimmy for taking the time to do this for us!

With that said, I did find that the staff at the community center very helpful. They took their time with us and helped make sure that we got the right sized skates for the kids. Most of our kids, and some dads, had never been out on the ice before so it was reassuring that we had Jimmy there and the staff to help us make a smooth transition.

As for the ice itself, I have no idea what makes "good" ice and "bad" ice so I will say that it seemed great to me. Another neat little thing that they had was bleachers and a locker room with a glass wall so that you could watch others skate while you tied your own boots on. As you would imagine, this was helpful when some of our kids darting out that way while we were still lacing up.

What made this a great activity for us and the kids though was the home made "ice walkers" that they provided to us. As you can imagine, none of our kids really knew how to ice skate. To avoid a bad experience of noses and butts hitting the floor, we were giving the ice walkers. These were little walkers were made out of plastic tubing and resembled a walker. The kids would grab on to these to maintain balance while out on the ice. We had enough of them as well so that almost every child could have one. And when we were short the kids easily shared between breaks. As you can imagine, this can be a physically challenging task which is good. We need to push our kids at times and this was a good activity to do that.

We were able to skate for about an hour while our KCDAD gave pointers to the kids. As this ice rink was inside, this is also an activity that is good year round. It was a good activity and something that I think we will do again next year. I know that this activity can sound daunting but don't let that deter you from giving this a shot with the kids.

Activity: The Berry Patch

Location: The Berry Patch, 22509 S. State Line Road, Cleveland Mo. For directions see website!

Website: http://theberrypatchonline.com/

Cost: Varies upon how much you pick. It's free to go and play but you pay for what you pick. I found the prices way, way cheaper than buying blue berries at the store though!

Age appropriate: All Ages

Hours of operation: Varies based on season. Visit website for more details but in general, harvest time are in the months of June, July and August.

Review:

Go and pick some blueberries! It's a fun and great thing to do and this is the place to do it at.

For starters, you should check the website provided here for more information on how to get to the Berry Patch and what can be picked at the moment. Crops size and availability will vary from year to year based on growing conditions. Also make sure you check the picking report that is also on the website to see what the harvest will be like.

Now, on to the picking. We went when the it apparently was a "low harvest" and the picking report did not make it sound all that great. I was pleasantly surprised though when we showed up and there appeared to be plenty left to choose from. There are big fields where the blueberry bushes are and there were still some to be had. You had to work for them a bit more than usual apparently, but the group and our kids were up for the task. What we learned was that a 3 foot tall kid is the perfect height to get right up under the bushes for those hard to get berries that most people would skip. After an hour of fun work, and it was fun, my kids and I were able to walk away with a good 2 pounds of blueberries and that doesn't count the ones that they ate directly from the bushes.

The fields themselves were well kept and easy to navigate. Be warned though that you do need to keep an eye on the kiddos for several reasons. 1. blueberries stain. 2. The bushes are high enough that it is easy to lose track of your shorter kiddos. It was also somewhat of a busy weekend when we went as well but I found the entire site well organized, the staff friendly, and the other visitors friendly as well. It made for a good time.

Now once your picking is done, there are other farm like things to be done here. For a small fee (2 bucks a kid) you can have your child ride on their "train" which is a bunch of little cars being pulled by a tractor. There are also plenty of hay bales to climb on which is always a great activity for the kids. Finally, there is a small playground that the kids can run around on. It's a bit run down but still fun. There was a large drainage tube there as well that the kids loved to get inside of while their friends pushed it down a hill. Don't worry, this is intentional and it's not a construction site leftover. It's really fun and there are plenty of places from some great pictures with the family.

Once you have picked your berries, it's now time to pay for them. If it's busy, you are going to have a bit of a wait. You have your berries weighed at the front and then get in line to pay for them. The line to pay for them though is through the actual gift shop, which I'm pretty sure is intentional as they are trying to get you to buy various nick nacks. It works and we walked out of there with some honey sticks and also the best glass of blue berry lemonade that I have ever had. Honestly, it was worth waiting in line just for that glass. I didn't even know there was such a thing. However, if your kids are waiting in line with you be prepared to grab a lot of darting hands here and there. There are a lot of interesting things in the gift shop and they love to grab them when you are not looking.

If you have planned well, and I'm assuming you did as you are reading this, you have brought a packed lunch. This is a great place to have lunch at on a good cloudless day. There are picnic tables but also bring a blanket and throw it between some trees. We did this and it worked out very well.

This is defiantly an activity that we will do again next year. I'm also hearing that Blackberries will be good to go in 2012. Expect to see the KCDADS in full force.

Activity: Drive in Movie Theater

Location: There are several around time, please use Google. We used the Twin Drive In located at 1320 N. 291 Highway, Independence Mo

Cost: The Price of a movie ticket, about 8 bucks

Age Appropriate: 2 years of age and up. I think the younger kids would be a bit bored.

Review:

There are some good things to say about this place and some bad things. The idea was great and the KCDADS and wives got together for a showing of the Smurfs. I won't comment on the movie.

The drive in costs the same as you would pay for a movie ticket so that's a good thing. The facilities though are a bit worn down. There is no grass to lay blankets on and most of the joint is in need of a serious paint job. I can't comment on the quality or cost of the concessions either becasuse we brought our own stuff.

That is one of the great things about doing a drive in movie. Basically, we tailgated. And that's what made this place worth it. We had a whole set up. We had blankets to go over the gravel, coolers that acted as tables with fresh refreshments. We brought in prepopped popcorn and plenty of other snacks.

We found four great little spots in the middle and backed our vans up. We then popped the trunks and the kids could either sit in there (sometimes they did), on the blankets, or in the lawn chairs. It was mostly wives at first but another dad did join us. One of the other things that I liked about doing a drive in, other than reminding me about my own youth, was that if the kids did get bored, they could run around a bit. It wasn't very crowded and they didn't bother anyone and there was enough space to run between our parked cars. This became an issue the later the movie got.

It was like a late night picnic was some easy entertainment. The adults could also catch up and talk and since we were outside, it didn't really bother anyone. The sound for the movie now comes through your radio as well so that was acutally a nice touch.

Finally, if you were so inclined and the smurfs were about to melt your brain, there were 3 other movies showing behind us. I found it fun to turn around and watch 10 minutes of Planet of the Apes to a Smurf soundtrack. This probably explains my last beef with this place: there was some pot smoking going on. I don't know who and I don't know where but I know what doobage smells like. Just a word of caution on this one.

It's a fun activity and we will go again next summer but I'm guessing we might try to find a different place.

Activity: Kansas City Community Gardens

Location: 6917 Kensington, KC MO

Phone: 816-931-3877

Website: http://www.kccg.org/

Hours: Monday Through Friday: 9am to 5 pm

Cost: Free

Age appropriate: All

Review:

From their website: a not-for-profit organization that provides self-help and educational assistance to low-income people, children and community groups in the metropolitan area to grow their own food from garden plots located in backyards, vacant lots, schoolyards and at community sites.

This description just doesn't do this place justice. Yet another KC gem hidden in the rough. For starters, this place is what it sounds like, a community garden. But it is much more than that. It's a place where we can all learn about sustainable growing and have a good time doing. And as usual with most of the places we visit, this place is made even better by the attentive staff that gave us our tour. Our tour guide was patient and worked extremely well with the kids.

The garden is a couple acres big and does have many native MO and Kansas plants growing there but they also have many wonderful fruit and vegetables. In fact, the tour is not just a mindless information only kind of thing. It's highlighted by picking your own peppers, figs, Asian pears and other interesting oddities right off the tree and eating them right there. Our tour guide brought along a small knife and would cut up each sample for us right after it was picked. For the record, fresh cantaloupe that you pick your self tastes very, very good.

The tour did include seeing some of the native plants and our tour guide was great at answering any growing questions that we had. As one of our local farmer boys was with us, this was a great thing to have as we had a lot of questions.

We also got to try some things that we never would have tried before such as French Sorrel (leaves taste like a sour patch), a Mouse Melon (looks like a baby watermelon, tastes like a cucumber) and fresh peanuts that we dug out ourselves. Interesting note about peanuts, they are dry roasted for a reason. Eating one straight out of the ground was not so good. Kind of mushy.

The kids enjoyed all of it though and were very game to try everything from the candy peppers to the purple beans. So with that said, it turns out we were actually healthier just for going.

The tour didn't end there either. Once completed with the outside, we went inside where we planted our own Sweet Basil that we got to take home. For Free. We love free stuff. The kids also got a chance to look at a very big spider that I wanted to smush and to play with a very large Praying Mantis that I wanted to run away from.

In the spring or late summer, make this one of your destinations, you won't regret it.

Activity: Longview Lake Beach

Location: Take I-470 to Raytown Road and turn south, go approximately two miles, turn left.

Website: Longview Lake Beach

Ages: Appropriate for All

Cost: $3.00 for children under 15, $5.00 for adults

Hours of Operation: WEEKDAY

May 31 - June 10	3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m
June 13 - August 12	1:00 p.m - 7:00 p.m.
August 15 - August 19	3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

WEEKENDS & HOLIDAYS

May 28 - September 5

11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Review:
This is the second great lake beach we have found in the KC area. In the summer, it's a great place to go.

Located on west side of Longview lake, it can be a bit difficult to find. But just drive around the lake and you'll come across the facility that serves as the gate for the beach. A word of caution though, the gate to get in can be a bit tricky if you are carrying a load of stuff that going to the beach with children requires. But be patient and persistent, the beach is worth it.

This is a large beach, probably a bit smaller than a football field. It's covered with good sand, not the crap that you can sometimes find at lake beaches. This sand extends into the lake itself so there is no mud or seaweed that could freak the kids out. However, there is no shade or chairs on the beach itself so you will need to bring an umbrella (if you have it) and chairs. Or you could just lay down on a towel which is fine but just remember that the sand can get mighty hot. Bring sandals or flip flops for the whole family to make it past some of the hotter spots.

But once the kids get down to the water, it's all play. Sand castles, moats, little wars between good and evil, it's perfect. The water itself also slopes gently and goes for a pretty long way so it is deceptive about how deep it is. Make sure you keep a good eye on the kiddos when they are out there.

There are also a couple of beach volleyball courts out there for a couple of you more athletic dads. As for locker rooms and bathrooms, I honestly can't say as we had no need for them.

This is worth several trips in the summer where you can spend a great day at the beach.

j

Activity: The Fort at Ft. Scott, KS

Location: Ft. Scott, Ks. You can probably, ya know, find the city.

Website: Ft. Scott visitor's page.

Ages: Appropriate for All

Cost: Free

Hours of Operation: Open year round. April through October--8:00am to 5:00pm. November through March--9:00am to 5:00pm

Review:

I love history and I love free. Put them together and give me some free history and I'm a pretty damn happy guy.

The Fort of Ft. Scott is located about an hour south of Kansas City. Head straight down highway 69 and you will run smack into the town. The Fort itself is actually part of the town and it's really hard to miss. It's across the street from down town.

So that's where it is, but now let's get to what it is. From their website:

• The story of Fort Scott is the story of America growing up. When the fort was established in 1842, the nation was still young and confined largely to the area east of the Mississippi River. Yet within a few years, Fort Scott's soldiers became involved in events that would lead to tremendous spurts of growth and expansion

It's a Fort. Should be pretty obvious as it's in the name and all. Actually, it's 1/2 original and restored from from 1842 and it's 1/2 recreated. Somewhere in it's long history several buildings were lost and destroyed. They have been rebuilt to match the restorations of the other buildings and this provides a very nice scene when you arrive.

The Fort is layed out in a square, as you would expect from forts, with the armory located in the middle. It's bigger than some of the other forts that I have been to and takes a little over an hour to walk around with the kids if you stop to read some of the history markers that are presented.

They do offer guided tours but as I had a 3 and 5 year old, we tend to skip these. Thankfully they also let you do self guided tours.

On these self guided tours you basically go from building to building exploring the lives of the soldiers that lived there. It's really well done, the exhibits in each house are well presented, simple and informative. I was able to get a lot out of it and still keep my kids from wrecking something historic and expensive.

There are the officers quarters, the stables, armory, bakery, quartermaster's house and the commanders house and a lot more. When arriving, the visitor's center provides you with maps so you will always know where you are going and what you are seeing.

I do want to add that the bathrooms are located throughout the property and are all very well kept. When you are traveling with kids, this is a pretty big deal.

As for lunch, I would recommend eating across the street in the downtown area. We ate at the 1950's style cafe and it was super cheap and good. Lunch for the kids and myself and we got out of there for about 15 bucks.

Take a road trip, Ft. Scott is a great place to spend a day and as it's only an hour away from KC, give it a shot.

Hiking: Burr Oaks, Habitat Trail

Location: Burr Oaks, Habitat Trail, 1401 NW Park Rd, Blue Springs MO

Website: http://mdc.mo.gov/regions/kansas-city/burr-oak-woods-nature-center

Cost: Free

Appropriate for: All ages, no strollers though on this one.

Hike Length: 1.5 miles

Review:

Who's up for a good hike? If you are and you want to bring the kids with you, try this pretty easy trail. Check the website for a map of the trail and the others that they have there, it's located a little bit before you get to the nature center on the left.

This is an easier hike that my 3 year old and 5 year old did without to much trouble. Of course, we took frequent breaks at the numerous benches provided along the way. This was a nice addition as it gave us a chance to try and see some wildlife while we were out there. Along with the benches are educational placards placed to describe what it is your are seeing and what you are looking for. As our hike was a little bit later in the day, we didn't get a chance to see much but we have come across deer and rabbits in the past. These were all nice touches when hiking with toddlers.

The trail itself is decently well maintained and free of any overhanging or over grown grass. For the most part, it is covered in gravel or rock and flows well with it's surroundings. Several bridges span streams and these are also nice places to stop and watch some wildlife while teaching your kids about nature and stuff. Also while we were walking, I did not see any trash or garbage left behind by previous hikers. This is something that I always look for and can tell you alot about the people who walk the trail and those that maintain it.

For the most part, the trail is not difficult with few hills. However, the habitat trail does feature some "limestone bluffs" in the middle of the trail and these provide just a touch of excitement for the little ones. They are really no more than 6 foot high out croppings but provide a decent beginners challenge for kids that like to climb them. They are easily navigated and provided a good chance for the kids to break up the hike a little bit.

All in all, it's a good hike for the younger kids wanting to get the kids outside. Nicely covered by a canopy of trees, the hike provides just the right amount of activity and challenge for younger ones.