Exploring botanicals and turtle nests of Kauai
It turns out that of all the endangered species of plants in the United States, two thirds are from Hawaii, and this research effort is designed to help these plants once again flourish
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A week in Hawaii with the girls
I’m traveling with my two daughters, Reggie and Melanie, my 15-year-old cousin Eva Weinberg, and my best friend, JoAnne Cagen. It is our last gasp of summer before the girls scatter back across the country to jobs in San Francisco, school in Colorado and Connecticut. The trip is especially poignant for JoAnne.
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Taking the Kids, and the doggie, to Nantucket
Nantucket — the only place in America that has the same name for the island, the county and the town — does have a well-deserved reputation for being preppy. “It is the only place you can wear pink pants and get away with it,”says one local.
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Volunteer & Service | Weekly Column
Time Traveling Back in History in Boston
Travel back to the 18th century and you can even ask a British Regular, famous for their red coats, what it was like to serve so far from home where everyone seemed to hate them. (Not so much different from today, is it?) Watch the Regulars’ Changing of the Guard at the site of their original garrison at Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
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To New York City for the First Time
Big Apple Greeters — it seems such a simple idea – to connect locals enthusiastic about their city to first-time visitors or those simply visiting from elsewhere. Now, because of the economic crisis, the nonprofit organization has found itself in a financial crunch of its own and must come up with $300,000 in new funding by the fall if they are to continue. (Are you listening major travel companies?)
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To Provincetown — Not Just for Gay and Lesbian Couples
Had we been here in the 1800s, we would have been hunting whales rather than photographing them. Provincetown was a very busy whaling port.
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The Secret to Getting Teens Up Early on Vacation — Take Them to Harry Potter
Thanks, Harry. Suddenly, young people, who wouldn’t spend much vacation time with their folks, much less get out of bed this early if they didn’t have to, think family vacations are fun again, especially when mom and dad or grandpa pay for the trip and pop for $100 wizarding robes (yes, despite the 90-degree Florida heat, fans traipsed around the park in the floor-length robes, wearing Hogwarts ties as belts) or $30 wands.
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Day Two at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
”The wand learns from the wizard and the wizard from the wand,” the Wandkeeper tells us, standing behind the counter in the small room that is lined floor to ceiling with shelves packed with wands in all kinds of boxes.
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Two days at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
The much anticipated Wizarding World of Harry Potter has just opened and even the most avid fans who planned their trip to Orlando around the new attractions seem unprepared for the crowds. But that doesn’t stop the fun.
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Beach Vacations | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors
To the Caribbean in Summer
Finally, a Caribbean beach that’s everything a Caribbean beach should be – quaint, with hammocks strung from palm trees, crystal-clear water perfect for snorkeling, white sand, a first-rate beach bar and enough water toys to keep the kids happy (banana boat ride anybody?)
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Lots of great food on Nantucket Island
Yum! We’re at American Seasons run by husband and wife team Michael LaScola and Orela Murphy-LaScola, who juggle the restaurant with being parents to their toddler.
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Nantucket, once the world’s whaling capital
There is a lot of history we learn on this small island. In fact, the entire island is a historic district designated as a National Historic Landmark and has more buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places than anywhere in Massachusetts, including Boston.
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A getaway to Nantucket Island
It’s that perfect beach day… blue skies, warm but not too hot. Colored umbrellas dot the Nantucket beach. Kids play on boogie boards while smaller ones build sand forts until… the two pups discover each other.
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To Lake Placid, an Old-Fashioned Vacation Destination
No one cares that the water is cold. The kids splash at the lake’s edge, play on the small sand beach as older, daring ones splash in the water and peddle kayaks, rowboats and paddleboats. Our pup eyes them all curiously
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To California Wine Country
If you think Wine Country — especially Sonoma County — is just for grown-ups (at least those over 21) think again. There are plenty of places to bike, hike and kayak on the Russian River.
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Lots of choices for lodging in Lake Placid
DAY 3 — There is every variety of place to stay in Lake Placid from B&Bs, motels, condos and houses, and even luxe resorts.
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A weekend in dog-friendly Lake Placid, NY
The water is cold in Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, NY but that’s not keeping the kids—or hardy parents out. The little ones are splashing at the water’s edge while older ones are out in kayaks , rowboats and paddle boats. Our pup is eyeing them all curiously. “It’s got everything you want with little kids,” said Jim Carroll, vacationing here with his wife and two daughters
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See you in Times Square
I’m in a darkened Broadway theater watching the new Tony-nominated musical “Memphis” (nominated for eight awards!), which tells the story of what happens in the segregated South when a young white DJ named Huey Calhoun, played by Chad Kimball, falls for “Negro” music and a terrifically talented black singer named Felicia Farrell, played by Montego Glover
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Putting on the Ritz in Orlando
As Orlando gears up for the much-anticipated opening in June of Universal’s “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” — 20 acres within Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventures — keep in mind there are plenty of options to stay — some 115,000 hotel rooms, including more than two-dozen new hotels, including the brand-new Holiday Inn Club Vacations Orlando.
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Giving Mom the Best Mother’s Day Present She’s Ever Had
We moms all know the dirty little secret of family vacations. No, I’m not talking about the piles of laundry when we get home, though that’s certainly no fun. I’m talking about how moms whisper on the beach, around the pool and on line at theme parks that family vacations are really no vacations at all for them, especially when young kids are part of the equation..
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Touring Rome When All Doesn’t Go as Planned
The alarm doesn’t go off.Forget about our plan to leisurely stroll through Rome’s famous Borghese Gardens to get to the Borghese Gallery in time for our reservation to see the fabulous collections of paintings, sculptures, mosaics and bas-reliefs from the 15th to 18th centuries. Reservations typically are needed at this small gem of a museum.
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Traveling Greener as We Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day
Little things really make a difference.That’s why on vacation, just like at home, we should all do our part to protect the environment. It’s as simple as turning off the lights and AC when you leave.
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TO BERMUDA
The iconic pink Fairmont Hamilton Princess with spectacular gardens that overlook the water and well-stocked Koi ponds is THE place for a traditional English Tea in the oh-so-British-feeling Bermuda.
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Opting for luxe beyond the parks of Orlando
AAH… I’m in the midst of possibly the best massage I’ve ever had at Orlando Grand Lakes Ritz Carlton Spa—thanks to the feet of the massage therapist, who happens to be a former paratrooper, he tells me!
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In and around Disney’s Grand Floridian
So how would a princess ask for a piece of cake? The half dozen or so princesses in training, their tiaras on their heads are listening attentively. “Ahem, Madame Chef, May I have a piece of cake,” Rose Petal (who apparently was a rose in the palace garden and then magically became a princess so she could be Aurora’s friend) instructs them
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To a Place American Families Haven’t Yet Discovered
In a desert oasis beside a roaring river, the handsome young Chilean reaches for my hand to help me over the rocks. He smiles. “Gracias,” I say. It’s not a dream. The long-haired, 29-year-old Chileano is Max Vera, our guide on a challenging uphill hike along the canyon floor. We scramble over rocks strewn along a sandy trail, large “fox tails” and cacti that are 12 feet high with needles so sharp that local Indian women use them to sew and knit. We’re in the Atacama Desert in South America, walking along the River Puritama. Our goal: seven pools of hot springs.
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To a Totally Kidcentric and Affordable Ski Resort This Spring
Sorry, Cinderella. Five-year-old Hannah Sitzman has forsaken all things princess to be a Winter Queen, she announces as she makes her way to the huge ice throne in a castle at the top of a ski mountain that took more than 75 tons of snow and two full weeks to build.
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Our family takes over Keystone mountain
DAY 8 — Yes, a ski trip can work whether you are five, 19 or 60-at least for our family, at least at Keystone Resort that is the most economical and most kid-centric of Vail’s Colorado resorts.
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No shortage of things to do at Vista Verde
DAY 6 — Ever since they were a young married couple in Indianapolis, Peggy and Jerry Throgmartin talked about buying a ranch. “This is my husband’s dream since he was seven, said Peggy Throgmartin. It took till the couple was in their fifties to make it happen—here at Vista Verde Ranch
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To Vista Verde Ranch near Steamboat
Our 2010 Colorado winter adventure continues. DAY 5 — Think four wheel drive. Think four wheel drive on skis. I’m in the back country of the Vista Verde Ranch—some 560 pristine snow covered acres at 7800 feet above altitude—trying my hand at back country skiing.
