Snowflake Challenge 10
Jan. 26th, 2024 07:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cmk418Challenge #10
Five Things! The five things are totally up to you. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
So for my five things, I'm posting five places in the U.S. that I'd gladly go to again:
1) The National Museum of the USAF (Dayton, OH) - The world's largest military aviation museum. There are five hangars each showcasing a particular historical period, ranging from the Wright Brothers to the Space Shuttles of today. There is even a place between the "Cold War" hangar and the "Space/Air Force One" hangar that holds missiles. Some of the exhibits allow you to get a closer look at the aircraft and there is an Air Force One on display that you can walk through (aisles are narrow in it though, so not for the claustrophobic). It is free to the public. There is a considerable amount of walking involved (and if you're not jogging through it, you may need more than one day to see everything)
2) The American Writer's Museum (Chicago, IL) - One of my co-workers at my old job told me about it and I've stopped there every time I've been in Chicago since. As you enter the museum, one of the first things you'll see is the Children's Book Room. There are seating areas throughout the room, either at the interactive displays or in the center of the room and there are plenty of books for children of all ages to read. Next, you'll find a timeline with information and interactive displays regarding particular writers through the years. There's a space where you can create your own bookmark of your favorite books. There's a typewriter display where you can write your story or contribute a sentence to someone else's. There's the life of a writer section toward one end with a lot of fun displays and games. Being a Chicago museum, there's a whole section on local authors, and, in the center of the museum is where the rotating exhibits are shown so it can change from one visit to the next. Admission isn't free, but they used to offer discounts to first-time visitors, so check for that online before you go.
3) The Strip (Las Vegas, NV) - One of the things I miss about not living in LA anymore is not being able to travel to Vegas at the drop of a hat. Hotter than the sun during the summer, so avoid those months, but there's more to do in Sin City than gambling. I've been to the aquarium at Monterey Bay, gawked at the Fountains at Bellagio, and danced the night away at a club in the Stratosphere. Every hotel seems to have something other than gambling to attract visitors. Admission is definitely not free, but it's a fun place to go and spend a weekend. And I hear there's now a hockey team there that I'll need to check out on my next visit.
4) National Museum of African American Music (Nashville, TN) - I've only been there once and it was wonderful. It's one of those places where I could have strapped on a pair of headphones and played with the initial interactive display for several hours. There are different spaces for the different musical movements- spirituals & gospel, jazz & blues, soul & R&B, rap & hip-hop. They say allow at least 90 minutes to go through the museum (I would say double that). Admission is in the $20-30 range, but it's worth it.
5) Porter Sculpture Park (Montrose, SD) - Open during the summer, this just off-the-highway park is home to over 50 whimsical metal sculptures (see my icon above for an example). There's a dirt path that winds through the artwork and the whole thing is close to a pasture so you can see cows grazing nearby. The main feature is a 60-foot bull's head that can be seen from the highway. Cost here is minimal, but if you're road-tripping and need to stretch your legs a bit, while seeing something cool, this makes for a lovely diversion.
Add-On 5 More - Five Free Attractions to Check out in St Louis MO (Because I'm proud of my hometown and think we've got a lot to offer)
1) The St Louis Zoo - the best free zoo in the nation
2) The Muny Opera in Forest Park - open during the summer, it features musicals that are on tour- there's a free section
3) The Saint Louis Art Museum - there's a charge for special exhibits, but the regular collection is free
4) Laumeier Sculpture Park
5) The Museum of Westward Expansion at the Gateway Arch - the museum itself is free, but if you want to take a car (again, not for the claustrophobic) to the top of the Arch, it will cost you. You can snag some great pictures of the Arch and the riverfront from outside for free though.
Five Things! The five things are totally up to you. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
So for my five things, I'm posting five places in the U.S. that I'd gladly go to again:
1) The National Museum of the USAF (Dayton, OH) - The world's largest military aviation museum. There are five hangars each showcasing a particular historical period, ranging from the Wright Brothers to the Space Shuttles of today. There is even a place between the "Cold War" hangar and the "Space/Air Force One" hangar that holds missiles. Some of the exhibits allow you to get a closer look at the aircraft and there is an Air Force One on display that you can walk through (aisles are narrow in it though, so not for the claustrophobic). It is free to the public. There is a considerable amount of walking involved (and if you're not jogging through it, you may need more than one day to see everything)
2) The American Writer's Museum (Chicago, IL) - One of my co-workers at my old job told me about it and I've stopped there every time I've been in Chicago since. As you enter the museum, one of the first things you'll see is the Children's Book Room. There are seating areas throughout the room, either at the interactive displays or in the center of the room and there are plenty of books for children of all ages to read. Next, you'll find a timeline with information and interactive displays regarding particular writers through the years. There's a space where you can create your own bookmark of your favorite books. There's a typewriter display where you can write your story or contribute a sentence to someone else's. There's the life of a writer section toward one end with a lot of fun displays and games. Being a Chicago museum, there's a whole section on local authors, and, in the center of the museum is where the rotating exhibits are shown so it can change from one visit to the next. Admission isn't free, but they used to offer discounts to first-time visitors, so check for that online before you go.
3) The Strip (Las Vegas, NV) - One of the things I miss about not living in LA anymore is not being able to travel to Vegas at the drop of a hat. Hotter than the sun during the summer, so avoid those months, but there's more to do in Sin City than gambling. I've been to the aquarium at Monterey Bay, gawked at the Fountains at Bellagio, and danced the night away at a club in the Stratosphere. Every hotel seems to have something other than gambling to attract visitors. Admission is definitely not free, but it's a fun place to go and spend a weekend. And I hear there's now a hockey team there that I'll need to check out on my next visit.
4) National Museum of African American Music (Nashville, TN) - I've only been there once and it was wonderful. It's one of those places where I could have strapped on a pair of headphones and played with the initial interactive display for several hours. There are different spaces for the different musical movements- spirituals & gospel, jazz & blues, soul & R&B, rap & hip-hop. They say allow at least 90 minutes to go through the museum (I would say double that). Admission is in the $20-30 range, but it's worth it.
5) Porter Sculpture Park (Montrose, SD) - Open during the summer, this just off-the-highway park is home to over 50 whimsical metal sculptures (see my icon above for an example). There's a dirt path that winds through the artwork and the whole thing is close to a pasture so you can see cows grazing nearby. The main feature is a 60-foot bull's head that can be seen from the highway. Cost here is minimal, but if you're road-tripping and need to stretch your legs a bit, while seeing something cool, this makes for a lovely diversion.
Add-On 5 More - Five Free Attractions to Check out in St Louis MO (Because I'm proud of my hometown and think we've got a lot to offer)
1) The St Louis Zoo - the best free zoo in the nation
2) The Muny Opera in Forest Park - open during the summer, it features musicals that are on tour- there's a free section
3) The Saint Louis Art Museum - there's a charge for special exhibits, but the regular collection is free
4) Laumeier Sculpture Park
5) The Museum of Westward Expansion at the Gateway Arch - the museum itself is free, but if you want to take a car (again, not for the claustrophobic) to the top of the Arch, it will cost you. You can snag some great pictures of the Arch and the riverfront from outside for free though.
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Date: 2024-01-27 03:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-01-27 06:05 am (UTC)Were you able to find Wall Drug? LOL.
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Date: 2024-01-27 05:15 am (UTC)I'm always up for a return to Vegas and I'm still salty I gave up my return to Wright Patterson which hosted a steampunk exhibit and was having a dance (It was less than 2 weeks post surgery sadly)
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Date: 2024-01-27 06:14 am (UTC)That steampunk exhibit could have been really fantastic. I don't blame you for being salty.
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Date: 2024-01-29 03:58 pm (UTC)I'm into history especially and mansion tours/ghost tours and gardens if you have recs
Yeah I mean mom and I could have gone but I would have been too sore to enjoy it
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Date: 2024-01-27 12:38 pm (UTC)I did! And I had promised myself for MILES that I would NOT stop. I would NOT fall for that ridiculously aggressive ad campaign.
Buuuuuut, it turns out, to get to the less hyped BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK... you had to drive through Wall Drug's. 🤣🤣🤣
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Date: 2024-01-27 02:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-01-27 04:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-03 05:58 pm (UTC)Yessssssssssss. If you like planes AT ALL, it's a fantastic museum. When I was a pre-teen, they had some Very New Do Not Cross This Line planes on display outside and I almost stepped across the yellow line because I was boggling and not watching my feet. Fortunately my dad snatched me back before the young man in uniform guarding the plane needed to move.
Haven't been there in yearssssssss. Should plan to go again!