A Spring Skiing Adventure at Heavenly and Kirkwood ski resorts
Heavenly Ski Resort. We both agreed that this ski area had been aptly named. We looked out over the giant span of beautiful Lake Tahoe from the top of the mountain.
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Time to plan your visit to our National Parks
My youngest daughter, Mel, says those national parks trips when she was little (and complained her legs were “broken” from all the hiking) spurred her interest in environmental science — her college major
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An Easter brunch to remember — Day Five
We are at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay’s Sunday Brunch that is so popular in the Bay area that people drive an hour or more to indulge.
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Giant Redwoods and little yellow slugs – Day Four
The Giant Redwoods, soaring hundreds of feet in the air, were amazing. But what was even better was the conversations with my daughter Reggie as we hiked through Butano State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains
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Backyard Vacations | Beach Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
Exploring the coastal region near Half Moon Bay
This area is also home California’s first and only broad based ecotourism visitor program, through which more than 30 farmers, fisherman and business community members have come together to offer visitors hands-on activities and a chance to meet local residents.
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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. -
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.
