The Obamas and mother daughter trips

The Obamas and mother daughter trips

For once, Michelle Obama isn’t creating a trend. She’s doing what’s trendy. I’m talking about her mother-daughter trip to Spain this week with Sasha while Malia is at sleep away camp.

To the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

To the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

We’re at Hall of Human Origins, the newest exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, now celebrating its centennial year. (It’s the most visited of the 19 Smithsonian museums with 7.4 million visitors last year!) It’s the most visited museum in the country and has the most visited science museum in the world. It’s easy to see why. Even kids who profess to “hate science” can’t help but love this 21st-century museum.

Giving back

Giving back

This past weekend, I sat on the National Mall facing the Capitol in Washington, DC as Michelle Obama extolled the new graduates of George Washington University to broaden their horizons through travel abroad, working to help those less fortunate wherever they go.

Celebrate Earth Day with little things that make a difference

Celebrate Earth Day with little things that make a difference

It is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and the travel industry’s websites are falling all over each other to tell you what they are doing to be green and how we can all travel greener. But really, it is little things — like carrying reusable water bottles or hanging up towels after you use them that can help make difference

A Stop at the Jewish Museum to see Curious George

A Stop at the Jewish Museum to see Curious George

Who says you have to spend hours in a museum? Sometimes, even an hour is enough—especially with kids. While in Manhattan, I stopped in late in the afternoon at The Jewish Museum especially to see one exhibit—Curious George Saves the Day: The Art of Margret and H.A. Rey.

A day trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium

A day trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium

The centerpiece of Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey Bay, CA is the massive Monterey Bay Aquarium . It’s an incredible structure which includes some of the largest fish tanks in the world and some of the most elusive creatures in our oceans

Back to Bolton Valley with ABC and Chill

Back to Bolton Valley with ABC and Chill

This quaint little ski area in the Green Mountains near Burlington, VT., is known for its hospitality and public service – hosting both the Burton’s great Chill Organization as well as the Vermont Adaptive Sports program

Vacationing with kids who have special challenges

Vacationing with kids who have special challenges

The next time your kids are making you wonder why you left home with them, think of Terrie Easton. The Burlington, VT mom has eight-year-old twin boys one of whom has been diagnosed with autism; the other with a variety of cognitive and emotional disorders that present special challenges.

Giving Back While You Travel

Giving Back While You Travel

Avocados bigger than grapefruit, star fruit, breadfruit, wild watercress and vegetables I’ve never heard of… We’re not perusing a menu on the Caribbean island of St Lucia. We’re touring a local hillside farm owned for more than 40 years by the Richards family. Isaac Alphonse, the purchasing manager for The Landings