This week I’m debuting a new feature on The Mother of All Trips: a post dedicated to planning upcoming trips. Although I’m not one to look down my nose at spontaneous fun, the majority of our outings are fairly well planned. I’ve found that this a) reduces stress and b) increases our chances of doing things that the kids really enjoy. Plus I just really like doing the legwork! I believe that is what they call a win-win.
In April we will be flying out to Phoenix to enjoy the sun and visit my in-laws for six days. We’ve been out there a number of times now, but I haven’t gone in a couple of years and I’m looking forward to some new adventures while we are there. Over the next few weeks I’ll be talking about some of the places I’m thinking about visiting during our stay.
Top on my list is the Heard Museum, which I’m a little ashamed to admit we’ve never been to. It has one of the premier collections of native artifacts in the southwestern United States, if not the entire country. In our family we are all art and history buffs (especially Tommy, whose fabulous charter school has already introduced him to as much American history in first grade as I remember learning in the entirety of my years of grade school) but we tend to be a little Eurocentric and East-Coast focused. I know that Tommy will be fascinated with the We Are! Arizona’s First People exhibit, which tells the story of Arizona’s twenty-one tribal communities and promises lots of interactive activities. On my agenda also is the Every Picture Tells a Story exhibit, which shows how different outdoor environments have inspired native artists. I’m thinking we will definitely want to have the sketch books and colored pencils along for that one. And La Casa Murillo, a campy, life-sized shadow box is sure to be a hit with my folk-art loving kids.
Of note also is the fact that there is now a light rail system in downtown Phoenix, connecting some of the museums, including the Heard. I’m thinking we’ll need to hop on that on that even if it’s just for the pleasure of the ride itself. Although Debbie at Delicious Baby wrote recently that her kids loved having lunch at the Fry Bread House, which is just a short light-rail ride away from the museum. So we could top off our visit to the museum about Native Americans with a Native American lunch. I’m thinking we’ve got the good makings of a morning and early afternoon excursion here. (See Debbie’s post about a visit to the museum here).
If anyone has spent time in downtown Phoenix recently and has some recommendations, I’d love to hear them!
Photo courtesy of Patricia Glogowski.
I've taken with my children and those I want to take. Explore and you'll find family travel tips, information about vacation destinations, and lots of stories about our adventures! 
I like this new post idea. Planning is half the fun, since most of us probably get to spend most of our lives not on a trip, we at least get to plan the next great one.
This museum sounds great.
The Heard is great! The museum has one of the largest collections of Native American art in the country if not the world. There’s also the Arizona Science Center in downtown which is also cool (and I hear kids get a kick out of it) – and I know my nephew LOVES going to TGIFridays at Chase Field. The restaurant is actually INSIDE the stadium and it’s a pretty neat view. (yes, they are open off season and when there are no games)
Oh, and the light rail is awesome.
Thanks for the encouragement Carolina – I agree that planning is half the fun. And since I'm always planning a trip (or so it seems) that's a good thing!
I very much appreciate the tips Light Rail Blogger – I'll definitely have to check out the Science Center. I also got a great head's up on Twitter about an exhibit at the Heard called "Mothers & Daughters: Stories in Clay" (http://www.heardeducation.org/mothers/) which I'm excited to check out.