Flying into Denver? Check out the Stanley Marketplace
Stanley Marketplace sits the site of the previous airport – Stapleton Field (closed 25 years ago) and the old Stanley Aviation Hanger
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TIME TO GO FISHING AGAIN – to a great resort in Canada
Last summer, after many years away from the sport, son Matt and I decided it was time to go fishing again. We recruited our cousin-in-law Mike Sitzman and his dad John, who live in Golden, CO to join us. After some basic internet research we decided upon a spot in Canada’s Ontario Province – Garden Island Lodge
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The Curious Theatre in Denver
Live performances are springing back to life after two years and in Denver it’s great to have this “gutsy” little theater down the street
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Why Cuba? History and reconciliation and the recipe for Cuban life
Cuba: “a dose of World War II rationing, a pinch of Soviet era austerity, the family values of South America, the educational values of the US and the loquaciousness of the Irish.”
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Can’t see monkeys? Hear the howling!
We could hear the howler monkeys—boy could we hear them howl—on a jungle walk on the Monkey River near Placencia, Belize
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Second acts: a century in the making
Frank Bartholomew, a United Press war correspondent, handed Antonia a deed for a run down 500-acre ranch in Sonoma, CA and then returned to cover World War II
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Good To Have a Plan B – Authentic Jamaica
Cummings explained he has fond memories of growing up in Jamaica until his parents moved him and his siblings to Brooklyn when he was 13
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Steak, lobster, chicken, trout: Gourmet fare at a dude ranch in Colorado Springs
By Eileen Ogintz COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — We are at over 8,000 feet up a steep gravel road from Colorado Springs in the Pike National…
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Three waterfalls in one day in the Grand Canyon!
The first waterfall on the agenda is Elves Chasm, requiring a difficult, steep hike and scrambling over rocks and boulders. “But definitely worth it when we got there”
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Rafting the Grand Canyon with Western River Expeditions
We are diverse group of 32 (not including four guides) on this seven-day rafting adventure in the Grand Canyon, from across the country and generations.
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A hike to remember: North Rim of the Grand Canyon
After a five-mile hike, we’re sitting on a rock taking in the panoramic view from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
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The civilized route to ski country: The Winter Park Express
There is a better way to go skiing — every Friday and Saturday, January-March, Amtrak offers the “Winter Park Express” from Denver’s Union Station to a platform just a short hike from Winter Park’s ski lifts.
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In Denver: learning to make tamales for the holidays
Tamales are a traditional holiday treat in a lot of the American Southwest and South of the Border. I’ve loved them since I was a kid growing up in Texas. But I never knew how to make them.
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Experience the charm of Coastal Croatia on a luxury yacht
A lot of first-time gulet trippers return from their day or half-day excursions longing for more. The good news is that gulets can be chartered that fit all group sizes and itineraries – from a day to a week or more.
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A wedding in Santa Fe and an unexpected Halloween Treat
The morning after the wedding we found a note on our door inviting us to a “Fur Friends Costume Contest” that afternoon to benefit the Espanola Humane Society, which has found adoptions for more than 152,000 dogs and cats over the years. How could we pass this up, Trooper seemed to ask us.
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Apples, Pumpkins and Festivals: Fall Family Activities
When kids are part of the equation, there is a lot more fun to be had in the fall whether you’ve got a weekend or a week. Here are five guaranteed-to-please ideas to get you started
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Apollo Palooza at Wings Over The Rockies
Wings Over the Rockies is a terrific museum for kids, who can interact with many of the exhibits, flip the switches and turn the knobs of the early planes and spacecraft
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This could be one of the best seasons ever for river rafting in Colorado – we know!
We just spend five days and four nights on the Yampa River in Dinosaur National Monument with the premier river rafting outfitter OARS. Take a look at some of our photos
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Bologna in Bologna? Italy’s underrated food and art spot
We spent a day touring Bologna, Italy’s 7th largest city with a guide from Tours by Locals. Bologna is often overlooked by tourists more interested in Rome, Florence or Venice
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Scenes from three days of touring the towns of Umbria, Italy
Great views, Apennine mountain air, historical sites, medieval lore, saints and sinners, plus vino, pasta, and more vino and pasta
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Street and canal scenes in Burano Italy
On Day 6 of our Uniworld River Countess cruise in the lagoons around Venice Italy, we spent the day in Burano, a small island village famous for lace-making
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A Walking Tour of Venice Italy on a Rainy Day
Our Uniworld River Cruise in and around Venice got off to a rainy start but never let a rainy day spoil your fun. Get out and take a walking tour and see scenes like these
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The newest revival of Oklahoma! delights Denver audiences
The newest revival of Oklahoma!, which we just saw in Denver, shows that a good theater can produce a beloved musical that not only entertains, but provokes thought and discussion
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At the Crested Butte Chili and Beer Festival, It’s Not About Winning or Losing
For my husband and daughter, it proved a fun shared experience—choosing the recipe, shopping for ingredients, and then two evenings cooking in our VRBO rental
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More companies need to stand up to the NRA!
This is a “family travel” website, not a political one. But the issue of the safety of our children and grandchildren cannot be ignored after the assault gun massacre at Stoneman Douglas High School
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Vacation rentals are perfect for families that like to enjoy home-cooked meals
My far flung family loves to cook when we are together on vacation so we like to stay in condos where we can spread out and enjoy homemade meals—whether chili and just baked corn bread, spaghetti bolognese, or steaks cooked over the condo grill.
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Travel T-Shirts: one keeps bugs off and one may bug certain politicos
Two new travel T-Shirts that Taking the Kids Correspondent Andy Yemma (Eileen’s husband) highly recommends. One keeps the bugs off – the other may bug certain twitter users.
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Why do the major airlines like bullies?
Anyone who has flown in coach in recent years knows that from the moment you arrive at the airport departure curb there’s an indifferent vibe from the ticket agents to the gate agents, to the flight crews, to the baggage carousels
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A Trip to Cubs Spring Training with my Dad
I convinced my dad to join me this spring in Arizona for spring training. As coincidence would have it, two of his very best friends from his college years at The University of Texas were also planning a trip.
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Off the rails and trails in Arizona for Cubs Spring training
A quick father-son trip to spring training in the Cactus League to see the World Champion Chicago Cubs (yes that’s still sinking in). Air travel misadventure our first day followed by adventure in the Sonoran Dessert on day 2.
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Take me back to Chicago – for a father-son weekend and the Cubs!
Taking the Kids goes back to where it all began — Chicago — and a father-son weekend with the Cubs playing the Cardinals at Wrigley Field.
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Affordable Aspen – families enjoying the amenities and vibes of the famous ski town
Lest you think Aspen is only for celebs and wealthy Hollywood types, there’s plenty affordable here—starting with the Limelight Hotel with rates under $200 a night
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Cruise follies, foibles, TMI, TLI and unexpected discoveries
No cruise is complete without its follies and unexpected discoveries.
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Aboard the USS Iowa searching for a charming mutt named Vicky
The USS Iowa, now a museum in Los Angeles Harbor, has a storied history but the story of its mascot, a little mutt named Vicky, charms visitors of all ages.
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Kids conquering fears and having fun on a canopy tour in Pennsylvania
We were at Spring Mountain, a modest ski area just outside Philadelphia but a mighty fine adventure place for a canopy tour with four expert guides — and six high-school scholars
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A mountain biking lesson well learned at Smugglers Notch VT
It’s a lot different to bike on a mountain trail with uneven terrain, rocks and tree stumps. All the more reason to take a lesson, like we did at Smuggler’s Notch VT
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Half Moon Bay, CA — no crowds or rush yet near San Francisco
My daughter is planning her wedding near Half Moon Bay. I can see why she loves this area — between the mountains to the East and the Pacific to the west. The best part—it’s not busy or crowded, though we’re less than hour’s drive from San Francisco.
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Learning about oceanography in Woods Hole, MA
WOODS HOLE, MA – Do you recognize the name of this small port on Cape Cod? It has something to do with the Titanic, right?
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Back to Bolton Valley with the ABC boys — many lessons learned
Why would three sane adult males drive five hours for a day-and-a-half of skiing and snowboarding with a group of five high school boys when there are bigger and fancier ski areas much closer to home? A guys weekend of course.
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Something for every family in Park City, including snowboarder nephews
Until this year, I had never snowboarded in Utah. When I thought Utah, I thought tiny martinis and tabernacle choirs . When I thought Park City, I thought fancy film festivals. Turns out, Utah, and specifically the former silver-mining town of Park City, are pure gold.
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When the snow is falling, the spa is a perfect backup plan
I admit it. When it comes to skiing when the wind is howling and I can’t see in front of me, I’ll pack it in, even at such a wonderful mountain as Snowbird.
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All-included bounty and excitement from the deep blue sea off Antigua
Today we’re back at Curtain Bluff and I’ve decided to take the 6:30 a.m. deep sea fishing charter. The best thing about Curtain Bluff, other than the beauty and just about every other thing, is that it is all-inclusive, so the fishing (along with Scuba, snorkeling, water-skiing and other activities) is part of the price.
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Remembering Those Cozy Cannes Nights
Jetlagged, hungry, and in need of a bed, we found our way to our hotel for the night — Chateau de Goville–an old manor in the Norman countryside. I kept saying the château would be Downton Abbey-esque, but it wasn’t until we settled into our room and found a plaque on the wall stating that the Duchess of the Estate had lived (and died!) in this very room nearly seventy years ago that we really felt the chateau’s history.
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Hold on for thrills in the treetops of New Hampshire’s Bretton Woods
Yhe Bretton Woods Ski Area Canopy Tour is a combination of nine progressively thrilling zip line rides, two hikes across suspension bridges way up in the trees, and a couple of incredible rappelling experiences. It was the latter that really tested our mettle.
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Bonefishing an exotic sport? Not in the Bahamas baby!
We creep up on them. Clifton casts in a line with a gob of hermit crab for bait. There’s a small tug, them a bigger one and then “Wham,” a bonefish takes the bait and runs. And I mean runs. The drag on the spincast reel screeches as the fish tries to get off the line. Clifton hands me the rod and says “hang on.” I’ve had a lot of fish on the line in my day and this one fights better than most, if not all.
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Embracing imperfection as the kids come home for the holidays
But then we all gather around the table and, as is our tradition, we tell each other what we’re thankful for this year. “Thank you for being such wonderful kids and such terrific, responsible adults. We can’t imagine our lives without you!” Eileen says.
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Bittersweet — our last child’s last college Parents Weekend
Milestones occur with frequency in the raising of children. For Eileen and me, this past weekend was one of the sweetest — our last PARENTS WEEKEND for our last child in college.
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Remembering a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Tahiti
That trip was three summers ago and since Mel left for college, we’ve shared adventures but she’s gone off much more often on her own—as it should be. I’m glad we made it to paradise when we did.
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Fresh powder aplenty for First Tracks on Aspen Mountain
There are options for First Tracks every morning, but on Wednesdays for $25 you are treated to this sumptuous spread and then the chance to ski down the mountain any way you like,
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To Aspen-Snowmass for a trip down memory lane
You’re never too old to take the kids. And they’re not too old for a trip with mom and dad. Sometimes, that can include a trip down memory lane—on snow.
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Thirty years later son learns dad was right about Aspen
Turns out, my dad was right. Aspen and neighboring Snowmass — where we spent the first three nights — lived up to the old man’s hype. And then some.
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SCUBA Diving for the First Time in the British Virgin Islands
Reggie and I are already imagining our next dive back home in the much colder, kelp-forested waters of Monterey, California — just a couple hours away from our domicile in San Francisco.
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Are you ready for ghosts and goblins?
This year, there are thousands of haunted attractions around the country to choose from that offer chills and thrills for most of the fall. Even Broadway is getting in on the act
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A day trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium
The centerpiece of Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey Bay, CA is the massive Monterey Bay Aquarium . It’s an incredible structure which includes some of the largest fish tanks in the world and some of the most elusive creatures in our oceans
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Tierra Atacama, Toco Volcano
It is not easy to breathe the air up around 18,000 feet, especially when hiking straight to the top of a volcano. The Toco Volcano is the most difficult excursion offered by Tierra Atacama, one of San Pedro, Chile’s most luxurious and beautiful boutique hotels.
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A Drive Down Memory Lane
Five years ago, we visited Colorado Springs for our oldest daughter’s freshman Parent Weekend at Colorado College. We brought 13-year-old Melanie–not a happy camper that weekend to have all the attention focused on her older sister–and stayed at the iconic and sprawling Broadmoor resort.
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Cheering on the humpback whales
“HONK! HONK!” They are really whales—eight to 10 of them right in front of the boat alternately spewing water high in the air, honking and “fluking”—diving for food and showing us their magnificent tails. We watch them “blow” spewing water high into the air. It’s fun to watch them!
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No better way to get the kids interested in nature
There are seven kids aged 11 to 16-six of them boys — in our group. And in Alaska, of course, we don’t let the rain stop us whether we’re kayaking to a glacier and ice caves, looking for bear on the beach or trying to track them as we bushwhack our way through old forest.
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No TV, no internet, so what?
“If I had it I’d be on it but I’m not really missing it,” said 15 year old Jake Blacutt. Instead, they’re playing marathon games of slapjack and hearts, making origami, and with the grown-ups — telephone charades. Seventeen year old Drew Redmond shows 13 year old Miles Singer card tricks. Eleven year old Charlotte doesn’t let the boys phase her. It is a lot easier, I think, for the kids to get to know one another without the distractions of TV, internet and video games.
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Snap…crackle…BOOM! Kayaking among glaciers and ice bergs
We are in the middle of Glacier Bay, paddling through the ice — big icebergs, little icebergs. One looks like an alligator. “I thought they were cool — they were so little on top and, oh wow — they were huge underneath,” said 14-year-old Xander Majercik.
