Tours and 2-year Olds

I've read a lot lately about people asking that children be banned from restaurants, etc. I won't go far into how I feel about that, and how I don't really find it a compliment when people tell me, "Your kids were so well-behaved! I didn't think they would be when you guys came in here." You should never let your kids run wild in a restaurant, and some people do. That's unfortunate, but it doesn't mean you should look at children with disdain just for walking into a place. You don't have to love children, but for goodness sake, you should at least be able to treat them as human. Everyone was a child once. If everyone got the opportunity to ban people they didn't like from a place, I would ban all people who are snobby, bitchy and demanding. Story for another time, however.

That being said, tours, even kid-friendly ones, can be a bit different with toddlers. Especially cave tours, where there is no escape.

The Minnetonka Cave Tour is very kid-friendly. In fact, most of the tours I saw had Thomas-aged kids. Our's didn't, but I would venture to say that my 2 and 4 year old behaved better than the 10-12 year olds who were with us.

That being said, it was still a bit different. First, our tour was gifted a song. Thomas sang, over and over, "Searching through the tunnels one by one," from Thomas and Friends Misty Island Rescue. It was sung loudly and with passion. He navigated the more than 400 stairs well, although he alternated telling me that he wanted to do it all by himself, and that he needed his mommy to hold him.

From MInnetonka and Bear Lake from ALex

Then there were the puddles. Thomas found out there were puddles on the cave floor, and he went to town, stomping with all his might. His timing was perfect. Just as the tour guide turned off the lights to show us how complete cave darkness feels, he danced with excitement, covering me with mud and lighting up the cave brillantly with his light-up shoes.

From MInnetonka and Bear Lake from ALex