Destinations

Travel and ideas for specific destinations such as cities, countries, parks, or areas of interest

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San Francisco — a museum-goer’s paradise
Byuser May 12, 2011June 28, 2023

Whether your kids are science geeks, future engineers or artists, or you just want them to have a unique experience, San Francisco’s two-dozen museums deliver. The California Museum of Sciences — one of the city’s top tourist draws since its move to Golden Gate Park — is the only place in the world to combine a natural history museum, aquarium and planetarium in one building. It’s the greenest museum in the world.

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Memories of a sailing trip in the Caribbean
Byuser May 10, 2011June 28, 2023

Everything changed that trip in one fell swoop. My kids—aged 21, 19 and 14 at the time—decided after years of following us on vacation, it was time for them to lead mom and dad on an adventure, they said (though they expected us to pay for the privilege, of course)

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Families & Groups | Destinations | Travel Diaries

Attention young moms — vacations get better as the kids get older!
Byuser May 2, 2011June 28, 2023

Happy Mother’s Day! I’ve been on those “I can’t believe we’re spending so much money for such a non-vacation” trips with my three kids more times than I want to remember. Here’s the good news for all of you young moms: Vacations get easier as the kids get older and more self sufficient

Read More Attention young moms — vacations get better as the kids get older!
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A backyard vacation at a unique resort in Northwest Connecticut
Byuser May 2, 2011June 28, 2023

Talk about a unique family getaway — yes, while this is primarily for adults and couples there are family weekends with a litany of kids’ activities — pony rides nearby, a bonfire with s’mores, croquet on the lawn, biking and hikes, fishing in the pond… you can even sleep in a helicopter!

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On a Safe and Green Trip to Mexico’s Riviera Maya
Byuser April 28, 2011June 28, 2023

Locals and tourists scoff at the notion that they might not be safe here or along the Riviera Maya (www.rivieramaya.com), which stretches south of Cancun to Tulum. “Mexico is a big country and the violence is so far away from here,” explains cab driver Fernando Morales, who has lived in this area all his life. “Once people get here, they relax.”

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Tripping through California with grown children leading the way
Byuser April 21, 2011June 28, 2023

Reg and Dan set the itinerary and the pace, while we picked up the tab. It’s nice for a change not to be in charge and to be able to let grown children lead the way, catching up with them about their lives when we’re not distracted by extended family gathered for a big event or holiday. It’s also nice to be able to just focus on one child at a time too

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More choices than you may think on Mexico’s Riviera Maya
Byuser April 18, 2011June 28, 2023

Along the Riviera Maya south of Cancun, you have your choice of more than 300 hotels (some 38,0000 rooms from tiny 15-room beach front hotels like the Playa Azul in Tulum to Massive all inclusive to upscale condos like the Condo Hotels right in the heart of Playa del Carmen.

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A unique biosphere on the Mexican Riviera Maya
Byuser April 15, 2011June 28, 2023

Welcome to Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve — the name in Mayan language translates to the Entrance to the Sky — with 1.3 million acres the largest protected area in the Mexican Caribbean that is part of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Program and a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is unique for its diverse geography.

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Disney gearing up for big Hawaiian resort opening
Byuser April 14, 2011June 28, 2023

Yes, Mickey Mouse and all his pals will be in residence on Oahu late this summer when the new Disney Resort Aulani is set to open. And if the place is anything like the Disney team promises, it will set a new bar for family resorts everywhere

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Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Weekly Column

The many ways to visit the Grandest of Canyons
Byuser April 14, 2011June 28, 2023

The Grand Canyon, set aside as a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908, became a national park in 1919. Today, it remains one of the most visited parks, drawing more than 4.3 million visitors a year. Families from around the world come here to experience what is widely considered one of the great wonders of the world. Like I said, wow!

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Exploring the history of the Mayas
Byuser April 14, 2011October 3, 2023

One of the best preserved coastal Maya sites — it was at its height between the 13th and 15th Centuries — Tulum is built along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea –the high cliffs protecting the city from hurricanes even in ancient times. Tulum was one of the last cities inhabited and built by the Mayans.

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Four days on Mexico’s Riviera Maya (Yes, it’s safe!)
Byuser April 13, 2011June 28, 2023

Four days on Mexico’s Riviera Maya (Yes, it’s safe!)

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Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Weekly Column

Returning to a place and time when all did not go well on our family vacation
Byuser April 7, 2011June 28, 2023

Family vacations, of course, are a lot about memories. But there’s something to be said for returning to places where things might not have gone as planned and let’s face it, they often don’t on family vacations. Returning gives you an opportunity to measure how much you and your kids have grown and to create new memories.

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Communing with penguins in Patagonia and California
Byuser April 6, 2011June 28, 2023

If you can’t get to Patagonia, head to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (www.montereybayaquarium.org) in California where you can meet and greet Magellanic Penguins who were rescued and brought here. Climate change is forcing these creatures to swim farther to find food so they must swim an extra 25 miles or so from their nest for fish. So sad!

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Putting the lessons we learned about sustainable seafood to the test
Byuser April 4, 2011June 28, 2023

After this trip to San Francisco, I don’t think I’ll ever buy or order fish the same way again. On our last morning, we eat breakfast at the Mandarin Oriental. Is the smoked salmon from wild or farmed fish, my daughter asks the waiter. “I’ve never been asked that before,” he admits and goes to find out. Wild salmon, he reports. Reggie nods approvingly.

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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries

Letting the grown-up kids lead the way on vacation
Byuser April 1, 2011June 28, 2023

I can’t remember the last time I rode in back. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t leading the way. But in this case, this weekend, I’m following—following the passions of my 25 year old daughter Reggie Yemma and her boyfriend Dan Foldes, who live in San Francisco. All I did was book the hotel

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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service

A visit to the Marine Mammal Center, where they rescue creatures large and small
Byuser March 31, 2011June 28, 2023

This is a wonderful place to visit. (Full disclosure—my daughter Reggie is working as an AmeriCorps volunteer here this year). There’s no charge and the work they do is amazing. The windswept day we visited, there were 25 patients (yes this is a full hospital with vets who do detailed blood work, x-rays, ultra sounds and keep copious records that have made this Center respected for the research it has done)

Read More A visit to the Marine Mammal Center, where they rescue creatures large and small
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Learning to make sense of history in Pompeii
Byuser March 31, 2011June 28, 2023

We’ve chosen well for our two 14-year-old traveling companions and ourselves. Not only do we hike up to the crater but we’re also treated to lunch and wine tasting (the teens too) at the Cantina del Vesuvia where the grapes on the vines look too perfect to be real. We eat on a covered patio overlooking the vineyards and feast on local foods — salami, cheese, bread and olive oil and the most delicious pasta made with fresh tomatoes grown here at the vineyard. We go for a stroll in the vineyard with owner Maurizio Russo and can’t resist purchasing some of the excellent wine and olive oil.

Read More Learning to make sense of history in Pompeii
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San Francisco and environs — a foodie’s paradise
Byuser March 30, 2011June 28, 2023

I don’t think there is anything you might want to try that you can’t find in San Francisco. Last night, we sample a restaurant on the Embarcadero, about a block from the restored Ferry Building home to the bustling farmers market selling and explaining their local goods

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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service

Tinkering at the Exploratorium in San Francisco
Byuser March 29, 2011June 28, 2023

I’m at San Francisco’s Exploratorium (www.exploratorium.edu ) which, when it opened in 1969, served as the prototype for museums becoming places for an interactive experience. That continues today as the museum staff work on what the museum will be when it moves to its new digs on Piers 15 and 17 on the Embarcadero in 2013

Read More Tinkering at the Exploratorium in San Francisco