by Jennifer Fontaine - Summer is here and as a traveling family we rate family road trips pretty much at the top of the list. They’re practical, affordable, and the perfect way to bond and create lifelong memories, so we hope our 3-day Arizona road trip itinerary inspires you to pack up the car, juice up the gadgets, and grab the paper maps. Yes, paper maps are still a … [Read more...]
Oland, Sweden: An island paradise for family adventure addicts
by Linda McGurk - The stereotypical outdoor family vacation in Sweden involves at least three things: camping near the sea, chasing the elusive sun, and wearing matching, dorky family sweat suits. On the Swedish island of Oland, a long, narrow strip of land in the Baltic Sea off the country’s east coast, you can have it all. No wonder Oland, Sweden is one of the country’s most … [Read more...]
Australia Vacation Ideas: Top 5 Outdoorsy Stops In The Land Down Under
by Jennifer Fontaine - Australia is built for family travel – an extraordinarily distinct country sprinkled with neon reefs, laid-back beaches, and snow-covered mountains. An Australia vacation is the stuff that dreams are made of for any outdoorsy family with a need for adrenaline. We've rounded up the top five Australia vacation ideas for your family, filled with adventure … [Read more...]
40+ Things To Do In Eau Claire : A Wisconsin Family Vacation Guide
by Karen Ung - “We are passionate not pretentious,” says Troy Hoyt as we sip his Soul Brewed Coffee in the soon-to-open Shift Cyclery and Coffee Bar. The same could be said of family friendly destination Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Hoyt’s home town of 65,000 which is tucked between Madison and the Twin Cities. Touted as “mini Portland,” Eau Claire boasts a vibrant arts and music … [Read more...]
Ultimate Family Adventure Awaits on the San Juan Islands
by Jennifer Fontaine - The low-key, beachy archipelago called the San Juan Islands, which is sandwiched between the mainland and Canada's Vancouver Island, feels like a world away. But in reality, it's only a short (hour-plus) ride on the car ferry from Anacortes, Washington. The ferry stop of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island is the best-known town and has the most services and … [Read more...]
The Adirondacks Family Adventure Guide
by Jean Grant - My kids are game for almost all natural adventures and love the elements of earth, air, and water (we try to limit fire for obvious reasons but s’mores and campfires are safe options). If there happens to be a waterfall, muddy puddles, a bubbling brook: mission accomplished. For our getaway to the Adirondacks in New York, water did not let us down. We … [Read more...]
40+ Things To Do In Camden Maine – A Family Vacation Guide
By Jean Grant - From the southern beaches to West Quody Head Light, and pristine Baxter State Park to iconic Acadia National Park, a Maine family vacation can be breathtaking and exhilarating. As a Mid-Atlantic native, I had my preconceived notions about the land north and “down east” — frigid winters, lobster everything, lighthouses, blueberries, sailing, but when considering … [Read more...]
Haida Gwaii: Family adventure in the Canadian Galápagos
by Jennifer Fontaine Yáahl soared free, high above the world’s last remaining old-growth rainforest, its shrill "caw" echoing past towering, ancient spruce and cedar trees, until he broke through an opening which revealed the island's expansive beaches. There, in the sand, Yáahl, the lonely black raven, spotted a cockle shell from which he heard the faint cries of a young … [Read more...]
Digging up a Massachusetts Treasure – Cape Cod
By Jean Grant - My sons love treasure hunting. Well, they love digging up the yard and looking for unusual rocks, “diamonds and gold,” quartz, fossils and shells of all kinds. Dirt, sand and water are hypnotic lures to my young geologists and engineers so when the opportunity arose to travel to the Sea Crest Beach Hotel on Old Silver Beach in North Falmouth on Cape Cod in … [Read more...]
Traveling the Park to Park Highway
by Susan Strayer To celebrate this year's centennial anniversary of the National Park Service, my family wanted to do something really special, an epic, once-in-a-lifetime trip. So we packed up our truck and hit the National Park to Park Highway trail for a 7,000-mile road trip. It may sound crazy to voluntarily trap oneself in a car with three young kids for six weeks … [Read more...]
Two Moms, Four Boys, and an RV
by Rina Nehdar What could possibly go wrong? Four boys jostling in a small space, no husbands upon which to pawn them of for a few seconds of peace? Much did. Over and over again. But that's not the whole story. The idea was born after my husband told me he was going away on a surf trip with our oldest son, Kyle. He chose to go the one week of summer when there would be … [Read more...]
Kids and Key West – Good, Clean Fun for All Ages
by Heather Mundt The southernmost city in the continental U.S., Key West, may be best known as Jimmy Buffett's inspiration for his song Margaritaville. But beyond the tequila and revelry of legendary Duval Street, there?s also plenty of G-rated fun for the family. Key West is such a rich environment that it offers visitors a chance to tailor their vacation, says Carol … [Read more...]
Dolomites Family Adventure: Exploring Italy’s Alpine Playgrounds
By Nancy Besharah - I wiped the pastry flakes off my fingers and finished my espresso before heading outside to round up the kids. Even though we had hiked deep into the Dolomites alpine for almost two hours, the boys, then ages 5 and 7, weren't slowing down. After devouring buttery apple strudel, they raced outside to explore the Dolomites alpine playground, complete with a … [Read more...]
“In His Element:” Traveling and autism
by Jean Grant Oh yes, Ewan loves volcanoes, I say with embarrassed pride at a parent preschool conference, while my son scribbles May 18, 1980 and a drawing of a volcano on a white board with a dry-erase marker. Certainly all children have their obsessions. For Ewan, they are volcanoes, weather and drawing complete U.S. maps, but starting in kindergarten? I chalked it up to … [Read more...]
Family Road Trip 101: Unplug to Connect With Your Kids
by Gina Vercesi - Listen. Do you hear that? No? What you're not hearing are your kids. They're in the backseat, quietly plugged into their electronics. Maybe the silence is welcome, they're not arguing, poking each other, or asking "When are we gonna be there?" on repeat. Nor are they talking about the funky, retro billboard they just saw, or searching for the letters of the … [Read more...]
Troll Forest – Expert Advice For Hiking Norway’s Most Whimsical Trail
by Ania Krasniewska - Before children, an ideal holiday for me consisted of visiting cities without doing much of anything, lying on great beaches with a stack of books to lose myself. As any parent who's tried to read more than two consecutive sentences in the presence of small tots knows, that vacation style changes when you have children. Our style changed even more when … [Read more...]
Kayaking Georgia’s Tybee Island Region
by Lauren Gay It's hard to believe that only 4 years ago I had never been in a kayak of any kind, but now kayaking has become a favorite activity for my son and me to do together. Living in Tampa, Florida, the Southeast region affords us good fortune of paddling year-round, since even with cold temperatures the waterways don't freeze. On a trip to explore the Savannah/Tybee … [Read more...]
