Field Trip: Hiawatha

  This last week has been cRaZy!  Hubby and Bubby have been volunteering at an amateur archaeological dig in Council Grove, KS (more to come on that later). Then our work took us up to Hiawatha area near the Nebraska border.  Hiawatha was among one of the first stops my family took when we started taking summer trips when I was growing up. So although it is small potatoes, I was glad to go back. 
  Of course, any time we can meet up with Ducky and Grandma is a bonus and it worked for them to come along! We started out at the Brown County Historical Society so I could do a little historical research and everyone else browsed the displays.  The top floor had a ton of militaria and Bubby was in high heaven.  Although the top and first floors had displays, the basement was the most engaging for everyone in general. They had little rooms that showcased life from bygone eras. 

And other local displays like "the birds of Brown County".  The museum, like many county museums, is based solely on donations, but this museum seemed to have a knack for putting those donations to good use telling the story of everyday life in Brown County. 
  I separated from the rest of the group after the Historical Society.   Their next stop was the Ag Museum. The museum staff there did a great job engaging the kids in finding artifacts in the displays.  Shorty also got to ring the school house bell - which is always just totally cool!

The last Hiawatha stop was the Davis Memorial, which is one of the notable Kansas sights.  John Davis memorialized his and his wife's life in stone and you can see it in the local cemetery.

It has seen some vandalism, but is still rather impressive.  The big kids took notes throughout the whole excursion, which thrilled me!
  I would be amiss if I didn't mention our new favorite place to eat in Hiawatha - The Bread Bowl.

Shorty playing with one of the lunch boxes at the Bread Bowl

Croissants, wraps, and cookies - oh my!  We enjoyed it so much, we went back the next day and got lunch again (and red velvet donuts! Ooooooh, I'd make the 2 hr. trip again just for red velvet donuts).  I have decided that after this trip we are making a map of the Kansas counties where we can check off which ones we've been to.  We've covered quite a few within this last year alone with more to come :)