Family Adventures
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Pismo Beach: The Spring Break We Hope To Have
(Don’t miss the video of this trip at the bottom!) We’d seen pictures of all-terrain vehicles blasting through sand dunes in Pismo Beach, like Mad Max searching for an adventure in a post-apocalyptic future. It doesn’t seem too far ...
Fun Things to Do with a Toddler While You’re Stuck at Home
I’ve heard so many people say, “I’ve never experienced anything like this.” That’s one thing we can all agree on. Lines at grocery stores as if it’s Thanksgiving, toilet paper in high demand, empty shelves where baby wipes used to be, canceled ...
How to Survive a Quarantine with Four Kids (and a Grandma!)
As everyone now knows we are officially dealing with a pandemic of epic proportions. I have four kids, one is medically complex, and my eighty-seven year old grandmother lives with us. I, like others, am limiting our risks. Normally, I am the ...
Exploring Celtic Gardens in Galway
Most Irish school children learn about Brigit, an early Christian saint who was almost as important as Saint Patrick – she even has her own holiday on February 1st (without the green beer). But Brigit is also a significant part of Irish ...
How to Protect Your Family from Coronavirus While Traveling
Even before the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) reared its ugly head to disrupt all our lovely travel plans, traveling was a dirty business. Yes, you know there are those of us who don’t wash their hands after going to the bathroom, kids who ...
Experience the Wild Side of Florida
When my husband told me at the beginning of November that he had vacation days to use or lose come January, that’s all I needed to start planning something fun. Since we live in New England, Florida seemed like the best place to travel to in ...
How to Re-Light That Spark in a Disney World
Whenever my fiancé and I start to feel like we’re out of sync or we haven’t had a real conversation in a while, we set a coffee date. And by “coffee date”, I mean that we make coffee in our kitchen or run to the closest drive-thru and then bring
How to Survive a Vacation in Europe with a Baby
After years of traveling to Europe with my mom, and becoming a bit of an addict, I made the conscious decision to continue my adventures once my daughter was born. It would be amazing. I would show naysayers that your whole life doesn’t have to
Cancun for Families: Two Ways
Cancun is big enough for both of them. You can visit one and the other won’t get jealous. On your next family trip to Cancun, visit the sister properties of the Park Royal Golden Cancun and the Grand Park Royal Luxury Resort. Two miles apart in ...
Grand Velas Riviera Maya: An All-Inclusive for All-Inclusive Haters
It's the perfect all-inclusive vacation for families who hate all-inclusive vacations. The Grand Velas in Riviera Maya, minutes from the Cancun airport, will satisfy your luxury trip dreams at a Mexico-affordable price tag!
Escape to Kauai With Family
Only, upon arrival at our Airbnb, our family discovered there was no key left inside the mailbox as promised by the landlord. Learn how our crazy solutions created the adventures that bind us.
Best Food in the North Carolina Mountains
The picturesque towns of Highlands & Cashiers, N.C. are at the top of our weekend getaway list! Check out this guide for the best food in the North Carolina mountains.
No Spoilers! What to Expect from Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
The time has come, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is finally open at Disneyland. See what the experience was like, what to expect, and whether our expectations were met in this no spoilers guide.
7 Tips for Mammoth Summer Fun with Crazy Kids
Although I wanted him to be brave, part of me pictured his hands losing grip on the rope suspended to the branch above his head and his little body landing with a dull thud onto the sharp rocks. Besides our screams of terrified excitement, Gull
The Most Family Fun You Could Have at Winter Carnaval and Quebec City
Sometimes it is great to escape the heat of LA for early winter in Quebec City. From a massive snow carnival to a chocolate museum, there is no shortage of things to do #familytravel #quebeccity #weekendgetaway
New Years Eve Fun with Kids in Los Angeles: 2020 Style!
So maybe you’re not hanging out at swanky restaurants in sequin dresses knocking down champagne bottles until 4 in the morning now that you’re traveling with kids but you can still have a great time! If your New Year’s Eve ...
LAX-it: The Terror Confronted of the New Lyft & Uber Pick-Up Zone
The terror of the changes getting rides with Lyft and Uber at Los Angeles International Airport, or LAX, is upon us. Read how you will survive.
Behind the Scenes at Disney: An Invitation to Explore
Do you love the magic of @Disney and have always wanted to peek behind their curtain? Well, now you can. Read on.....
Seeking Balance in New York City
I recently took a weekend girl’s trip to New York City. (And no, that is not a misplaced apostrophe, because there was only one girl on this trip – me.) That’s right, I did New York solo. I did visit and spend time with friends, but much ...
SATW Convention in El Paso: VIDEO Reverbs Storytelling – From Russia With Love
This is the story of my family’s journey through Russia, the Soviet regime and escape into the New World. In 2019, I became a member of the honorable writing organization, Society of American Travel Writers or SATW. These are a group of ...
An Oasis Adventure in Irvine
Until recently, Irvine, California has only existed as a blip on our family road-trip map – between the freeway drive from Los Angeles to San Diego. We’d see high-rise buildings, malls and hotels whiz by. Nothing to draw us in. ...
Attraction Review: Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
Universal Orlando’s perfectly named new coaster is definitely both magical and an adventure. When the Wizarding World of Harry Potter first opened in 2010 at Universal’s Islands of Adventure Park, a visit to Universal Orlando Resort immediately ...
What to Expect at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
I consider myself to be a mid-level Star Wars fan. I’ve seen all the movies, but I’m not familiar with the other mediums in the Star Wars franchise. Still, since I saw the first movie as a kid, I’ve loved the adventure, triumph, humor, and even ...
Adventures by Disney SoCal Escape: How To Get Behind The Scenes at Disneyland
I love Disneyland, so when my son and I were invited to experience the 4-day Adventures by Disney: Disneyland Resort and Southern California Escape, I was beyond excited. But even I could never imagine the amount of pixie dust that was about to
Hop On – Hop Off Bus Tours: An Affordable Way to Travel with Kids
I’ve spent a good deal of time on the top of a double-decker bus – and not just in London where that sort of thing is expected. In quite a few different cities, double-decker bus tours have allowed my family to see the sights, get around town, ...
A Magical Family Adventure in India
The following post was written by Jennifer Spatz. Jennifer enjoys combining family travel with the opportunity to give back as much as we do. She also values getting to know local cultures in authentic settings. We are hoping to join her ...
Winter in Lake Arrowhead (w/ VIDEO)
For some reason, our Santa Monica beach family always went looking for snow and winter fun in Big Bear Lake, never Lake Arrowhead. In the summers, it was always back to Big Bear, to try our luck at fishing, which never seemed to change. I
The ABC’s of Food Tours with Teens
Whenever my sons and I travel to a new city, we always take a food tour (at this point, we’ve taken at least ten). It initially started because we wanted to try a famous food from a specific area, like beignets in New Orleans, BBQ in Austin, or ...
Cave Kayaking with Kids! Santa Cruz Island in Ventura, California
It’s not something I thought could happen so close to the urban sprawl of Los Angeles. Yet, here we were, looking through a rainbow of ocean mist as dolphins below escorted our Channel Islands ferry to our cave kayaking adventure. Their long ...
Cutting the Line: A How To Guide For Your Fav Theme Park
We’ve all told our kids a thousand times not to cut the line because it’s rude and selfish. But what if there was a way to cut a line that was neither rude nor selfish? Intriguing, right? One of the biggest – and most consistent – ...
A Volunteer Vacation Every Family Member Will Love
Guest blog post by Jennifer Spatz, CEO & Founder of Global Family Travels The most memorable family trips are ones that offer experiences beyond just relaxing or spending time together. A vacation that combines a bucket-list adventure with ...
Walking the Streets of New York City
Two Great Walking Tours in NYC New York City is a walking city. Now, the idea of a “walking city” may seem strange to anyone from L.A. because we have a reputation of never walking anywhere. Ever. But one of the coolest things about New York is ...
Extreme Family Vacations: Beekeeping (VIDEO)
This Thanksgiving, we took a turkey break and went in search of bees. Rather, we had heard about a bee tour we could take at the Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa (which, by the way, looks to be a very family friendly resort, we ...
Cruising the San Francisco Bay with Teens
a kayaking adventure San Francisco’s nickname is The City by the Bay, so when I traveled to San Francisco last December with my two teenaged sons, we decided it would be fun to see the city from the bay. “San Francisco is a great place for ...
Crashing the President’s House with Kids
Traveling To History with Teenagers Visiting the home of our current president in Washington, D.C. is not as simple as showing up and knocking on the door. The advanced planning necessary (which includes contacting a member of Congress in ...
Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa : Seeing the Real Hawaii
A Cultural Guide For Adventurous Families (VIDEO) I was pretty certain, at that special age when everything is mortifying, that attending a luau in Hawaii is a type of embarrassment specifically reserved for tourists. I was 14 and I knew it all.
A Spooky Adventure in Baltimore: Walking the Poe Trail with Teens
October is the Perfect Time to have A Spooky Adventure with Edgar Allan Poe in Baltimore - https://go.shr.lc/2NNtcMo @lafamilytravel @BaltimoreMD @Samdfriedman226 #familytravel #travel #Halloween
Making History Cool: Philadelphia with Teens
Thanks to Lin Manuel Miranda and his Broadway smash hit “Hamilton,” U.S. History has never been cooler, so now is the perfect time to hip-hop on the bandwagon and take teens (and pre-teens) to Philadelphia to see “the room[s] where it happened.”
Grab a Bigger Piece of this World With Your Kids – Global CommUnity
Wouldn’t it be great if Pancho Villa could step out of a history book and shake your hand on your first trip to Mexico? What if he told you tales of his revolutionary escapades? (Or his stint in Hollywood while they filmed them?) Or sang folk ...
A Summer Staycation – Hyatt Regency Westlake
We’ve never done a staycation. I’ve never seen the point. Our house is fine. We have a pool. We have a grill in the backyard. We have a great view of some pretty hills (ok, they’re often brown but they’re better than ...
A Long Weekend In La Jolla Shores with Kids
This is more than just a travel story. It's a love story that takes place on the road. Its latest chapter took place in La Jolla Shores, California. It's a tale of two families who used to live in the same town and spent a lot of time together. ...
Finding Your Alternate Universe
A shorter version of this article first appeared in the Acorn. I recently had the chance of sitting down with prolific yoga master, Shiva Rea, for a fireside chat. OK, maybe she was driving on the freeway and talking to me through her cell phone
7 Tips For A Fun 11th Anniversary…or…how not to mess up a romantic weekend
If you've been married for longer than a minute or are even dating someone for more than 6 months, you know. Relationships take effort. You have to really work at "Happily Ever After"
Flying Over Trees
We didn’t know my son Kaleb was scared of heights until we rode the Ferris wheel at California Adventure. When our pod started climbing and swaying, he threw himself on the floor and hid his head between his father’s knees. No amount of ...
A Spooktacular Howl-O-Ween at the Great Wolf Lodge
It started in the lobby of the Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove. A big, black spider clung to the ceiling, its sharp fangs hovering over the little guest’s heads, an eerie spiderweb covered the entire front window. This sight alone would ...
2 Moms, 4 Boys and an RV: 7 Tips on Survival
An abridged version of this post first appeared in Outdoor Family Magazine. What could possibly go wrong? Four boys jostling in a small space, no husbands to pawn them off on for a few seconds of peace? Well. This. This could go wrong. And it ...
Glamping in Ventura
Before children, camping was an adventure. We got dirty. We drank during the day. We slept on the dirt with only a thin layer of stuffed polyester protecting our bodies from the rocks. We cooked on grills powered by fires we painstakingly built ...
Giving Mothers the Gift of Peace
(This article originally appeared in YogiTimes Magazine – I just added all these groovy pictures) One thing no one ever tells an expectant mother is the arrival of her beautiful, cooing little bundle of chub will be the departure of her ...
Splashing Around at the Great Wolf Lodge
Recently, LA Parent offered my family a trip to the Grand Opening weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove, CA. Even though I had never heard of this family resort, I was pretty confident we’d have a great time: a weekend away ~ not
The Zoo – A Walk Through the Wild Side
I’m not really a zoo person. I want to get excited about the animals and the obscure, rare anacondas crawling around the other creepy bugs ~ but I know if I actually encountered those things in the wild, I’d probably step on them. Or