Celebrating Halloween for an entire month
You’ll need that costume a lot sooner than Halloween since theme parks, zoos, haunted attractions, farms, even zip lines everywhere are touting Halloween festivities and scares all October long
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Taking the Kids — to a fall festival
There’s a lot to celebrate in fall — not the least of which is the kids getting back to school and out from underfoot. There are festivals galore
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Lunch is served at Cabarrus County’s Hospitality and Tourism Academy in NC
The farm to table lunch was expertly prepared and served. But we weren’t at some trendy new restaurant. We were at Cabarrus County’s Hickory Ridge High School
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On an adventure when the kids are in or out of college
Welcome to a Backroads Breakaway trip. Besides the biking, there are special walking tours in various cities and lunches in out-of-the-way local spots.
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Florida’s Hidden Beach Destination: Marco Island
I still wake up in the morning thinking about our unforgettable hotel room view of the Gulf of Mexico, reminiscent of the Caribbean turquoise waters
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Visiting Chicago in summer: Baseball, pizza, burgers and The Bean
Everyone told my mom and dad that the first thing we should eat was get deep dish pizza. We made our way to the original Pizzeria Uno in downtown Chicago.
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Hipper than Paris? Try Cousin City Montreal
Montreal is like Paris’ overseas cousin that you don’t get to visit very often although it’s close in proximity and dare I say, more hip and happening
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To Acadia National Park in Maine
Welcome to the only national park in the northeastern United States. Last year, when the park celebrated its centennial, it had its busiest year in 27 years, with a record 3.3 million visitors
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With Backroads and AmaWaterways in Bavaria
Hard or really hard—that was our choice for our final day of cycling with Backroads and AMAWaterways—today in Bavaria. Either way, it was worth the effort
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Biking in the rain along the Danube in Austria
It is pouring, raining so hard that we’re getting soaked despite good rain gear. Did I mention we are on bikes riding alongside the Danube River in Austria?
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In Bratislava – the “Iron Curtain” bike tour misadventure
The “Iron Curtain” bike ride was to take us about 18 miles through the country side into Austria from Slovakia — the border made famous by Winston Churchill and the Cold War.
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Biking along the Danube in the summer heat – a miracle!
I’m biking past fields of sunflowers, bucolic fields with rolls of hay, ponies and pretty farm houses. Did I mention it’s 90 degrees? We try to convince ourselves that is part of the adventure.
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A Backroads bike tour combined with a Danube cruise
We’re zipping along on bikes along the Danube in Budapest and the request, though a joke, wouldn’t have been a bad idea given the heat.
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Taking the Kids — to see the solar eclipse on August 21
We’re talking about a different kind of milestone, but one equally memorable — the 2017 total solar eclipse, something that happens only rarely in this country. It’s an event they’ll remember all their lives, and should be good for many science projects to come.
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Walking the Berlin Wall – Reconciliation Matters
We had just walked between what had once been called “the death strip,” the area between West Berlin and East Berlin, between the wall and safety of the West
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To ski country in summer when it is more affordable
Hike one of Colorado’s famous Fourteeners — one of the 50-plus mountains that rise more than 14,000 feet — hike to Vail’s famous Back Bowls through a sea of wildflowers or mountain bike on miles of trails. Welcome to Vail in summer.
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Taking the Kids — to family reunion central
As fun as Colorado is in the summer, there’s something more important going on here at the YMCA of the Rockies. “It’s eating and joking around with all of our cousins.”
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One Big Adrenaline Rush at Adventures on the Gorge in West Virginia
While a lot of people are still trying to figure out what an “adventure resort” is, Adventures on the Gorge is showing their guests of all ages what a vacation destination should look like
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What’s new at theme parks this summer?
There is certainly lots to choose from this summer — 170 new rides, slides and experiences at 75 parks and attractions across the United States and in Canada
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Families love the Four Seasons in Vail Co. for “glamping” and more
Get ready to get spoiled—for a few days anyway. That’s why the Johnstons, including Kendall, 11, and Reagan, 13, have decamped from Denver to the Four Seasons Resort in Vail for their fourth weekend—this time the Fourth of July.
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Kids learning nature through fun at the top of Vail Mountain
this is July Fourth weekend, the resort’s busiest of the summer season. It’s family central at Adventure Ridge located at the top of the gondola at 10,350 feet. Wow what a view!
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Up in the mountain air at The Broadmoor’s Cloud Camp in Colorado
Cloud Camp is the historic Broadmoor resort’s highest wilderness experience. But my daughter Mel and her boyfriend Hank Lockhead – experienced backpackers—think it’s more of a luxury experience with well-appointed log cabins, beautiful bathrooms, gourmet meals…
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Generations gather to reconnect at quadrennial family reunion
There are lots of milestones at our reunion—25th and 35th anniversaries; 80th, 70th, 60th, 50th and 30th birthdays. One of the grandmothers tried to give the family a quick family history lesson
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In Rocky Mountain Nat Park – hikes are great, but beware crowds
if I’d done my homework, the Rocky Mountain National Park rangers would have told me to hike early, as parking spots at some of the popular trailheads—like Beaver Lake, a four-mile round trip hike that is kid-friendly—are gone by 8:30 am.
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YMCA of the Rockies is Family Reunion Central
Welcome to Family Reunion Central. In fact, the Estes Park Center and its sister resort Snow Mountain Ranch host more than 1,300 reunions a year—more, they believe, than any other venue in the United States.
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Learning a little history on July 4th
if you play your cards right, you’ll all have fun celebrating the nation’s birthday — and learning something about American history at the same time.
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Greenwich, England, and the pluses of getting off the beaten track — a bit
Pietro La Rosa, with his flowing mane of gray hair, beard and lilting Italian accent, is not like any pub owner I’ve ever met nor is The Prince of Greenwich pub menu typical
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A Spring Trip to The Grand Canyon and Flagstaff, Arizona
It’s great that the south rim of the Grand Canyon so close to Flagstaff, Arizona. We could envision wanting a hotel room and shower to stay in after backpacking in the desert heat for 5 days
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Planning a family summer vacation – let the kids help figure it out
I’m sure the kids have lots of ideas, and they may not all involve theme parks. It’s a good idea to talk to the kids about what you’re thinking for a summer trip
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‘Taking the Waters’ in Ancient Bath, England
People have been coming here to “take the waters” since the Romans first built the baths and temple here to worship Sulis Minerva, Goddess of the Thermal Spring.
