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.
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.
Here at Conner Prairie Interactive History Park, the terrific living history museum outside Indianapolis, a Smithsonian affiliate that focuses on 19th-century Indiana, the journey takes us 90 minutes, starting with our escape from an owner who plans to sell us “back South.”
There are plenty of family-friendly and budget friendly ways to take your clan away, and still keep everybody well-fed, well-shod and not wandering the streets with packs of dogs.
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.
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.
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!
Members were asked to rate PD sessions from 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest and were asked to make comments. Your sessions got tons of tens. One commenter said that your session was among the most useful PD ever at an SATW conference. Another commenter said he learned so many valuable tips from you. Several associates said that you gave a wonderful balance in aiming your talk at both associates and actives. That is not always easy to do.
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.
Walking into the Enterprise dome, you’re awed by the shuttle’s size. Dwarfed by her wide, black wings and smooth underbelly, Enterprise is a testament to the 1970’s engineering that carried Americans to outer space and back for over 150 missions.
Here at the only Living History museum in the Midwest, kids can explore Prairie Town of 1836 where they take on the role of gardener or criminal or deputy and interact with the townspeople, running errands, sweeping floors, doing laundry, helping in the garden, cooking .
The historic Indianapolis City Market—it dates back to 1821 when the city was new—is full of good eats, even 16 taps of Indiana craft beer at the Tomlinson Tap Room. But what I didn’t expect was that it would be a place of second and third acts in life—successful second and third acts.
They’re the one thing I always put in my backpack when heading outdoors with kids in the fall — whether they’re 4, 14 or 24. Those Ziploc bags of M&Ms have been known to inspire art creations, stop a meltdown and even spur healthy debate..
As the air becomes crisp in the North, there is one destination you can always rely on for bathing-suit weather: Mexico’s Riviera Maya. Having somehow missed the short beach season this summer, I wanted a chance to relax on the beach at a resort where after I checked in, the most difficult decision I’d have to make was what I wanted to eat next.
What is most interesting to me is how such an upscale resort—long a favorite among Hollywood celebs and pro athletes where rooms in season are often over $1000 a night —has gone out of its way to welcome well-heeled families with its complimentary kids’ club for kids 4-11
Where are the kids while the parents are at the spa? There are two options: the Barcy Kids Club, where kids get to partake in activities like pool sports and crafts, or the Barcelo Kids Spa.
This resort is dedicated to protecting the sea turtle eggs laid upon its 1.25 miles of glistening beach during sea turtle nesting season from May through October, and guests of all ages are encouraged to participate in the release of the juvenile turtles when they hatch.
This is Mayan land, we are told, and there is a lot of mysticism around here. So much mysticism that the superstitious-minded believe the world will be ending December 21, 2012. It doesn’t feel like the world is ending at Barceló, though…
Fall is a great time to visit Washington, D.C. Hotel rates are down as much as half, and the summer humidity has disappeared, along with the crowds. No wonder it’s Travelzoo’s featured destination right now.
Download a PDF of Eileen’s speech to the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW). Eileen will give the speech on September 11, 2012 in Indianapolis. …
America may lack royalty, but Mount Vernon, the regal estate of our first president, is a must for families taking in the history of our nation’s capital.
Take a fall weekend to explore a smaller city or region near your home and you’ll be amazed at what you find; especially if you let the kids lead the way. Honestly, before I got there, I wondered what Sioux Falls S.D. would have to offer a traveling family.
The Sioux Falls Business Journal reports on the recent Travel Media Showcase in South Dakota, quoting Eileen and fellow journalists on what the area has to offer.
I didn’t want a hotel that was just a place to sleep. I didn’t want a hotel that was just convenient to the train station. I wanted a hotel that would be part of the experience—a big part of the experience. We were staying in Rome just one night and it was my birthday.
When I visited Disneyland earlier this summer, moms and dads were busy filming the princess transformation on their iPads and smartphones. “It never gets old for them” said manager Joanna Pisanski
My family decided to end our stay in the Big Apple with a trip to see the Statue of Liberty. Let me tell you, the “Summer Evenings” Cruise out to the Statue of Liberty was the highlight of our whole trip.
More advice for parents of kids flying solo after yet another airline incident..
As summer draws to a close, we all like to think back on this year’s family travels. And why not reminisce on the sweet break we had? This summer I had an experience to last a lifetime. This summer, I got to travel to two large cities: Boston and New York.
Yet again, an airline—this time United—lost an unaccompanied minor who was supposed to be escorted to her connecting flight earlier this summer. Some advice on how to minimize the chances of this happening to your child…
Eileen is interviewed by FoxNews.com about the deals that await families in Orlando in the fall
A villa or condo makes vacationing with kids — no matter what their ages — so much easier. Remember that the kitchen is always open and in some cases you have a staff all to yourself. And you don’t have to share the pool with strangers.
What surprised me most about Boston was how history and the modern city were combined. There was a colonial age church between a coffee shop and a bank, cemeteries hidden between buildings …
My nieces from Arkansas recently visited Boston and New York with on a two week road trip with their parents. The girls used CityPASSes to visit top attractions and museums in New York and Boston.
Eileen interviewed on fall deals by New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton.
Eileen interviewed by MarketWatch on “added value” travel deals.
In 2007, The Fresh Air Fund decided to team up with the Department of Tourism of the Cayman Islands and go international with children ages 7-12. Massou Traore was one of 10 lucky few to come on this trip.
The skies are blue, the air is clear and there is no evidence of fire where tourists would go. “Some people watching TV thought the whole city burned up,” one local told me. “Some people thought the entire state burned,” said another in Crested Butte. Fortunately, Colorado’s fire-impacted areas represent less than 1 percent of the state’s 23 million acres of public land.
I love that Elitch Gardens has such a history dating back to 1890. It opened with a zoo, summer stock and a ballroom. The carousel, which took craftsmen three years to carve by hand, has been here since 1928 and still operates today; The Ferris Wheel was erected in 1936 and still operates.
What’s left? Biking, of course. Locals are huge mountain bikers so we’ve at least got to give it a shot. We opt for the Rio Grande Trail—a rail to trail favorite of locals for running, hiking, walking and of course biking.
ACES, as the environmental center is known, offers a variety of winter and summer activities for families from custom hikes (a bargain at $40 an hour) to a free birds of prey program we dropped in on in the afternoon meeting the resident horned owl and golden eagle…
Al Palazzo is a bit disappointed that the kids are more interested in shopping and gondola rides than Great Sites but he’s glad everyone is having a good time and more importantly, he’s not navigating the family and all their bags from city to city.
The St Regis underwent a $40 million redesign in 2011 and it shows. They welcome kids and pets with special amenities. The spa is the go to place in town to be pampered –15,000 square feet with 15 treatment rooms. There’s steam and sauna and cold plunge and hot tubs.
until this morning, Zach Lewis hadn’t been fly fishing—a popular Aspen activity. This morning at his first spot on the Roaring Creek River Zach caught a nice sized trout. It was all catch and release, but that’s not what this is about.
“We plan the itinerary so that we can stop like this,” says our captain, Dano Quinn, who has been piloting vessels in Alaska for the last 16 years. “The best of Alaska is the wilderness,” he adds. “Not in the towns and we provide the opportunities for that.”
I’d always wanted to do the famous hike between Crested Butte in Southwest Colorado and Aspen –12.2 miles along the West Maroon trail, crossing the Maroon Pass which is 12,500 feet high. I’d first heard about this hike years ago when we took our kids to Crested Butte, one of my favorite mountain towns to ski.
People are afraid to come to the Springs, locals tell me, saying they think the entire city has burned, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. But the Broadmoor, which has been welcoming families for 19 years, is tranquil and at it should be. So is downtown Colorado Springs, where an outdoor festival is underway.
I’m also glad to be in The Springs as locals call it for another reason—to tell everyone that the Waldo Canyon Wildfire that destroyed more than 300 homes earlier this summer has been completely contained and the city and all of its attractions are open for business.
There’s a reason they call Kauai the garden island. There are all varieties of plants I’ve never seen and whose names I can’t pronounce. They also happen to be very rare—endangered, in fact.
No, it’s not teens gabbing and texting their way through your family vacation. We’re talking chickens — 250 of white-and-black striped hens to be exact — whose Eggmobile is parked just behind one of the guesthouses at the Inn at Valley Farms in Walpole, N.H., where we spent the weekend recently.
I’m a real fan of sleep away camp. I went as a child and all three of my kids went for many years—my son to Camp Nebagamon in Wisconsin and my daughters to Camp Kamaji in Minnesota. My girls worked as counselors there as well, teaching sailing and leading wilderness trips.