Day Two – exploring San Francisco’s Japantown
Everyone knows San Francisco’s bustling, busy Chinatown, the largest outside of Asia.
But Japantown? This area is worth exploring and not just for the food.
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Six days in San Francisco and Redwood country
The Fairmont San Francisco’s Executive Chef jW Foster installed the beehives in the hotel’s 1,000-square foot culinary garden to help support the bee population which has dropped 90 per cent since the 1980s.
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Spiderman vs. Harry Potter at Universal Orlando
Move over, Harry Potter. Spider-Man has arrived. “I’m just not that into Harry Potter,” explains 16-year-old Jordan Madow who preferred the newly reanimated Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
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How to get your teens to spend time with you
Question: How do you make two high school senior girls happy AND get them to spend time with you?
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Teens meet DisneyWorld – really like Epcot
When we got to Magic Kingdom the first day we were in DisneyWorld, it was a little overwhelming. After walking through Cinderella’s castle, we were greeted by Hannah Montana
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Two teens explore Universal Orlando and Harry Potter’s world
Once we arrived at Universal we met up with Matt, our amazing tour guide, who immediately brought us to our most anticipated attraction, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
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Learning local history adds to vacation memories
Since we’re here on a girl’s getaway, we find it amusing that at the height of the mining boom in the 1900 census, there were 22 seamstresses in Park City but only two sewing machines.
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A club dedicated to getting moms back on the slopes
Welcome to Park City Mountain Resort’s new Ladies’ Club, offered certain days of the week. Women who hadn’t skied in a while, said Martell, “didn’t want a high powered clinic. They just wanted an opportunity to get back on the mountain in a non-threatening way.”
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Touring the old city of Dubrovnik, Croatia
The city’s medieval walls helped protect the city and there was tremendous international publicity decrying the bombing of this historic city and in favor of granting Croatia diplomatic recognition.
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Luxe and lots of powder at Deer Valley UT
For those who can afford luxe on the slopes, tt doesn’t get any better than the ski-in, ski-out Montage (with its own Compass Sports rental shop and ski valet where they buckle and unbuckle your boots) and Deer Valley
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Good eats in and around Park City UT
Here as well as at neighboring Deer Valley –which led the industry in providing good mountain eats—we’re seeing ever better food with an emphasis on what is locally sourced.
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Meet Holly Flanders – and make time for yourself on the slopes
Flanders teaches women’s ski workshops at Canyons—I thoroughly enjoyed one a few years ago—but now has a new mission—to convince women they need to make that time, no matter what else is going on in their lives.
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Remembering a great adventure in the high Chilean desert
It’s only 10 a.m. but I feel like we’ve been going all day. That’s because we left our hotel Tierra Atacama before dawn—I’d never seen such bright stars across the desert sky—on our way to the highest geyser field in the world—El Tatio Geisers at 14,190 feet!
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A visit to see the biggest Budda in the world
Not just any giant Buddha but the Tian Tan Buddha, the world’s largest outdoor sitting Buddha — some 98 feet tall and weighing 250 tons, his humongous right hand raised to deliver a blessing to all.
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Lower Manhattan is New York’s must-see destination
We’re talking about Lower Manhattan — specifically the area south of Chambers Street that’s surrounded by water on three sides. In 2011, a record 9.8 million tourists visited Lower Manhattan — 800,000 more than the previous year.
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When you take the kids, you take what you can get!
When we suggest stopping for some soup, Mel sees her opening to leave us. “I have a PB&J in my pocket,” she says, “I want to keep skiing!” …So much for family time.
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Timeout for some spa time in Beaver Creek, CO
Family ski trips can be a lot of work, especially for moms-all the schlepping, all the shopping for groceries and cooking. Certainly moms deserve some “me” time on ski trips and there’s no better place than a spa like this to enjoy that.
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Back to the 19th Century at the historic Hotel Jerome
The glitterati of the day came from around the country for the opening on Thanksgiving eve 1889. The hot and cold running water, flush toilets and electric lights were the ultimate in luxury for a town used to icy outhouses and miner’s camps.
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Fresh powder aplenty for First Tracks on Aspen Mountain
There are options for First Tracks every morning, but on Wednesdays for $25 you are treated to this sumptuous spread and then the chance to ski down the mountain any way you like,
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A trip down memory lane for a pair of ski bum brothers
Years ago, they drove 18 hours from Texas, staying in the cheapest place they could find, eating greasy burgers and paying just $25 for lift tickets. Now they’re back in Aspen with their kids.
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Snow-shoeing to a gourmet meal in the shadows of Aspen, CO
The highlight—after the snowshoe in the wilderness–is the food—Pine Creek Smoked trout, … Colorado elk bratwurst, a smoked trout melt on sourdough and buffalo tenderloin..
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Back to the Ice Age on Snowmass Mountain
Incredible! Just in the past two years Snowmass Mountain in Colorado, famous for its ski slopes, has become the site of one of the largest finds of Ice Age animals on the planet.
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To Aspen-Snowmass for a trip down memory lane
You’re never too old to take the kids. And they’re not too old for a trip with mom and dad. Sometimes, that can include a trip down memory lane—on snow.
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Thirty years later son learns dad was right about Aspen
Turns out, my dad was right. Aspen and neighboring Snowmass — where we spent the first three nights — lived up to the old man’s hype. And then some.
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Mexico’s Riviera Maya is a safe place for kids to learn
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention we’re less than a year away from Dec. 21, 2012, the date the ancient Mayan Long Count calendar forecasts will signal the end of all humanity. But experts aren’t convinced and I’m not worried.
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How to travel with a teenager – carefully
At the inaugural FamilyTravelConference held recently at the Omni Berkshire Place in NYC, attendees said they wished hotels and resorts would take a page from cruise lines and offer more activities for tweens and teens.
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There’s something about Orlando
The thing about Orlando is no matter how often you visit, there is always something new. That’s why Orlando became the first city in the country to welcome more than 50 million visitors last year—some 54 million to be exact!
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Just a walk in the snowy woods
I was thinking about that Snow Walk the other night when Mel called from college to report giddily that she’d spent the weekend on a back-country skiing trip that “was harder than anything I’ve done on skis.”
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Taking the Kids doesn’t mean leaving the romance behind
I love traveling with my children, their pals and various other pint-sized relatives. I do it all the time. But there’s something deliciously decadent about an adult-only trip, whether you manage just a night away in a nearby hotel or a trip of a lifetime.
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At the 9/11 Memorial on a cold, snowy morning
Every one of our boys parents are immigrants—from Africa, Mexico, Jamaica and Trinidad, from other places. They learned that had they been immigrants in the 1870s living here, they would have worked 10 hours a day rather than go to school…
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service
Seven teen boys share NYC penthouse for a weekend
Some of my friends thought I was nuts. When I won a weekend stay at the Hilton New York’s five-bedroom penthouse, I invited along seven teenagers to share the fun at New York’s largest hotel.
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From Guest to Guide: Growing up in Adventure Travel!
Guest blogger Kasey Austin writes that her “earliest memories go way back to Alaska, everything from ice fishing with my dad to spending time at a remote fly-in camp and hiking trails frequented by moose and other larger than life critters!”
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The un-cruise: a sailing trip in the British Virgin Islands
The best part: There is no one telling us what time we have to eat dinner or even where we are going next. Welcome to the alternative to mega cruise ships and fancy resorts.
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Last day in the BVI – to the new resort on Scrub Island
“This is a place for adventures,” says General Manager Martin Smith, who says the key is organizing your stay—with the resort staff help.
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A day of water sports (or not) at the Bitter End Yacht Club
Snorkel, sail, windsurf or kayak?
We’re at the Bitter End Yacht Club on the island of Virgin Gorda which has been a haven for sailors and yachters for years. -
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To Anegada: spectacular sailing and a famous spot for lobsters
This island—just 3 miles wide at its widest point—is famous for its lobsters that many fisherman here catch by free diving as deep as 60 feet. Sailors like us (we’ve been sailing around the BVI on a Moorings charter Catamaran) make the trip here for the lobsters as well as the spectacular wind-swept beaches.
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Great job at Disney World, Mr. President, but next time take the kids!
The President should be applauded for taking executive action to initiate these visa reforms, which should lead to more jobs in the United States.
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Into the lap of luxury at Villa Aquamare on Virgin Gorda
The advantage here—besides the privacy and the chance to putter in the kitchen yourself—is that you aren’t paying $5 each time a child wants a virgin colada or $15 for the real thing.
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A whirlwind tour of Hong Kong over the holidays
I can’t believe I’m here. Hong Kong’s famous Victoria Harbor watches as I try to follow William Ng, a 75-year-old Tai Chi master, as he introduces about 20 of us to the ancient art of Tai Chi or “shadow boxing.”
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Diving and learning fascinating history in the BVI
Today we are all diving as a family. The Wreck of the Rhone is just off Salt Island in two big pieces 60 to 80 feet down, but there are many smaller pieces.
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“We’re grownups mom! Don’t sweat the small stuff”
“That’s part of the adventure,” says my 25 year old daughter Reggie. “It’s not like we’re at a fancy resort where everything is being done for us.”
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Back to the BVI and sailing a Moorings catamaran
When it came time to decide on a family trip for my far flung gang—the first time we’d all be together in more than a year—sailing, with some diving included, was everyone’s top pick.
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SCUBA Diving for the First Time in the British Virgin Islands
Reggie and I are already imagining our next dive back home in the much colder, kelp-forested waters of Monterey, California — just a couple hours away from our domicile in San Francisco.
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Learning African American History in Boston
A winter foray to Boston — whether you are touring colleges (there are more than 100 campuses in Massachusetts) or just looking for a winter getaway — is a good place to start, especially with the reopening this past December after a multimillion-dollar restoration of The African Meeting House.
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Last day in Hong Kong — to the spa!
After a frenetic week reporting—not to mention serious jet lag—I figured there couldn’t be a better way to while away my last morning before my return flight than experiencing the Mira Hotel’s spa.
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An amazing geological park just outside Hong Kong
Geologists still argue today how these columns were formed some 140 million years ago. What is known is that a huge amount of volcanic ash and lava spewed forth with the volcano ultimately collapsing and forming a caldera.
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Reflexology Hong Kong-style and a visit to the waterfront
We stroll out on historic Blake Pier –the roof is more than a century old and was moved here in 2004–and watch the bobbing rowboats, the traditional Chinese Junk that serves as a harbor cruise and the wind surfers out on a Sunday.
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In Amsterdam, a mix of culture, hip and fit
In Amsterdam, everyone seems young, fit and, most important to the teens, hip and there’s the appropriate mix of culture, history and quirkiness
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A visit to an ancient monastery and a giant Buddha
This isn’t just any Buddha but the largest outdoor sitting Buddha in the Po Lin Monastery on the island of Lantau. The Monastery was established in 1906—some 100 monks hidden from the tourists still live here
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Hong Kong — a shoppers paradise on steroids
My daughter Mel, who has just arrived from Thailand, pronounces things here more expensive yet clearly there are bargains to be had—but you have to bargain as the merchants raise the prices expecting you to bargain
