The Power of Family Travelers
I couldn’t help but smile as I looked out at the room filled with family travel writers and bloggers, some with their kids beside them, busily learning how to become better travel communicators.
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.
I couldn’t help but smile as I looked out at the room filled with family travel writers and bloggers, some with their kids beside them, busily learning how to become better travel communicators.
Our first day on the mountain my daughter’s instructor got her set up with a bi-ski and we all headed out onto the lift. It was a short run and I’m not sure if I breathed the whole way down, anxiously wondering how she was doing. We got to the bottom of the run and I was greeted by a wide smile. Game o!.
Inevitably, we’ll reminisce about less-than-perfect Thanksgiving gatherings, like the time we arrived back home at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to discover our car battery was dead, or the time in Connecticut our dog devoured the homemade pate a cousin brought to Thanksgiving dinner before anyone had a bite.
The view of Lake Michigan from my windows changed my perspective of the great lake and forced me to concede in the everlasting debate I had held with my native Chicagoan friends – that the shores of Lake Michigan are worthy of the title “beach.”
Download a PDF file of Eileen’s presentation to the 2nd Family Travel Conference in Dallas on November 9-11, 2012. The Family Travel Conference brings together media and industry leaders in family travel and gives them the practical training, latest tools, and best practices they need to navigate this leading travel segment.
The Hall of North American Mammals, with its famous mammal dioramas, includes several that recreate scenes from national parks and monuments that Theodore Roosevelt helped preserve and protect.
Ten-year-old Charlie Baker writes: When Hurricane Sandy hit, we didn’t have any power in my New Jersey town. A lot of the families left and went to grandma’s house, but my grandma lives in Manhattan and we couldn’t get there because there was a lot of traffic and a giant crane was hanging nearby. So we had to figure out where else to go. My mom ended up surprising us with a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge.
The Disney resorts have just announced Limited Time Magic for all of 2013 –52 weeks of what they promise will be magical experiences that appear, then disappear as the next special surprise debuts.
it’s worth checking out a bike tour wherever you are visiting with the kids. You can bike along the new beach promenade in Clearwater, Fla., or sample Portland’s famous local eats on a Bites by Bike tour that claims it is the best in the country for cyclists, offering an extensive network of trails.
Foxnews.com: Eileen’s blog on Hurricane Sandy messing up travel plans.
UPDATE (Wednesday, Oct 31) — It’s Halloween, but the really scary thing is now bad the damage from SuperStorm Sandy is all over the Northeast. We still have power at our house so we are one of the few lucky ones. But we lost cable, which means almost all forms of communication for us these days. I’m updating this blog from our Town Hall where they have electricity and free public wi-fi. It’s impressive the way people are pulling together and helping each other out. Just this morning my husband helped a neighbor jump-start his car. His battery had run down after he and his son tried to recharge too many electronic devices. Meanwhile… if you trying to travel, or get home, during the storm’s aftermath, check out www.johnnyjet.com for some great tips!
You don’t need a gourmet meal to enjoy snowshoeing. It’s fun to take a sandwich and hot cider with you in your backpack; it’s fun just to get out and enjoy the back-country landscape away from the hustle and bustle of a snow sports resort. I try to take a day off from skiing each trip just for the experience.
National Cruise Vacation week is Oct 21-27, the cruise industry’s largest sale with savings on more than 200 cruise ships—everything from significant on-ship credits to free airfare and two-for-one pricing.
Thirty-seven percent of leisure travelers say they’ve traveled with grandkids just this past year. Twenty-two percent report they are even leaving their children behind and just inviting the grandkids along….
Milestones occur with frequency in the raising of children. For Eileen and me, this past weekend was one of the sweetest — our last PARENTS WEEKEND for our last child in college.
“People tell us this is the way the Caribbean used to be,” says Lawrence Wheatley, who with his sister Lorraine and their mom runs the 16-room Anegada Reef Hotel and its bustling restaurant where diners feast on the 2+ pound lobsters and fresh fish nightly.
Certainly you could spend all of your time in Washington, DC without paying to enter a museum—there are plenty of free ones to choose from. But two on our list are private and, the boys said, were worth the cost of admission.
One of the best things about Washington, DC is that so many museums are free. We aim to hit as many as we can.This time, instead of trying to see all that the Holocaust Museum or the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History has to offer, I tried to pinpoint certain exhibits I thought would most interest the boys from the Westport ABC House
No guilt allowed! We keep telling ourselves that all weekend. I’m in Scottsdale, AZ for a moms’ getaway weekend with an old friend I don’t see nearly enough. She lives on the West Coast; I live across the country.
I was chaperoning six city high school boys who attend our suburban school under the auspices of A Better Chance, a national organization that identifies kids with academic potential in middle school and sends them to communities like ours (Westport, CT) to live and attend high school. Several of the boys had visited Washington, DC on middle school trip
Every snow-loving parent knows that trips to the slopes not only are expensive but a lot of work for moms and dads. All the schlepping of gear! That’s why I applaud any effort that makes snow sports more affordable and more fun for families.
If you’re thinking Halloween is weeks away, think again. These days, Halloween lasts the entire month of October! There are frightful — and not so frightful — theme park extravaganzas, boo at the zoos and much more…
We are in northern Chile in the famous Atacama desert region in the Valle de la Luna—Moon Valley—famous for its resemblance to the moon surface and salt and rock formations that look like dinosaur heads, angels and more.
We are in northern Chile in the famous Atacama desert region in the Valle de la Luna—Moon Valley—famous for its resemblance to the moon surface and salt and rock formations that look like dinosaur heads, angels and more.
The ocean is a fascinating place for children who love the colorful and interactive displays, live shows featuring dolphins and multimedia presentations. Visiting oceanariums can also be an opportunity for them to touch living animals in a safe environment, while learning about them, too.
Here at Conner Prairie Interactive History Park, the terrific living history museum outside Indianapolis, a Smithsonian affiliate that focuses on 19th-century Indiana, the journey takes us 90 minutes, starting with our escape from an owner who plans to sell us “back South.”
There are plenty of family-friendly and budget friendly ways to take your clan away, and still keep everybody well-fed, well-shod and not wandering the streets with packs of dogs.
Our Guide Kerry Echer is leading us on one of several unique adventures offered by the Golden Door Spa here. Earlier in the day, we’d noticed Echer teaching rock climbing on the giant boulders; there are also guided hikes and mountain biking.
There are other museums of musical instruments, but none with such an expansive collection from around the world—harps, zithers flutes and trumpets from the Middle East, African drums, a 17th century spinet and 20th century electric guitars…an Appalachian dulcimer, a ukulele, bagpipes and cymbals.
We amble inside out of the sun for lunch at Sprouts which serves healthy eats (complete with calorie counts) but indulgences too like chocolate fondue. We love the chicken curry lettuce wraps, tuna tartare and salads. We skip the chocolate fondue!
Browse through a selection of travel ideas for cities, countries, and unique regions that offer memorable experiences for every type of traveler.
Escape to the outdoors where lush parks, scenic trails, and serene natural retreats provide the space to relax, recharge, and experience the world in its purest form.
Every destination has its own flavor. Let the food take you on a journey through local traditions, and unforgettable meals.