When the kids aren’t in school yet this fall, get out and play
For once, be glad you’re toting a stroller and safety seat. When everyone else has headed back to school, you can head off on vacation with your toddlers and preschoolers.
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Families love Vermont in Fall for more than the colorful foliage
If you think visiting Vermont in fall is just about the foliage, glorious as it may be, think again. There are mountains to climb, golf and disc golf, kayaking, canoeing and mountain biking to try.
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Small museums everywhere provide great value for families
I realized when I stopped at the Children’s Creativity Museum in San Francisco, how much fun a visit to a smaller museum can be for visiting families.
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New Orleans, swamps, plantations and other family haunts in Louisiana
Want a marshmallow? The 6-foot-long alligator, dubbed Otis by the locals, who’s minus one foot and swimming alongside our boat certainly does.
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Farm-to-table family fun on Martha’s Vineyard
At the nonprofit Farm Institute on Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts, the local and vacationing kids who attend summer day camp here tend the expansive vegetable garden, gather eggs and care for the animals. Older kids may learn the art of composting and carpentry.
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Visiting the theme parks with the youngest members of the family
Wherever you and your toddlers and preschoolers find yourselves this summer, you’ll find plenty to amuse and entertain, even when they’re not walking yet. Go after the older kids go back to school and you can avoid the crowds. According to Visit Orlando, September is the cheapest month of the year to visit there.
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Weekly Column
Sonoma County: the right locale for a trip with a grown-up kid
Who says grown kids don’t want to travel with their parents? I don’t get to see my daughter that often and was determined to make our few days together as fun and as stress-free as possible for both of us. The key, I discovered, is choosing the right locale.
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Families love meeting future baseball stars on Cape Cod
We’re sitting on the grass with several hundred parents and kids on a balmy summer night in Falmouth, Massachusetts on Cape Cod watching the Falmouth Commodores play the Orleans Firebirds.
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Families get up close and with the animals at Busch Gardens in Tampa
Welcome to the state-of-the-art Animal Care Center at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida — a unique 16,000-square-foot facility opened a little more than two years ago where visitors can watch how the park’s veterinarians take care of the animals that live here
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Generations gather at the ballfields in Cooperstown all summer long
With the families and generations at Cooperstown Dreams Park, which draws 104 Little League baseball teams each week to its 22 pristine fields spread out over 150 acres.
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In Norway — Not your ordinary Splash Mountains
No we’re not at Disneyland or Disney World. We’re actually in Norway exploring the famous West Norwegian Fjords with Adventures by Disney and I’ve counted at least 18 waterfalls
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Six new places for families to experience a special July 4th
Maybe you will march in a local parade or watch the kids march, host a barbecue or gather the gang to see the fireworks. Here are six unique ways to celebrate July 4.
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Beach Vacations | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Weekly Column
How families can get great deals in the Caribbean in summer
Many consider summer in the Caribbean family season because rates are significantly lower and there are so many value-added amenities.
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Why families like ski country in the summer: 6 adventures
Ski country in summer, especially Colorado: you won’t run out of things to do. Many who live in ski towns say they originally came for the snow but stayed because they love the summer
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Celebrate Yosemite’s 150th birthday with your family
This month marks the 150th anniversary of the Yosemite Grant Act, which set aside Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove as the first protected wild land in the country — the first time scenic, wilderness lands were set aside specifically for preservation and public use by the federal government.
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World War II history comes alive for families visiting Normandy
June 6 marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day, and many families, even if they can’t visit, will be thinking about grandfathers and great-grandfathers, sons, uncles and cousins who fought and died here.
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Six ideas to jumpstart a multigenerational family summer trip
Is grandma packed? There’s a good chance she and grandpa are going along on your summer vacation whether it’s to a week at the beach, to Yellowstone or Orlando, and there’s also a good chance they’re leading the way — and paying for, or for much of, the trip.
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Families making the most of Disney World with new technology
Even the glitteriest magic wand won’t cut it at Walt Disney World these days. But wave a MagicBand and see what happens.
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Families learn about Pandas and environment at the San Diego Zoo
Zoos — besides being fun places to visit and see amazing creatures like pandas — are also ideal places to teach kids what they can do to help the environment
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Families & Groups | Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Weekly Column
Mother’s Day doesn’t have to be just once a year
Really, any day can be Mother’s Day — like on your next family vacation. All you have to do is declare: “This day is for you, Mom!”
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A place where a private tour makes sense: The Louvre in Paris
The Louvre can be overwhelming for an adult, much less a child. That’s why I figure if you are going to splurge on a private tour, this is a good place to do it.
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Tinker til you drop at San Francisco’s Exploratorium
Step right into the Tinkering Studio at San Francisco’s Exploratorium where you can tinker until you make lights go on and buzzers sound, make music on a musical bench or create a toothpick sculpture, inspired by the giant toothpick sculpture “Rolling Through the Bay.”
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Volunteer & Service | Weekly Column
Boston’s Freedom Trail: Where families travel back in time
Welcome to Boston’s Freedom Trail, the 2.5-mile-long route over cobble-stoned streets that lets you travel back in time to when Boston was still a colony and people argued about what to do about the increasingly difficult demands from the king of England.
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Five places for your kids to get up close and personal with dinosaurs
You don’t have to be in New York or at The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., to get your dino fix, as wonderful as those museums’ exhibits are. Here are four others museums I’ve visited that are guaranteed to please.
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The secret to vacation happiness — ask the kids to help planning!
The lesson: Take the kids’ opinions into account when planning a family getaway, whether it’s a big-ticket adventure, a trip to Orlando, a camping trip or a weekend exploring a city. Believe me, if the kids aren’t happy, you won’t be.
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Take your family to an art museum and explore it in new ways
At the Denver Art Museum you can borrow a backpack. These days you’ll find plenty of activities to engage kids and the adults who accompany them to art museums across the country
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Beach Vacations | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Weekly Column
Keeping your children safe around vacation pools and beaches
As many of us head off to warm climes and cruise ships on spring break, it’s especially important to be mindful of water safety, particularly if young kids are along for the trip.
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As spring breaks grow in popularity, how to plan one on the fly
Spring break these days is more for families than for college kids, as parents find it easier to grab a few days off in spring rather than summer when the kids have jobs, summer school, camp, sports practice and everyone at work is vying for the same vacation days.
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Why families love the quintessential ski town of Breckenridge, CO
Challenge is a good thing for all ages on vacation and Breckenridge offers it up in spades, whatever the kids’ ages and ability — from the Four O’clock run, which is 3.5 miles long, the terrain parks, the kids’ trails through the trees and kids’ terrain features with names like Rip’s Ravine and Dragon Trail.
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The museums in Los Angeles have something for every family
Here are five Los Angeles museum bets that are guaranteed to please even the I-hate-museum crowd
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Unleashing your family’s inner Olympian at the North American sites
This year, do a lot more than just watch the Olympians as the Winter Games get under way in Sochi, Russia on Feb. 6. Tap into the Olympic spirit right here at home.
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The family vacationer’s dilemma: an all-inclusive vs a condo
In the Turks and Caicos, most hotels here are condo-style and kid-friendly. Most visiting families, however, opt for the gargantuan, all-inclusive Beaches resort, one of Sandals’ family resorts in the Caribbean.
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Families learning the culinary arts on vacation
We’re fans of including cooking classes in our travels, learning to make mole with our kids in Oaxaca, Mexico and pasta with other young travelers in Lucca, Italy. We learned to make crab cakes on a Windstar cruise ship, after following the chef to a local market in Croatia. Wherever we go, at the very least we make sure to visit local food markets.
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Beach Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Volunteer & Service | Weekly Column
Following the kid — to Nicaragua, the new destination for eco-tourism
After years of Taking the Kids, on this trip we’ve followed our 22-year-old daughter Melanie here to Nicaragua, which many say is fast becoming the next eco tourist’s must-see destination, offering volcanoes, cloud forests, rain forests, pristine beaches and a growing number of eco resorts.
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Learning a snow sport — more than just fun in the snow
Snow sports can be more than about fun in the snow. They’re about persistence and courage, trying something new (just ask the cold-hating Los Angeles boy who was with us) and empathy for those who may be struggling more than you might be.
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How families celebrate the New Year Bahamian Style
In the Bahamas, they start ringing in the New Year on Boxing Day with the annual Junkanoo Festivals, with cowbells, goatskin drums, conch horns and incredibly colorful costumes.
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In New Hampshire for an old fashioned family holiday getaway
In New Hampshire for the holidays, we sleep and hike with the Appalachian Mountain Club, visit the historic Omni Mt. Washington Hotel, tour the treetops at Bretton Woods Ski Area and are pulled by a sled dog team that includes a pair of amazing canines.
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Touring Paris, and other cities, with those who live there
In Paris with a “Paris Greeter,” one of 360 volunteers who offer some 3,000 free tours every year. There’s likely a Greeter organization in any big city near you and all over the world.
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Volunteer & Service | Weekly Column
Visiting Boston and the historic Boston Tea Party
There may be 21st-century LED holiday lights all over Boston, but we’ve time-traveled back to 1773 — Dec. 16, 1773 to be exact — the night that literally changed the course of American history.
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New ways to light up your holidays this season
Virtually every town and city in the country has holiday festivals and displays. You just have to make time to enjoy them. Skip the mall Santa (my kids always bawled) and take them someplace where you can all gawk at spectacular light displays
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Two new ways families can take the stress out of flying
Want to get whisked through security? It may be too late for Thanksgiving, but if you are flying for Christmas, you’ve got time to sign up for Global Entry, the trusted traveler network that allows you to make your way quickly through special lines and customs by using automated kiosks at 97 domestic airports through the TSA Pre-check Program.
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Volunteer & Service | Weekly Column
Family gatherings at Gettysburg for 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s address
At the time, no one expected the speech to be a big deal. Lincoln had merely been asked to make a few remarks at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, here in the Pennsylvania countryside, just four months after the searing battle that turned the tide of the Civil War.
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Gather the family for a holiday feast at a country villa
You can gather the gang in a beautifully decorated home without doing all the work that typically entails, and without cooking at all — unless you want to. All you’ve got to do for a stress-free holiday is to celebrate at a vacation villa or condo rather than at your overcrowded house.
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To Keystone CO – one of the most kid-centric ski areas in the country
Keystone is Vail Resort’s most kid-centric resort, with kids-ski free (as long as you book a two-night stay), night skiing tweens and teens love and daily “Kidtopia” activities. There’s a parade through the village on Saturdays with kids being twirled around in tires, free cookies and hot cider in the ice-skating rink, the chance to meet and greet the avalanche dogs and ski patrollers, free kids sundaes and more.
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Exploring Niagara Falls — at the water and beyond
What I didn’t realize then — and I was glad to discover now — was how much there is for families — even those on a tight budget — to see and do here, beyond exploring the falls in what,
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San Diego’s “Kids Free Month” draws the family travelers
This month, kids can get into SeaWorld free in San Diego, Calif. Kids can also get into LEGOLAND, the San Diego Zoo, more than 30 San Diego museums and even ride free on Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner (typically one child with each adult paid admission). That’s no small thing
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In Aspen, kids playing with their food is encouraged!
Never were two boys more unlike one another than mine when it comes to cooking. My elder son, Tanner, age 8, abhors anything remotely culinary, while my younger, Brady, age 5, was all but born with an apron wrapped around his waist, a wooden stirring spoon in his hand. The consummate chef and critic.
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10 ways to kick-start family Halloween outings during October
Kids don’t have to wait until Halloween to don their costumes and collect treats — not when every place from museums to aquariums to zoos to theme parks are celebrating Halloween the entire month of October with haunted houses, spooky corn mazes, special shows and as many treats as parents will permit. Orlando alone offers more than 80 Halloween events in the six weeks leading up to Halloween and showcases Halloween happenings all throughout October.
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Getting your family outdoors with the help of the Appalachian Mountain Club
The Appalachian Mountain Club is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the mountain huts — the oldest hut-to-hut network in the country. The AMC is even older. Founded in 1876, it’s the oldest conservation and outdoor recreation organization in the country with more than 100,000 members and supporters. Today, a big part of its mission is to encourage families to get outdoors.
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Families flock to aquariums in the fall for fun and learning
Fall is a great time to visit an aquarium — and go on a whale watch with your kids, whether you have a day off from school, are enjoying a weekend getaway or a reprieve during a college tour trip. Some aquariums also offer sleepovers and behind-the-scenes tours for marine life aficionados. Aquariums are a place to learn about the creatures who live deep in the sea and along the shore in far-flung destinations
