With Copenhagen in the news this week, I feel compelled to write about my travels there. I brought my whole family for a family travel show I hosted on the Travel Channel, so my perspective is that from a mom traveling with kids. I realize Copenhagen may not top the list of family vacation places, largely because there are desirable destinations closer to home for us here in the U.S. However, this post may inspire you, or just kick back and arm chair travel

Let me say from the get go, and I am sure this is obvious, you need to visit in the summer. In the winter, Copenhagen has perpetually grey skies – with some days seeing only one hour of sunlight a day. Heading into spring, there’s more like 5-8 hours of sunlight – but still! This can have an impact on one’s mood. We met families there who leave Copanhagen in the winter for another place to live.

Share This Post

I was bit by the travel bug years (decades?) ago. But now I have been bit by something almost as alluring to me..and I am completely ashamed to admit it!

Count me in as a new “Twilight” fan. In a matter of less than a week, I have read the first two books in the “Twilight” series…”Twilight” and “New Moon.” I am obsessed with getting my hands on the third, “Eclipse” and almost broke into a cold sweat when the local librarian told me it was checked out.

This might not seem strange to many of you fans – I have friends who hid in closets from their kids to finish reading it. However, with Ted Kennedy’s memoir, and Alice Munro’s latest book of short stories sitting on my bedside table, this was the least likely choice for me.For an involved, busy mom of three kids to read two 500 page books in less than a week tells you something.

My excuse to read it was that the film version of “New Moon” was out, and I should really know a bit about pop culture..and see what “kids” today are enthusiastic about reading. I am now a convert – thank you Edward Cullen. It is total escapism.

Share This Post

If you are like me  you are amazed the holidays are here already – shoot I am still working on my New Years resolutions for 2009…but heck, gotta jump right into the spirit! Especially if you have kids.

Thanksgiving weekend gives you the opportunity to do all that. Whether you are staying home or traveling to see family, there are myriad holiday festivities that begin this weekend, kicking off this special time of year. Visiting them can create wonderful family memories, and get you out of the house!

Wherever you are going to be this weekend you can research the holiday festivities in that area.  www.travelwithkids.about.com offers a good round up of things going on. Also check your local paper or regional websites like www.dailycandy.com for local events.

Share This Post

With Sarah Palin stealing headlines, I am inspired to write about her home state. Whether you like her or not, don’t hold it against traveling to Alaska – it is one of my all time favorite destinations. It is for the traveler who “has been there done that.” It feels so unspoiled, depending on where you go and how you get there.

The most popular way to see Alaska is on a cruise. You do get to see more of the inside passages that way…and you have plenty of entertainment. My well-traveled friend Jessica took a Alaskan cruise last year with her husband and two children ages 10 and 8 and had a great time – despite the fact they aren’t necessarily “cruise fans.” It is a great way for the kids to see Alaska – what they loved most were the excursions like hiking, rock climbing, zip lining, and whale watching. All pretty exhilarating stuff, and sure to please kids her age. But what really was an added bonus were the well-educated guides that explained the natural environment they were discovering.  

Share This Post

Yeah, yeah …I know the busiest travel weekend is upon us. I’ll get to that in another post real soon. I just can’t help myself in writing about these latest great airfares.I always get excited about amazing deals because there is the possibility I may go somewhere…but also these deals are harder and harder to find with airlines reducing flights (you don’ t have to be an econ genius to know that means less supply…more demand…more money they can charge) and charging more for extras.

Let me get to the good news: Round trip flights all over the country – some for less than $60. Yes, I said round trip. Set your eyes on these, oh wary travelers…

Share This Post

It seems now we not only have to worry about terrorists taking over our  planes (for those of us who still think like that since 9/11) but now we have to worry about some pilots with whom we are entrusting our lives.

I haven’t heard enough outrage about this latest incident with the Northwest pilots who overshot their destination by 150 miles..AND wasted the passengers’ precious time to reach their location…and did I mention also jeopardized individuals’ safety? Is the flying public ignoring it like they would a flight attendant’s emergency oxygen mask presentation?

Share This Post

Last fall I spent the weekend with my three kids and husband at his college reunion. The university did a nice job of incorporating the kids in a number of activities – and started the brainwashing early!

It made me start thinking that many families are doing just what I did – and also traveling with older children to college campuses nationwide to tour prospective universities for study.

Just this week the LA Times reported that despite the economy, summer tours of schools are having a strong start. This should continue through early fall, when applications are due.

The college tour can be turned into an amazing and memorable family vacation. If you go between now and late October, you will still get nice weather in most places, and even be able to attend a football game or other sporting event to catch the true school spirit. There are also many enriching student events that are offered, from concerts, to dances, to guest speakers. Most of the events are free and you can learn about them in the campus newspaper. Many of the college papers are also available online so you can plan before you go.

Share This Post

HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY WEEKEND….

Share This Post

Aaaaah – the Fourth of July. As one of my favorite LA Times columnists Chris Erskine puts it, it is the sweet spot of summer – one of the last lazy days you really feel the summer is still unfolding in front of you. Soon enough those pesky "Back to School" ads will kill your buzz.

It is one of my favorite holidays – casual, warm, filled with friends, family, and the wonderment of kids.

Although the headlines read that many towns are giving up their annual fireworks and fun, there is still some great local flavor to be had. My own town does it right. My favorite day all year – starting with a 5K or 10K race at 8AM. Best way to start the morning with all the residents cheering the runners on in this neighborhood course. But let there be no mistake – this is a highly produced event…with an offical start/balloon arch and MC. I ran last year and will run again this year.

The day that follows is filled with neighborhood BBQs and pool parties…and a local parade that winds though a few mile course. More parties.. then fireworks…if one can make it that late after all the fanfare.

If your town doesn't do anything – look into neighboring towns – many events are free and there's always plenty to do with the kids. Best part: You don't have to go far.

My other suggestion is to look into a presidential library if there is one near you. No better way to feel patriotic…and many of them offer special holiday events. (Not to be politcal, but it seems the Republicans offer a few more enticements at their respective libraries and museums…)

Here are just a few things going down:

Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley CA: Patriotic concerts, family entertainment, games, crafts – FREE! There is still a price for admission to the museum, but there is a $4 discount on the 4th. Many other things to see : Air Force One, a 6,388 lb, 9ft tall piece of the Berlin Wall, and the Reagan Library.

Willaim J Clinton Museum in Little Rock Arkansas: The website simply says 4th of July festival and free admission.

George H.W. Bush Museum in College Station, Texas: Live entertainment, historical characters, games for kids, symphony performance, and fireworks. Most activities begin at 5:30 PM. Free – bring blankets.

Gerald R. Ford Museum, Ann Arbor MI: Kids can createw flags while visiting the museum.

If I hapened to miss any special presidential library event, it is because the website did not mention anything.

Here's a link: www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/

Have a safe and happy 4th!

Share This Post

That's right…. you can still have your vacation and not break the bank. I know the thought of taking a big trip sounds expensive and daunting, noting all the lay-offs and t general fragility of our economy right now. But fear no more….

Last January I wrote about how I posted my  home on a home exchange website www.homeexchange.com. I got addicted to browsing the wonderful homes in far off lands…envisioning my family in each one of them. This summer we did it – we exchanged with two different families for a month long sojourn in France.                     

So now, one year later from that first home exchange posting, I will write about what I've learned and how you can have a great experience swapping homes.  (See my last Jan posting for some photos of available homes. The pictures here are from our home exchange)

 Pros:

—FREE – Can't beat that. Although, you have to factor in your time planning this; finding a house you like, finding a family who will exchange with you, working with the family on planning – sometimes around different time zones, and preparing your home for another person/family to stay there. That last item is something I didn't realize would take so long…normally when you take a trip, you just leave. But before we left we moved things to my mom's house that we didn't want out or around when people you've never met stay in your home. We also wanted it to be extra clean and comfortable, so we made extra efforts there also – repairing things..etc. I also got a cheap slipcover for our couch – so add that to the tab of the vacation.

–Get to connect with another family and learn what to do in their town from a local's perspective. Then – the best part – you get to live like a local. While in France we went grocery shopping… and ate in residential areas not haunted by tourists. My husband loves telling about the transformations:The first time we went shopping for food, we had no idea you had to weigh your fruit first, apply a sticker with the amount, and figure out the cost of the fruit separately  before paying. By the end of our stay, we were dashing through the produce section as if we had been buying our pommes there for years.

–Toys….Kitchen….Laundry..Pool – all amenities that can come with your home. These are great if you have kids – we saved even more money by eating breakfast at home every morning…we didn't need to pack as much because we washed clothes…AND our Paris apartment came with a Wii!!! So we could have some quiet moments trying to figure out our days outings while the kids played their video games on the wii.

  -You see attractions you wouldn't normally see. We stayed in Ste Maxime for the second part of our trip – a place I had never heard of – but it sounded appealing because, well it was the only Riviera home that was available and willing to exchange the dates we needed….and it is 10 minutes from St Tropez.

We got lucky – it is such a family-oriented village, with plenty of restaurants and a big market that came alive every night. Plus – the kids loved the boule courts right at the marina on the water. (bocce.) Had we found a place in sexier St Tropez, I would have taken it, but it would have been more expensive to eat in that ritzy town, and not as kid friendly. Restaurants open later there.

CONS:

–See the first "PRO" – more time consuming.

–The mystery: Everyone worries that you'll end up in a dump…or someone else will ruin your house. You have to open your mind to the fact that when you stay in a hotel, there have been thousands of people who have stayed there e before you, so get over the cootie factor. And you CAN screen pretty well as to is the people will take care of your home or not. Phone conversations are telling – of your gut tells you NO – listen. Not a thing was damaged at our house except a pool fence, which is a minor fix.

Photographs CANT tell everything – they can mislead. So ask for more photos if you feel you need to see more. Ask to see bathrooms and other things the owners may have excluded. NOTE: Photos also don't convey how clean a place is…. we arrived in the Riviera during a heat wave and the house had been closed up – it was damp and muggy inside…and kind of dusty. It seemed to be a family home and the cleaner hadn't cleaned up a lot of the kids' messes…Still – to me it was worth the day I spent cleaning. I was so happy to be there it didn't matter. Request a cleaning crew to clean before you arrive – even if you pay for it.

–No concierge or property manager to call: If there is a problem, and you are out of the country, it is a bit tricky. Chances are, you can't call the owners because of a time difference – or even if you aren't in a foreign country sometimes you can't reach the owners anyway. So who you gonna call??? We had a few problems – one with the pool – it was turning green. Apparently they don't use the same strong pool cleaning solvents in France, and during heat waves, algae takes over. I had to explain in my best college French that the pool is green. Thank goodness I brushed up with Rosetta Stone. Also -communicating with the cleaning lady was a bit rough… and we had some electricity outages, a fuse went out, and we couldn't reach the owners staying in our Calif. home.

–Toys….Kitchen…Laundry…pool. After  you get over the"pros" of having these things, you then go through the frustration of trying to figure out how to work each item. Washing machines are different and don't have directions in English… Pool: see above…Kitchen: have to figure out where to take out trash, figure out what cleaning agents do what for the sinks, counters, etc. Little headaches but enough to make one miss home sweet. BTW – this is only applicable to foreign travel.

–No guarantee that the deal will go through. We had already booked our tickets… lined up two back to back exchanges, and our Paris apartment cancelled!! No explanation, nothing. It all worked out – my first choice apartment that wasn't available when I was first planning became available…and the www.homeexchange.comfolks jumped on it to try and help me with their France connections..but I was a grouchy stress case for two days trying to hide this fiasco from my husband who was skeptical of home exchanges!

Overall – we had a great time and I would do it again if I were travelling for a long period to maximize the value of it. I figure it saved us about $20,000.

You can also do this in America!! Keep your travel dollars here this summer to help the economy

Happy Travels.

Share This Post