Mar 31, 2011
We’ve chosen well for our two 14-year-old traveling companions and ourselves. Not only do we hike up to the crater but we’re also treated to lunch and wine tasting (the teens too) at the Cantina del Vesuvia where the grapes on the vines look too perfect to be real. We eat on a covered patio overlooking the vineyards and feast on local foods — salami, cheese, bread and olive oil and the most delicious pasta made with fresh tomatoes grown here at the vineyard. We go for a stroll in the vineyard with owner Maurizio Russo and can’t resist purchasing some of the excellent wine and olive oil.
Mar 30, 2011
I don’t think there is anything you might want to try that you can’t find in San Francisco. Last night, we sample a restaurant on the Embarcadero, about a block from the restored Ferry Building home to the bustling farmers market selling and explaining their local goods
Mar 29, 2011
I’m at San Francisco’s Exploratorium (www.exploratorium.edu ) which, when it opened in 1969, served as the prototype for museums becoming places for an interactive experience. That continues today as the museum staff work on what the museum will be when it moves to its new digs on Piers 15 and 17 on the Embarcadero in 2013
Mar 28, 2011
Ready to play dress up? If you stay in a kids’ suite at the Hotel Diva (www.hoteldiva.com) on Union Square, your little princess can do just that with sparkly shoes, a pink boa, jewelry and a drawer full of “gowns.” If you have a prince, he can play Wii among other things. Whimsical wall art suggests “Keep calm and eat a cupcake” Or “Keep Calm and Rock On.”
Mar 24, 2011
The 45 member staff and 800-plus volunteers here are responsible for rescuing some 800 animals a year—elephant seals, sea lions, harbor seals and the occasional whale or dolphin. People who spot a stranded or sick animal call (415-289-7325) and the staff mobilizes for a rescue. The center is responsible for 600 miles of Coast all the way from Mendocino south to San Luis Obispo, and since 1975 has rescued over 13,000 marine mammals
Mar 24, 2011
/uploadedImages/images_upload/2011_Q1_Uploaded_Images/Travel insurance can save your trip.jpgI hate to tell you this wasn’t the first time I found myself in the ER on a vacation where travel insurance more than paid for itself in out-of-pocket expenses. You might think travel insurance is for those taking a cruise or an exotic vacation, but according to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, a growing number of families agree with me
Mar 17, 2011
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.
Mar 14, 2011
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.
Mar 10, 2011
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
Mar 10, 2011
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.
