Quality In or Out?

I was about to write off Quality Inn hotels as grungy, cheap places that I don't recommend. Our hotel in downtown Cincinnati was in disrepair, with ice machines that did not work, a broken elevator and a continental breakfast that none of us could eat. I couldn't even finish my morning coffee because it tasted so bad. It did have some redeeming qualities, the reasons for which I chose it in the first place: It provided comfortable beds and pillows for a few overnight hours and it was near the Newport Aquarium, where we planned to visit the next morning. But I thought I would not again choose a Quality Inn.

Then we found the Quality Inn & Suites of Richfield, Ohio, off I-271 in the Cleveland region, on our way back to Vermont. This hotel is listed in the AAA tour book, and when I called within 30 minutes of our arrival at the exit, it provided a better rate than the only other hotel listed for Richfield, the Hampton Inn.

We were delightfully surprised to find that this Quality Inn is a great place to stay with kids. It is clean and kept up and has an on premises restaurant for dinner and breakfast. It features an indoor recreation area with adult and kids' swimming pools, complimentary putt-putt golf course, large climbing structure with steep slides and tunnels and an area with mellow climbing slides for toddlers. Our room was adjacent to this indoor rec center. The boys were very happy here. Adam said it was the best hotel of the trip. We stayed an extra few hours in the morning so the kids could enjoy the amenities.


Quality Inn & Suites, 4742 Brecksville Road, Richfield, Ohio. www.choicehotels.com

Out of the Way, Into Our Hearts

Today, at Newport Aquarium, without prompting, Adam hugged me and said, "Thank you for bringing me here!" That was all I needed to know that this side-trip on our route home was completely worth the time and expense. Today, we made memories that will last our lifetimes.

www.newportaquarium.com

Newport Aquarium is in Newport, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. It is adjacent to a pedestrian-friendly area called Newport on the Levee, on the "river walk" level where there are street vendors, shops and restaurants and regular outdoor concerts. It reminded me a little of Church Street in Burlington, but with a view of a river.

We'll never remember that the morning started out rough:
* We had a lame breakfast at the run-down Quality Inn in downtown Cincinnati. So I packed some peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches and fruit in the backpack for the snacks I knew we would soon need.
* We got lost on our way to Newport and Adam worried about missing the 9:15 Penguin Parade. (The Tom Tom wasn't cooperating; it didn't recognize the aquarium or address.) But we had allowed plenty of time and Paul is a master of road navigation on the fly, so we made it there by 8:50.
* We had trouble negotiating our way into a parking area, having missed several entrances and feeling panicked. By pure chance, we landed in a lot directly under the "river walk" adjacent to the aquarium, and it cost just $2 to park for the entire day IN THE SHADE of an underground garage.

I had ordered our tickets by phone in advance, because the aquarium website warned that the line for tickets might be long. Admission fees are $20 for adults, $13 for kids age 2 and up. So our total was $53, and the tickets were waiting at the "Will Call" counter. I was second in line and there was no problem.


Our good fortune continued when Adam was selected to lead the Penguin Parade! Each day, one or two lucky kids are picked to lead the parade, and we had talked about this possiblity for weeks. Adam and another little girl got to go into a special area prior to the parade and put on a royal robe and crown (he got to keep his crown), then walk in front of the carriage that transported three African penguins along a red carpet. Following the parade a staff person gives a talk about penguins. We learned that penguins eat twice their weight in fish each day and poop about every 20 minutes. It was too hot to listen to the whole thing, so we went inside to the museum. And we stayed for five hours, because it was so much fun!

We looked into gigantic tanks featuring aquatic life from all regions of the world. We watched crabs and lobsters walk, gazed at unusual fish and marveled at translucent jellyfish.
We watched sharks and stingrays swim toward and past us and talked with a young man who told us everything we ever wanted to know about these ominous, majestic creatures. We strolled through a river environment and watched otters play. We walked through glass tunnels through tanks filled with sharks, turtles, rays and colorful fish. Zac and Adam laughed and played next to a tank of penguins that seemed to be doing the same. Adam pet sharks.

Just looking at the aquatic creatures fascinates kids of all ages. I saw plenty of babies, in front carriers and backpacks, who seemed content to look at the pretty fish and turtles. During busy periods, such as now, strollers are not allowed because it gets too crowded. (During our visit, a group of senior citizens arrived in wheelchairs, each one pushed by a caregiver, which made me wonder about the double standard.)

The aquarium is arranged so that you pass by the exhibits one by one and end up at the cafeteria and gift shop. Some smart marketing people helped plan that architecture. We walked through the entire length of the aquarium, which is said to hold "A million gallons of fun." Then we rested in the caferia where we purchased drinks to wash down our brown-bag PBJ's. Then we walked the aquarium in reverse so we could experience all of it again. We had to go through the gift shop to get to the exit -- those clever architects! -- so, after a brief shopping excursion , we emerged onto the river walk plaza at nearly 2:00 p.m.

Money spent on souvenirs: a photo of our family in the jaws of a shark, $21; a stuffed ray shark for Adam, $15; a frog grabbit stick for Zac, $5. A day with my family at Newport Aquarium: Priceless.

Me and the Big Boys

We are on our way home now, with several fun stops planned along the way. From St. Louis, we headed to Cincinnati, Ohio, so that we could go to the Newport Aquarium and experience the walk-through shark tank, penguin parade and jellyfish exhibit. Cincinnati is a little out of the way for our journey home, but not by much. It's a 6-hour drive from St. Louis, and about one hour south of Dayton, Ohio.

The Franz family in Newport, Kentucky, with a Cincinnati skyline backdrop.

The Newport Aquarium is actually in Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. Newport, Kentucky is considered part of the Cincinnati region. I opted to stay at a Quality Inn on the Ohio side, about 3 miles from the aquarium, because it was about $40 cheaper than staying on the Kentucky side within walking distance of the aquarium, and the other hotels I found online were further away. I like to be close to my destination, especially since we wanted to catch the Penguin Parade at 9:15, and the aquarium website warned me that the line for tickets might be long.

In retrospect, I would recommend arriving earlier in the day and staying in pedestrian-friendly Newport, because the "riverwalk" area near the aquarium has a lot of activity: outdoor music, concerts, restaurants and shopping. The Cincinnati side was run down and there was nothing close enough to our hotel to walk to. We drove around a while looking for a place to eat dinner, but it was late and the kids were tired, so we settled on the place recommended by our hotel check in girl, a Big Boy. The kids enjoyed their meals of spaghetti, fish sticks, vegetables from the salad bar and french fries, but Paul and I are not big on that genre of food. However, my goal was to quickly feed my kids a healthy meal and get them to bed, and that I accomplished, so it was a good choice for the moment.