For those heading to Orlando this spring break — and millions of parents and kids do (www.visitorlando.com) — there is an ever-growing array of unique VIP adventures to help you get away from the crowds and, hopefully, up the memory quotient. Some are inexpensive, requiring just a little advance planning, but others can cost big bucks, not including park admission, of course.
At a farmer’s market, kids can learn that food in season is more nutritious and tastes better because it is fresh. They can “eat greener” by opting for foods that are local rather than flown or trucked across the country. At the San Francisco farmer’s market, you can taste a kind of pear you’ve never seen or a Quince and ask the farmer how it’s grown.
One day last fall—Oct 14, 2010 to be precise—a bulldozer operator named Jesse Steele, working on the expansion of the Ziegler Reservoir for the Snowmass Water and Sanitation District, discovered a bone. But not just any bone—an Ice Age mammoth bone. That was just the beginning
Well-heeled families are opting for services that offer convenience — even delivery and pickup of ski and snowboarding gear to your hotel room and Black Tie Ski Rentals will even swap them out on the mountain too. Kids rent free till the end of the season and private family lessons are available for about $600 a day. “Parents want to see the kids learning,” explains Sue Way, director of Children’s Programs for the Aspen Skiing Company. They also love the convenience of having the ski instructor meet you at your hotel and tailoring the experience to your family.
The restaurant at the luxe new Viceroy at Snowmass is the kind of place where the dinner menu includes exotic entrees over $30 and an extensive wine list. Yet last night nearly every other table was families with kids who likely were dining on organic chicken nuggets ($11), pizza with fresh mozzarella ($10) or cheeseburger ($11)
Though this is a busy week—following President’s Day weekend—there are no lift lines at Aspen Mountain and it feels like on some runs we have the mountain—famous for its glades, bumps and steeps—to ourselves. If you want a day off from skiing, sign on for a two-hour guided snowshoe tour with a naturalist from the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies
Eileen Ogintz was quoted as a family travel expert in the December 2010 issue of Mother and Baby India.
Was this young woman ever that difficult a teen we wondered as she showed off her college digs (yes, she admitted, she’d cleaned up just for our visit.) 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.
f you can’t make it to Italy, you now have an alternative: Discovery Times Square has just premiered “Pompeii The Exhibit – Life and Death in the Shadow of Vesuvius” with Over 250 artifacts – includes some never-before-seen objects and the largest collection of body casts ever on display including a dramatic skeleton collection.
Skiing these days isn’t only about skiing with an ever growing array of spa services, including some for teens and younger children. Take your pick of massages, scrubs, wraps and more. This trip may be a record for me — three Spas in a week.
I sent my crew — my daughter Mel and six of her college friends to check out Adventure Ridge — a veritable winter play ground at 10,350 feet atop the Eagle Bahn Gondola at Vail. There’s tubing. You can slide down the hill sitting on your big tube (couch potato style) or lay across it (Superman style). Couch Potato is scarier they declare.
The $11 million nightclub has everything — the latest technology, a DJ every night, young stars who stop by for meet and greets, specialty drinks, a cafe. Like the latest megaships, gargantuan Atlantis on Paradise Island, just 180 miles from Florida, with nearly 3,500 rooms and 8,000 employees — the largest employer in the Bahamas besides the government — wants to be all things to all vacationers, including those not old enough to vote
Taking the Kids appears in Four Seasons Magazine with Eileen Ogintz’s top picks for family travel destinations for inspiration.
Taking the Kids shared with USA TODAY’s Monica Hortobagyi 10 places for a family spring break.
I didn’t worry about my gang ensconced in the condo while I was at the ER — not with the big flat screen TV , with killer views of the mountain where the staff can’t do enough for you. This place isn’t ski in ski out. Instead, the staff keeps your skis and boots (they bring out your skis from storage, put them on the shuttle for you take you over to Lionshead Village and then carry your skis over to the slope.
We’re ensconced in a spacious two-bedroom, steps from the chairlift that doesn’t seem crowded even though my daughter Mel brought along six of her college friends. I love that the place is small — just 88 units ranging from studios to four bedrooms. I love that so many of the amenities are complimentary—from valet parking to WiFi to a bowling alley (that’s right a two-lane bowling alley)
I’m at Dolphin Cay at Atlantis in the Bahamas where 36 dolphins (8 rescued after Hurricane Katrina), enable visitors to participate in one of the largest dolphin interactive programs in the world. Typically 800-900 guests participate a day, says Teri Corbett, vice president of Marine mammal operations, which also include sea lions and the five baby dolphins just born in the past month.
So what if you missed the mark this past Valentine’s Day? Take your honey on a decidedly adult getaway to a place like Sandals Emerald Bay on the outer Bahamian island of Great Exuma (about an hour’s flight from Miami on a 50-passenger jet). This is a place where grown-ups come to play – no one under 18 admitted.
/uploadedImages/images_upload/2011_Q1_Uploaded_Images/Eileen tries cigar rolling in Bahamas.jpgWe’re at the small cigar factory at Graycliff, a historic mansion dating back to the 18th century that is owned by Garzaroli family. Sixteen master rollers from Cuba turn out a million cigars a year. Enrico Garzaroli began with a single roller whoo was once Fidel Castro’s personal cigar-maker
You need a plan because the place is so huge –from the state of the art Dolphin Interaction Center at Dolphin Cay, the biggest casino in The Bahamas, the Predator Lagoon where you are in an underwater acrylic viewing tunnel watching barracuda and sharks, kids can get introduced to snorkeling in a calm lagoon –7 acres
Welcome to CRUSH, Atlantis’s brand new teen club in Nassau (www.atlantis.com). The place is huge—14,000 square feet with multi-touch computers and surface tables (want to send an e-post card to a friend? Post a photo on your face book wall?) Check your email (internet is free). They can order a snack on the table-sized tablet (pizza bagel, Panini or smoothie?) or a CRUSH T shirt and pick it up on their way out.
We’re sitting at an elegantly set table for two in a private “tower” overlooking Sandals Emerald Bay pool which incidentally is the largest zero entry pool in the Caribbean. The fire pit—yes the pool has a fire pit—reflects light. We’re being served a special candlelight dinner. Our young waiter in white gloves tells us he wants to get an MBA in the United States
There’s still snow on the ground in many areas of the country but spring break is just around the corner. Should you head for the beaches, mountains, vineyards, ballparks? The choices and deals are endless.
We kayak through Mangroves where the path is so narrow we must go single file. The Mangroves, Rolle tell us, “always” have been there. We stop at a small windswept beach called Mariah Cay. There are some 365 Cays that make up Great Exuma and if you want to feel like a Castaway, Rolle says, a boat captain can drop you off with chairs and lunch and pick you up several hours later.
This is a most decidedly upscale Sandals—we even have butler service! It is kind of unnerving to have someone—especially a nice young man named Logesh Ambikapathy who is from India—to cater to my every wish. Lemon for my water? Coming right up. He even stops by the pool to see if we need anything. A pizza would be nice, we suggest. He brings it piping hot 15 minutes later.
These kids may look like any group of young snowboarders decked out in the latest Burton gear. “You can see them stand taller,” Heston said. But looks, as we know, can be deceiving. They can’t afford snow sports or the gear, much less bus fare to the mountain. In fact, some live in homeless shelters, others live in group homes
elax and breathe! That could be the mantra for de-stressing everyday life. But here on tiny Grand Turk Island where many believe Columbus first made landfall in the New World, the words are PADI dive instructor Hilary Sutton’s instructions to my 19-year-old daughter, Melanie, as she prepares to do her first of four open-water dives
Super Bowl? The Packers? You should see Vince before there was a Super Bowl. The second week in February (Feb. 6 to 10) kids rule Broadway with free tickets (up to age 18, kids can see a Broadway show for free when accompanied by a paying adult) to shows like “Lombardi.” There are pre-theater parties, restaurant discounts, parking discounts, special-edition Kids’ Night Playbills and more.
Sure, I’ve tried to raise my two daughters and my son to seek challenges. Like you, I’ve hoped that travel has shown them how exciting and exhilarating it can be to step out of their comfort zones. I’ve proudly watched them manage when confronted by unexpected obstacles, whether it was lost luggage, bad weather, illness or simply disappointment when the destination hasn’t met their expectations. They’ve learned lessons on vacation that translate to their everyday lives
Whether you are a first time cruiser, a Disney cruise fan (some have cruised the line a dozen times or more), cruising with one child, or your extended family (at least 1/3 of cruisers will be), you will be hard pressed to do even half of what this ship has to offer—and that includes Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.