Best of the best

Yellowstone - Photo credit Nadia

Yesterday as the kids were telling me about their experience quizzing in Ohio, I thought it would be nice to cheer them on at Nationals in South Carolina in June, especially as we were already planning to go to Georgia in 2022 as that is one of the 14 states the kids haven't done anything in yet. We have gone on vacation in June before such as our trip to Myrtle Beach in 2019, but it's not the best month for Paul to travel. I had been thinking we'd fly to Atlanta and then fly back from Tampa or Orlando, but now I'm thinking that even if we go to Georgia and Florida in September we might drive.  As I did research for this particular vacation, I also found myself adding other places to visit to other trips that I'm hoping we'll take in other years. For example as I was trying to decide if we should visit both the Georgia Aquarium and Tennessee Aquarium, I was reading various websites that included reviews of those two aquariums as well as lists that people have compiled of what are the best aquariums in the United States. This lead me to look at other "best" lists, and I found it encouraging to see that in many cases the kids have already been to many of the "best" places on the lists and also I have plans for us to visit some of the other "best" places. We've also been to many children's museums, caves, zoos, amusement parks, etc. that aren't included on any "best" list. The one category I omitted was "Best Art Museums" because we've done very little in that regard, but hopefully we will visit some of the best art museums in the years to come. I hope and pray that during all future vacations no one in our family breaks a leg!

Best Children's Museums: 

• We've been to the Boston Children's Museum, Please Touch Museum (Philadelphia), Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Strong Museum, and the Port Discovery Children's Museum (Baltimore).
• Because Nadia feels she has outgrown children's museums, I'm not sure if we will make it to any others from the "best" lists. The three "best" ones that might be included in our future trips are in Houston, Indianapolis, and Atlanta. 

Best Caves: 

• The kids have been to Mammoth Cave, a slot canyon similar to Antelope Canyon that was on many lists, and Luray Cavern. I  wanted to visit Wind Cave and Jewel Cave in South Dakota in September, but they were cut so we could visit North Dakota and Montana. 
• Future plans include visiting Natural Bridge Caverns, Meramec Caverns, and Ruby Falls. I would love to take the kids to Carlsbad at some point, but it's not currently in any of the future vacation plans. 

Best Aquariums: 

• We've been to the Shedd Aquarium and National Aquarium. I was a little surprised I didn't see the Adventure Aquarium on the best lists as we were quite impressed with that one in New Jersey.
• Future plans include visiting the Audubon, Columbus, Atlanta, Seattle, and Tennessee Aquariums. 

Best Zoos: 

• The kids have been to the San Diego, Philadelphia, and Smithsonian National Zoos. 
• Future plans include visiting the Omaha, Columbus, Houston, Saint Louis, Woodland Park, and Brookfield Zoos. In the past I've made plans to take the kids to the Bronx Zoo, but we haven't actually made it there yet so that's another one we might visit from the best zoos lists.

Best Living History: 

• We've enjoyed Mystic Seaport, Plimoth Plantation, Colonial Williamsburg, Genesee Country Village, Old Sturbridge Village, and Greenfield Village.
• We hope to visit Camlann Medieval Village, Vermilionville Living History Museum, and the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in the future.

Best Museums:

• We've visited the USS Midway, Kennedy Space Center, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, American Museum of Natural History (NYC), National Museum of the US Air Force, Oklahoma City National Memorial, Field Museum, and the Henry Ford.
• We plan to visit the National WWII Museum (New Orleans), USS Arizona, Biltmore, 9/11 Memorial, Alamo, Holocaust Museum, World of Coca Cola, National Infantry Museum, Titanic Museum, Eastern State Penitentiary, and Art Institute.

Best National Parks: 

• We've been to Zion, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Badlands, Mesa Verde, Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, and Grand Teton. 
• We plan to visit the Crater Lake, Great Smoky Mountains, San Antonio Missions, Acadia, Mount Rainier, Big Bend, Gateway Arch, Denali, and Olympic. One that is on the best lists that would be nice to visit but isn't included in any future plans at the moment is Glacier National Park. 

Best Amusement Parks: 

• We've been to Sea World, Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Cedar Point, Hollywood Studios, HersheyPark, Knoebels, Six Flags Great Adventure, Dutch Wonderland, and Legoland.
• We hope to go to Epcot, Universal Studios, Carowinds, Six Flags over Georgia, and Islands of Adventure next year.  

Best Factory Tours:

• The kids have toured the Louisville Slugger Factory, Crayola, Hershey's Chocolate World, US Mint (Philadelphia), and Martin guitars. I tried in both 2020 and 2021 to take the kids to the Toyota Factory in Kentucky, but it wasn't possible due to COVID.
• I plan to take them to the Harley Davidson (York), Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Tabasco, Boeing, Jelly Belly, Utz, PEZ, Cabot Cheese, Herr's, Taza Chocolate, Vermont Teddy Bear, Snyder's, Lake Champlain Chocolate, and Herbaria Soap factory tours in the future. 

Best Science Museums: 

• We've been to MANY science museums. Those that make the best lists include Museum of Science (Boston), MOSI (Chicago), Arkansas Museum of Discovery (I really don't agree that it is one of the best), Liberty Science Center, New York Hall of Science, Maryland Science Center, and the National Air & Space Museum. My kids would argue that the Carnegie Science Center should be on the best list.
• I'm hoping we will visit the Exploratorium, COSI (Columbus), California Academy of Sciences, Pacific Science Center, Oregon MOSI, The Tech, Saint Louis Science Center, and Discovery Place Science Center.

Best Places to Visit: (that don't fit any of the above categories) 

• The kids have been to Times Square, Horseshoe Bend, Central Park, Niagara Falls, and Cape Cod.
• I plan to take them to the Lincoln Memorial, Golden Gate Bridge, Washington Monument, White House, Alcatraz Island, and the Capitol Building (as well as many other places that weren't on the "best" lists I reviewed).

Yellowstone - Photo credit Nadia