Weekend Wrap-Up

Destination: Charlotte, NC

Continuing on our post-tax season weekend adventures, we visited Charlotte yesterday. I lived there for 9 years but wow, has it changed! And we only visited downtown (more or less).

Last year, we visited the new ImaginOn children's library and loved it. It is a huge building of just the children's and teen section of the main library downtown and it also houses two theaters which you can see children's plays. We caught the Cinderella Sillies (free!) show at 1 pm. Mr. Just Keep Talkin and Kangaroo Girl saw that while Monkey Boy and I ran-literally-around the library part. They also had an exhibit of interactive machines where you can make a bear play a xylophone, a big drum machine play, and other neat stuff. There are tons of events going on all the time at ImaginOn, I wish we lived closer to take advantage of all they offer.

Afterwards, we hit Discovery Place and saw the dinosaurs and Norman Rockwell exhibits. Discovery Place is a landmark museum downtown and it doesn't disappoint. It is closing for one year for renovations in January so if you want to go, you better do it before January! And if you want to see the Norman Rockwell exhibit, you need to go before the end of April.

The dinosaurs exhibit was good, but it was geared for older children. My two little monkeys liked the Norman Rockwell exhibit. The detail of the different scenes was amazing. Kangaroo Girl liked playing dress up in the house. You could also sit in the schoolhouse, the soda shop, and ride in a Model T and a Jeep. Very cool. They had easels set up with paper that had the "Saturday Evening Post" masthead at the top and you could draw something for the cover. Towards the end of the exhibit, they had all the covers displayed that Norman Rockwell had painted for the Post. We did/saw more at the museum, but to keep from boring everyone, let's just say we got our money's worth and there is so much to do and see there.

After that, we ate at one of our favorite restaurants, the Amber House. We all got spaghetti but Monkey Boy was antsy so I got mine "to go" and we hung out in the van until he settled down. We came back inside and he got antsy again so this time it was Mr. JKT's turn to deal with him. They waited in the lobby until Kangaroo Girl and I were finished. Oh well. This too shall pass!

Then we went looking for the new National Whitewater Center complex, we found it but it sure is well hidden! The Olympic trials are this weekend. This would be a nice adventure for Mr. JKT and I sans children.

After that, we were going to find a playground but a storm rolled in and we hung out at Chuck E. Cheese in Gastonia for about an hour. That was fun! We love CEC. Kangaroo Girl loves standing in front of the "blue screen" and mugging for the camera and singing along to the songs. Monkey Boy likes the indoor playground and again, running amok.

We arrived back home and hit the bed. It was a long day but so much fun! Stay tuned to where we will go next!