After all that education and history, the general consensus seemed to be that something less serious was required. It seemed like a perfect excuse to visit Casey's Amusement Park in Alexandria. Because there's nothing like a wholesome family game of mini-golf to get over that learning on vacation business.
Seriously, I think this is one of the prettiest mini-golf courses I've visited, or at least the best maintained. Everything was meticulously cared for and sparklingly clean.
Although one does need to be on the watch for those rocky critters. One can always take refuge on the pretty iron benches.
I'd tell you who won, except our family has an odd tradition--not particularly wholesome--of rampant cheating at mini-golf, and we long ago gave up trying to keep score. Never mind. Fun was had.
Then Teen 2 wanted to try the go karts.
That's him in the center, about to pull in front of the kid in the lead. That's my boy.
I should have taken pictures of the bumper boats, and the castle clash game, where four people face off with automated water guns behind castle walls, but--I was too busy playing too.
Great fun, Casey's Amusement Park.
But there was fun to be had just driving down the road. The area around the Alexandria lakes is highly agricultural. You can go for miles with flat terrain covered with cornstalks, then suddenly turn a corner and see this:
Rolling land, trees, lakes, in this case on the way to Glenwood.
Or you might see this:
A field lined with posts, each topped with a cowboy boot.
Or a very happy barn:
Thus ends my tales of the Alexandria lakes. I would love to go back--it's beautiful, and as you can see, there's no shortage of fun to be had.
