Tell Me Thursday - Travel with kids: Tucson

This sweet picture was taken in the Space exhibit of the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ.  We headed to Tucson a couple weeks ago for a short trip away.  Bo & I originally visited this museum before Colin was born, so it's been more than 10 years.  A visit as an adult couple, and a visit with 3 kids is definitely different!

All the kids had a great time looking at all of the airplanes and helicopters. There are over 100 outside alone!  The day we went it was windy and a bit chilly, but that didn't dampen the fun or the excitement. I was happy to see that they had food available in the museum, so we were able to go straight to the museum after our drive from Mesa, look around for a bit, have some lunch and then look around some more.

 Even though Tucson is only a couple hours away, we decided to spend the night because I have wanted to visit the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum since we moved out here in 1999.  Since we were in Tucson, I didn't want any chance that we missed the museum again!  It turned out a good plan to visit the 2nd day of our trip, as the wind had died down and the sun came out.

I considered the cost of admission for one day vs. an annual membership and decided to purchase a family membership.  For only $12 more, we can visit as many times as we want before next March.  And, having a membership means that we WILL make the trip to visit throughout the year.  In fact, Nate already asked if we could go again for his birthday.

When we were walking the trails, I called it a museum and Lydia (3yo) stopped, looked at me and said "MOM! Stop calling it a museum.  It's a atonimcal* garden obviously!!" (botanical garden)  I admit I was secretly pleased that I'm raising a child who recognized a botanical garden vs. a museum.

We had an absolutely lovely day, and if we didn't need to be back in Mesa in time for music lessons we would have stayed until they closed.   Everyone enjoyed themselves and the trails and exhibits were great.  Colin took over the map and did a great job navigating us through and making sure we hit all the high spots.


And, of course, my favorite eatery of Tucson is Eegee's.  Bo always brings me back Eegee's when he travels there for business, so it was nice to grab one on our way out of town.  The flavor for February was Cherry and it was delicious! 

As far as the details of traveling with the kids, it was a dream.  I am so fortunate that all 3 of my children are excellent travelers. They kept themselves amused on the drive, adapted easily to the hotel (we chose a suite with a pull out bed), and were well-behaved while visiting the museums.  It helped that they were outdoors quite a bit and were able to run and move as needed!