I was about 26 when I first visited the Grand Canyon in Arizona. I’d flown out from England for a Las Vegas business trip and had craftily tacked on a couple of days for some R&R with a friend. The next thing I know, I’m flying in a helicopter over one of the 7 natural wonders of the world and …
10 Cheap Family Activities in Los Angeles that You May Not Know About
Each year, more than 50 million visitors flock to what is arguably the entertainment capital of the world; Los Angeles, California. Combined, they pump more than $30 billion into the L.A. economy each year. That is a lot of money! As a result, it would be easy to assume that family activities in Los Angeles are anything but cheap. But …
How to Travel Safely with Your Family
As the U.S., and parts of the world, start to open up, travel is once more back on the table. However, it has been so long since we were able to move about freely. It makes it easy to forget how we used to practice safe travel with our family. Add in our thirst for a return to normalcy, and …
Airplane Ear and How it Can Affect Your Baby
Before I talk about airplane ear and how it can affect your baby or toddler, I want you to take a trip down memory lane with me. Think about your carefree years when, as a young adult, you would take flights to destinations both near and far for leisure or work. Those were the days when you would actively seek …
10 Adventurous Ways to Visit San Francisco with Kids
San Francisco stole my heart in the year 2000. It was a brief visit, but it had a lasting impact. Several months later, with a work visa in hand, I packed up my life into two suitcases, said goodbye to family and friends in London, and crossed the Atlantic. The rest, as they say, is history. I sometimes get asked …
Best Adventures in San Diego for Families
San Diego is somewhat unique for Southern California. Only 120 miles from Los Angeles, its average temperatures are about 7 degrees cooler than its neighbor during the summer. This is due to the maritime climate. While San Diego rarely gets hot like LA (think over 80 degrees), it does stay warm most of the year. The evenings are relatively mild …
How to Get the Most Out of a Fort Myers Beach Family Vacation
Have you heard of Fort Myers Beach? I hadn’t. At least, not until my parents asked me to join them there, in 2004, between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. They were retired and, like many other retirees, had started spending some of their winter months golfing in southwest Florida. Fort Myers Beach, a town on Estero Island, was their latest …
Family Adventure Activities: When is the Right Age?
I’ve always been a big proponent of exposing my kids to adventure activities as early as possible. I think it builds confidence and teaches them important life skills like resilience, problem solving, creative thinking and communication. In my experience, when children are really little, adventures can be as simple as navigating man-made lily pads across a pond at a local …
10 Places to Visit on Oahu with Kids
Before I get into Oahu, I want to set the scene. The first time I visited Hawaii, I was 16. At the time, I was living in Japan with my parents and sister, and Hawaii was any easy destination to visit over school break. I remember we stayed in a gorgeous little rental on the island of Maui. The house …
North Lake Tahoe: Winter Fun for All Ages
North Lake Tahoe has been my “happy place” ever since I moved to San Francisco 20 years ago. I call it my happy place because I quite literally feel a sense of calm, peace, and happiness every time I reach the edge of the Tahoe National Forest. Not even my children, on their most mischievous of days, can dampen my …