Adventure Starts Here.
Every journey brings you closer to new places, to people you love, to family, and to yourself. Let’s make your next escape unforgettable.
There’s still snow on the ground in many areas of the country but spring break is just around the corner. Should you head for the beaches, mountains, vineyards, ballparks? The choices and deals are endless.
We kayak through Mangroves where the path is so narrow we must go single file. The Mangroves, Rolle tell us, “always” have been there. We stop at a small windswept beach called Mariah Cay. There are some 365 Cays that make up Great Exuma and if you want to feel like a Castaway, Rolle says, a boat captain can drop you off with chairs and lunch and pick you up several hours later.
This is a most decidedly upscale Sandals—we even have butler service! It is kind of unnerving to have someone—especially a nice young man named Logesh Ambikapathy who is from India—to cater to my every wish. Lemon for my water? Coming right up. He even stops by the pool to see if we need anything. A pizza would be nice, we suggest. He brings it piping hot 15 minutes later.
These kids may look like any group of young snowboarders decked out in the latest Burton gear. “You can see them stand taller,” Heston said. But looks, as we know, can be deceiving. They can’t afford snow sports or the gear, much less bus fare to the mountain. In fact, some live in homeless shelters, others live in group homes
elax and breathe! That could be the mantra for de-stressing everyday life. But here on tiny Grand Turk Island where many believe Columbus first made landfall in the New World, the words are PADI dive instructor Hilary Sutton’s instructions to my 19-year-old daughter, Melanie, as she prepares to do her first of four open-water dives
Super Bowl? The Packers? You should see Vince before there was a Super Bowl. The second week in February (Feb. 6 to 10) kids rule Broadway with free tickets (up to age 18, kids can see a Broadway show for free when accompanied by a paying adult) to shows like “Lombardi.” There are pre-theater parties, restaurant discounts, parking discounts, special-edition Kids’ Night Playbills and more.
Sure, I’ve tried to raise my two daughters and my son to seek challenges. Like you, I’ve hoped that travel has shown them how exciting and exhilarating it can be to step out of their comfort zones. I’ve proudly watched them manage when confronted by unexpected obstacles, whether it was lost luggage, bad weather, illness or simply disappointment when the destination hasn’t met their expectations. They’ve learned lessons on vacation that translate to their everyday lives
Whether you are a first time cruiser, a Disney cruise fan (some have cruised the line a dozen times or more), cruising with one child, or your extended family (at least 1/3 of cruisers will be), you will be hard pressed to do even half of what this ship has to offer—and that includes Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.
Yes, vacation dreams can come true. At least Mickey Mouse thinks so as he promises dreams of adventure, friendship, romance and fun at the rollicking Christening of Disney’s new Dream.
Other cruise lines are also catering to the growing family cruise market (more than a million kids now cruise each year) with their megaships — a smart move at a time when kids increasingly drive vacation decisions. A survey found that cruises top kids’ list of dream vacation destinations, right behind a trip to Walt Disney World.
Theresa Bennett and her extended family are all smiles—even as they wait 40 minutes in line at Epcot to see Soarin’ — the popular attraction that makes you feel as if you are hang-gliding over California
Wild Animal Trek gives you the chance to watch the cheetahs and lions through powerful binoculars, get to the edge of the river above where the crocs loll, albeit tethered to cables that keep a misstep from turning into a tragedy. Yes, we were also tethered going across the bridges
The Bohio Resort managers Ginny and Tom Allan hug us goodbye. That doesn’t happen at your typical resort hotel. We leave with Conch shells in our bags and lots of dive sites we still want to see. We’ll have to come back.
For us, that meant enjoying a quiet “staycation” after Christmas instead of taking a much-anticipated diving trip to Grand Turk Island. Though our flight was scheduled two days after the Christmas blizzard that crippled the East Coast, we thought we were good to go and left our house that morning boarding passes in hand. But in the hour it took us to get to JFK our flight was canceled and we couldn’t get another for several days. Work schedules dictated we cancel the trip.
For our second dive of the day, we head to the Library, so named because it is directly in front of Grand Turk’s tiny library. We dive along the famous Grand Turk Wall that drops 100 feet. It is marvelous– all varieties of fish and coral. By the end of the dive, holding the dive master’s hand, Emily is hooked and comes up out of the water smiling
The area east of where we staying at Bohio is apparently full of conch—our novice free divers get 10 in 20 minutes. We head to Gibb’s Cay, a tiny island where Trevor will prepare Conch Salad or Conch Ceviche while he hands out shrimp for us to feed the half dozen stingrays who swim around the beach waiting for their treat.
My daughter Mel, 19, and I have come to Grand Turk Island so that she can complete the four-day PADI course (www.padi.com) and become a certified diver, as am I. Truth be told, this was supposed to be a family trip over New Years—Mel’s older brother and dad also are divers—but a blizzard in New York derailed our plans. Rather than forgo the opportunity altogether, she and I opted to make it a shorter, girls trip
Our early-morning departure from Remota, smaller-than-average group size, and anticipated 7 hour hike signaled challenge ahead. It was the windiest day in Patagonia that we had seen so far. The tall grass outside of Remota was constantly being flattened by gusts of wind and huge white caps on the fjord outside our window were lapping up against the shore. “You better bring a windbreaker,” My dad told us. He was right.
Disney’s unique, guided, land-based tours successfully offer families the chance to explore far-flung destinations from Italy to Africa to Yellowstone National Park with itineraries that de-stress the experience for parents while offering activities guaranteed to please the kids. Now Adventures by Disney has brought the concept onboard some Disney cruises (www.disneycruise.com) in the Mediterranean and this coming summer, Alaska
If you thought heading to the slopes this winter would be a budget buster or no fun for mom, think again. Not only has there been so much snow, but large and small resorts across ski country are pulling out all the stops for families, featuring increased programming off the slopes as well as on, free or discounted lift tickets and even free flights.
Upping the adventure quotient is exactly what a growing number of well-heeled and fit grandparents are doing to gather their far-flung progeny. They’re sailing in the British Virgin Islands, hiking in Yellowstone, exploring Costa Rican rain forests, bird-watching in the Galapagos Islands, heading to Africa on safari, fishing in Alaska and even studying marine biology in Virginia, typically picking up most of the tab
No wonder I’m smiling. If you thought heading to the slopes this winter would be a budget buster or no fun for mom, think again. Large and small resorts across ski country are pulling out all the stops for families, featuring increased programming off the slopes as well as on, free or discounted lift tickets and even free flights.
As we were planning our trip, we decided that a day-off from Disney would be good, so that the kids could settle down and we didn’t have to fight crowds and lines all day. So, being from Colorado, we decided to go check out SNOW! and ICE! at the Gaylord Palms hotel in Orlando.
We were headed to the tiny island of Grand Turk and Bohio Resort www.bohioresort.com for some scuba diving. Turks and Caicos is known for their spectacular reefs and my daughter Mel had been diligently completing the required online course and hoped to join us as certified divers this trip. But I was celebrating too soon. Just before we arrived at JFK, I got a message from American Airlines that our flight had been cancelled. (Why we didn’t get the message four hours ahead, as we’d requested, I don’t know)
Day 4 in Orlando with the Sitzman family — When we were planning our Holiday vacation, we wanted to have a special, keystone event—besides, I had convinced five-year old Hannah that we weren’t going to put up a Christmas tree since I had called ahead and Mickey was going to go ahead and decorate for us.
On our third day, we woke up ready to go get wet. When we looked outside, we were going to definitely get wet. It was pouring outside. But, since we didn’t have much flexibility in our schedule, and since we knew we were going to be sitting in the splash zone at Shamu, we were undeterred. In fact, it was raining so hard we were wet as we walked to the car.
Our second day in Orlando for our Holiday vacation took us to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Although we have been to this theme park a couple of times as a family, this would be the first time that both our son and daughter would be able to enjoy most of the “big kid” rides. Emphasis on most!
I know many of you couldn’t imagine forsaking home during the Christmas holidays. It’s certainly a frustrating and expensive time to travel. But for my gang, taking off during the holidays has become as much of a tradition for our interfaith family as lighting the menorah and hanging stockings over the fireplace. We’ve skied in Colorado and sailed in the British Virgin Islands where one year my husband and son became certified scuba divers. This year my daughter Mel will learn to dive at a tiny resort on Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos and I can’t wait to share a sport I love with her….
Whenever kids are part of the equation—whether they’re four, fourteen or 24—let go of all your expectations for that perfect family bonding experience. It won’t happen. You’ll be lucky if you get a few of those can’t-believe-we’re-here-together moments. And if your kids are like mine, they won’t want to stop then to take a picture.
The Sitzman family (cousins of Eileen’s) from snowy Golden, Co., decided to let someone else decorate the tree this year and headed for Orlando, Fl. First stop: Universal Orlando and Breakfast with the Grinch!
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