Spring Break has come and gone…and we enjoyed our “vacation” in Lawrence, KS!! My husband and I took our son (7) and his friend to Lawrence and checked into an inexpensive hotel for the night. I’ve written before how much fun a hotel can be…the electronic key card alone is cause for celebration.
We changed into swimming suits and headed straight for the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Indoor Aquatic Center. I had called ahead to check on Spring Break Week times and prices; the price was right at $3/kid. The pool was great! Part of the amazing Free State High School complex, the pool has spray features, a water slide, zero-depth entry, a swinging rope obstacle course and those anchored-down-toys that the kids climb on! On the other side of the building is an enormous lap pool and diving boards.
Although the Aquatic Center itself is not any better than what you’d find at Overland Park’s own Matt Ross Community Center, it’s all about LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION–we were on vacation! After several hours of swimming, we changed and headed over to the famed “Mass Street” for some window shopping and dinner. If you haven’t been, Lawrence is a great family-friendly town, perfect for a day trip or even an overnight. We wrote a series of articles “Weekend Getaways from KC” last year and even profiled Lawrence (#3: Eastern Kansas). Check those out for some good ideas!
Speaking of Matt Ross Community Center, my son attended a birthday party there last week and had a blast. They had a great room available for the cake, presents, etc., and the kids enjoyed the pool on a Friday night. The pool was still open to the community, but nobody seemed to mind a bit! Summer is coming…but you still will need to take advantage of the city’s indoor swim facilities to get your swim on until at least June 1 when it’s a bit warmer out. Check out our great listing of indoor pools here.
The last thing that we did over vacation week was visit the indoor batting cages. We went to Mac N Seitz’s, at 137th Street and Holmes in South Kansas City. It’s a great place for the kids to hit some balls and knock the rust off as they get ready for spring/summer ball! Mac N Seitz’s features several speeds of machines…so everyone can find something, from slower-pitching softballs to major-league fast baseballs!
