Category Archives: Family Adventures
Preparing for Family Travel by Separating the Kids
I love traveling with my family. As much as I enjoy the time I travel solo, with my husband, or my girlfriends, traveling with my family is absolutely my favorite. However, rarely do I remember to take the time to travel one-on-one with my kids, which means that when the kids travel with us, they are always stuck with their brothers. Always. We rarely do kids clubs, but if we do separate from our kids it’s because we signed them up for resort sports activities (i.e. ski lessons), together.
My little ones have been fighting a lot lately. A lot of arguing and tattle telling. A lot of whining and complaining about each other. As we start prepping for our summer road trip, it is important that we consider our children in those preparations as well, especially since they will be stuck with each other in tight hotels and car space for almost 20 days.
Fun and Sun in San Antonio, TX
San Antonio just celebrated their 2013 Fiesta San Antonio, an event that has been taking place since 1891 and started as a simple street parade. Now it is put together with the collaboration of various San Antonio businesses, hosting events for an entire week. The funds from the festival serve to assist communities throughout San Antonio.
This is probably what I loved about San Antonio the most. Its sense of community, its ability and desire to hold on to traditions and culture, while at the same time embracing growth and progress.
Beach, Sun, and Ice Cream at Ipswich, MA
Several summers ago, we made plans to visit our friends near Boston, MA. We were excited to return, since we had enjoyed Boston so much last time we visited. What we didn’t know at the time was that this weekend would be the weekend when NYC would experience its first heat wave with degrees rising past the 90s.
Now, for all the love that I have for my city, on days like those experienced in the summers here, I like to venture out-of-town, away from the hot streets and muggy subways. With playground sprinklers unavailable to kiddos till at least after Memorial Day weekend, being in the city without any ability to cool off can been torture.
The trip to MA was a bit hectic, as it seemed that we joined the exodus of New Yorkers escaping the city heat for the weekend. But the trip to the following day was absolute heaven.
The Best Reason to Travel
There are a lot of reasons why people travel.
Some people travel to lose themselves, others travel to find themselves. Some people travel to escape, others to find home. Some look for adventures and new discoveries, others to reconnect with memories and long-lost friends.
We have traveled for a lot of reasons, but my most favorite reason to travel is to be with those we love the most. Our most recent journey brought us to Austin, TX where we experienced a week full of moments like these:
The Finger Lakes as a Foodie Destination
If you are in NYC, or close enough to it, you might actually believe that you have no need to travel too far to taste the best of the best. But the truth is a lot of the best of what NYers enjoy in their favorite city restaurants come from upstate, and when it comes to a farm-to-table experience, there is no better place to be. Many restaurants and chefs work with their local farmers, often their closest neighbors, to deliver and create the many seasonal dishes I enjoy with each visit there. Below are my favorite foodie highlights (some of them winners in the 2013 Finger Lakes Food Revolution Foodie Awards).
Legoland Discovery Center Opens in Westchester
My children love everything Lego. They can spend hours upon hours creating and playing with these little blocks. We stop into the Lego store in Rockefeller Center as often as we can, but a trip to Orlando or Los Angeles for the full Legoland experience just hasn’t been a possibility for us yet. Thus, you can imagine the excitement when we received the invitation to check out a smaller, but still fun-packed Legoland Discovery Center in Westchester.
Liberty Island to Reopen This Summer
Hurricane Sandy did so much damage to our beloved Statue of Liberty that it forced the closing of Liberty Island. But July 4, 2013, Independence Day, will welcome the reopening of the island and tours onto the island will once again take place!
Guests who want to get a close view of the Statue of Liberty before opening day can enjoy one of the 20 daily tours being offered by Statue Cruises.
Family Journeys in Ireland
The Ireland I fell in love with over a decade ago, before I had children, is a country that has continued to call me back, inviting me to bring the kids and explore the magic that lies shimmering on the surface.
When families visit Ireland they often try to “see it all” instead of focusing on a single area for a few days and seeing it well. When I coach families planning their first trip to Ireland, I recommend a slower pace to discover those hidden bits of Ireland that so many miss in the rush of trying to do too much.
New & Exciting Happenings at Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Right about this time each year I start daydreaming of warmer weather. The holidays are long gone and I’ve gotten over how pretty all the snow is.
So, I sit around making my travel plans to areas that require little travel and lost of beach and sunshine. On my list this year is Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
It seems that 2013 is turning out to be year to visit the area, as developments and expansions are in place to welcome the visitors for the warmer season, which in South Carolina is almost always.
Our Day with Blizzard Nemo: Snow Day in NJ
One of the things we loved the most was venturing out into the streets of NYC to take in the freshly fallen snow. Though today’s blizzard, otherwise called Nemo, isn’t the first snow storm that we’ve experienced since crossing the river to NJ a year and a half ago, it’s certainly been the most enjoyed.
We took advantage of short school and work days, of Friday bliss, and took in all the snow fun, before most people were even thinking of doing so. We were one of the first to hit the local hill, full of fresh, untouched snow. I loved going out and taking photos of our lovely neighborhood, before it was all brushed away and cleared, and we loved coming back home, to sit by the fire and rest from our trips up and down the hill.
