Road Trip - Denver to Central West Virginia
 

We are taking a family road trip to West Virginia at the end of May. We're planning on going through Kansas City, St. Louis and Lexington, Kentucky. We have 3 boys - 10, 8 & 4. What should we make sure we see along the way? Any suggestions welcome.

Mammoth Caves National Park - Kentucky.<BR>The boys will love it. Reserve tours in advance. www.nps.gov/parks/<BR><BR>If interested in horses at all, Kentucky Horse Park at Lexington.<BR>www.imh.org/khp/<BR><BR>Are you planning to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway / Shenandoah Parkway at all?<BR><BR>St. Louis has the Gateway Arch. I've been past it, but not up it. Could look into that (also at the national park service website).<BR><BR>Sylvia

Hi -- Kansas City and St. Louis both have quite a bit to offer. You could catch a Royals or Cardinals baseball game, go to the Jazz Museum and Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, go to Worlds of Fun amusement park in K.C., go to the wonderful science center in St. Louis, etc. The Arch in St. Louis in very cool. It has a nice museum and then you can ride to the top. <BR>

St. Louis has a fantastic zoo that should delight the boys; I think it's free,too,which should delight the parents!

If you are staying over night in Kansas City, I would recommend staying at Crown Center. There are a couple of nice hotels in the area and it is a quick stop off of I-70. The main reason to stay there is Union Station--it is right across the street from the hotels. Union Station is a huge recently rennovated train station that is breathtaking. There are a few restaurants and historical displays, a large children's museum (the kind where there are a lot of hands-on activities), IMAX shows, and usually a good traveling exhibit (last year they had Titanic relics and a large dinosaur skeleton). Your kids (and you) will LOVE it! I would also catch dinner at the Cheesecake Factory or other restaurant at the Country Club Plaza (beware of long waits on the weekends). There's an FAO Schwartz and a lot of great shopping for you adults in that area, too. Have a great trip!