Here's my dilemma.
I'm cheap and I'm pathologically practical.
I also have two small children who need and deserve exposure to stimulating and fun experiences.

My son, Liam (2) and daughter, Kendall (6 mo), are home with me two days a week as I run a video production business out of our third-floor office. You'd think it was easy to entertain two little humans, for a few hours a day, twice a week. But, the backyard gets old quick. As does our tiny neighborhood park.

Weekly jaunts to Discovery Place, Chuck E Cheese and various museums exhausted our entertainment budget too quickly. So, I set out to find places in Charlotte where we could spend some quality family time without spending a lot of money...or any money at all!

Here are my top five. Enjoy!

1. Airport picnics: EASY and FREE! Pack a light picnic lunch for the kids and head to the runway overlook at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. The planes take-off and land right in front of you. Shady trees with picnic tables or benches closer to the runway. Off Old Dowd Road near the intersection with Besser Drive.

2. US Nat'l Whitewater Park: Sit on rocks, right at the water's edge, and wave to rafts full of people splashing by! Precision kayakers are also great to watch as they navigate the Olympic-level whitewater course. Food is available on site, but it's just as fun to pack a picnic and find a spot on the well-kept grounds around the course. Walking trails hug the entire perimeter of the course. 820 Hawfield Road, Charlotte, NC 28214 704-391-3900 http://www.usnwc.org

3. Latta Park/Dilworth: This neighborhood park in historic Dilworth is a hidden treasure off of South Blvd near Southend. Great walking trails along a rambling creek, shady trees over an ample playground area (with recycled rubber flooring, awesome!) and, best of all, a gated fountain that makes hot summer afternoons much easier to bear! From Interstate 277 in Charlotte take Exit 1E, South Boulevard, and go south away from the city. Go 0.4 of a mile to a left turn at East Park Avenue. Stay on East Park Avenue for four blocks to marked roadside parking spaces on the right. Park in the marked spaces and proceed down the small hill to the creek running through the center of the park. Clean, plenty of trash cans, abundant picnic locations.

4. Freedom Park: Bigger and better known than Latta, it's just as clean and inviting. Ample green space for kids to run around, a huge playground that includes a long row of swings, a sand pit with hand-operated cranes for scooping, an authentic steam engine gives kids the chance to see what the view from a locomotive is like, walking trails criss-cross the entire acreage and you can always sit and enjoy watching the native waterfowl frolic in the pond. 1900 East Blvd., Charlotte, NC, 704 432-4280

5. The new LYNX light rail service: Okay, I know, it's only 9.6 miles from start to finish, but, my son never gets tired of sitting at the window watching south Charlotte wiz by! Adults do have to shell out a whopping buck-30 ($1.30) for a one-way ticket, but kids ride free. Compared to Chuck E Cheese...$2.60 for a roundtrip on a Sunday afternoon is practically free. http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/LYNX/home.htm

Please share YOUR fun and free family entertainment ideas!