Weather can’t spoil a trip to remember down the Grand Canyon
Finally! Five hours after we were scheduled to leave, the helicopters started to fly again, taking two or three passengers at a time rather than four because of the conditions
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Travel Diaries | Best of Taking The Kids | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Northern Lights Dec 2024 | Volunteer & Service
A Quirky but Fascinating World War II Collection in Norway
Discover the hidden gem of the Lofoten Kirgsminnemuseum in Norway, filled with intriguing World War II artifacts and captivating tales.
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The reason for the Bear Jam in Grand Teton NP
Meet Grizzly #399, perhaps the most famous bear in North America not only because of her advanced age (24) but her fertility (she has had seven litters—20 cubs. This year’s quadruplets, Smith said, account for only two percent of Grizzly Bear litters.
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Travel Diaries | Arctic Summer 2024 | Best of Taking The Kids | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Volunteer & Service
A Walrus bachelor party and a hundred thousand special birds
We discover the hidden treasures of the Arctic on our unforgettable Polar Bear adventure. We encounter a lively bachelor party with walruses and a mesmerizing spectacle of unique birds.
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The Miracle of Camp 60 – in the Orkney Islands north of Scotland
In the Orkney Islands, north of Scotland, our cruise excursion takes us to an unexpected place: The Italian Chapel at a former POW camp, also known as The Miracle of Camp 60.
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Weekly Column | Barbados 2024 | Beach Vacations | Best of Taking The Kids | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Volunteer & Service
Visit Barbados for African/British heritage and adventures
Plan your next adventure in Barbados, a Caribbean island with a rich African/British heritage. Discover the beauty of the island’s white sand beaches and exhilarating activities.
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Returning to Tokyo after 60 years revives old childhood memories
60 years ago my father, a U.S. Air Force officer, moved his growing family to Japan for four years. So when we had the opportunity to visit Tokyo this month, I naturally thought of my childhood and wondered if we could try to find some of my old haunts.
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Confronting Germany’s dark history: how the mighty had fallen
As I kept thinking about all of those architectural monstrosities that we saw on our tour of Nuremberg, I reminded myself of that photo I saw in Berlin of the Nazis crouching in fear at war’s end. How the mighty have fallen, I thought.
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From British Columbia to California on a Family RV Trip
Memorable campsites. There is special beauty in travel when the campgrounds and the places we stay in become more than a backdrop
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When a grown daughter and her pooch join the fun
SLO has bountiful outdoor space, dozens of Central Coast wineries, public art, great restaurants and dog-friendly lodgings
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Travel Diaries | Best of Taking The Kids | Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Salmon River Rafting 2023 | Volunteer & Service
Parting ways after a great 6-day adventure on Idaho’s Salmon River
Ask people on the same river trip what resonates most — what they will remember —and everyone has a separate answer.
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Learning about the world aboard a cruise ship
Listen up parents and grandparents. If you think great sites are the reason you are treating your children and grandchildren to a cruise, think again. A lot of what they learn about the world takes place right on board in the kids’ and teen clubs, especially when they are meeting so many youngsters from different cultures and countries.
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Kayaking at the Top of the World
We are in bright yellow inflatable kayaks steering with foot pedals (I feel kind of like I’m on bumper cars cruising around the fjord, the ship in the distance, crew watching us from zodiacs. As safety is always a concern here, we are given signalers to wear around our neck—should we tip over. But the kayaks are steady and the water so calm. It is only 32 degrees but with the sun shining, it feels much warmer.
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On Virgin Voyages a Tragic Event First Day at Sea
A young woman fell off her balcony to her death just hours after we had departed Miami for a six-night Caribbean cruise.
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Fulfilling a long-held dream: the hike from Crested Butte to Aspen
As I struggled to my feet, I smiled remembering all the times her dad and I were trying to avoid a meltdown
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Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with my daughter
Many people who lose 35 pounds would splurge on a new wardrobe. I opted for this adventure—one I could share with my daughter before she left for college. That was six years ago and I’ve traveled the world since. Still, our Kili Climb remains one of the most memorable trips we’ve ever taken.
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Cleared for takeoff — over the Alaska Range
Kantishna Air Taxi mostly flies visitors around the mountain, said our pilot Andy Young. “A plane in Alaska is like a car anywhere else,” he explained. “It is how we get around. There just aren’t any roads in a lot of the state.”
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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 Galapagos Islands — not cheap, not luxurious, but oh the wildlife and the memories!
This wouldn’t be everyone’s first choice for an expensive vacation. There are no beach chairs or bars on these protected beaches, where tourists may only venture with a guide. But this is an adventure we’ll never forget, starting with those sea lions we spotted on San Cristobal Island, snoozing on rowboats as if they owned the place.
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The Chick Flies the Coop
“This is going to be the first time truly putting my travel skills from growing up to the test but I know it is just the beginning,” my youngest daughter Mel wrote in the “thank you” note she left
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Two weeks in France visiting Paris, champagne country and Normandy via river cruise
Arriving in Paris jet-lagged, a quick trip to see Monet’s water lillies at the Musee de L’Orangerie was just the tonic. Armed with a Paris Pass, we didn’t have to wait in a long line for tickets.
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A visit to Lady Liberty and Ellis Island on a cold January day
Despite the blustery January weather, crowds of bundled-up tourists from around the world lined up to take the Statue Cruises ferry to Liberty Island, good-naturedly taking off belts and watches for the security screenings. The second stop would be historic Ellis Island
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Memories of Monet’s Garden: where a little girl led the way
From the time we told Melanie we were going to France that summer, she insisted we must visit Monet’s Garden. It wasn’t that far-fetched an idea.
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To Norway, the land of fjords, ‘Frozen’ and family fun
No, not the Splash Mountain in Walt Disney World or Disneyland, we’re actually in Norway touring the gorgeous fjords with Adventures by Disney where one waterfall is bigger and more awesome than the next
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A real pasta machine: in the charming village of Grazie
Day Six – at charming small restaurant La Locanda de le Grazie in the village of Grazie just a few miles outside the amazingly preserved undiscovered Renaissance city of Mantova (Mantua in English).
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Remembering the long goodbyes as we took our kids to college
Two parents, five overweight bags and a college-bound daughter about to burst into tears. Talk about a stressful beginning to the Long Goodbye.
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Skiing in Austria
I’ve never seen such wide open slopes — no trees, no houses, just field after field of newly fallen snow. And I’ve never seen my 18-year-old daughter Mel, an avid and expert skier, as happy to ski with mom.
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Families on a different kind of water adventure
If you are itching for a different late summer/fall getaway on the water, there are lots of options that won’t break your budget
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Travel Diaries | Beach Vacations | Best of Taking The Kids | Curacao 2022 | Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Volunteer & Service
The Amazing Cathedral of Thorns in Curacao
Think a maze made out of thorns—92 million fashioned into blocks in which art has been inserted, creating an open-air gallery of sorts.
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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.”
