My Top 5 Moments from The Terry's RV Great Outdoors Family Road Trip

Last week was a whirlwind! Thanks to Terry’s RV in Frankfort, we loaded up the family in a motor home and hit three different locations and visit several attractions during our kids’ Spring break

We stayed at KOA camp grounds in Indianapolis, Louisville and St. Louis.

In spite of terrible weather most every day, we had an absolute blast and made tons of family memories.

Here are my top five moments from the trip:

5 – The Jumpy Pillows

When you stay at a KOA you are pretty much ensured a certain standard. You will have clean bathrooms, attentive staff and activities for the kids. Every KOA I’ve ever been too has included a jumpy pillow, and the kids LOVE it! And I love them because the kids love them. Our six year old son and four year old daughter made a lot of new friends while playing games on this thing. Way better than sitting in front of a computer playing Minecraft.

4 – Exploring

My two kids are natural explorers. They love to get outside and see what they can find. Max will even tell you, “I’m an explorer kind of guy.” On our trip, there was PLENTY to explore! There were nature trails at the KOA in Louisville that led to a pretty cool mini-cave.

We explored the Falls by the Ohio fossil beds.

And the tram ride through the Louisville Mega Caverns was super cool!

3 – The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

If you have kids and don’t mind a three-hour drive, this place is worth your time! It’s ENORMOUS and has displays and exhibits for every child’s tastes. Max loved the legit dinosaur fossils on display and Macy loved the Barbie exhibit which explored all of the possibilities of what you can be when you grow up. There was also a special Doc McStuffin’s experience, an area dedicated to trains with both model trains and real life train cars to walk though, an outerspace area where they can pretend to be astronauts, a working vintage carousel, a 40-foot tall blown glass sculpture, and an entire outdoor area where you can play pretty much any sport imaginable! If you have kids, do yourself a favor and GO!

2 – The Hoosier Gym

This is a special place for fans of basketball and the movie Hoosiers. It’s the hoops equivalent to the Field of Dreams. It’s the gymnasium that played home to the Hickory Huskers in the 1986 classic with Gene Hackman. Located in Knightstown, about half hour east of Indy, anyone is invited to walk in and shoot around on the same floor that the actors in the movie played on. It is meticulously maintained by a team of volunteers who welcome all in with open arms. But really, it’s more about invoking the memories and feelings you get when thinking about what that movie means. Redemption…the victorious underdogs…battling through adversity. And for me, it reminded me of my dad, a huge basketball guy, whom we lost just about a year ago. I didn’t get to enjoy this place with my dad, but I sure has hell did with my two kids, and that was special! Don’t forget to buy something from the gift shop and support the continued use of the gym!

1 – City Museum, St. Louis

This place is as unique as it is stunning in its design. Don’t call it a “children’s museum”…they never claim to be. Some of the world’s best artists took a 100-year-old warehouse, repurposed pieces of old cities and created miles of tunnels, slides, climbers, bridges, and castles. There are secret passages and grand galleries. Playgrounds and ball pits. A circus and a train. A rooftop school bus and a Ferris wheel. Do not ask for a map…they don’t “do maps.” They even sell knee pads in their gift shop, that’s how seriously they take their tunnels!

Yeah, there were a handful of times we thought we lost our kids. It happens. They even warn you about it on their website: “A phone number written on on your child’s person is helpful.”

This place is INSANE. Your kids will love it. You will love it. Spend the $8 for the rooftop pass, totally worth it! Oh…and don’t forget about the TEN-STORY TALL spiral slide! This place is INCREDIBLE!!