My daughter had an amazing opportunity through her school this year to attend NatureBridge, an outdoor organization that brings kids for a three day overnight technology-free trip. In our school, 6th graders get the opportunity, and go with only school chaperones, no parents. My oldest did it the previous year, so I knew what a…
“Obviously I want to do the food tour on my birthday!” That was the answer I got from my husband when I sent him a list of tours we could do when we were in Portland, Oregon for his birthday weekend getaway. Food walking tours in my opinion are the perfect way to get to know…
In the United States, people generally get three weeks of vacation a year. But for us immigrant families, who feel the draw to go home and visit, it is hard to balance using the vacation to go “home” vs traveling to new and exciting places. Once you add some children to the mix, you often…
“Portland? Why are you going to Portland?” That was the comment I got when I mentioned our weekend trip for Veteran’s Day Weekend. But my husband was turning fifty, and since we had to postpone his big trip, I wanted a quick weekend getaway for his big day that we could do on points. Portland met…
2023 was a weird year. It wasn’t a bad year, it was a great year with lots of fun travel and adventures. It was a busy year, with COVID in the rear view mirror (at least in the eyes of the public) we went back to our lives of busy activities, visits, and other activities. I…
Just outside Mexico City, in the heart of Mexico is an ancient city, Teotihuacan. Actually predating the Aztecs, this ancient civilization was the most advanced and at one point the largest civilization in North America. During our time in Mexico we did a day trip with our teens and their young cousins to learn about…
When you say relaxing parents’ weekend away from the kids, your first thought usually isn’t “Vegas”. But our recent trip to Vegas proved to me that not only can you make it a fun, exciting location, it can also be a relaxing trip that lets you take the time to reconnect. It’s all in how…
Sometimes you don’t have time off, but you want the kids to see grandma, or tía, or your great aunt on the other side of the country. Sometimes the other parent is a flight away, and it’s necessary to fly without an adult. That is where airlines have come up with a great service called…
When you are a budget traveler, you are aware of shoulder season and how much it can save you in costs. But the reason there is shoulder season is because of parents like me. In the 2021-22 school year, 49.4 million children enrolled in US public schools. Since the late nineteenth century school has generally…
Sometimes we eat at Michelin star restaurants. Sometimes, we eat at the taco stand down the street. But regardless of how much we spend, or how fancy the place, we always eat well wherever we travel. Food is an important consideration when we decide where to go, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that San Diego is…
On an unassuming corner in the Coyoacán area of Mexico City, you see a blue house with a long line of people outside. That is the Frida Kahlo Museum, or La Casa Azul. Frida Kahlo, the now world renowned artist, known for her bright, bold art and colors, a feminist icon, her tumultuous relationship with…
When you are coordinating a trip for seven people, you need to figure out how you are going to get everyone through the big sites, preferably as economically as possible. That is where Rick Steves came to the rescue. I had everyone in our group download the Rick Steve’s Audio Europe App. Using this app…
When people think of the United States, they don’t always think about history. Compared to the rest of the world, our history is so short. We are not even 250 years old. But what I love about Washington DC is that it basks in our country’s history without shame. The city itself is one of the oldest…
The food, the art, the history…there is so much you can see and do in Mexico City, it’s hard to know where to start. Our trip in February was such a rich experience of color, culture and taste. We didn’t have a bad day or a bad experience (except for the one time stuck in 5…
You can’t imagine visit Rome without imagining the giant Colosseum and ancient Roman Ruins. Towering over Rome, it’s the central place people think of when they want to visit the ancient city. I visited back in 2002 when I was a young backpacking twenty year old, but my husband had never been to the ancient…
