Sometimes the best things in life really are free. Take yesterday for instance. School is out for the holiday break and I have Tyler and my niece and nephew to entertain. What to do? What to do? The weather was so nice I decided to take them on a trip downtown. I needed to return some DVDs to the library anyway and since we can return items to any branch and there is a branch downtown I thought this would be perfect. Some would argue that there’s not much to do in downtown Mobile. In fact the city is in the process of trying to revitalize the downtown area. Everywhere we looked new hotels were springing up and we saw several old buildings being turned into condos and upscale boutiques. Many retailers have moved to the shopping mails and out to what we call West Mobile. But as they say, “Where there’s a will there’s a way.”
We had a great time exploring and it didn’t cost me much. Kids are so easy to entertain if you think about it. First, we took the bus. Tyler loved this since we rarely take it so when we do it’s a treat for him. When we got downtown we picked out some movies from the library to watch later. We get to keep them for seven days and it costs just a dollar each. And they have new releases and a whole slew of kids movies to choose from. I was able to grab the last copy of The DaVinci Code so I was happy.
After leaving the library we walked next door to McDonald’s for lunch and then headed to the heart of downtown. The walk was great because I got a chance to burn off the Big Mac I ate for lunch, plus I discovered several art galleries I didn’t know existed. My nephew is a budding artist so he was pleased to also discover these gems.
Next, we stopped in the park and I let the kids play for about two hours. They loved it and I got a chance to sit on the bench and do nothing. That was kind of hard for me to do but I also discovered that this particular park is an ideal place to people watch. Maybe I will come back later to find characters for my novella I’m working on. It’s also a nice park to just sit and work. There’s a nice shaded pavilion with four café tables and oodles of benches.
When we finished at the park we walked across to the Mobile Police Museum. This free museum offers a glimpse of police life from the 1950’s to the present time. The kids went crazy over the assortment of guns, marshall arts doodads and assorted police memorabilia. And best of all there was a “jail” that you could go in with one of those cut outs where you put your head and hand through if you want your picture taken. Of course I had my digital camera so I got some fun shots.
From there we went to the nuthouse. No not that nuthouse silly! It’s this old funky peanut and candy shop that has been around since 1800. Down here everyone is crazy about peanuts. But we went in to get some candy which you buy by the half, quarter or full pound. After that we headed to the bus stop to go home but before the bus came I discovered three little coffee/sandwich shops within a block of each other. And best of all there’s this neat little used bookstore that I have to go back and visit when I’m alone.
The point is the whole trip cost about 30 bucks for four people. That included bus fare, lunch and a snack! Most importantly we had a ball. So if you’re looking for something to do with your kids while they are on break or anytime for that matter, try being a visitor in your own town. Take a walk around historic neighborhoods or go to the park. Kids don’t really care what they do with you as long as you’re doing something together.
See also:
Fun and Free Activities for Kids