$hort on Cash...

$hort on Cash...

by Serendipitous | Published on June 29th, 2008, 7:03 pm | Life

and Sofa King Bored. That was me this morning, which contributed to the decision to go to Barnes and Noble, which then led to the windshield situation. (I'm still short on cash, but just a little less bored now.)

Usually we hit the library, but the kids go there every week with their summer daycamp. I would have gone to Putt-Putt because it's actually pretty cheap entertainment, but again, it's a weekly activity at daycamp. We needed a fresh idea.

Free Attractions gave me some ideas of places to go. You might want to check it out. Some of the places I looked up seemed like they were worth paying for the gas to get there and back.

Any other ideas for free or inexpensive places to go when you (or the kids) just need to get out of the house? :?:

Yeah, local parks are usually pretty good ideas for free "get out of the house" sorts of trips. But normally, I only choose those when it isn't stinkin' hot outside. Free places to go where there is air conditioning, I normally choose a book store myself.

Don't know how far afield you'd be willing to go... there are several museums in Raleigh that are free, and only ask for donations, or they have very reasonable admission fees. In Greensboro, there's the Natural Science Center, but that's free only for Greensboro residents, and IIRC, you're from east of here.

I saw today that the theaters are doing a booming business these days because movies are less expensive than a lot of other near-to-home trips. But if you have kids, and need snacks, it AIN'T inexpensive by a long shot, even if you go to the "budget" matinées. It's sure a jungle out there. :evil:

SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:I saw today that the theaters are doing a booming business these days because movies are less expensive than a lot of other near-to-home trips. But if you have kids, and need snacks, it AIN'T inexpensive by a long shot, even if you go to the "budget" matinées. It's sure a jungle out there.

Yep... we hit a matinee of Wall*E on Saturday (great movie and waiting for someone's :roll:

review on Gboring). Tix weren't too bad, but geez louise drinks are expensive!

Speaking of drinks... I miss being able to buy alcohol at the movies like in Arizona...

SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:
Don't know how far afield you'd be willing to go... there are several museums in Raleigh that are free, and only ask for donations, or they have very reasonable admission fees. In Greensboro, there's the Natural Science Center, but that's free only for Greensboro residents, and IIRC, you're from east of here.

I'll second this. My daughter and I went to Raleigh a couple of weeks ago. The Natural History Museum is great and kid friendly also. I much more enjoyed the NC Museum of Art, though. Viewing great works of art on the web or in books can't approach the experience of seeing an actual master's work. They had several paintings by Andrew Wyeth that left me speechless. I do wish they'd had more modern art, especially in mixed media and sculpture. Just don't expect to take photos. I wish they'd just told me at the door to lose the camera, instead of having someone follow me the whole afternoon.

Serendipitous wrote:
SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:I saw today that the theaters are doing a booming business these days because movies are less expensive than a lot of other near-to-home trips. But if you have kids, and need snacks, it AIN'T inexpensive by a long shot, even if you go to the "budget" matinées. It's sure a jungle out there.

Yep... we hit a matinee of Wall*E on Saturday (great movie and waiting for someone's review on Gboring). Tix weren't too bad, but geez louise drinks are expensive!

My wife and little girl hit the same movie at Brassfield Saturday as well. They made sure to eat before they went. All three of us went to the grand the other night to see the new Narnia movie (which was good but not quite as good as the 1st one) and it cost us $24 for three tickets (2 adult @ $9 and a child @ $6) and we then spent just a bit more on food and drinks. It cost us over $50 bucks to see a movie we could have waited a couple months and saw for $3.00. That's rediculous. I couldn't help but sit through tht emovie and calculate how much per minute the movie was costing me. Yuck.

Seriously... for an inexpensive thing to do with your kids go to Bur-mill park. It has some really great hiking trails that even little kid's can enjoy. You also can't beat the bike trails. Really nice park.

Nfidel wrote:... My daughter and I went to Raleigh a couple of weeks ago. The Natural History Museum is great and kid friendly also. I much more enjoyed the NC Museum of Art, though. Viewing great works of art on the web or in books can't approach the experience of seeing an actual master's work. They had several paintings by Andrew Wyeth that left me speechless. I do wish they'd had more modern art, especially in mixed media and sculpture. Just don't expect to take photos. I wish they'd just told me at the door to lose the camera, instead of having someone follow me the whole afternoon.

Thanks for the recommendations. My kids definitely enjoy museums or historical sites, and they've not yet gone to any of the places in Raleigh. They were visiting their grandparents for the week right after the school-year ended and were able to tell me lots of info about Gunston Hall (Mason Neck, VA) and Luray Caverns (VA). It's nice to know they listen or pay attention (at least part of the time). :roll:

BecauseHeLives wrote:My wife and little girl hit the same movie at Brassfield Saturday as well. They made sure to eat before they went. All three of us went to the grand the other night to see the new Narnia movie (which was good but not quite as good as the 1st one) and it cost us $24 for three tickets (2 adult @ $9 and a child @ $6) and we then spent just a bit more on food and drinks. It cost us over $50 bucks to see a movie we could have waited a couple months and saw for $3.00. That's rediculous. I couldn't help but sit through tht emovie and calculate how much per minute the movie was costing me. Yuck.

Seriously... for an inexpensive thing to do with your kids go to Bur-mill park. It has some really great hiking trails that even little kid's can enjoy. You also can't beat the bike trails. Really nice park.

I didn't spend quite as much as you for tix and concessions, but I probably made up for it in gas because my nearest theatre sucks and I ventured out a bit further to see it in a nicer theatre with a MUCH BETTER picture. I hope you were able to enjoy the movie and didn't spend the whole time thinking about the co$t. Time with your family should be worth every penny. :!:

Thanks for the park recommendation. We enjoy going to various parks whether it's to hit a playground or "hike" a bit. City Park in Burlington and Pullen Park in Raleigh have trains, but some days are too dang hot to enjoy the outdoors.

BecauseHeLives wrote: All three of us went to the grand the other night to see the new Narnia movie (which was good but not quite as good as the 1st one) and it cost us $24 for three tickets (2 adult @ $9 and a child @ $6) and we then spent just a bit more on food and drinks. It cost us over $50 bucks to see a movie we could have waited a couple months and saw for $3.00. That's rediculous. I couldn't help but sit through tht emovie and calculate how much per minute the movie was costing me. Yuck.

I saw the Narnia movie while I was on my recent vacation -- free. :mrgreen:

I was surprised at how entertaining the story was, and was developing a decent respect for the effort... until they decided to tack on a kid-pop song to the ending. Seriously, Disney needs to take their top executives and beat them about the head with a morningstar until they figure out how not to screw up their movies like that. :roll:

Nfidel wrote:I'll second this. My daughter and I went to Raleigh a couple of weeks ago. The Natural History Museum is great and kid friendly also.

And they have a bug zoo... always a good bet. :lol:

I much more enjoyed the NC Museum of Art, though. Viewing great works of art on the web or in books can't approach the experience of seeing an actual master's work. They had several paintings by Andrew Wyeth that left me speechless. I do wish they'd had more modern art, especially in mixed media and sculpture.

I went with my family to the Museum of Art when they had the Monet exhibit. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and extent of their standard collection. It is a museum we can be proud of for sure. And of course, the Monets were absolutely wonderful.

Just don't expect to take photos. I wish they'd just told me at the door to lose the camera, instead of having someone follow me the whole afternoon.

Bummer. I'm glad they don't have that attitude in France. I took all the photos and video I wanted in the Louvre. Wonder why that is?

SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:
Just don't expect to take photos. I wish they'd just told me at the door to lose the camera, instead of having someone follow me the whole afternoon.

Bummer. I'm glad they don't have that attitude in France. I took all the photos and video I wanted in the Louvre. Wonder why that is?

IIRC the Louvre's policy was "no flash photography" so it was great to take pics of whatever I wanted to take pics of. I s'pose in Raleigh, they don't think we can follow the same rule in our art museum; therefore they just don't give us the option (and have "security" make sure you don't take pictures instead having them make sure you don't use a flash)... :roll:

SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:Bummer. I'm glad they don't have that attitude in France. I took all the photos and video I wanted in the Louvre. Wonder why that is?

As Serendip mentioned, its partly due to the fact the Louvre simply states "No FLASH photography".

However, I'm willing to bet neither is allowed in the Raleigh museum so they can sell you a print in the gift shop on the way out.

Sanjuro wrote:
SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:Bummer. I'm glad they don't have that attitude in France. I took all the photos and video I wanted in the Louvre. Wonder why that is?

As Serendip mentioned, its partly due to the fact the Louvre simply states "No FLASH photography".

However, I'm willing to bet neither is allowed in the Raleigh museum so they can sell you a print in the gift shop on the way out.

Here's the story of my non-photo adventure. We entered the N C Museum of Art on the floor housing modern and contemporary art. The first exhibit was photography. Each work of course had a wall mounted plaque with artist info and info about the piece shown. At the end of these descriptions was the phrase "no photography allowed".

Naturally, when I saw a sculpture on whose plaque it did NOT state, no photography allowed, I photographed it. I was immediately accosted by one of the staff. I was told that in fact I could take photos of pieces of art that the museum owned but because of copyrights, I could not photo or sketch artwork that was on loan. No where in the description of the sculpture was this stated, and I don't recall reading whether it was on loan or owned.

From then on, we were never alone and there were several places we would have been, had not one or two staff members not been present. They were wasting their time, though. I'd decided after the first incident not to use my camera in the museum. I do wish I had waited with the one picture, though, because the next piece of art on exhibit was by Louise Nevelson, and I've been fascinated by her work from the time I first saw a picture of it.

Oh well. Here is a touristy picture from the N C Museum of Natural Sciences.

Serendipitous wrote:
SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:I saw today that the theaters are doing a booming business these days because movies are less expensive than a lot of other near-to-home trips. But if you have kids, and need snacks, it AIN'T inexpensive by a long shot, even if you go to the "budget" matinées. It's sure a jungle out there.

Yep... we hit a matinee of Wall*E on Saturday (great movie and waiting for someone's review on Gboring). Tix weren't too bad, but geez louise drinks are expensive!

So sneak 'em in. One of the great things about being female is having an excuse to carry a huge purse. One of the few great things about modern movie theatres is NO USHERS. You can eat/drink any darn thing you want in there as long as you're quiet about it. Including beer.

The Rain King wrote:So sneak 'em in. One of the great things about being female is having an excuse to carry a huge purse. One of the few great things about modern movie theatres is NO USHERS. You can eat/drink any darn thing you want in there as long as you're quiet about it. Including beer.

Okay, so I'll admit we brought our own candy, which is why we only bought drinks.

So how big IS YOUR PURSE? :mrgreen:

Nfidel wrote:
SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:
Don't know how far afield you'd be willing to go... there are several museums in Raleigh that are free, and only ask for donations, or they have very reasonable admission fees. In Greensboro, there's the Natural Science Center, but that's free only for Greensboro residents, and IIRC, you're from east of here.

I'll second this. My daughter and I went to Raleigh a couple of weeks ago. The Natural History Museum is great and kid friendly also. I much more enjoyed the NC Museum of Art, though. Viewing great works of art on the web or in books can't approach the experience of seeing an actual master's work. They had several paintings by Andrew Wyeth that left me speechless. I do wish they'd had more modern art, especially in mixed media and sculpture. Just don't expect to take photos. I wish they'd just told me at the door to lose the camera, instead of having someone follow me the whole afternoon.

Follow you? That's odd. Most modern cameras have a museum (non-flash) setting because it is the flash that is the problem, not the camera itself. I went to a museum in Greece with my camera and showed the curator that I had it on museum setting and she was happy as a clam with me. Bright light can damage paintings and even old stone. So museums are typically "no camera" zones because some people are such idiots that they will do what they want with their flash settings, regardless of rules. Makes it hard for the rest of us.

Questioner wrote:...Bright light can damage paintings and even old stone. So museums are typically "no camera" zones because some people are such idiots that they will do what they want with their flash settings, regardless of rules. Makes it hard for the rest of us.

True dat... True dat.

And Q, glad to have you back!

Questioner said

Follow you? That's odd. Most modern cameras have a museum (non-flash) setting because it is the flash that is the problem, not the camera itself. I went to a museum in Greece with my camera and showed the curator that I had it on museum setting and she was happy as a clam with me. Bright light can damage paintings and even old stone. So museums are typically "no camera" zones because some people are such idiots that they will do what they want with their flash settings, regardless of rules. Makes it hard for the rest of us.

In this case it was copyrights, not the art they were protecting. I had a 50mm f1.8 lens mounted, so I was obviously ready for low light. I had thought the same about the flash as you, but no. No photos at all. Neither with flash or available light.

Serendipitous wrote:
The Rain King wrote:So sneak 'em in. One of the great things about being female is having an excuse to carry a huge purse. One of the few great things about modern movie theatres is NO USHERS. You can eat/drink any darn thing you want in there as long as you're quiet about it. Including beer.

Okay, so I'll admit we brought our own candy, which is why we only bought drinks.

I knew the dark side of The Force was strong within you, too, Leia. :wink:

Way to go. Teach the kiddies to drink out of bottles now and you're all set.

Serendipitous wrote:So how big IS YOUR PURSE?

My sex life is none of your bizness, you perv.

Actually, I wish I could get away with carrying a purse. I do have an L.L. Beaner book-bag- thing I carry solely to work with all my meds, books, snacks, etc. (Hell, I'm old. I need more stuff to survive these days.) But that doesn't count as a purse, does it?

I think every woman should carry a purse like my mother did when I was a kid. But she called it a "pocket-book" and I was forbidden to even touch it without her express permission. Sometimes she'd allow me to fetch it, and on those occasions, I treated it like the Ark of the Covenant. Who knew what dangers and mysteries truly lay within? It was Mom's magic cornucopia. We could've camped outta that thing for at least a week. She had food, first aid, all kinda stuff in there. And if she'd have swung it at anybody it would've been instant death for them, like getting hit by a wrecking ball. Wouldn't have caused any damage to the purse itself, of course. It would've survived Hiroshima. It was hand-crafted of the finest poly-vinyl by dwarven smiths, baptized in the breath of a dragon and enchanted with all manner of magical wards. Ever geeky enough in high school to play D&D ? They had a thing called a "portable hole". It was like an extra-dimensional space where you could carry all your loot. That was Mom's "pocket-book". She could've pulled Thanksgiving dinner outta that thing and I wouldn't have batted an eye.

I guess one of the signs you've grown up is that Mom's purse gets smaller. She doesn't need to carry your stuff and her's, too, anymore.

Guys are pretty much stuck with a wallet. But the bigger the wallet, the harder it is to get the damn thing outta your pants. Mine looks like one of those Thickburgers from Hardee's. Not my fault. I've got at least three of those stupid discount cards from grocery stores. If I need to pay for something, I have to start working it free about five minutes before I head for the cashier. Otherwise it looks to the on-lookers like I'm standing there giving myself a wedgie for five minutes.

The Rain King wrote:...she called it a "pocket-book" and I was forbidden to even touch it without her express permission. Sometimes she'd allow me to fetch it, and on those occasions, I treated it like the Ark of the Covenant. Who knew what dangers and mysteries truly lay within? It was Mom's magic cornucopia. We could've camped outta that thing for at least a week. She had food, first aid, all kinda stuff in there. And if she'd have swung it at anybody it would've been instant death for them, like getting hit by a wrecking ball. Wouldn't have caused any damage to the purse itself, of course.

I still don't know why it can be called a pocketbook! And my mom was the same way about her purse, pocketbook, handbag, whathaveyou... You may be allowed to touch it, but DO NOT rummage through it.

The Rain King wrote:Actually, I wish I could get away with carrying a purse. I do have an L.L. Beaner book-bag- thing I carry solely to work with all my meds, books, snacks, etc. (Hell, I'm old. I need more stuff to survive these days.) But that doesn't count as a purse, does it?

You can be Jerry... "It's a European carryall!"

The Rain King wrote:...the bigger the wallet, the harder it is to get the damn thing outta your pants. Mine looks like one of those Thickburgers from Hardee's. Not my fault.

Sounds like you're George too!

The Rain King wrote:...it looks to the on-lookers like I'm standing there giving myself a wedgie for five minutes.

Because you are... Geez, just fess up. It'll make you feel good (feel good, feel good...) :mrgreen:

Greensboro History Museum on Summit Avenue in downtown.

I spent a little bit of time in there, escaping some of the heat/sun during the 4th of July celebration in downtown. There is A LOT of stuff to check out. I need to get back there so I can see the stuff I missed.

It's a free museum, and I believe there is a place where you can make donations. When I go back, I will gladly donate. Being an NC transplant (non-Greensborigine), I learned a whole bunch o'history! Didn't realize O Henry and Dolley Madison were from Greensboro / Guilford County and I learned about folks who have streets and buildings named after 'em.

So did you know that Edward R Murrow was born in Guilford County?