Entertaining your family in the Shoals

Hundreds of thrilling rides, screaming and laughing kids, gigantic water slides, tickets, suntan lotion, balloons, venders with food, and, of course, waiting in line for what seemed like days. All of this describes those great memories at Walt Disney World, Epcot, Bush Gardens or Six Flags.

We plan for months, start a money jar, and even make sure we have a new swimsuit for the occasion. But on returning from the vacation, our hum-drum life starts back, and we have to wait for another year to roll around before we even begin thinking about it again.

Let’s face it. We can’t go a whole year without taking a break and doing something enjoyable. Besides, it’s bad for the health, right?

I knew a family who couldn’t think of a thing to do on Saturdays. And in the summer, it was even worse. The kids were out of school, and they continued to beg their parents for more exciting things to do, other than constantly going to Chuck E Cheese. Besides, their kids were growing up, and once a kid hits a certain age, he would hate for his friends to discover that he spent last Saturday afternoon at Chuck E Cheese playing the “crab grab” game.

My mom finally asked the parents why they never did anything besides go to Chuck E Cheese. They answered with a firm, “What else is there to do around here?”

My mom then went home and devised a list of 36 exciting places to go and ideas of events for all those boring Saturdays.

I went to one of our local businesses and took a poll on what people do for family nights.

The overruling answers were eating out, bowling or going to the movies. True, these answers don’t sound so bad, but the movies and eating out do cost a pretty penny.

But the answer that came from almost everyone I interviewed was the same.

“The economy is making it too difficult to do anything on family nights,” said one lady in her 40s.

“We used to have family nights all the time, but now everything is so expensive,” complained another woman with two children.

I’ll just name a few from my mom’s list of exciting ideas that are a bit cheaper or free.

• Parks/hiking: Always good for the family’s health, and Spring Park in Tuscumbia now has lots of attractions.
  
  
• Library/bookstores: Always good for the family’s mental health.
  
  
• Plays: The Zodiac or Gingerbread players put on fun plays in this area.
  
  
• Badminton/tennis: Hey, it’s free, and we have lots of nice tennis courts in this area.
  
  
• Fishing/river: This is one of the wonderful things about where we live. We are close to the water, and we have some great parks and picnic areas right by the beautiful scenery of rock cliffs and the river.
  
  
• Downtown Florence: Every first Friday of the month downtown is buzzing with stores, vendors, live music and art.
  
  
• Bicycling, flying kites, Natchez Trace and canoeing: These are great outdoor activities that all family members, regardless of age, can enjoy.
  
  

These are just a few of the things my family does together.

What is so good about most of these ideas is that they are priceless, and truly they are in both ways.

Only two of these ideas actually cost any money, and the memories along with them will last a lifetime.

Not only do you want the kids to have some fun, but with these ideas, the whole family is included.

Going to the river can be hours of fun for the kids, yet the sunset can be a romantic setting for the parents.

No longer do you have to wait for the next year to roll around to have a blast at some “theme park on steroids.”

Each week can be filled with a dash of fun for the whole family with just a bit of creativity and a little research on local entertainment.