Create a Memory:  “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”

Older adults trapped in a vehicle with 3-4 of their grand-children for hours on end. Who would do that? Only Grandparents hiding secrets. Grandparents on a mystery trip with kindergarten and elementary schoolers in tow. Here’s one way to do it adapted from a suggestion by my good friend Carolyn P.

1. Insert Mystery Trip Card on your windshield.

2. Insert children, belted in and believing anywhere is possible!

MysCardVan

CurtIanVan_mystery

Mystery Trip # 1  Museum of Science and History (MOSH, downtown Jacksonville) Billed as a place where Wonders Never Cease.

Three of our four grandchildren are boys, and they have all followed Bob-the-Builder / Thomas-the-Train line of interest. Now it’s dinosaurs! This trip will feed their fetish.

Screen shot 2013-05-30 at 6.15.33 PM

Always end with FOOD! With no fast food place in sight, we make a hot dog—cookie—juice box picnic out of it this time.

Mystery Trip # 2  Polar Express: Any theatre, even a DVD at home will do. But the iMAX 80 foot-wide-screen bumps it up a notch. Besides, you get into a van and GO somewhere special. The woofer and tweeter sounds make the story come alive!

PolarExpress

Mystery Trip # 3  Let’s Go Science! With Professor Smart and Dr. Knowitall

 Screen shot 2013-05-30 at 6.29.32 PMCurtPatWhataburger

Patrick and Curtis went berserk-y trying to touch the huge floating balloon, a  before-the-show stunt. We ended with WhataBurger! As you can see, eating is serious business!

Mystery Trip # 4  Blueberry Pickin’  Good country fun @ $3.00 a pound! 

JenBlueberry 

Jenna says, “This is good, family fun!” And that was before the gang in the back-seat made up a silly song of 4-5 stanzas about picking blueberries to the tune of “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.”

MulberryMelody

The last stanza included barfing although that never really happened!

Like this post? Follow my blog and get many more free of charge! Just type in your email address at the top of the page and click “subscribe!” WordPress keeps your email address private.