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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Spy and crime museums — a hit with the high school boys
Certainly you could spend all of your time in Washington, DC without paying to enter a museum—there are plenty of free ones to choose from. But two on our list are private and, the boys said, were worth the cost of admission.
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Touring the museums in Washington with the ABC boys
One of the best things about Washington, DC is that so many museums are free. We aim to hit as many as we can.This time, instead of trying to see all that the Holocaust Museum or the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History has to offer, I tried to pinpoint certain exhibits I thought would most interest the boys from the Westport ABC House
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Three days in Washington DC with the high school boys
I was chaperoning six city high school boys who attend our suburban school under the auspices of A Better Chance, a national organization that identifies kids with academic potential in middle school and sends them to communities like ours (Westport, CT) to live and attend high school. Several of the boys had visited Washington, DC on middle school trip
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To the Atacama Desert Region of Chile
We are in northern Chile in the famous Atacama desert region in the Valle de la Luna—Moon Valley—famous for its resemblance to the moon surface and salt and rock formations that look like dinosaur heads, angels and more.
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Go Undersea in San Francisco! 3 of the Best Oceanariums
The ocean is a fascinating place for children who love the colorful and interactive displays, live shows featuring dolphins and multimedia presentations. Visiting oceanariums can also be an opportunity for them to touch living animals in a safe environment, while learning about them, too.
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Riding a bike in the Sonoran Desert — at night!
Our Guide Kerry Echer is leading us on one of several unique adventures offered by the Golden Door Spa here. Earlier in the day, we’d noticed Echer teaching rock climbing on the giant boulders; there are also guided hikes and mountain biking.
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In Phoenix, an amazing museum of musical instruments
There are other museums of musical instruments, but none with such an expansive collection from around the world—harps, zithers flutes and trumpets from the Middle East, African drums, a 17th century spinet and 20th century electric guitars…an Appalachian dulcimer, a ukulele, bagpipes and cymbals.
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A day at the Camelback Spa in Scottsdale AZ
We amble inside out of the sun for lunch at Sprouts which serves healthy eats (complete with calorie counts) but indulgences too like chocolate fondue. We love the chicken curry lettuce wraps, tuna tartare and salads. We skip the chocolate fondue!
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On a mom’s getaway in Scottsdale AZ
I figured what could be better for a mom’s getaway than a resort complete with 125 acres of desert landscape (love all the cacti!) at the base of Mummy Mountain and Overlooking Camelback Mountain.
