To the Kennedy Space Center
Just 45 minutes east of Orlando and well worth tearing the kids away from Mouseville, Shamu, Universal’s roller coasters and the hotel pools
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A SKI TRIP IN THE AUSTRIAN ALPS
When my 18 year old daughter Melanie and I were touring Austria last summer, she begged me to bring her skiing this winter — her last before she leaves for college.So in the true spirit of let kids lead the way, here we are, about an hour from Innsbuck and just a couple of hours drive from Munich or Zurich.
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To the Colorado slopes — and getting the most bang for your buck
Cheap eats and other bargains are especially appreciated in ski country this season — even here in tony Aspen and a few hours away at Vail’s Beaver Creek Resort
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The real VIPs on the Norwegian Gem
Memo to junior first time cruisers: “Go to the kids club the first day because you’ll meet lots of kids,” said Kathy Novzynski,10 and a cruise veteran with three sailings under her belt “A lot of kids don’t know that the activities are so fun,” adds Melora Cook, 9, who is from New Brunswick, Canada.
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Behind the scenes on the Norwegian Gem
DAY SIX (March 5, 2009) – Two thousand pounds of cereal, 500 gallons of ice cream, 36,000 eggs, 1,600 gallons of milk, 900 pounds of coffee and 1,000 pounds of lobster. What a shopping list! That’s just part of what the roughly 4,000 passengers and crew consume every week aboard the Norwegian Gem. This is…
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TAKING THE SHARKS!
The sharks are everywhere — swimming in front of me, behind me, so close I can see their teeth and the marks on their skin. Some are nine feet long!
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Beach Vacations | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
A STOP AT GREAT STIRRUP BAY, BAHAMAS
Kids are snorkeling in the turquoise clear water while parents catch some rays. There’s a beach volleyball game in full swing and a barbeque going. Bahamian music is playing and the Bahama Mamas are flowing.
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Backyard Vacations | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Disney | Families & Groups | Travel Diaries
A SHORE EXCURSION TO THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
The last time I was here — more than 15 years ago — we were vacationing in Orlando and came over to watch a Space Shuttle launch. Ironically. A launch is scheduled — a night launch — for next week, we’re told, though that can change.
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DAY TWO — AT SEA ON THE NORWEGIAN GEM
Norwegian Cruise Lines must be doing something right. Despite the bad economy, this ship is full — 2873 passengers with 500 children under 18 on board.There are 1108 crew members to take care of us, says Prem Kainikkara, the hotel director who oversees them all. They are from more than 50 countries and many speak three languages.
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A Weekend Getaway to Squaw Valley, U.S.A.
For a weekend retreat away from the bustling city of San Francisco, Squaw Valley was the perfect destination. The ski mountain is close enough to the city, about a three-hour drive, to wake up early and make it from the city to the mountain still in time for a full day of skiing, and some après skiing fun.
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Going on spring break
Some almost canceled their plans this year, but they decided to go because of the opportunity for badly needed family time
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Setting Sail on a Weeklong Cruise on the Norwegian Gem
Welcome aboard the Norwegian Gem, the ship that sails from New York to Florida every Saturday. It may be chilly, but cruisers are sipping Sail Away special cocktails and lining up for barbeque on deck as music plays. The kids are eyeing the hot tubs longingly (maybe in a day or two when we reach Florida!).
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At Snowmass: SO MANY CHOICES FOR THE SWEET TOOTH
I can’t think of a better place than The Sweet Life for the bottom of a family mountain like Snowmass, by far the largest of Aspen’s four mountains and family-central with the year-old Treehouse Adventure Center that is ski school central for young kids. Jen Hayes opened her second The Sweet life (the first is in Telluride) in Snowmass’s new Base Village and it’s not only perfect for this mountain but for this economy.
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Snowshoeing at Snowmass
“The whole idea is to educate the public about the environment so they get out and love it and want to protect it,” he says. Kids as young as seven can join one of these gentle tours. “If you can walk you can do this tour,” Carter says, but he adds if you have younger kids you can call and arrange a special tour.
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Snowmass — family ski heaven
We have moved over to the new base area at Snowmass, the largest of Aspen’s four mountains and the one known as the family mountain (though my 17 year-old discovered plenty of extreme terrain too). There is a vertical drop of over 4,400 feet and 3,132 acres of terrain — attracting more skiers than Aspen’s three other mountains combined.
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Aspen in the recession — there are pluses
Yes, like every other resort in the country, business is down in America’s most famous ski town. The mountains aren’t crowded and you don’t seem to see as many flashy ski outfits either. It’s easier to get dinner reservations or a table when you want one.
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HOW PARENTS MANAGE TO TAKE KIDS SKIING IN A DIFFICULT ECONOMY
It’s lunch time at Beaver Creek Resort’s main mountain restaurant Spruce Saddle Lodge and the place is packed with families. You wouldn’t know there is a recession going on — until you start talking to people, like I did, table hopping
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A VERY GREEN SKI RESORT
I feel like a crazy person! We’re 12 in our gang, ranging from a four year-old to two twenty somethings and a grandma who just turned 60. If you think getting your kids out the door to school or day care in the morning is tough, imagine getting them geared up for a day on the snow!
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A new style all-inclusive resort on Mexico’s Riviera Maya
My mission: To see if a vacation with active teens and young adults can be successful at an all-inclusive resort. Conclusion: “yes”
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SIX LITTLE SKIERS ALL IN A ROW
Beaver Creek is a Vail Resort — about 10 minutes from famous Vail in fact — but it is a parallel universe. Even on a busy weekend, it is not crowded. The resort is known for its stellar learning terrain, kids’ school and green easy trails at the top of the mountain, though there is plenty of extreme terrain too.
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How snow sports can transform a child’s life
“This is a lot more than teaching kids how to turn on the mountain. This is about using sports to do character development.”
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To the Mohonk Mountain House
There it is, right in front of us, a castle, a sprawling, Victorian castle, just a couple of hours north of New York City.
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To Stowe Vermont and elsewhere in snow country
I’ve forsaken the slopes today, as terrific as they are at the brand-new Spruce Peak base area at Stowe Mountain Resort. I’m snowshoeing at the nearby Trapp Family Lodge
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To Oaxaca, Mexico
Oaxaca is in the southeastern part of Mexico and we’ve come here for a few days of cultural immersion after a week lazing on the beach
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A lesson in Mexican cooking on our last day in Oaxaca
Welcome to Seasons of My Heart Cooking School ) that is run by well-known chef Susana Trilling, an American from Philadelphia who fell in love with Mexico on vacation more than 20 years ago and has lived here most of the time since, raising her two kids here.
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An ancient way of making pottery and a unique wood carver
Talk about loving your work. Eighty-eight year old Dona Sophia Reyes is a potter who works seven days a week and hasn’t had a day off since she was eight, she tells us when she welcomes us into her studio and home in San Bartelo Coyotepec, a village about 25 minutes from Oaxaca City.
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An adventure through the Oaxacan countryside
We are on our bikes riding on dirt roads passing alfalfa and corn fields, passing locals hauling alfalfa by donkey carts. It is day two of a trip to Oaxaca in Central Mexico that Austin Lehman Adventures (www.austinlehman.com) has arranged for our family.
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On to Oaxaca and the tasty grasshoppers
It tastes kind of like bacon and is seasoned with chile and salt. Not bad! We are walking through a market in Oaxaca City where we’ve arrived just this afternoon to spend a few days touring this cultural center on a trip organized for us by Austin Lehman Adventures. Locals are selling the “chapulines” — there are big piles of them! Cheap too — just 3 pesos for a bag (about 40 cents).
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A smaller resort just down the beach with a different feel
DAY 7 – I’m perched in a wooden tree house — the most comfortable I’ve ever seen — on a double mattress overlooking the turquoise Caribbean Sea and white sand beach. The Beach Butler comes by to see if I need anything — perhaps something to drink? Can vacation get any more perfect? We’re at…
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How to cope with another relaxing day on the beach
It’s 7:15 am and I snag the last “beach bed” at the pool area closest to our room at the Azul Sensatori Hotel (www.karismahotels.com) south of Cancun. You can see why they are in demand — comfy oversized mattresses that are covered.
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To the theater — in NYC and elsewhere
Despite the economy — or maybe because of it — there’s no better time for families to check out The Great White Way
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Beach Vacations | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Travel Diaries
An up-close look at the Azul Sensatori near Cancun
This might be the best kids’ club I’ve seen. Certainly one of the best-thanks to partnerships with My Gym and Fisher Price at the Karisma Azul Sensatori resort just south of Cancun (www.karismahotels.com). There is a big play room complete with trampoline and balls to jump in.
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In Mexico, the future of family travel?
I think I’ve seen the future of family travel. It’s called Azul Fives and it’s about a half hour south of we’re staying just outside of Playa del Carmen. Originally, we were supposed to stay here — I liked the location (plenty of action in town for the young adults, Mayan ruins a short drive away, good diving and snorkeling right from the resort).
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Dance lessons, Spanish lessons or yoga?
I walk down the beach. A toddler is snoozing in the spacious covered “beach bed;” a grandfather is playing cards with his granddaughter; a dad is tossing a football along the beach with his sons. There is a beach volleyball game going on at one end of the beach and a kids’ soccer game at the other.
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A vacation on the Mexican Riviera
My mission: seeing if a vacation with teens and young adults can be successful at an all-inclusive resort. When they were younger, I liked all-inclusives for the organized kids’ activities that gave parents a break and the fact that I didn’t have to pay $4 every time they wanted a soft drink.
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Planning a family reunion in tough times
I’ve met families who have gathered in Orlando and in the Galapagos Islands… celebrating 75th birthdays and 50th anniversaries, graduations, survival from serious illness and simple family togetherness
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IT’S ABOUT THE MEMORIES!
Remember that the next time you’re tempted to scold your impossible, uncooperative preschooler in the middle of Walt Disney World, peck away on your BlackBerry poolside, instead of jumping in and playing Marco Polo with the kids, or disown your teen who refuses to leave her hotel room, yet complains of being bored.
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A Visit to the San Francisco Museums
For those of you who have to touch – just have to – San Francisco’s Exploratorium is a must-experience educational hot spot. Upon entering the cavernous space reminiscent of a large train terminal, one is greeted with hundreds of learning stations and interactive exhibits cleverly organized by topic: electricity, sound, and many, many more that we lacked the time to see (we recommend committing at least half the day, or making two or more visits to the Exploratorium in order to take in the full experience).
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BUYING BOOKS FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Emily, who lives in a Portland, Oregon suburb, is miserable without a good book. Emily and her mom, Patti Zebrowski, were part of the group traveling with us in Costa Rica last summer and Emily was never without a book, even in the pool. I know how she feels. I can’t think of anything worse than being stuck on a plane or in a hotel room without something to read.
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Finding an affordable last minute holiday getaway
Finally, some good news for traveling families. If you thought the ever-worsening economy meant you should forgo a holiday or post-holiday getaway with the kids, think again. The reality is that this may be the year to travel.
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At Mohonk, the spa gathers its own witch hazel
It must be the witch hazel. My daughter Mel and I had the best facials we’d ever had at Mohonk Mountain House (www.mohonk.com). The Mohonk- “ Mohonk Red” treatments, I learn, use witch hazel from trees grown on the extensive mountain grounds here. Besides the usual cleansing, exfoliating and more, the session included warm and…
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A castle is a great place to time-travel
After 9/11, families who didn’t want to venture far from home discovered Mohonk—just 90 miles from NYC. The owners hope in this economy that will happen again but I think they will need to rethink their price structure for families with young kids — just as I think all resorts should right now.
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A trip to a castle — Mohonk Mountain House
I love castles. I’ve stayed at a centuries-old castle turned bed and breakfast in Wales and visited castles wherever I go — France, England, Austria and the Czech Republic last summer. But I never realized there would be such a cool castle less than two hours drive from my house in Connecticut. “So random!” declared…
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Lifting confidence and self-esteem through adaptive skiing
Haley Woodland may be freezing but she’s all smiles. So is her mom Eilizea. Four year old Haley has Cerebral Palsy and has just come in from her ski lesson — she’s in a sit ski. “I can’t tell you what a difference this makes in her self esteem and confidence, “ Mrs. Woodland says….
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Traveling greener
The kids hate when I nag them about getting up early or posing for next year’s holiday card. But now I’ve got new motivation to nag, and I don’t think my environmentally conscious gang will complain about — traveling greener. If we turn out the lights when we leave home, why not in a hotel room, asks Herve Houdre, the general manager of the historic Willard Intercontinental Washington in Washington
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Surviving the holiday travel crush while you are watching every penny
Another Thanksgiving weekend, we got back to Chicago with our crew after visiting the relatives to discover that the battery to our minivan was dead — in the airport parking lot. We waited a long time that cold night for AAA. Isn’t holiday travel with the kids fun?
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To Park City for some fun in the snow
Plenty of light fluffy snow—close to 400 inches a season. Plenty of sunshine. A place that really loves families.Welcome to Park City, Utah, home to Park City Mountain Resort, famous for its world-class parks and pipes that tweens and teens especially love, as well as innovative children’s programs that are changing the way kids learn to ski and snowboard.
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Debunking Thanksgiving myths at Plimouth Plantation
There’s no better place than Plimouth Plantation in Plymouth Massachusetts on a sunny fall day to debunk the myths of that first Thanksgiving and learn more about the adults and kids who lived here then. Just in November, some 70,000 people from around the world visit, some staying to dine with the Pilgrims. (Book early. The dinners, especially the traditional Thanksgiving Day feast, often sell out far in advance.)
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A BFF weekend at Turnberry Isle
I’m not a golfer — I never have golfed, in fact, though my two friends, Sue Tober and Elise Carlton, do. Christina Trammell, the resort’s director of golf is very patient. I’m pleased I can even hit the ball! One person in the clinic has just finished up two full days of lessons with Christina.
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TO ORLANDO ON THE CHEAP
It’s bad enough to say no to the kids all the time at home, much less on vacation. (No, you can’t have that $40 sweatshirt. No you can’t order that $20 steak…) Vacation, after all, is when we all want to indulge the kids and ourselves. But with the economy the way it is, I think we’re all going to be saying no more often, until we figure out better ways to stretch those vacation bucks.
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Family adventures on the river
Welcome to the vacation world of family river rafting. You can go for a day, three days or longer on the Green River in Utah, which is mild enough for a 5-year-old or on others where outfitters suggest kids should be at least 12, in order to handle the rapids. Lewis, Kerr and Dr. Jacobsen give rave reviews to the trips down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River
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Hitting the slopes without busting the budget
Eleven-year-old Nate Gourd, an avid snowboarder from Manchester, Vt., couldn’t agree more. “You feel like you’re flying when you come down the mountain,” he says, adding that kids “definitely should wear helmets.” Meet Vermont’s vice presidents of fun. Bridget — who says she’s always waiting at the bottom of the mountain for her “slowpoke” family
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Belize offers a host of family friendly destinations
By Eileen Ogintz Tribune Media Services The big green moray eel stares at me, coming out of his hideaway in the reef, as if to say, “Go away! I don’t want to play!” But I’m content to just watch him, his buddies and all of the other creatures that call this Barrier Reef, which runs…
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Take them for some spooky fun and games this Halloween season
My best friend JoAnne and I fashioned ghost costumes out of old white sheets, corralled my little sister Amy to join us and –presto — we were The Ghost Family. We happily went off trick or treating in our suburban Long Island, N.Y., neighborhood. No parents tagged along, of course, no one had expensive costumes or headed to a theme park fright fest.
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TO SAN FRANCISCO’S UNIQUE MUSEUMS
Adults and kids are hunched over mounds of multicolored clay, fashioning little clay people and assorted creatures that will star in kid-produced animated shorts. “This isn’t your typical museum,” says Mike Shomo, from Denver, who’s visiting with his wife and three kids, as he creates a sea lion.
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On a fall getaway when they’re too little for school
Sure you have to drag a diaper bag (not to mention stroller, car seat and a generous supply of Goldfish) everywhere you go, you haven’t had a full night’s sleep in you can’t remember when and the dire economic news makes you wonder how you’ll ever pay for preschool, much less college, but then there’s the bright side — travel-wise, anyway. While everyone else is up to their ears in carpools, homework and soccer games, you’re free to get out of town.
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WATCHING SEA TURTLES NEST
By Eileen Ogintz Tribune Media Services The beach is pitch black, except for the light from the stars dancing across the sky. The ocean waves pound. And right in front of us, a huge (more than 300 pounds and three feet long!) Green Sea Turtle methodically drops her eggs into a nest she’s dug deep…
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Understanding where the food comes from
Ever seen a cranberry bean? I’ve never seen so much luscious produce in one place — heirloom tomatoes, white peaches, plums, big and tiny grapes, almonds and walnuts, various varieties of chili peppers…eggplants, potatoes…welcome to The Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market .
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A visit to SF’s Zeum
Here’s one place where no one is afraid to get their hands dirty. They’re bent over tables diligently making multi colored clay figures from wire frames and assorted other creatures — dogs, sea lions, cats.
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Five Days in San Francisco
DAY ONE — As long as I was flying cross country to San Francisco, I thought I’d try Virgin America (www.virginamerica.com) . I always liked flying Virgin Atlantic to London. They were among the first to have individual seat entertainment systems with dedicated kids’ channels and games. Virgin America has gone a step further: the…
