Don’t jump in the pool in the Tonga Room!
The indoor 75-foot Plunge Pool was a hit with locals and celebrities alike when it was opened at the historic Fairmont San Francisco in 1929
-
-
Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service
Biking or Hiking – Sonoma’s Got the Sites to See
Bike or hike? Sonoma Valley may have more than 100 wineries, but there are 13,000 acres of state and regional parks as well.
-
Backyard Vacations | Best of Taking The Kids | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service
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
-
Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
An Escape, a new country and finally, a winery
Sichel’s connection to the wine industry began long before her partners purchased Laurel Glen—even before she was born
-
Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
Tasting wine and eating well in Sonoma County
I love Sonoma County with kids—all of the hiking, biking…the Redwood Trees…kayaking, pumpkin patches in fall, kid-friendly restaurants
-
Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service
A Fleet Week Taste of San Francisco
Anyone who travels knows a perfect—or near perfect—vacation day is rare. So I count us lucky on this warm, sunny blue-sky October Day in San Francisco
-
Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Disney | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
Star Wars or Marvel Superheroes?
I just returned from a preview of 2022 and this is what I discovered: Disney has you covered no matter what you like best…
-
Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service
Apex- DAY 7 FAKE MEATBALLS?
This was the last day of our cruise on Celebrity’s newest ship Apex and we were trying to pack in as much time as possible
-
Apex Day 6 – Don’t rain on my parade!
Even with the less than perfect weather, there was plenty to do—more than 60 activities on the Celebrity Apex
-
Cruises & All-Inclusive | Families & Groups | Pandemic Family Travel | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service
Apex day 5 – The Pandemic Intrudes
The Captain made the announcement at cocktail hour: A vaccinated guest had tested positive for COVID-19
-
Apex Day 4 – What’s for dinner?
“What’s for Dinner?” can be a complicated question aboard the new Celebrity Apex with 10 restaurants to choose from.
-
Apex Day 3 – Learning the history of Rhodes
Today, the island of Rhodes, part of the Dodecanese islands, is home to over 120,000 people and pre-covid as many as four million visitors a year
-
Best of Taking The Kids | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service
Apex day 2 – A woman following her dreams
Fragedaki is an engaging teacher as she instructs us on how to make spinach pie, tzatziki (a cucumber yogurt sauce), and stuffed tomatoes and peppers
-
Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Pandemic Family Travel | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
Apex day 1: Pandemic cruise on a big ship
The Apex, the brand new ship in the Celebrity fleet, can hold nearly 3,000 passengers. But there are 1,100 on board and 936 crew from some 60 countries
-
Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
Windstar Day 5 – What’s the best part?
Ask a group of people their favorite vacation experience—even if they have shared a ship for a week—and you will get a different answer from each person
-
Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
Windstar Day 4: Santorini without crowds
The famed Greek Isle of Santorini is actually the eastern rim of a volcano caldera that has erupted many times through the ages
-
Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
Windstar Day 3 – Food any way and all day
There’s no charge aboard the Wind Star sailing yacht for room service. But we also learn that we can have room service anywhere we like onboard.
-
Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
Windstar Day 2 – Calling all night owls
If you are a night person, ou’ll love the Greek Island of Mykonos — AKA The Party Island of Greece — which is decidedly sleepy in the morning
-
Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Getting There | Pandemic Family Travel | Travel Diaries
Windstar Day One – Cruising through a pandemic in Greece
The Wind Star can accommodate 148 passengers in 73 staterooms and one larger suite. But it has typically been sailing with half that number since cruises resumed this summer
-
An Athens Authentic At-Home Greek Dinner
Before we arrived, we’d never met the couple yet they were hosting us for dinner—a dinner we would help prepare in their small kitchen
-
Mythology Made Easy in Athens
Imagine if you are a competitive Greek god or goddess of ancient mythology with a big ego, not to mention you’re immortal with many superpowers
-
Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service
A taste of Authenticity in Athens
On a first visit, Kagkas explains, tourists check off the must sees–The Acropolis, the Plaka, the museums, but they don’t experience Athens like a local
-
Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Travel Diaries
In Athens, a hotel goes over and above
When US hotels are struggling to get enough staff—and whose staff often don’t seem to care–it is nice to find a place that genuinely cares about its guests
-
Beach Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
Something For Everyone: Half Moon Resort
Mixology classes for the adults… sailing and diving classes for the kids. And plenty of sun, sand and ocean for everyone
-
Beach Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
A Different Kind of Trail Ride
So here I am in the bay at Half Moon Resort, on the North Coast of Jamaica. I’m hanging on to Cutta’s tail as well as I can. But I’m not sure it will be enough
-
Beach Vacations | Best of Taking The Kids | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
Jamaican Food at Its Best: Star San
Award-winning and well-known Jamaican Chef Brian Lumley is showing us how to make coconut curry shrimp and just-caught fish—lionfish, parrot fish, snapper
-
What’s On Your Bucket List? Add GoldenEye
It’s small enough that there are no conflicts over finding a beach chair. And with its tropical gardens it’s easy to forget what’s happening in the world
-
Communing With James Bond at GoldenEye
Fleming wrote every one of his 14 James Bond novels here in a tropical villa off Oracabessa Bay. He took the name of an English ornithologist for his hero
-
Beach Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service
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
-
Beach Vacations | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
In Jamaica, it’s all about YA MON
Everyone is so friendly. Even if you don’t know the person, it’s common courtesy to say hi — “YA, MON,”
