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I sent my crew — my daughter Mel and six of her college friends to check out Adventure Ridge — a veritable winter play ground at 10,350 feet atop the Eagle Bahn Gondola at Vail. There’s tubing. You can slide down the hill sitting on your big tube (couch potato style) or lay across it (Superman style). Couch Potato is scarier they declare.
The $11 million nightclub has everything — the latest technology, a DJ every night, young stars who stop by for meet and greets, specialty drinks, a cafe. Like the latest megaships, gargantuan Atlantis on Paradise Island, just 180 miles from Florida, with nearly 3,500 rooms and 8,000 employees — the largest employer in the Bahamas besides the government — wants to be all things to all vacationers, including those not old enough to vote
Taking the Kids appears in Four Seasons Magazine with Eileen Ogintz’s top picks for family travel destinations for inspiration.
Taking the Kids shared with USA TODAY’s Monica Hortobagyi 10 places for a family spring break.
I didn’t worry about my gang ensconced in the condo while I was at the ER — not with the big flat screen TV , with killer views of the mountain where the staff can’t do enough for you. This place isn’t ski in ski out. Instead, the staff keeps your skis and boots (they bring out your skis from storage, put them on the shuttle for you take you over to Lionshead Village and then carry your skis over to the slope.
We’re ensconced in a spacious two-bedroom, steps from the chairlift that doesn’t seem crowded even though my daughter Mel brought along six of her college friends. I love that the place is small — just 88 units ranging from studios to four bedrooms. I love that so many of the amenities are complimentary—from valet parking to WiFi to a bowling alley (that’s right a two-lane bowling alley)
I’m at Dolphin Cay at Atlantis in the Bahamas where 36 dolphins (8 rescued after Hurricane Katrina), enable visitors to participate in one of the largest dolphin interactive programs in the world. Typically 800-900 guests participate a day, says Teri Corbett, vice president of Marine mammal operations, which also include sea lions and the five baby dolphins just born in the past month.
So what if you missed the mark this past Valentine’s Day? Take your honey on a decidedly adult getaway to a place like Sandals Emerald Bay on the outer Bahamian island of Great Exuma (about an hour’s flight from Miami on a 50-passenger jet). This is a place where grown-ups come to play – no one under 18 admitted.
/uploadedImages/images_upload/2011_Q1_Uploaded_Images/Eileen tries cigar rolling in Bahamas.jpgWe’re at the small cigar factory at Graycliff, a historic mansion dating back to the 18th century that is owned by Garzaroli family. Sixteen master rollers from Cuba turn out a million cigars a year. Enrico Garzaroli began with a single roller whoo was once Fidel Castro’s personal cigar-maker
You need a plan because the place is so huge –from the state of the art Dolphin Interaction Center at Dolphin Cay, the biggest casino in The Bahamas, the Predator Lagoon where you are in an underwater acrylic viewing tunnel watching barracuda and sharks, kids can get introduced to snorkeling in a calm lagoon –7 acres
Welcome to CRUSH, Atlantis’s brand new teen club in Nassau (www.atlantis.com). The place is huge—14,000 square feet with multi-touch computers and surface tables (want to send an e-post card to a friend? Post a photo on your face book wall?) Check your email (internet is free). They can order a snack on the table-sized tablet (pizza bagel, Panini or smoothie?) or a CRUSH T shirt and pick it up on their way out.
We’re sitting at an elegantly set table for two in a private “tower” overlooking Sandals Emerald Bay pool which incidentally is the largest zero entry pool in the Caribbean. The fire pit—yes the pool has a fire pit—reflects light. We’re being served a special candlelight dinner. Our young waiter in white gloves tells us he wants to get an MBA in the United States
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.
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