Flat Traveler Adventures: Atchison & Leavenworth

  Daddy was gone this past week.  Usually when he has a big trip & we aren't able to come along, we plan some nice distractions for ourselves.  We decided to spend a couple of days with Ducky and Grandma & take them with us on our field trip.  We've been pretty busy with our trips this month.  We're hosting 2 flat travelers, one from England & one from Idaho.  I love doing the flats because it really makes you an ambassador for your area.  You need to get out and show what makes your area special.  The kids have been dying to do some specific things in Atchison, and since a it's the birthplace of a notable Kansas figure - Amelia Earhart, we went for it:)
  We started out our tour of Atchison at the statue of Deafy Boular.  He's a very distant cousin of ours (I wrote a blog on him here if you're interested in him further). Aside from all he overcame, he's amazing for the fact that was featured in Ripley's Believe it or Not for laying 46,000 bricks in less than 8 hours. He laid most of the brick in the streets of Atchison.

Mookie, Shorty & Deafy (and Longneck the giraffe)

 Our next stop was the historical museum where there is a display of Deafy's boots and other Atchison memorabilia. 

Bubby checking out Deafy's boots

The kids enjoyed the museum, but they LOVED the train exhibit outside even more! Especially Shorty, they're his favorite:)

You can't beat getting to climb on and explore trains.  Just the engine was open, but getting to crawl up on the stairs and peek in the windows was a thrill in itself.
  Our next stop was Doniphan Cemetery.  We were trying to track down some ancestors (no luck), and document stones for Find A Grave (huge success).  Some of us were not quite as dedicated to the cause though...

Bubby "King of the World"

That's ok, we'll just call that part of the day PE;)
  Heading back into town, we got out and stretched our legs at the riverfront park.  Its a lovely area with some interesting historical markers.

Ducky and Mookie at the Lewis & Clark display

  Our last stop was in Leavenworth where we picked up supper and headed to the riverside railroad park.  This is a favorite stop on our way to Jamesport.

Shorty loves it because the possibility of train spotting.  We almost didn't see one, then came the distant whistle of a train.  Bubby & Mookie got into a position on a ledge where they could get a good picture of their travelers when the train passed.  It was going to be great, right by the bridge with them in a perfect spot to be safely close.  The train got closer until we could see that it only had 3 cars on it - and it was really traveling!  I snapped the shot...

and the photo op turned into one that we laughed about the rest of the way home:)

Our First Flat Traveler Experience

  We've been having fun with our Facebook group Homeschool Swapping Adventures.  Our last adventure was swapping flat travelers.  Let me tell you, we had a blast with our travelers we received.  The neat part about taking them around was it encouraged us to take more pictures of our everyday life added along with side trips to show neat things about our area!
  In addition to pictures and journaling, we also included small trinkets and pamphlets we picked up along the way - sort of like a small geo-box.  Here are some pictures of what we sent back with our visiting travelers:

Flat Darcy's packet en route to Texas

Flat Jerrin's packet en route to Washington

Here is what we received:

Texas

Flat Darcy's family had some cool trips while our traveler was there an adorable scrapbook & even some bluebonnet seeds (Texas's state flower).  Mookie is so thrilled to plant those in her garden next year!

Washington State

Flat Jerrin's family sent a great journal, a local newspaper, locally made candies and soaps, and even a Bigfoot keychain:)  Bubby is ready to use the map to go see his bestie out in Seattle someday:)

What a wonderful experience!  I've learned some new things to send, like a cd with digital versions of the pictures, and a fact sheet with state info and even a map showing where the traveler went while they were with us.

The only problem we've had so far is that USPS Priority mail is not really as fast as the 2 days like it is advertised.  Our package from Texas took almost 2 weeks, and the one from Washington took a week (it went from Washington to Kansas City, to Memphis, TN and back to us!).  The benefit of doing it priority, however, is that you get a tracking number automatically so you can track it if need be.

A cool side benefit is that you really get to act as an ambassador for your area.  It really makes you think about your everyday activities and if you send your traveler info in journal form, it's neat to see what you've been up to for the last month:)  We're ready to see what new adventures our travelers have!