LAST DAY IN ARIZONA — Meet Lance, Bailey and Sonora
DAY SIX (April 4, 2009) — Lance is a Hawk, Bailey a turkey vulture and Sonora a two year-old Bald Eagle. The kids’ eyes are…
-
-
HARD AT WORK ON VACATION AT CAMP HYATT
DAY FIVE (At the Hyatt Scottsdale) — The kids are hard at work — on vacation. They are crafting elaborate sand creations at the small…
-
SWEARING IN THE NEW JUNIOR RANGERS
“This is Grand Canyon National Park, not Jurassic park,” she says, holding up a plastic dinosaur. “This is the closest you’ll get to a dinosaur!”
We’re about to go on a ranger — led fossil hunt and there are thousands of fossils to be found, she tells the crowd that includes at least two dozen kids. But there are no dinosaur bones here — these fossils are a lot older! -
AT THE GRAND CANYON
I look around and see all kinds of families — from around the world here to experience what is widely considered one of the wonders of the world. It was set aside as a national monument by Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 and became a national park in 1919. It remains one of the most visited parks.
-
DAY ONE OF A TRIP TO THE GRAND CANYON
DAY ONE (Tuesday, March 31, 2009) — The Purple People Eater; Qutie (well it’s a four year old’s turn); Rhinoceros; Tickle Monster… by the time…
-
Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Snow Vacations | Travel Diaries
THE FUN NEVER STOPS IN PARK CITY
Take your pick — you can ride a lift up the chairlift at any of Park City’s three resorts and go mountain biking or hiking. Deer Valley alone has a mountain bike school as well as 50 dedicated trails. There are mid-mountain hiking trails that connect the resorts and the Olympic Park — 27 miles! –where incidentally locals turn out in force on Saturday afternoons to watch Ski jumpers practice their jumps, landing in a pool at the bottom.
-
Teaching kids about food along the way in San Francisco
The beautifully restored Ferry Building Marketplace, built in 1898, is a must see for foodies of all ages.
-
A TOUR OF PARK CITY MOUNTAIN
DAY TWO — It’s the last weekend in March and we’re knee-deep in fresh powder. Park City Mountain Resort got something like 18 fresh inches…
-
THREE DAYS IN AND AROUND PARK CITY, UTAH
DAY ONE (March 27, 2009) == MMM… maybe we should skip straight to desert. There’s not one but three kinds of chocolate fondue — white…
-
On a cruise for the first time
More than 1.6 million kids cruised last year and that number continues to increase…
-
DAY IN INNSBRUCK AND AT SWAROVSKI KRISTALLWELTEN
Here there literally is a crystal wonderland — a labyrinth created by international artists that use crystal as an art form in 14 Chambers of Wonder, with paintings, sculptures and installations. We loved Jim Whiting’s Mechanical Theater with the dancing pants and the man’s torso that comes apart to reveal his insides that are all glittering crystals.
-
A WALK IN THE WOODS
I decide I want to see what else this tiny resort village has to offer so I decide to go on a walk in the woods with engaging ski pro Alois Gstrein, who was raised here on a farm and has lived here all his life, now with his wife and new baby. His entire family – parents, two brothers, two sisters — all live here.
-
SITTING IN THE ALPINE SUN
DAY 4 — The sky is post card blue. The Alps look like they are covered in marshmallow fluff with Oreo crumbles underneath. We’re sitting…
-
We ski through a tunnel from Jiefenbach to Rettenbach
Did I mention our Austrian ski guide Bernhardt Kneissl who has been teaching and guiding here for 43 years — since he was 17? He doesn’t speak much English and my daughter Mel and I no German, so it makes for an interesting day.
-
A WATER PARK FOR GROWN UPS
The kids seemed to love that you swim in a lazy river from indoor pools to the outside, jump out, run outside for two seconds and then jump into one of these huge heated pools on stilts — with salt water, one with whirlpool and massage and blessedly warm. Inside kids and their parents are playing in the expansive pools under the waterfall and in the kids’ pool that is shaped like a Noah’s Ark
-
To the Kennedy Space Center
Just 45 minutes east of Orlando and well worth tearing the kids away from Mouseville, Shamu, Universal’s roller coasters and the hotel pools
-
A SKI TRIP IN THE AUSTRIAN ALPS
When my 18 year old daughter Melanie and I were touring Austria last summer, she begged me to bring her skiing this winter — her last before she leaves for college.So in the true spirit of let kids lead the way, here we are, about an hour from Innsbuck and just a couple of hours drive from Munich or Zurich.
-
To the Colorado slopes — and getting the most bang for your buck
Cheap eats and other bargains are especially appreciated in ski country this season — even here in tony Aspen and a few hours away at Vail’s Beaver Creek Resort
-
The real VIPs on the Norwegian Gem
Memo to junior first time cruisers: “Go to the kids club the first day because you’ll meet lots of kids,” said Kathy Novzynski,10 and a cruise veteran with three sailings under her belt “A lot of kids don’t know that the activities are so fun,” adds Melora Cook, 9, who is from New Brunswick, Canada.
-
Behind the scenes on the Norwegian Gem
DAY SIX (March 5, 2009) – Two thousand pounds of cereal, 500 gallons of ice cream, 36,000 eggs, 1,600 gallons of milk, 900 pounds of…
-
TAKING THE SHARKS!
The sharks are everywhere — swimming in front of me, behind me, so close I can see their teeth and the marks on their skin. Some are nine feet long!
-
Beach Vacations | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
A STOP AT GREAT STIRRUP BAY, BAHAMAS
Kids are snorkeling in the turquoise clear water while parents catch some rays. There’s a beach volleyball game in full swing and a barbeque going. Bahamian music is playing and the Bahama Mamas are flowing.
-
Backyard Vacations | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Disney | Families & Groups | Travel Diaries
A SHORE EXCURSION TO THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
The last time I was here — more than 15 years ago — we were vacationing in Orlando and came over to watch a Space Shuttle launch. Ironically. A launch is scheduled — a night launch — for next week, we’re told, though that can change.
-
DAY TWO — AT SEA ON THE NORWEGIAN GEM
Norwegian Cruise Lines must be doing something right. Despite the bad economy, this ship is full — 2873 passengers with 500 children under 18 on board.There are 1108 crew members to take care of us, says Prem Kainikkara, the hotel director who oversees them all. They are from more than 50 countries and many speak three languages.
-
A Weekend Getaway to Squaw Valley, U.S.A.
For a weekend retreat away from the bustling city of San Francisco, Squaw Valley was the perfect destination. The ski mountain is close enough to the city, about a three-hour drive, to wake up early and make it from the city to the mountain still in time for a full day of skiing, and some après skiing fun.
-
Going on spring break
Some almost canceled their plans this year, but they decided to go because of the opportunity for badly needed family time
-
Setting Sail on a Weeklong Cruise on the Norwegian Gem
Welcome aboard the Norwegian Gem, the ship that sails from New York to Florida every Saturday. It may be chilly, but cruisers are sipping Sail Away special cocktails and lining up for barbeque on deck as music plays. The kids are eyeing the hot tubs longingly (maybe in a day or two when we reach Florida!).
-
At Snowmass: SO MANY CHOICES FOR THE SWEET TOOTH
I can’t think of a better place than The Sweet Life for the bottom of a family mountain like Snowmass, by far the largest of Aspen’s four mountains and family-central with the year-old Treehouse Adventure Center that is ski school central for young kids. Jen Hayes opened her second The Sweet life (the first is in Telluride) in Snowmass’s new Base Village and it’s not only perfect for this mountain but for this economy.
-
Snowshoeing at Snowmass
“The whole idea is to educate the public about the environment so they get out and love it and want to protect it,” he says. Kids as young as seven can join one of these gentle tours. “If you can walk you can do this tour,” Carter says, but he adds if you have younger kids you can call and arrange a special tour.
-
Snowmass — family ski heaven
We have moved over to the new base area at Snowmass, the largest of Aspen’s four mountains and the one known as the family mountain (though my 17 year-old discovered plenty of extreme terrain too). There is a vertical drop of over 4,400 feet and 3,132 acres of terrain — attracting more skiers than Aspen’s three other mountains combined.
