Day 66 - Visiting Great Grandpa & Great Aunts

After spending a week camping with the Vaughn's, we want to see even more family! We called up Grandma's dad and sisters to see if we could join them for church while we're in town.

Two other families ended up joining us all and we have a great time attending church together, then having a picnic at the park. My kids are so lucky to have such great Great Aunts and a great Great Grandpa.

Veterans Memorial Park in West Jordan, Utah is pretty cool. There are multiple playgrounds and ball fields. We were there in the late afternoon and the east side of the park was the shadiest so we picnicked there. It also had the coolest playground. In addition to the typical slides and jungle gym playground, there was a huge wooden playground. It was an old west theme with giant forts the kids could run and climb in and then slide down. The wooden playground was also fenced so it was a bit easier to keep track of kids.

Day 30 - Utah Olympic Park

Last day in Utah and last day for using our Visit Salt Lake Connect Passes. Our main event for the day was Utah Olympic Park in Park City, followed by a late lunch at The Lion House Pantry at Temple Square. We also ended up squeezing in an evening Aerial Tram ride at Snowbird Resort.

Utah Olympic Park has some great ropes courses, zip lines, and slides for people who like high adventure. The Connect Pass let us choose either a guided tour or ropes course, and since only one our 5 children might possibly want to do a ropes course, we chose the tour. It was pretty cool. They took us to the top of the bobsled/louge run and explained all about how the course works. We also got to go to the top of the highest nordic ski jump in the world. Besides the great views, it was amazing to look down the ramp and imagine what those skiers do. There is a free Discovery Zone area where kids can try a mini rope course and rock climbing. Right next to it is a ropes course that children as young as 5-years are allowed to participate in. Adults were doing it as well. We thought about buying tickets for Kid One and Dad to try it out ($15 each) but we were only wearing flip flops and you have to have closed-toe shoes.
Discounts: If you and your kids want to zips, slide, and climb all day long, you can buy a groupon right now for an all-day pass. Look for a groupon discount code for an even better deal.

This was the first time I have ever been to Lion House Pantry when there was not a line out the door. I guess the trick is to go at 2 PM. We had our choice of seats and didn't feel pressured through the line. The food was great. The kids chicken fingers were huge. The Connect Pass paid for $10/adult and $5/kid. Adult meals are $8.99 and kids are $4.99 so it worked out great. The fridge is now loaded with the kids extra chicken fingers which they will get to eat for lunch tomorrow on our drive to Reno. Kid Three was a real trooper today. He was not feeling well but didn't complain about being dragged around. We could tell he was really tired so we didn't stay to explore temple square, but headed back to our hotel.

With Snowbird resort so close to our hotel, I really wanted to try the Aerial Tram (included on our Connect Pass). Kid One is just getting to where she can babysit for a short time. She said she'd rather stay behind with sick Kid Three anyway. Kid Two decided to stay behind as well, so Hubby, Kids Four & Five and I headed over to Snowbird. The tram and Hidden Peak at the top provided incredible views of Little Cottonwood Canyon and the ski runs around the resort. It was a pretty neat experience and I'm glad we got to try it out.

Day 28 - Tracy Aviary & The Leonardo

Today was supposed to be the hottest day of our week here in Salt Lake City, with temps reaching around 100 degrees. We had an outdoor activity planned for the morning and decided to keep things air conditioned for the afternoon.

Tracy Aviary is part of Liberty Park, which is Utah's much smaller equivalent of Central Park. The aviary is fairly small but pretty cool you can see a lot of rare birds close up. And the High Flyer show is a lot of fun, despite the fact that you are sitting in direct sunlight. To read my full review go here.

Today was our first time experiencing The Leonardo. I had been skeptical about going here in the past because they don't charge for ages 5 & younger. It sounded like maybe it would be more educational and less fun. Boy was I wrong. This plan was lots of fun. It's part science, part art, part combo. My kids are artists and scientists (as I think all kids are) so they thought a The Leonardo was fabulous. To read my full review go here.

The Leonardo is also part of the ASTC passport program. In case you haven't been keeping track, that's all the museums at Thanksgiving Point, Clark Planetseium Dome show, Discovery Gateway, and The Leonardo that I have received free admission at, thanks to my Arizona Science Center pass. 

Now I know you're wondering if I paid for the Tracy Aviary. Of course not. Unfortunately, you have to take up travel writing to get my discount. Since I write for Trekaroo, Visit Salt Lake hooked my family up with 3-day Connect Passes. These passes allow you to visit 13 venues, one-time-each, within a certain time period that you purchase. You can have the pass be active for 1,2, or 3 days, OR one year. The days of use have to be consecutive, which is why I didn't start using the Connect Pass until today. The Connect Pass also includes admission to all of the above mentioned ASTC passport participants, except you can only visit the Museum of Ancient Life and The Gardens at Thanksgiving Point AND you als get free admission to an IMAX 3D educational film at Clark Planetarium.

Day 27 - Clark Planetarium & Discovery Gateway in SLC, Utah

It's very convenient when two great attractions for families are located across the street from each other. It also makes for a full day.

Clark Planetarium and Discovery Gateway Children's Museum are both part of the wonderful ASTC passport program I've mentioned before. Because we are members of the Arizona Science Center we got free admission to Discovery Gateway and free tickets to a show at Clark Planetarium. Love it.

We started our day at Discovery Gateway, took a break at the mall food court (McDonalds) for lunch, headed over to Clark Planetarium for the 12:30 show we wanted to see, explored the free exhibits there, then walked across the street back to Discovery Gateway for a few more hours of fun.

You can read my reviews of Discovery Gateway Children's Museum and Clark Planetarium by following the links or heading to my passport on Trekaroo.com.

Life Flight Exhibit at Discovery Gateway

Day 26 - Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, UT

If you've never been to Thanksgiving Point in Utah, you are missing some great museums. Today we experienced dinosaurs, farm-life, gardens, and adventure.

The Museum of Ancient Life has always been one of our favorite dinosaur museums. We all love the huge dinosaur skeleton displays and the kids especially enjoy the water table and Dino dig areas. This summer they are doing a cool exhibit of balloon artistry. There was a huge replica of a Greek temple made entirely out of balloons. The creator was on exhibit as well getting the next masterpiece ready of Zeus of a thone. He said it takes him a whole week to make these sculptures. It was amazing.

Farm Country is a little time filler. It is fun, but also small. We like to visit the animals here and the kids like the pony rides. Today, Kid One got to learn a little about male horse anatomy when she saw the horse's nether regions before being petted and then again after. We love to add education to our outings.

The Museum of Natural Curiosity was amazing! I didn't know it existed. I had planned to spend a little time at the end of our day enjoying the splash pad at the Children's Gardens only to find it replaced by the best children's museum ever. It was a little hard to keep track of all the kids, but they were really enjoying themselves. I wish we had known how great this place was so I could have planned more time to spend here.

And how much did I spend to go to all of these museums? NOTHING! 

Thanksgiving Point is a participant in the ASTC passport program. We are members of the Arizona Science Center and so the Thanksgiving Point museums offer us free reciprocal admission. And how much did I pay for the Arizona Science Center family membership? Again, NOTHING. There was a LivingSocial deal for a family membership and I got three people to buy off of my link, making my purchase free. Breakfast was free at the hotel, lunch was PB&J's made from the free hotel breakfast, and our hotel also has free dinner 4 nights a week (although some nights it's more of a snack) so tonight we had free carnitas nachos. I spent $2 total on popcorn and a squished penny souvenir from Farm Country. I love making my own free days.

Day 25 - Rodizio Grill in SLC, Utah

It must be fate when your you happen to be in the city of your husband's favorite restaurant on his birthday. And double lucky when you get a birthday BOGO coupon.

Rodizio Grill is a Brazilian restaurant. They have all you can eat meats brought around by servers who slice off a hunk right onto your plate. To read my full review of Rodizio Grill go here.

When we are on the road, we eat out quite a bit. Usually when we travel, it's with Daddy for work, so he does have a food budget. The problem is, with 5 kids you can blow through that budget pretty quickly. And if I don't spend it all on food, I can use some of the money for cool activities.

Saving Money on Vacation Meals

Stay at hotels with free breakfast. Besides the money you save going out, it's much easier to just walk down to the lobby than get the family ready and drive to a restaurant.
Make free breakfast into free lunch. Many times, I grab bread, peanut butter, and jelly from the hotel breakfast to make a picnic lunch.
Find a local Free Summer Food location. The free summer food program is federal. There may be a location right near your vacation destination.
Cook in your hotel room. We usually stay in rooms with a full kitchen, but if we at least have a microwave, we can get a frozen lasagna and bag of salad mix for an easy dinner. If your room has a fridge, you can also save restaurant leftovers for another meal.
Use coupons. I use my Entertainment Book app to find digital coupons. If your travel coincides with a birthday, make sure you are on the email lists of places you want to eat out at. If your hotel room has a phone book, check out the coupons in there.
Find restaurants where kids eat free. Many of the big chains offer a kids night where kids meals are cheap or free. Check websites, call around, or find an online list someone has made for that city.