Tuesday, June 7, 2011

123 Imagine!

What: 123 Imagine. A Sesame Street show starring Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert, Ernie, and all the other main characters.

Where: RBC Center

When: last Saturday, 10:30 AM

Who: Jacqueline, Sophie, Dad, Mom

Why: Another early birthday present.

Liked:

1. Zero crowd at the early show. Maybe 1,500 people. A good piece of the arena was closed. The usher said capacity was 5000. With the small crowd, we scored really good seats.

2. Have to love the Count...."ah....ah....ah" Who is your favorite character?

3. The music and story were just right for toddlers with enough "adult" music that parents stayed entertained. The rendition of "Surfin Safari" was particularly fun. Music was not too loud either.

4. Seeing Jacqueline and Sophie smile and clap for about 80 minutes.


Unfriend

1. $10 for parking? On a Saturday morning with no crowd? Have to be kidding. If I was thinking, I would have parked near the football stadium. I heard parking was free there.

2. Parents that texted and emailed during the entire show. Enjoy the time with your kids!

3. According to Jacqueline and Sophie, there was not enough Elmo. I guess we know who their favorite character is.

Ambivalent

1. Beer was for sale during the show. Not sure how I feel about that one. Seems wrong to sell beer during a Sesame Street show. I did not see anyone imbibe at 10:30 AM. But, if you wanted a beer it was available.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Summer Adventure #1

What: A weekend trip for "A Day Out With Thomas." Everyone had a great time!

Where: Tweetsie Railroad amusement park near Boone, NC. We also stayed 1 night at a hotel in Wilkesboro

Who: Dad, Mom, Jacqueline, and Sophie. (Plus a couple thousand "friends" at the park.)

Why: Because we are insane? No. The kids are only 3 once so we have planned a summer full of adventures. This trip was the first of many. They love Thomas, so we thought an early birthday gift was in order. We also used this 1 night trip as a test run for the big trip to Orlando.

Plusses:
1. Smokey Mountain BBQ and Creamery in Wilkesboro is awesome! Excellent BBQ! Fabulous ice cream! Extra bonus: kids ate for free!

2. The hotel had a pool. Took the kids swimming to "help" them fall asleep (see Minuses #1). They had a great time, but our strategy did not work.

3. Tweetsie RR was fun and worth visiting again...maybe yearly. Everyone enjoyed the Thomas train, Diamond Lil's show, the boats, the planes, the chair lift, motor cars, carousel, the extra large train set set-up in the Saloon, and the crafts for the kids.

4. Not too crowded at Tweetsie RR on Sunday. I hear it is much worse on Saturdays. All the workers at Tweetsie were really nice. Customer relations is an obvious part of their training.

5. Able to bring your own drinks and snacks inside the park. A bigger cooler with lunch stuck under a stroller might be useful next time. (We did not use a stroller.)

6. The pizza restaurant on Rock Creek Dairy Road (near Todd & LK's house) is good and open on Sundays. A nice stop on the way home.

7. The woman servicing the breakfast area at the hotel was really nice. She packed us a snack bag for later that day.

Minuses:
1. Mom and Dad had to spend Saturday night in the dark until we fell asleep. We could not read, talk, or watch TV without waking up the kids. We did listen to "Aida" so it was not all bad.

2. Huge, huge line for the Mouse Mine train. What is the big deal?

3. The cashier at the Miner's Diner was slower than molasses and a micromanager. She spent more time bossing the others around instead of taking orders. I was in line for almost 20 minutes. She also could not count or read. I received an extra 92 cents in change for our pretzels and soda.

4. Jacqueline's meltdown precisely at the 5 hour mark inside the park. I guess we hit her limit. She was asleep 2 minutes after getting into the car. Need to remember that limit for Disney.

5. Jacqueline and Sophie (especially) do not like lifesize characters. I hope they get over this fear before DisneyWorld!

6. The 2.5 hour drive home seemed long...especially after a day in the hot sun.