...working backwards now, we spent our last two nights in Davis, WV at a charming B&B named The Meyer House. The building dates back to the late 19th century and much of the interior remains decidedly vintage-Victorian. We selected the Blue Room as it features, in addition to a queen bed, a day bed & trundle with enough space for 2 children. Yep, the place is kid-friendly although not kid-proof. Breakfasts were robust: warm fruit bowl with whipped cream and cinnamon crunchy/crumble ahead of egg/cheese/sausage/mushroom casserole. Way above restaurant quality.
We choose the town of Davis because it's the closest to Blackwater Falls State Park. Since we had only a couple days in the state and wanted to be out of the car more than in it, we pretty much had to pick one site in the state. Blackwater Falls won.
'Twas a good choice. With plenty of steps for climbing down to the Falls (there is also a handicap accessible platform on the other side that doesn't get you nearly as close but still affords a lovely view and photo op) and plenty 'a trail for walking, this scenic state park was the relief needed after 2000 miles of driving in 8 days.
It was recommended that we hike the Lindy Point trail that ends at the overlook of the same name. The drive from the Blackwater Falls Trading Post (free trail maps) to Lindy Point was a relaxing one with deer on the side of the road and the occasional scenic overlook.
The 1/3 mile (each way) walk is almost entirely flat. It's ideal for novices and children. The path's surroundings are hidden enough that you don't realize where exactly you are or where you will end up. That fact leads to... The payoff. Which, as a result, is outstanding. It's a 270 degree view of mountains/valley/river/eagles/hawks, all enjoyed from a safe platform perfect for kids to enjoy such heights. Just beautiful.
The town of Davis is small, blink while driving through and you'll miss it. Davis does feature some decent dining options though, which surprised us. Sirianni's Pizza and Pasta joint on William Ave. (Davis' main drag) is cozy, in a ski lodge sort of way minus the clanking of boots, and serves up absolutely delicious pizza. Try the homemade sweet sausage too, yum!But bring cash, as that's the only way to pay 'em for the grub. Additionally, Nanny's Bakery, also on William Ave, serves up tasty pastry. They produced a delicious cake for the Mouse's Birthday. The actual day (May 28) came while in WV.
We drove home after leaving WV, with a stop in Winchester, VA (nice town) for lunch and a visit to their bi-level indie bookstore for a book on CD (Sammy the Seal) to be enjoyed on the ride home.
Great trip, from start to finish, but boy it was nice to see the Welcome to PA sign as we entered our home commonwealth.
In the coming days, I'll finally review the KC Jiggle Jam as event (not as music fest) along with the surrounding accommodations and such. Stay tuned, especially if you plan on going to KC for the 2010 Jiggle Jam.
My girls are digging Zanes more than ever. That's partly because we just saw him play in KC and partly because of their recent introduction to his Around the Kitchen! Live DVD. In particular, the songs "Wonder Wheel" and his version of "Pay Me My Money Down", have peaked their interest. That's pretty much a gross understatement. They're head over heels in love with the two cuts, especially the latter. Even the Mouse can be heard uttering something that sounds like "Pay Me" and "You Owe Me". If she ever finds herself working day labor, she'll be sure to know how to demand her take.
Dan Zanes & Friends played both tunes in Kansas City during the closing set of the outstanding 2009 Jiggle Jam.
I captured his performance of "Wonder Wheel" in what I consider my finest stab at song recording. I had good positioning and managed to frame Dan pretty well for much of the tune. Check it out below.
For WAY more Jiggle Jam coverage and photos, head over to the OWTK Facebook Page and become a fan.
I first met Jeni and Jim Cosgrove in Brooklyn New York last month, where we united under the Stink Fest banner. They struck me as friendly, honest mid-westerners that do everything together (including using the bathroom - woo whoo!)
They're the kind of folk that would invite you into their home for a cup of coffee...or a slab a ribs, whichever you'd prefer (half rack of short ends/dry, please!). They're a charming couple with two adorable little girls and Jim, on and off stage, is a ball of excitable energy.
After just a few conversations with them about Jiggle Jam, their then upcoming kids music fest, I'd made up my mind that my family was going to do whatever we could to be in KC for Memorial Day Weekend. Their enthusiasm for the event was contagious and I wanted my gang to be a part of it. It didn't take long for me to notice, once on their home turf, that Jim "Mr. Stinky Feet" Cosgrove is a bona fide celeb in Kansas City! Midwestern kids eschewed Justin Roberts and zoomed past Dan Zanes to high-5 the local dude with smelly feet. It was quite a sight. Jim is obviously used to the attention and clearly thrives on engaging the toddler set. His love of children goes way beyond them as audience, he truly seems to appreciate their talents, energy and love of being silly. He then channels all that into his live performances to create a highly interactive, big energy hour of musical fun for little kids and their parents.
He played on the big stage twice during Jiggle Jam 2009, once each day, and was the most difficult performer to photograph all weekend. With his wireless microphone in place, the dude swaggers across the stage like Mick Jagger, sans leather pants and the drug habit! The shining moment of each set occurred when oldest daughter Lyda (4 1/2) joined Jim on stage for a rousing rendition of his theme-song "Stinky Feet". She added the "P.U!" after every "stinky feet". Those were awesome performances by the little lady and her talented Pop.
The other highlight, not captured on film (ugh!) is when Cosgrove corralled all the KC kiddie rockers for the "Going to Kansas City" finale. Funky Mama, Dino O'Dell, Bongo Barry, the Doo-Dads and others known around the city of fountains sang along with the legendary tune. 'Twas a tre cool, only at Jiggle Jam kinda moment.
The Bear and Mouse are absolutely addicted to Cosgrove's "Stinky Feet" and to "Buggy Hop", the lead track from his latest effort "Upside Down". It's a disc, with the silly "Pizza Tree", jazzy "Swing" and island-vibe of the title track, that youngsters will have a lot of fun listening to but, as with many artists who do their best work in front of a live audience, fails to capture the intensity exhibited in concert.
My family cannot wait until Memorial Day Weekend 2010. The hope is that we will be able to stroll the Crown Center grounds, visit with the Cosgroves and watch Mr. Stinky Feet dazzle hundreds of youngsters again.
There is much more KC Jiggle Jam coverage coming up on OWTK.
More video, more photography, more reviews of the hotel/the city/the restaurants/Crown Center and the Jiggle Jam activities themselves will be popping up on these pages over the course of the next week or so. Also, expect some family road trip do's and dont's, tips and must-pack-essentials. If you are planning a road trip this summer, especially if it is your 1st attempt at such a journey, you are going to want to take note of this crucial information. (How's that for a teaser?)
Thanks for following OWTK all the way to Kansas City and back. Now stay tuned for so much coverage that you'll be both completely sick of reading about it and eager for the 2010 edition of the greatest family music festival in the land.
We're on our way back home now, but managed to squeeze in enough free time on the hotel's WiFi network to create 2 Jiggle Jam photo albums.
Head over to the OWTK Facebook Page, become a fan, and either relive the greatest Family Music Festival in the country or wallow in misery because you missed the 2009 KC Jiggle Jam.
Brady Rymer is making some of the best family music of this generation. That might be an understatement what with that Grammy nomination and all.
But as great as his recordings are, they got nothin' on his live show. The true testament of a band's worth, regardless of genre, is in the quality of it's live performance and much like The Boss and other rock-n-roll vets, Rymer and the Little Band That Could are in their glory on the stage. Brady and his rock-solid, professional 5 piece band (drums/bass/keys/mandolin/accordion/backing vocals) are happiest when performing and have the energy and passion to play for hours beyond their 60 minute kiddie show allotments.
Rymer unveiled 2 new numbers on the KC Jiggle Jam crowd today. The first, "Tomorrow's People", is an inspiration ode to the hope of better days ahead (for our kids and their kids and so on). It's as lovely as "Light of Love", the other new one first featured here a couple weeks back after Stink (Kindie) Fest '09. Both show Brady as impassioned dreamer and hopeful optimist. Both songs are beautiful arrangements that ooze love, warmth and a big ol' smile - basically, they are the musical embodiment of Mr. Rymer himself.
We may have a long while before we get the next Brady Rymer record, but if these 2 tracks are any indication the Grammy nod last year will not be his last.
Rymer has tons of summer dates lined up in San Fran, Orlando, NYC, Baltimore and D.C.-area and Massachusetts. Check out his website for dates/times/more info. You'll be hard pressed to find a more enjoyable way to spend an hour of your life with (or without!) your kids.
Note: I have video of Brady Rymer from today but my Flip Mino froze up and isn't yet willing to part with it's contents. If it gets fixed, you'll see Brady & Co. performing @ KC Jiggle Jam 2009.
They Might Be Giants broke out a new tune on Saturday night in Kansas City. The tune, composed and sung by TMBG bass player Danny Weinkauf, is called "Paleontologist" and it's from the forthcoming "Here Comes Science". Check it out:
There are some pretty big names in Kansas City this weekend, like Recess Monkey and Justin Roberts, but there are also some lesser known but equally gifted performers rockin' out for midwestern families at Jiggle Jam.
The Sugar Free Allstars is a 2 man operation on drums and hammond organ. They blend NOLA funk and groove to produce wonderful songs for young kids. Their live show is highly engaging and interactive. The preschoolers in the audience really took to the duo, acting out modes of transportation and making a variety of animal sounds at singer Chris Wiser's request. Expect the Sugar Free Allstars debut DVD to be available in the very near future!
Dino O'Dell and the Veloci-Rappers were the 1st band we saw perform at Jiggle Jam on Saturday. The set was very enjoyable with terrific musicianship and clever songs across a wide array of styles. Additionally, he has the funniest bio of any kid's artist.
Justin Roberts enjoyed the 2008 Jiggle Jam so much he came back for the '09 installment of the nation's finest family music festival.
With his band sporting snazzy new bowling league-styled button up shirts, Justin and The Not Ready For Naptime Players blitzed through a very loose 1 hour set where hilarity was king. The new and improved live Justin Roberts show features expanded roles for Little Dave (including a cool ACDC moment) and a spot for Gerald Dowd, the Players' drummer, to show off his funny side out in front of the kit.
JR mixed songs from "Yellow Bus", "Meltdown" and "Pop Fly" (included the title tracks from all 3 records) and had the crowd energized and excited from the jump. He slowed things down a bit, just once, with the beautiful "Giant Sized Butterflies". It was appropriate that the Mouse drifted off to sleep during that song, as it's included on her lullaby disc at home.
Justin Roberts continues to be one of the most polished, professional and best overall family music acts working today.
The trio of school teachers from Seattle, Washington known as Recess Monkey played early on Saturday. The crowd was sparse (compared to JR and TMBG later on) - such is the fate of the opening act.
The not-yet-warmed-up audience in front of them didn't stop Jack, Drew and Daron from letting it all hang out on stage. They put on a rockin' 45 minute set that included a few cuts from band's forthcoming effort "Field Trip" - "Knocktopus" (video of this one at the bottom), "Bubble Factory" and "Fort".
The families that did join in the fun under the Jiggle Stage canopy were treated to a perfect example of silly, yet sophisticated, family music. They were also treated to a couple of minutes of me, the Bear and the Mouse. We were asked to introduce Recess Monkey and were honored to do so. Despite flubbing the names of two Jiggle Jam sponsors, I think I managed to pull off the intro without making a complete ass of myself. I even worked in a Neil Young quote from "The Last Waltz".
And here we are, the Bear and I, with Recess Monkey after the show.
Way too tired to share stories, music and thoughts on Jiggle Jam Day 1 but I will say this much tonight: It was a beautiful scene with scores of families outside in the sun, smiling, dancing, playing and listening to some of the finest all-ages music being made today.
The video upload process will probably take all night. Expect some audio/video treats in the A.M.
We've arrived in Kansas City. 17 driving hours and 1100 miles in 66 total hours is the tally for the week that was. With no DVD player or handheld video gaming device. It can be done, just like those that came before us.Music, toys, art and a lot of giggles.
Forget all that now. We are, to quote Ella Childs, "prepared to rock!"
Before we lay our heads down in KC, here is a quick recap of Friday's activities:
Traveled to the top of the Arch in St. Louis. The line for tickets was 20 minutes long...and that was after the place had been open for a mere 17 minutes! On a weekday! (granted, it's a holiday weekend). Let be a lesson to you, be it at the Jefferson National Expansion Museum (aka The St. Louis Arch) or at any museum/zoo/tourist destination: get your butts out of bed and get there early!
The tram/elevator ride to the top is described as "what futuristic meant in the 50's" and that is so perfect. It's a little 5 person pod that rocks and rides up in 4 minutes time. I'm 6 foot 4 and all was good, just a duck to pass through the tiny door. It's quick, it's fun but it's not for the claustrophobic.
The museum portion of the National Parks site is free and very impressive. It's essentially one gigantic circular room and in spiraling around it you will learn a ton about St. Louis, Lewis & Clark, Native Americans and westward expansion in the 1800's. Even if you have no desire to rise up the 630ft above the Mississippi River, do visit the free portion of the park, it's worth your time.
From there we headed west. 11 blocks west to be precise, to the City Museum. Simply put, it'sthe greatest way to spend $12 that I've ever seen/experienced/done. The City Museum is a massive building with layers upon layers of indoor/outdoor active activities for kids and grown ups - caves, slides, skateless skate-park, catwalks, ball pits and way more. It's been 8 hours since we left and I still cannot come up with the proper verbiage to describe it to you. I'll say that St. Louis should be considering a viable, attractive family destination solely because of the City Museum. Even if there was nothing else here (but there is a steamboat load more) St. Louis should be high on your family's list of places to visit, if only to spend a day inside this industrial fun house.
And now we rest, happily knowing that we have a home for the next 3 days.
Anytime you have 3 meals in 3 different states in 1 day, you'd have to qualify that as a pretty rad day. Breakfast in Cincy, Lunch in Louisville and dinner a couple blocks from Busch Stadium in St. Louis. That's how we spent our Thursday.
We stopped in Louisville long enough to do 2 things and 2 things only: the Louisville Slugger Bat Factory and Baseball Museum. And lunch. Even if you don't like baseball but happen to find yourself in Louisville, you've got to stand outside and marvel at the gigantic bat resting against the building. It's just too awesome not to appreciate.
The Louisville Slugger tour is free for kids 5 and under, and with the AAA discount it came to just $18 for the Mrs. and I. We were lucky enough to be part of a group that got to see bat production actually being done, making hundreds of bats every couple minutes. A very neat tour, much like the Gibson Guitar factory in Memphis, with employees hard at work making world famous wooden tools of a particular trade. The museum inside the facility is equally as impressive. It was designed, it seems, with young folks in mind because in addition to the big kid placards and statues are numerous secret drawers, levers, and hide-and-seek diversions containing artifacts from our national pastime. It's just one (big) room but it will keep your gang busy for a good while. Slide on some white gloves and, in a special game-used bat area, handle several bats used by the likes of Mantle, Thome, Ortiz and Carew. The Bear and I toted the Mick's lumber, circa 1960-1963.
Once outside the exhibit hall, head down to the giant glove and the modest kid's zone called small ball. The latter offers a tee ball batting cage, coloring sheets & crayons, bean bag chairs, and those fun bead toy-thingys for babies. Across the way is the big boy batting cage. $1 gets you 10 pitches at about 45 mph. You can choose to use a well-known player's bat (I opted for Griffey Jr's) and take some hacks. I didn't do well - whiffing twice, grounding into 5 double plays, 2 foul tips and one glorious line drive into the gap - but I also didn't pull a muscle. I'll take it.
The factory's concierge suggested Boomer's Canteen, just a block away for a quality, kid-friendly, non-chain lunch spot. Save for being cash/check only, she was spot-on.
Set inside an old house, you step in and are transported to a down-home parlor room, complete with decorations, knick-knacks and a residential kitchen. Oh, and also a ton of Boomer paintings and assorted beagle paraphernalia.
The menu is simple yet ordering ended up being complex. Us brilliant northerners struggled with the fill-out-the-sheet-yourself setup. Once we managed to convey our culinary desires to Steven, the uber-helpful server, we were quickly served pulled pork BBQ with sweet potato mash and corn-on-the-cob (The Mrs.), garden salad & loaded baked potato (moi), grilled cheese (Mouse) and a ham and cheese sandwich (Bear). The complimentary orange slices pleased the girls, as did being fawned over by the 2-man waitstaff and by the owners. Boomer's Canteen is the kind of place that reminds me why it's so important (and fun!) to avoid the chains, especially when vacationing in new, interesting places far from home. A great experience only available there, on West Main St., Louisville Kentucky.
4 hours later we arrived in St. Louis, passing by the Arch and crossing the mighty Mississippi as we made our entrance into "The West". Our hotel room rocks, with a great view of the Arch and dinner was terrific at J. Buck's (I'm a sucker for legendary baseball announcers) - if you go, try the spinach and artichoke dip. Many places serve it but not many are this good. Yum!
The tater tots were lovely as well. They come with the mini-burger on the well-priced kid's menu (meal, drink and ice cream for $4 flat - not bad, especially in an urban setting). Witness the Bear's TOT STONEHENGE!
We had to enjoy the Cards vs. Cubs experience from outside the gates as we were priced out of Busch Stadium. Oh well, there will be more baseball on this trip, at more reasonable price points.
The girls are asleep and I will be soon. We're only 4 hrs away from the center of the family music world! KC Jiggle Jam awaits and we are pumped up for a weekend of outstanding kiddie rock and roll. Until Friday...
Wanna tag along virtually? Just click the "Jiggle Jam 2009" link below and get caught up on our journey.
OWTK is a daddy blog where musings on parenthood, society and culture mingle with kid's music reviews, children's book reviews, and reviews of various toys and films. If you've got a family-oriented product and would like to submit it to OWTK for a possible review, please contact me (email address in the logo)
...working backwards now, we spent our last two nights in Davis, WV at a charming B&B named The Meyer House. The building dates back to the late 19th century and much of the interior remains decidedly vintage-Victorian. We selected the Blue Room as it features, in addition to a queen bed, a day bed & trundle with enough space for 2 children. Yep, the place is kid-friendly although not kid-proof. Breakfasts were robust: warm fruit bowl with whipped cream and cinnamon crunchy/crumble ahead of egg/cheese/sausage/mushroom casserole. Way above restaurant quality.
We choose the town of Davis because it's the closest to Blackwater Falls State Park. Since we had only a couple days in the state and wanted to be out of the car more than in it, we pretty much had to pick one site in the state. Blackwater Falls won. 
It was recommended that we hike the Lindy Point trail that ends at the overlook of the same name. The drive from the Blackwater Falls Trading Post (free trail maps) to Lindy Point was a relaxing one with deer on the side of the road and the occasional scenic overlook.
The 1/3 mile (each way) walk is almost entirely flat. It's ideal for novices and children. The path's surroundings are hidden enough that you don't realize where exactly you are or where you will end up. That fact leads to...
The payoff. Which, as a result, is outstanding. It's a 270 degree view of mountains/valley/river/eagles/hawks, all enjoyed from a safe platform perfect for kids to enjoy such heights. Just beautiful. 
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