April 5th-Saturday. Lisa had been begging and pleading to go to Jerome since her last visit. I finally said fine I'll take you there. We left the girls and Gabe home. Erik didn't have to work that day, but he stayed home with the other kids. It was just Lisa, the little boys, and me. We left in the morning between 8 and 9. It wasn't too long of a drive up to Jerome from Phoenix, about an hour and a half. The drive was uneventful, which are the best drives. I do remember going through at least 10 roundabouts before we got to the little old city. Lisa (and yes even I) would have loved to do a ghost tour, but the timing didn't work out since it was only a day trip. Besides, the boys wouldn't have enjoyed it, and it wasn't cheap at all. Our first stop was the Douglas Mansion located in Jerome State Historic Park. There was a fee to get in, but it wasn't that much. The mansion is self-guided, and the very first room is a gift shop fill with: lots of gemstones! It fit nicely into the theme of Lisa's visit. There was even a room in the museum filled with gemstones. I guess it makes sense since it was a mining town, and most gemstones are mined. I had already been to the museum a few years back, so I don't have too much to say on it other than it was mildly interesting. The boys seemed to have a good time, especially looking at all the old mining stuff outside. Their favorite part was picking out gemstones for a souvenir! There were also arrowhead (replicas) and old coins. I bought some prickly pear cactus syrup, taffys, a big chuck of amethyst for Ian, an arrowhead, and an 1890s Indian Head coin for Ian. Lisa let Calvin and Aiden pick out a bag of tumbled gemstones and an arrowhead for Aiden.
Ian bought Minecraft glasses for the Minecraft movie and wore them around Jerome. Makes sense since Jerome is a mining town!
We spent the most time in this room--the gemstone gallery!
A picture of trains that I sent to Gabe
A "Minecraft" car that Aiden got really excited about!
All three boys wearing their Minecraft glasses!
Lisa and I with the town of Jerome in the background
Picking out gemstones--our theme for the visit.
Lisa and I as we exited the park, just before getting in the van. The background was awesome scenery, but since a short little kid took this picture, it's hard to see.
A cool lizard/gecko on a cool rock.
Our next stop was the Gold King Mine Museum and Ghost Town. I had been to this place years ago with Tootsie and Mark and thought it would be fun to take the Blaylocks there. Yet another gift shop with tons of gemstones welcomed us as soon as we walked it. The boys agreed to not beg for anything at the gift shop since I was purchasing the gold mining, gem mining, and geode package for them; the package also included feed for the animals. We enjoyed looking around at all the old junk, a few animals, and walking into old houses, but the best part was definitely the package I bought. The boys loved panning for gold. Yes, it was real gold, and no, it wasn't much at all, especially when split between three boys. But they didn't seem to mind; it was the experience of it that they enjoyed most of all.
Panning for gold. It was a process for sure, but the boys caught on fast
Panning for gems was a lot easier!
Crackin' those geodes.
Lisa in a replica of a mine shaft
Ginormous machinery
Turkeys and chickens wandered around the place. So did Ian.
We were getting hungry, so we stopped by Bobby D's BBQ for lunch. I remember the kid's hamburgers being really yummy and inexpensive last time we went there. This time, however, they were cut in half. But on a regular sized bun. How dumb. I can't remember what I got--I think I just shared with Lisa. Ian ordered the pulled pork sandwich. Lisa got the brisket sandwich, and it was super delicious.
Lisa and her brisket sandwich. Yum!
After eating, we browsed the shops along the center of town/main street. Lots and lots of gemstones for sale! We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look around. One shop even had an old theater in the back (or maybe the theater had a shop in the front--probably more accurate) that was neat to see with all the old cameras and projectors still there. Lisa wanted to keep looking, but the boys were done. I was getting antsy to leave since I didn't want to hit traffic, and I wasn't sure what Erik wanted to do for dinner. I had to cut her shop browsing short so we could leave.
Aiden in the theater. You can see the old equipment behind him.
We were going to try a new Restuarant, called Course, for Erik's birthday. Since we weren't sure exactly what time we would get home, Erik waited to make reservations. By the time we got back, there weren't any more openings at Course for that evening. Instead, we got Domino's pizza for the kids, and Lisa, Erik, and I all went out to Humble Pie for dinner. We ordered 3 pizzas and the humble fries for an appetizer. It was delicious. This wasn't our first time being here, even for Lisa, and we all enjoyed the meal.
Lisa with the humble fries. I like stuff with different sauces to try.
Erik and our pizzas. I ordered This Little Figgy, and I think it was the yummiest.
It sounds like Lisa had her whole vacation planned out which included a full day of activities for every day. At least it was good pizza Erik had for his birthday even though he didn't get to try the new place.
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