Why families like ski country in the summer: 6 adventures
Ski country in summer, especially Colorado: you won’t run out of things to do. Many who live in ski towns say they originally came for the snow but stayed because they love the summer
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Celebrate Yosemite’s 150th birthday with your family
This month marks the 150th anniversary of the Yosemite Grant Act, which set aside Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove as the first protected wild land in the country — the first time scenic, wilderness lands were set aside specifically for preservation and public use by the federal government.
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Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Volunteer & Service | Weekly Column
World War II history comes alive for families visiting Normandy
June 6 marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day, and many families, even if they can’t visit, will be thinking about grandfathers and great-grandfathers, sons, uncles and cousins who fought and died here.
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Six ideas to jumpstart a multigenerational family summer trip
Is grandma packed? There’s a good chance she and grandpa are going along on your summer vacation whether it’s to a week at the beach, to Yellowstone or Orlando, and there’s also a good chance they’re leading the way — and paying for, or for much of, the trip.
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Families making the most of Disney World with new technology
Even the glitteriest magic wand won’t cut it at Walt Disney World these days. But wave a MagicBand and see what happens.
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Families learn about Pandas and environment at the San Diego Zoo
Zoos — besides being fun places to visit and see amazing creatures like pandas — are also ideal places to teach kids what they can do to help the environment
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Families & Groups | Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Weekly Column
Mother’s Day doesn’t have to be just once a year
Really, any day can be Mother’s Day — like on your next family vacation. All you have to do is declare: “This day is for you, Mom!”
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A place where a private tour makes sense: The Louvre in Paris
The Louvre can be overwhelming for an adult, much less a child. That’s why I figure if you are going to splurge on a private tour, this is a good place to do it.
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Tinker til you drop at San Francisco’s Exploratorium
Step right into the Tinkering Studio at San Francisco’s Exploratorium where you can tinker until you make lights go on and buzzers sound, make music on a musical bench or create a toothpick sculpture, inspired by the giant toothpick sculpture “Rolling Through the Bay.”
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Volunteer & Service | Weekly Column
Boston’s Freedom Trail: Where families travel back in time
Welcome to Boston’s Freedom Trail, the 2.5-mile-long route over cobble-stoned streets that lets you travel back in time to when Boston was still a colony and people argued about what to do about the increasingly difficult demands from the king of England.
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Five places for your kids to get up close and personal with dinosaurs
You don’t have to be in New York or at The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., to get your dino fix, as wonderful as those museums’ exhibits are. Here are four others museums I’ve visited that are guaranteed to please.
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The secret to vacation happiness — ask the kids to help planning!
The lesson: Take the kids’ opinions into account when planning a family getaway, whether it’s a big-ticket adventure, a trip to Orlando, a camping trip or a weekend exploring a city. Believe me, if the kids aren’t happy, you won’t be.
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Take your family to an art museum and explore it in new ways
At the Denver Art Museum you can borrow a backpack. These days you’ll find plenty of activities to engage kids and the adults who accompany them to art museums across the country
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Beach Vacations | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Weekly Column
Keeping your children safe around vacation pools and beaches
As many of us head off to warm climes and cruise ships on spring break, it’s especially important to be mindful of water safety, particularly if young kids are along for the trip.
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As spring breaks grow in popularity, how to plan one on the fly
Spring break these days is more for families than for college kids, as parents find it easier to grab a few days off in spring rather than summer when the kids have jobs, summer school, camp, sports practice and everyone at work is vying for the same vacation days.
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Why families love the quintessential ski town of Breckenridge, CO
Challenge is a good thing for all ages on vacation and Breckenridge offers it up in spades, whatever the kids’ ages and ability — from the Four O’clock run, which is 3.5 miles long, the terrain parks, the kids’ trails through the trees and kids’ terrain features with names like Rip’s Ravine and Dragon Trail.
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The museums in Los Angeles have something for every family
Here are five Los Angeles museum bets that are guaranteed to please even the I-hate-museum crowd
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Unleashing your family’s inner Olympian at the North American sites
This year, do a lot more than just watch the Olympians as the Winter Games get under way in Sochi, Russia on Feb. 6. Tap into the Olympic spirit right here at home.
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The family vacationer’s dilemma: an all-inclusive vs a condo
In the Turks and Caicos, most hotels here are condo-style and kid-friendly. Most visiting families, however, opt for the gargantuan, all-inclusive Beaches resort, one of Sandals’ family resorts in the Caribbean.
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Families learning the culinary arts on vacation
We’re fans of including cooking classes in our travels, learning to make mole with our kids in Oaxaca, Mexico and pasta with other young travelers in Lucca, Italy. We learned to make crab cakes on a Windstar cruise ship, after following the chef to a local market in Croatia. Wherever we go, at the very least we make sure to visit local food markets.
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Beach Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Volunteer & Service | Weekly Column
Following the kid — to Nicaragua, the new destination for eco-tourism
After years of Taking the Kids, on this trip we’ve followed our 22-year-old daughter Melanie here to Nicaragua, which many say is fast becoming the next eco tourist’s must-see destination, offering volcanoes, cloud forests, rain forests, pristine beaches and a growing number of eco resorts.
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Learning a snow sport — more than just fun in the snow
Snow sports can be more than about fun in the snow. They’re about persistence and courage, trying something new (just ask the cold-hating Los Angeles boy who was with us) and empathy for those who may be struggling more than you might be.
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How families celebrate the New Year Bahamian Style
In the Bahamas, they start ringing in the New Year on Boxing Day with the annual Junkanoo Festivals, with cowbells, goatskin drums, conch horns and incredibly colorful costumes.
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In New Hampshire for an old fashioned family holiday getaway
In New Hampshire for the holidays, we sleep and hike with the Appalachian Mountain Club, visit the historic Omni Mt. Washington Hotel, tour the treetops at Bretton Woods Ski Area and are pulled by a sled dog team that includes a pair of amazing canines.
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Touring Paris, and other cities, with those who live there
In Paris with a “Paris Greeter,” one of 360 volunteers who offer some 3,000 free tours every year. There’s likely a Greeter organization in any big city near you and all over the world.
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Volunteer & Service | Weekly Column
Visiting Boston and the historic Boston Tea Party
There may be 21st-century LED holiday lights all over Boston, but we’ve time-traveled back to 1773 — Dec. 16, 1773 to be exact — the night that literally changed the course of American history.
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New ways to light up your holidays this season
Virtually every town and city in the country has holiday festivals and displays. You just have to make time to enjoy them. Skip the mall Santa (my kids always bawled) and take them someplace where you can all gawk at spectacular light displays
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Two new ways families can take the stress out of flying
Want to get whisked through security? It may be too late for Thanksgiving, but if you are flying for Christmas, you’ve got time to sign up for Global Entry, the trusted traveler network that allows you to make your way quickly through special lines and customs by using automated kiosks at 97 domestic airports through the TSA Pre-check Program.
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Volunteer & Service | Weekly Column
Family gatherings at Gettysburg for 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s address
At the time, no one expected the speech to be a big deal. Lincoln had merely been asked to make a few remarks at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, here in the Pennsylvania countryside, just four months after the searing battle that turned the tide of the Civil War.
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Gather the family for a holiday feast at a country villa
You can gather the gang in a beautifully decorated home without doing all the work that typically entails, and without cooking at all — unless you want to. All you’ve got to do for a stress-free holiday is to celebrate at a vacation villa or condo rather than at your overcrowded house.
