We first went to House on the Rock. It starts with a room containing information panels and videos about the history of the House and its creator. There is then a winding wooden path through the forest up onto the rock. The first section (the original construction) is composed of paths and stairs that navigate around outcroppings and trees. Along the walls, there are bookshelves, cooking implements, and Asian-like items. This section also has access to the Infinity Room, which overhangs the forest.
Along the way, several seating areas are visible but cordoned off. Through them, other parts of the path can be seen. It seems that the barriers could be rearranged to produce a different path through the rooms. There are one or two music-making machines around. Outside the house, there are lookouts toward the forest.
The second section is much larger. It starts with the "Streets of Yesterday" exhibit, which has arrangements of 19th-century buildings, like households, dentist offices, and shops. Those buildings have many interesting artifacts corresponding to their function. At the end of that entry hall is a massive music machine: the Gladiator.
The path then goes into a huge sea-themed area. There is an "octopus garden" statue/sculpture to the right, and the center of the very tall room is taken up by a statue of a whale-vs.-octopus battle. Along the walls are nautical artifacts and history on famous ships.
Past that, there are some interesting cars, like one completely covered in tiles. Nearby, there's a café, at which we got some pizza. Continuing on into "The Music of Yesterday", there are more automated music rooms.
The third section features a massive carousel, with all kinds of creatures. Several smaller carousels can be seen from later paths.
The path then enters another large area, this time full of unlabeled inert machinery. The color scheme here is really interesting: mostly gray from the metals, with some red splashed in from small displays reminiscent of the second section.
After the machine room, there's another relaxing break spot. The path then continues by some medieval-themed display cases and into a circus-themed area. There is a section with dolls and dollhouses, then the room opens up and the ramp circles another circus music machine. After a trip by the small carousels, visitors exit onto an outdoor path back toward the entry building.
We drove the half-hour or so to Cave of the Mounds and registered for an hourly cave tour. The first thing I noticed is that the climate is really nice inside the cave: cool and not humid. Most of the cave is very easy to navigate - there are high ceilings and fairly wide paths - while one part in particular is very narrow and short.
The cave has impressive formations, and also a small, beautiful river.
On the drive back home, we stopped at an A&W for a burger and root beer.
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