Vacations never go as planned
It’s over 100 degrees but the kids playing in and around the pool at Barton Creek Resort don’t seem to care. Ten-year-old Ryan Libby is slurping a frozen drink and eating chicken fingers poolside.
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
Fun in the Texas Lost Pines Country
DAY TWO — It’s barely 9 a.m. and kids are in full vacation mode, playing water basketball, floating in the lazy river, zipping down the…
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A Trip Down Memory Lane in Austin, TX
DAY ONE — It’s a trip down memory lane — literally, for my husband at least. We’ve flown down to Austin, TX where he was…
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To a national park this summer-one of the most budget
We screeched to a halt along the side of the road in Grand Teton National Park. Reggie, 8, was equally mesmerized but 3-year-old Melanie couldn’t quite grasp that we were in the moose’s house — and it wasn’t a zoo. I still smile years later when I think about the kids’ excitement. Forget the Kodak moments. The chance to share something new together — something you’d never see or do at home — is what makes those indelible family vacation memories that last forever.
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Getting free gas, free golf, free s’mores and more this summer
Free gas anyone? Not quite. But the higher gas prices go — and the more we rethink summer vacation plans as a result — the more hotels, resorts, cities and towns across the country are rolling out the welcome mat with rebates and credits all designed to help fill your gas tank and ease the sticker shock that comes with it, as the price of gas climbs to $4.07 a gallon on average. That is $1.09 a gallon more than a year ago, according to AAA.
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A special trip with my graduate daughter
There’s always something special about traveling with your kids one-on-one — whether they’re five, 15 or in my case, 22. I just returned from a trip to Italy with my daughter Reggie — her college graduation trip — before she headed off for adventures (and a new job) across the country.
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Last day on the Amalfi trails
Steep stone steps that never seem to end. We’re hiking above Positano in the Lattari Mountains — the trail is less than three miles but the elevation is steep and it’s the toughest hike we’ve attempted on the fifth day of this Backroads hiking trip along the Amalfi Coast
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A hiking trip to Italy with a (mostly) grown daughter
We’re hiking high above Positano along Italy’s famous Amalfi Coast in the Lattari Mountains. This trail is less than three miles, but the elevation is steep and it’s the toughest hike the Backroads hiking group, which includes by daughter Reggie and me, has attempted on this the fifth day of our trip. Reg is at the front of the pack; I’m in the back.
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A concert in the foggy woods
Brigid — always one of the fastest hikers in the group isn’t there. Her stepson Drew last saw her on the trail and her husband Jim is worried. Even worse, he’s got not only the directions and maps but her water bottle, money and the card with the guides’ phone numbers.
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A trip to the amusement park should not mean a trip to the emergency room
No one likes to talk about it but every year, nationwide, an estimated 8,000 children ages 14 and under are treated in emergency rooms for injuries involving thrill rides at amusement parks and traveling carnivals; in an average year, three or four die, reports Safe Kids USA
