Vacations Are More Than Leisure

USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum Price, Utah

  We all like to travel in some fashion because we work our guts out all the time and damn it we deserve a break. But there are reasons to work while you travel. Now I'm not talking about taking your laptop to the beach with you or making conference calls while the kids play at the pool. That sucks and should be against all international law. No, I'm talking about using travel as a teaching/learning tool for the kiddos and if your're lucky, yourself.
  Most of us didn't like the learning part of school back when we were young. The constant bombardment of lectures and homework weren't our thing but I'll bet if you are like me you wished you had paid better attention to some of those subjects (not math, math still sucks.) I love history. I've loved it most of my life and unfortunately I think maybe I discovered that love a little late in life but them's the breaks. I can, however, share that love with my kids.
  I don't care where you travel there is always a place where you can learn something new. Museums are a great place to see exhibits that showcase life as it was, is and will be.
  The image to the left was taken while on a trip back from Moab to Salt Lake. I have passed through the town of Price on countless occasions over the past twenty five years and never took the opportunity to stop in to the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum. One day we finally made the time to stop in and we weren't disappointed. It's not every day you can stand toe to toe with a Mastodon.

Mel Fisher Meritime Heritage Museum Key West, Florida

  Last year while on a cruise through the Caribbean we had the chance to stop in Key West, Florida where history is everywhere you look but one neat stop is the Mel Fisher Meritime Heritage Museum. Here we saw the salvaged treasure from the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, a Spanish galleon that sank off the Florida Keys in 1622 taking 260 lives and roughly $400 million worth of silver, gold and jewels. I would not have gone into this museum on my own but it was something that interested my Dad so we stopped in. Worth it. It was cool to be that close to a lost treasure. The best part is that if you want to own a piece of that history it's right there in the gift shop to purchase. I want to use the phrase "gift shop" loosely here. You're not going to walk in and find cheap trinkets. In fact don't touch anything unless you have the money to back it up. This shop had actual recovered gold and silver coins recovered from Atocha for sale. After seeing a single coin being sold for $45,000 I walked out. I'll just have to live with the photos.
  These are just a couple of examples of what you can find in your travels if you just keep an eye out. I encourage you to take the opportunity to visit as many museums or unique places as you can as you travel. It will make the trip more fun for the family and the memories you create are priceless.

Brandan