Day 2 in Alaska — the joys of fishing
DAY 2 — “The fish must hate us,” moans 13 year old Miles Singer. We are on the world-famous Kenai River in Alaska with one…
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Back the to the bush — Day One of a new Alaska adventure
DAY ONE (July 15, 2009) — Bears on the runway? “Routine,” says Gerry Winkler, the pilot of our six-passenger Cessna. Routine, that is, when you…
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Disney | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Weekly Column
On a Trip Down Memory Lane at Disneyland
Ignore those office emails, forget all about the economy and for an afternoon focus instead on what’s really important, especially on vacation — making memories with the kids at a place where you made your own childhood memories
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Seeing More Than the Typical Sites in NYC
Visitors to New York have their pick of world-class and iconic sites…But there is a lot more to New York than the tourist track
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One last stop — and beautiful and historic island of Moorea
We hopped a short flight from Bora Bora to the French Polynesian island of Moorea that is spectacularly beautiful with its crystal clear lagoon and the green cliffs. This island is known less for its manicured resorts than for what there is to do here — taking a hike, passing by ancient marae (ancient temples excavated by archeologists), checking out the spinner dolphins and humpback whales, playing with the stingrays in the crystal clear water.
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The life aquatic on Bora Bora
We’re diving in an area called Muri Muri just north of the island of Bora Bora and nearly as soon as we get under the water, our dive master Benoit Gratas introduces us to a Hawksbill Sea Turtle (like Crush, the character in “Finding Nemo”), showing us how to feed him a piece of sea sponge. He’s so big — more than two feet in diameter.
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At the Four Seasons Bora Bora
I’m sitting in an over the water bungalow, the ceiling fan whirring, with a thatched roof and expansive deck with its own swimming dock and outdoor shower? Did I mention that gigantic tub big enough for two with views of the lagoon as well?
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Joining Forces on Vacation
Maybe it’s the economy. Maybe it’s the need to reconnect with friends and family. At beach houses and on sailboats, city condos and mountain cabins, families and friends are joining forces on vacation
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Our last day on the catamaran with Turo
DAY 8 — Sad! It’s our last day on our Catamaran with our captain Turo Aritu, who for the past week has regaled the girls…
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Spa treatment day for the ladies on Bora Bora
DAY 7 — I’m face down on a massage table looking through glass at fish swimming in the lagoon as the Polynesian masseuse caresses me…
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At the Heiva Festival on Bora Bora
They look like they are hemming curtain rods. But actually, they are working with a kind of dried plant called Pandanus. We are again at the famous Polynesian Heiva festival that is held here in July. We first visited a Heiva on Raiatea and now on Bora Bora. Along with dancing and celebrating are competitions for dancing, canoe racing and this morning, thatch making.
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Another perfect sailing day and did we mention we caught a Mahi Mahi?
We’ve just caught a 16-pound Mahi Mahi! Amazing, we all agree. The line started to pull as we were sailing and all of a sudden our captain Turo and my husband Andy are right there, reeling in the gigantic fish. We can’t believe our luck! Turo tells us a fish this size would cost $70 or more in the local market.
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A tour of the Coral Garden with Turo as the pied piper
We are at a tiny motu or islet off the island of Taha’a called Tau Tau, in a famous snorkeling spot called The Coral Garden that is nothing like I’ve ever seen before, teeming with striped banner fish and Sergeant Majors, long skinny trumpet fish, iridescent parrotfish, triggerfish and more.
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Vanilla beans and black pearl farming on Taha’a
Hioe, an American educated nurse, now runs The Vanilla Valley (email: [email protected]) on the Tahitian Island of Taha’a. It was a plantation her grandfather first started, she explained, that had gotten neglected in her father’s day. “I took over eight years ago,” she says.
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We are underway! Sails billowing! Big sea swells! Big sea sickness
DAY 2 — The first morning we wake up on our boat! We eat some of the food we’d provisioned ahead- awesome croissants (this is…
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Surviving (Maybe Even Enjoying!) a Road Trip
No matter how snazzy the car and how short (or long) the trip, the biggest challenge is keeping the kids amused along the way. And that’s clearly a challenge a lot of us will be facing this summer.
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Day One of a 12-day idyll through French Polynesia
DAY ONE (June 25, 2009) — Our captain is straight out of central casting — or a Gaugin painting. He’s tall with a big smile,…
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Disney | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Travel Diaries
A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE AT DISNEYLAND
The kids, three-D glasses on, are laughing at the Muppets very funny antics and all of the 3-D Special effects at the Muppet Show at Disney’s California Adventure. But these two kids aren’t four. They’re 18 — newly minted high school graduates. Yet they are having as much fun at California Adventure and later at the iconic Disneyland (which opened in 1955) as any kid.
