tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25275582813971896332024-03-18T11:28:03.427-07:00Travel With KidsWelcome to our travel blog for the Travel With Kids TV and DVD series - for news and views of our travels around the world as we head out in search of the latest in family destinations.
More info at facebook.com/travelwithkids and travelwithkids.tvTravel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-20935740926969844102012-10-08T21:45:00.001-07:002012-10-08T21:45:50.211-07:00Travel With Kids: Nick Cannon Family Day Event - Red Carpet Arrivals...<a href="http://travelingkids.blogspot.com/2012/10/nick-cannon-family-day-event-red-carpet.html?spref=bl">Travel With Kids: Nick Cannon Family Day Event - Red Carpet Arrivals...</a>: Nathan and Seamus of Travel With Kids TV show on PBS got to meet Nick Cannon host of America's Got Talent at Kuboo Family Day. Red Ca...Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com245tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-41013866457149363162012-10-08T21:14:00.000-07:002012-10-08T21:45:12.522-07:00Nick Cannon Family Day Event - Red Carpet Arrivals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Nathan and Seamus of Travel With Kids TV show on PBS got to meet Nick Cannon host of America's Got Talent at Kuboo Family Day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpUM1ckgKt7EQIcM2f5QG6JUZKM8wD2KMoJjNsV0VH3wsRRT1PkMjHmRnTC98jlaNLoO1gN34eGplrY1YB6JUMTJPvPZZChAgOVKxKTU7PSe50LKtOPdBCGBnv1_8OvHPRc16LZs-i1FM/s1600/DSC_0522.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpUM1ckgKt7EQIcM2f5QG6JUZKM8wD2KMoJjNsV0VH3wsRRT1PkMjHmRnTC98jlaNLoO1gN34eGplrY1YB6JUMTJPvPZZChAgOVKxKTU7PSe50LKtOPdBCGBnv1_8OvHPRc16LZs-i1FM/s320/DSC_0522.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Carpet Arrivals Kuboo Family Day Santa Monica Pier<br />
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Many celebs were on hand from Nickelodeon and other shows were on hand along with Nick Cannon for the launch of the Kuboo.com virtual world at the Santa Monica Pacific Park event.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Dx6rg1-yMvwUTkteI4FNkjtazQiD-IAPlRrP8uXHXvmvx0dqwLUe9yhMU-vklsOSUVMKPdDovs7gmxtR6A5kG8Gq_mhzI0dJjZ_G9RI_KELbpBiISjbvA7e9aBP9gEq8z2w-H2X7VcUX/s1600/DSC_0523.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Dx6rg1-yMvwUTkteI4FNkjtazQiD-IAPlRrP8uXHXvmvx0dqwLUe9yhMU-vklsOSUVMKPdDovs7gmxtR6A5kG8Gq_mhzI0dJjZ_G9RI_KELbpBiISjbvA7e9aBP9gEq8z2w-H2X7VcUX/s320/DSC_0523.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nick Cannon Red Carpet Arrivals</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nathan and Seamus Travel With Kids PBS TV Show<br />
Red Carpet Arrivals</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qfohXVnNYTeGpOU-riPeRno9-l4nCM_tvGUN8XH79dOq1bmAkye2KWmvQNp9o82sUGWaYfPwDAxWUEpzQA5SN2RMqd9UoghWK1JcK0XuKDzsD17W_5ST8UoubitNYx_9VzLG2mAofsa6/s1600/DSC_0525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qfohXVnNYTeGpOU-riPeRno9-l4nCM_tvGUN8XH79dOq1bmAkye2KWmvQNp9o82sUGWaYfPwDAxWUEpzQA5SN2RMqd9UoghWK1JcK0XuKDzsD17W_5ST8UoubitNYx_9VzLG2mAofsa6/s320/DSC_0525.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nathan and Seamus Simmons Travel With Kids PBS</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95aUOQ4hVYfNLMqz-dMBJBmCk6IrU0Z6SjNYfud90mhFSXpqxrYmsD8_YMPySGS1Z7ron1EMEN6bxk25mG3l7dwvpvOH0eohT4_t_znszB0yTB8xMmYgJHNbP-r4ZIDeTFSMl5YmcuuYG/s1600/DSC_0526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95aUOQ4hVYfNLMqz-dMBJBmCk6IrU0Z6SjNYfud90mhFSXpqxrYmsD8_YMPySGS1Z7ron1EMEN6bxk25mG3l7dwvpvOH0eohT4_t_znszB0yTB8xMmYgJHNbP-r4ZIDeTFSMl5YmcuuYG/s640/DSC_0526.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nathan and Seamus Simmons Travel With Kids Red Carpet Arrivals Nick Cannon Family Day Kuboo.com</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieLBXu4qHsMj6zWfSVpyP09I4zLMuMEKLs7xnXyVigDkgihDIHLdYMBUVjJiSqQ73M19T9p1ss8ZTqnqG55eIK1saKCeGybWNfiuF9zq1HBxuaGlkqtT93ufD8CpNaXa7pssCoyNx751C/s1600/DSC_0527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieLBXu4qHsMj6zWfSVpyP09I4zLMuMEKLs7xnXyVigDkgihDIHLdYMBUVjJiSqQ73M19T9p1ss8ZTqnqG55eIK1saKCeGybWNfiuF9zq1HBxuaGlkqtT93ufD8CpNaXa7pssCoyNx751C/s320/DSC_0527.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nathan Simmons Seamus Simmons Travel With Kids</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kuboo.com Family Day Event With Nick Cannon </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76GLuJ5jR2e3k1qL_fz-OA50nBrTMRBqXWJgDwXGkjktw6v2jA7zjOltzyuRlG3r13D4WUsBjVf-sD-vxsgI6UW35UPhoNhYLgS_3DoFSVLgGjBxEoDZE7KK8Xy2gXfCnItoPqfaDRhCF/s1600/DSC_0537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76GLuJ5jR2e3k1qL_fz-OA50nBrTMRBqXWJgDwXGkjktw6v2jA7zjOltzyuRlG3r13D4WUsBjVf-sD-vxsgI6UW35UPhoNhYLgS_3DoFSVLgGjBxEoDZE7KK8Xy2gXfCnItoPqfaDRhCF/s400/DSC_0537.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nick Cannon Family Day Event for Kuboo.com arrives at the Red Carpet</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nick Cannon meets with the press at Family Day Event</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nathan Simmons meets Quinton Aaron from The Blindside</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-KKZjppDg47kP7JI1QCA9rStoXduPAT5HIT3_fovMbKINv3tBA1HRG0EzYyO2sDmVfrH6pKxjR4FxtaKZZlXNkFfw9BtYlS2shyphenhyphenfW7yJNd2zsGbFDaEj5O0110CllazkQVrstgbFUnu-/s1600/DSC_0553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-KKZjppDg47kP7JI1QCA9rStoXduPAT5HIT3_fovMbKINv3tBA1HRG0EzYyO2sDmVfrH6pKxjR4FxtaKZZlXNkFfw9BtYlS2shyphenhyphenfW7yJNd2zsGbFDaEj5O0110CllazkQVrstgbFUnu-/s400/DSC_0553.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Press and Paparazzi wait for Mariah Carey to arrive meeting with husband Nick Cannon at family day. Most press were there to get some comment on the Mariah Carey Nicki Minaj "feud" on American Idol. Nick Cannon was great and dismissed the "drama" and focused on Family Day and the Kuboo.com virtual world launch event.</td></tr>
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Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-42597630490535884182012-07-25T03:32:00.000-07:002012-07-25T04:04:44.788-07:00Out of Africa... an outstanding Safari Adventure in Madikwe South Africa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdD8pM8HXTRiw32SZValVXN9oQYGbkovca3zTlRDZUgjozYBmJD1k3n-XmDuJ2O6g2AlpWYBZ3LtaBDTMHj5CKRQktvRnw1D7hSM3goZqfqI6WW-dUgsPjb0ypFm-JgR-aWMA8twHYsJ_s/s1600/DSC_0607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdD8pM8HXTRiw32SZValVXN9oQYGbkovca3zTlRDZUgjozYBmJD1k3n-XmDuJ2O6g2AlpWYBZ3LtaBDTMHj5CKRQktvRnw1D7hSM3goZqfqI6WW-dUgsPjb0ypFm-JgR-aWMA8twHYsJ_s/s320/DSC_0607.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sundowners on Safari</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Close your eyes and imagine the safari of your dreams…what does it look like, elephants trumpeting, gathering around a watering hole? Lions guarding their kill from a jackal? Giraffe loping along gracefully eating from acacia trees? Think about all that in Day 1 and you have our experience in </span><a href="http://www.madikwe-game-reserve.co.za/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Madikwe Game Reserve</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEImolQ_wGidj8Ibdruwo7DlpWR0YdHtmC9tS8QWnygbGMG4qATZEaeDQDmd8o3DLybiH2h3zxZP8BdNOD-7xkzahqalpSd9L4T6fozk1X7zR7NPMAlzgeBvu7QM1p73KJp4Kp7-TmG-T/s200/CSC_0235.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Road to Madikwe from Johannesburg</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEImolQ_wGidj8Ibdruwo7DlpWR0YdHtmC9tS8QWnygbGMG4qATZEaeDQDmd8o3DLybiH2h3zxZP8BdNOD-7xkzahqalpSd9L4T6fozk1X7zR7NPMAlzgeBvu7QM1p73KJp4Kp7-TmG-T/s1600/CSC_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Located 4 hours drive-time northwest of Johannesburg along the Botswana border, or a short flight to a small airstrip, Madikwe Game Reserve was established in 1991 covering 185,000 acres. Encompassing a wide variety of terrain - wide savannah, rocky cliff areas, bumpy mountains, and brush Madikwe is famous for its abundance of wildlife including 66 mammal species including all of the Big Five and is popular with families because it is one of South Africa's few malaria-free reserves. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Our drive from Johannseburg takes us through small villages where people still make their living farming. Young kids gathered around the water pump wave and smilie as we drive by. Goats wander the sides of the road. A small outpost marks the entry where a sign holds the park "unaccountable for death or injury"…hmmm - should we be worried. But the guard at the gate offers a warm welcome and we're off down the bumpy dirt road. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As I look out over the trees, my mind plays a trick on me…every tree looks like a giraffe or elephant - what great camouflage for them. But then, I do a double take, it is a giraffe! It's slim, graceful neck raising its head to the tallest tree where it delicately nibbles the leaves with its extremely long tongue. Around the next bend we find a watering hole where a couple of elephants and zebras take an afternoon drink. Soon the rest of the elephant herd arrives - about 30 in all - and they take to chasing the zebras and impalas from the water leaving a dusty cloud behind them as they trot around the hole. Within our first mile into the reserve - and not yet technically out on safari, just on our transfer from Johannesburg to the lodge - we have seen elephants, giraffes, zebras and impalas.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78BEOqmn21KLPeT7VA5leHYPSkMuq-rdaNC2U1KnXTlsFDlA6lsNJxKw5fNuMV7FgPhiMDsGOvrPTuWOpw1KXtjTTdClnpPfiWaXVHNS-9zJnwHCFQytvOvsSMLMO74m9qqTKoXfNu54W/s1600/DSC_0081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78BEOqmn21KLPeT7VA5leHYPSkMuq-rdaNC2U1KnXTlsFDlA6lsNJxKw5fNuMV7FgPhiMDsGOvrPTuWOpw1KXtjTTdClnpPfiWaXVHNS-9zJnwHCFQytvOvsSMLMO74m9qqTKoXfNu54W/s200/DSC_0081.JPG" width="133" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Safari Lodge Room</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">At </span><a href="http://www.madikwesafarilodge.co.za/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Madikwe Safari Lodge</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> we are greeted by friendly staff who offer cool, damp washcloths and juice to refresh us from our journey. After a short rest in the common area, which is open to the surrounding brush, we are shown to our bungalow, which is luxurious. A fluffy white bed and living area open with huge glass doors to a wide porch overlooking the brush. On the path to the room, the boys spot elephant dung and the attendant confirms that elephants occasionally make their way through camp, which is why we must travel with a guard at night. Adventure in the making! The boys are ecstatic!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After tea and treats, we head out on our afternoon safari with Andres. His warm, open style and dry humor gels perfectly with the boys and his unending patience for answering all their questions makes for a peaceful - and quite informative - ride for all the guests. The boys love the open-top safari jeep and the raised seats make it easy for everyone to see. As we start out over the bumpy road, pounding through the bush Nathan comments that it is like the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland. He says "I never knew if that was real or just for fun, but now I know that's really what it feels like on safari". </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOtqY4k3P6p1OWYvsEcIEKabFitbUWAeR9PjbwJNlxlLONSMK6vzN3m0VMuWJzlqNz5upRkZrmSO_AB5pxoP_JrjxmXoQmiHRxlVp57Mewn_XuWyHN9jaaIJpnw_jH0G1qgqQLnrGIFKS/s1600/DSC_0570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOtqY4k3P6p1OWYvsEcIEKabFitbUWAeR9PjbwJNlxlLONSMK6vzN3m0VMuWJzlqNz5upRkZrmSO_AB5pxoP_JrjxmXoQmiHRxlVp57Mewn_XuWyHN9jaaIJpnw_jH0G1qgqQLnrGIFKS/s320/DSC_0570.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We "rollercoaster" past impalas and zebras, birds of all types, a bull elephant in musk - a time when they secrete oil to attract female elephants - that the driver stays his distance from because they are unpredictable, and then comes that National Geographic moment… we stumble upon two male lions with a fresh kill - a wildebeest. One lion appears to be dead asleep and the other puts on a bit of a show for us - yawning and grooming himself - then walks to the other side of our jeep to take a rest - laying within ten-feet of Seamus. As we watch the lions to each side of the jeep - both within ten-feet - we spot a jackal sneaking in from around the other side of the bush trying to get a sample of the wildebeest. As the jackal sneaks closer and closer, darting forward and then back in a jittery dance, the lion who had looked to be dead asleep leaps up and chases the little dog like creature off. It happens so fast it makes us all jump!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Sunset on Safari</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As we leave the lions to their resting, we head just down the road and Andres pulls over, sets up a table and offers us "sundowners" drinks and and appetizers in the bush. We enjoy our treats as the huge red sun ducks down the horizon beside an acacia tree - an idyllic African scene. The boys wonder what the lions are doing - since we left them less than 1/2 mile back up the road. I joke that they should walk down the road and find out. Luckily they didn't because within 100 feet of driving back down the road, one of the lions walks towards us from the other direction. Andres says they too use the road as it's easier than walking through the bush. We find the other lion busy chowing away pulling the wildebeest into the bush for better protection - guess he didn't want to share. I'm glad they gave us blankets and told us to bundle up because as soon as the sun goes down it gets really cold! We are received back at the lodge with a steaming cup of hot chocolate.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Up close with rhinos</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 2 of safari starts out bundled under thick blankets with warm water bottles. We plow through the thorny bush and down a dusty road across wide swaths of tall grass turned a golden hue by the rising sun where we happen upon four rhinos - a male, two females and a calf. The bull steps forward to protect his brood and stares down the front of the jeep. He walks towards the car kicking dust along the road coming within ten feet of where Seamus sits in the front seat. Andres says not to worry…he's just marking his territory - showing us who's boss. And sure enough after a few minutes of cold stare-down, he turns back to his family. Just down the road, Andres pulls up to a cliff where baboons scamper through the trees. He jumps from the jeep and scouts the area on foot, a rifle strapped over his shoulder for safety, telling us that an old bull buffalo, who can be quite dangerous, sometimes hangs around. Upon the "all clear", we jump off the jeep and the kids have a blast exploring the area on a mini-foot-safari.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">During the afternoon break, Andres gives parents a chance to relax at Madikwe Safari Lodge while he teaches the boys how to shoot their catapults (slingshots) and how to track animals using their dung. There is also an Eco Center with snakes, spiders, scorpions and more so that kids can learn about some of the smaller animals in Africa.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Giraffe Crossing</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The afternoon safari offers giraffes and warthogs. We cross a bridge covered with about three-feet of water where impalas and zebras drink lazily in the sun. Up another hill, we are arrive in an entirely different terrain - a forested area lining a stream - where monkeys and baboons swing through the tree creating all sorts of havoc. After watching some elephants gathering around the watering hole, we break for sundowners and an amazing sunset view with some friends from home who are staying at a nearby lodge. The kids have fun playing together, exchanging stories and roasting marshmallows.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL8GFMUUfHEFmQeCAikt0RXKJjheY_PX0d_hhvvA6s0-dqYNCoT3SGRl1UisE3h5jXvSpnKSottE1KZwmZhHKGJGbbeTqFQg93BSqktSTN6qDjz_0iKYmXyeq5mbvRe75gHi5dth5ch8lY/s1600/DSC_0882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL8GFMUUfHEFmQeCAikt0RXKJjheY_PX0d_hhvvA6s0-dqYNCoT3SGRl1UisE3h5jXvSpnKSottE1KZwmZhHKGJGbbeTqFQg93BSqktSTN6qDjz_0iKYmXyeq5mbvRe75gHi5dth5ch8lY/s320/DSC_0882.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">With Rosenbaums having "sundowner" overlooking</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">the African plains</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFy-dogM58AtPh_zV7urmicy_k9oLCxOcS_SMJcjhTB8gtixA0ipUif8epSOdY25VxrZlJ5Hl8Yu4Jir5sJcumGgpEB2fW7hS9U3NFs0zLfj-peOZOXHI6ZAJ278SgZdNHRmcClduTj2-/s1600/DSC_0060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFy-dogM58AtPh_zV7urmicy_k9oLCxOcS_SMJcjhTB8gtixA0ipUif8epSOdY25VxrZlJ5Hl8Yu4Jir5sJcumGgpEB2fW7hS9U3NFs0zLfj-peOZOXHI6ZAJ278SgZdNHRmcClduTj2-/s200/DSC_0060.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 3 of our Madikwe safari finds us tracking a lion who is apparently roaming his whole territory and moving very fast. After watching warthogs muzzle into the ground for food with their prickly snouts, we break for a bit of food ourselves with brunch in the bush. Madikwe Safari Lodge has set up tables and barbecues in a clearing and is serving up eggs and bacon in style. After brunch, we head over to the dog den where twelve wild pups chase their tails, topple over each other and rest in the shade. In the afternoon, we find our lion who lazes in the shade of a tree, barely bothering to lift his head for a glance as we pull up. We end the night watching a rhino and a bunch of guinea fowl at a watering hole. During sundowners the kids pretend to be animals as other safari jeeps going by comment on the "wild animals". At dinner that night in the boma - a sandy area surrounded by campfires and lanterns - Andres tells us other stories from safaris past and growing up in the bush.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The safari is everything we expected. But more importantly in the new way of "plan every moment of a trip" way of travels, it was so much that we didn't expect... and that creates the most memories, the best stories. The spontaneous and unplanned is what travel is all about. The kids have an amazing time learning about all the animals - and getting to see them so close-up and their wild habitat - we are all fascinated watching the majestical wildlife, and most importantly of all we enjoy a true adventure together!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For more information on a family safari adventure in South Africa, contact </span><a href="http://www.myafricavacation.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Destination Southern Africa</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">. Terry, the owner, is from South Africa and has traveled there many times with his own children and knows all the best places to stay and things to do!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Playing with new friends from London at the lodge. No video games or TV!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Driving to the lodge in our taxi!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Looking for lions</span></td></tr>
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</div>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-47147579414476975022012-07-15T03:43:00.001-07:002012-07-15T15:23:33.455-07:00Soweto South Africa: A History, The Street Life & Some Playtime<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Mayibuye Afrika!"</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">, meaning "Let Africa come back!", a phrase often shouted in the decades long fight against apartheid, the laws of segregation put in place by the ruling minority of South Africa in the 1948 - which ended just less than 20 years ago, rings in my head as we wander the streets of Soweto, the township in which the freedom struggle was born, with our kids. I've just finished reading Nelson Mandela's autobiography "A Long Walk to Freedom" and am not sure what to expect from this once crime-ridden area of extreme racial tension near Johannesburg, but I am about to find out.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Soweto, which stands for South West Townships was created by the ruling Apartheid government as a place to re-locate black citizens outside of Johannesburg. We are about to head into the center of Soweto with our two children Nathan, 11 and Seamus, 9. Our guide - arranged through </span><a href="http://www.myafricavacation.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Destination Southern Africa</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> - Lynda is from Soweto and takes us to three areas - the three layers of Soweto. There is the "wealthy" area where blacks were able to own property before Apartheid and then, with major restrictions (like paying rent on your own property), during apartheid. The brick homes look similar to what you find in the USA with walled yards, garages and gardens. He points out that this area is backed by hostels, which is transitional living between the slums and a better life. These government subsidized dormitories don't have running water - a pump supplies the community as water is considered a human right and thus supplied by the government at pump stations for washing clothes, dishes or themselves outside. There is no electricity. This is slowly being replaced by new housing with modern amenities. Lynda is proud of the progress, but he is quick to tell us that all of Soweto is not like this - the next and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">lowest layer of the of the onion. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nathan and Seamus playing with kids</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">from un-official settlement in Soweto</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Soweto Township South Africa</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After a stop at the Freedom Monument and a nearby lively street market full of friendly faces selling everything and anything your could need, we meet a friend of Lynda's who grew up in an unofficial settlement - a shantytown in Soweto called Kliptown - and now works with </span><a href="http://www.kliptownyouthprogram.org.za/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Kliptown Youth Program</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">. He is about 20 years old and speaks passionately about the importance of education to improve quality of life. He offers to show us this lowest end of Soweto. He leads us through narrow dirt streets which wind through tiny corrugated shacks that look as if they could fall over like a stack of cards. The small, dusty alleyways are full of kids and some of the poorest of Soweto packed into a beehive of interesting Third World real life that our kids get to experience first hand. He points out fences made from old mattress box springs stressing that everything is used again and again - recycling out of need vs environmental purposes. Walls are pieced together with scraps and boxes and wires. Kids with no shoes wander past as they smile huge grins and give us the "thumbs up" sign. The kids find a group of local kids plain with a top and are invited to join in the fun. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nathan and Seamus playing with kids</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">at Kliptown school, Soweto</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguW7eyZjv1BfjyYbEW5ceXK74RWKPBiBbNjUsbpU-AbBVMaAsRo32p_6grkG-WytsCxAdXQPfyZDWOFDx0SS4lht9mVyX8DHZEzLGSL8cExS_CaR5qZ99ilEq2gvXs4VEEIcKGqWA801Ip/s1600/DSC_0278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguW7eyZjv1BfjyYbEW5ceXK74RWKPBiBbNjUsbpU-AbBVMaAsRo32p_6grkG-WytsCxAdXQPfyZDWOFDx0SS4lht9mVyX8DHZEzLGSL8cExS_CaR5qZ99ilEq2gvXs4VEEIcKGqWA801Ip/s400/DSC_0278.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Finally, our guide leads us to a school - the school he attended as a small child. A few small rooms and a place for naps and lunch, a bowl of rice. His principal, Mrs. Mfaxa, greets us with a huge smile and a warm hug for her former student as our kids instantly make new friends. They share everything they have with them instantly. He tells us that attending this school under her guidance has made all the difference in his life. Mrs. Mfaxa invites us in for a look around and Nathan and Seamus are instantly swarmed by groups of school kids aged 2 - 5. They sing songs for us, play chase with Nathan and Seamus, grin from ear to ear and teach the kids the Zulu thumb handshake. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk58HreJi7HIUqr91c6xLQY5Hm6xDAlaFEjOqHNWvWpbHDMSQoZUFWGmJwUYFbQ9Qj0zY4_f-l5s2Wxp2T9xJ_a4bIobr-ej8j4l-sq4Ju1F_vEH9IY1hZGRAiAfFail9NtRAOw1CpiqYj/s1600/DSC_0311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk58HreJi7HIUqr91c6xLQY5Hm6xDAlaFEjOqHNWvWpbHDMSQoZUFWGmJwUYFbQ9Qj0zY4_f-l5s2Wxp2T9xJ_a4bIobr-ej8j4l-sq4Ju1F_vEH9IY1hZGRAiAfFail9NtRAOw1CpiqYj/s200/DSC_0311.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Though they live each day with nothing - most in a small one-room "house" with walls so thin you can hear neighbors on each side, dirt floors and mats instead of beds, they seem happy. They find joy in a simple top or a can tied to a string. They use their imaginations. They crave to learn and value education, most walking a mile or more to school each day. And according to our new friend that craving does not go away. Education is their hope…their hope for a better life. And it is that hope among the youth of today that is so different than their families from just a few years ago when the youth lived in fear - fear of persecution, fear of arrest and even worse.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Kids at Pastoral Centre Pre-School and Creche in Kliptown</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We say goodbye to the dozens of smiley faces and singing kids we met in the dusty slums of Soweto's "un-official settlement" and head to where the student uprisings began just a few decades ago.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seamus looking at memorial at</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Just down the street from Kilptown, we visit the Hector Pieterson Museum. This museum is on exact the site of the 1976 student uprisings that brought the apartheid struggle to an international level in the media. On June 16, 1976, students, frustrated by a system that offered no hope, staged a peaceful protest. A new government rule, added to an already failing "Bantu" school system (for black South Africans), stated that all classes must be taught in Afrikaans - the language of the Afrikaner minority who controlled the government. The only place in the world that spoke in Afrikaans was South Africa. The students wanted to keep learning English instead of a language foreign to them - a language they said which was that of their oppressor. They marched down the street from their school with signs, singing and chanting, joined by children from other schools. As they neared the end of the street they were met by police who threw tear gas and open-fired into the crowd. Many children were injured and died that day, including 13 year-old Hector Pieterson; a day that brought the struggle to the attention of the world (a picture of a boy carrying Hector's body and running from the police was published around the world), and started protests in Soweto that would continue for more than a decade. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Danny showing kids bullet holes in</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">During this time students - or any blacks - were forbidden to meet in small groups. The youth of Soweto turned to the sanctuary of Regina Mundi Church. Danny, a local who lived through this turbulent time, points out bullet holes and broken down altars, where police had broken up meetings using mass force. Nathan and Seamus have lots of questions for Danny about what it was like to be in school back then and what happened when the police came to the church to break up the meetings, which he answers perfectly engaging them on their level.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seamus watching a street performer</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">with new friends in Soweto</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Nelson Mandela had already been in prison for over a decade when he heard the news of the Soweto Uprising. He weeped for the children, but understood their frustration. Upon release from prison in 1990, Mandela moved back to his house at 8115 Orlando West in Soweto. Also on this street, just a few doors down, is the home of Desmond Tutu, the first black bishop of South Africa and a freedom fighter in his own right; two Nobel Peace Prize winners on one small street! Mandela House is now a museum on a wide street lined with outdoor cafes, shops, street performers and a fun, funky vibe. As we have lunch on a patio, Nathan and Seamus meet local kids and start up a game of tag. Their laughter is heard through the streets - bouncing past the once tension-filled racial relations in this area. With smiles and handshakes - they know nothing of the struggle that happened long before their birth, and it shows. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Although it can be difficult for kids to experience the poverty and the violent struggle of students to obtain today's freedoms in South Africa, open lanes of communication can help. We constantly talked to them about what they were thinking and how it made them feel and ended up having some in-depth conversations that will remain in my memory forever and furthered our family bond. Meeting happy, new friends and interacting on a child-level - playing, laughing, etc - also helped them join in the hope that resonates in Soweto today.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Let Africa come back!"…for a new generation filled with hope for a better life it has. Although there is some work to do - to assist the poorer areas, to equalize educational opportunities - progress is being made. And most of all, their exists hope for black, for white, for poor, for young - opportunity is knocking!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The "Un-Official Settlement" area. Nathan and local guide in the background.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Playing Tag with kids in Soweto Township in front of Nelson Mandela's home</span></td></tr>
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</div>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-16347461814982090382012-04-19T12:33:00.002-07:002012-04-19T12:35:22.096-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yesterday was one of the best days yet! i got to go on the best tour ever called Kipu Ranch on Kaua'i Island with Outfitters Kauai<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Indiana Jones Rope Swing</td></tr>
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I could not believe the sights that i saw! i got to go kayaking with the guides and we played splash wars and we saw where they filmed a scene in indiana jones! then we docked. we took a hike that was about 10 to 15 minutes. we came up to a rope swing that went into a waterhole that looked about three feet deep well i jumped and it was about 10 feet deep. i went again and again and again and again! then we went to a zip line that was giantormus (big) and then i went and it was so cool! then we went on a tractor ride to lunch. then we went on another zip line and that was a tandem one so two people could go at one time! the next zip line you did not have a harness!.....the line was only 15 feet high and wen you drop you fall into water! a deep pool. there was also 2 high jumps into the big one is 18 feet high the small one is about 12 feet high. i highly recommend this tour group its all about the fun to them. that makes it super duper fun to you!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zip Line<br />
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by: Nathan S. , 11</td></tr>
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</div>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-30524813427122988852012-04-07T16:59:00.000-07:002012-04-07T16:59:51.693-07:00im 11 and im going to blog in hawii!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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hello people im going to hawii tomorrow and im going to be bloging about it!</div>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-7079727162509029012012-03-13T21:32:00.002-07:002012-03-13T21:32:46.118-07:00Discover the World Through Community Theatre<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
True, traveling is usually our thing, but I recently discovered that much of the same spirit of adventure - exploring the world, discovering new places, learning about different characters - comes into play (pun intended) at the community theatre - although on a different scale. As Nathan and Seamus embrace their new roles in <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>, I am amazed by the lessons they are taking home from the theatre - public speaking, problem solving, thinking quickly on their feet, adapting, community service and more!
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“Hold onto wonder while you can”…the first line of Gerry Cullity’s opening song “Wonderland” in Desert Stages Theatre’s production of <i>Alice in Wonderland </i>pretty much sums up the theater’s philosophy. Kids off all ages marvel at the imaginary world created in each production at Desert Stages and that’s before they ever reach the stage. Executive Director Laurie Cullity (aka Miss Laurie) offers an atmosphere of fabulously controlled chaos in which kids revel. It’s like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory meets Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium and yet amazingly she produces an incredible show when it’s all done.
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In Gerry Cullity’s <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>, Nathan and Seamus, from the television show <i>Travel With Kids</i>, join a cast packed with the quirky, colorful characters that fill the pages of Lewis Carroll’s book…plus some. Miss Laurie says “it’s like a clown stage…we pack in as many kids as possible” wanting them each to have the chance to imagine, create and perform. In this production, characters range from an innocent Alice (“Alice hands!” Miss Laurie cries) to darling pearls fluffed in layers and layers of tulle to a bubble-spewing caterpillar. Nathan plays a Battling Squire while Seamus is the Queen of Hearts’ Guard. Each lead part is quadruple cast to give each child a chance to be in the spotlight to build confidence and presence before a crowd.
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You can sense the excitement as opening night draws near. I hear one Pearl squeal “There’s a real audience out there…with REAL people!” The busy backstage buzzes as kids don colorful costumes and make-up, sing from their very souls, and put on a performance that could match the very best of community theatre. You can feel their stomachs turn with delight as they line-up at the dressing room doors, after a break-a-leg chat from Miss Laurie, and ready themselves to enter the wonderful world of acting.
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While there are plenty of chances for kids to be in the spotlight, it goes beyond that at Desert Stages. “It is amazing to see children turn from this inward focus to an outward sense of community.” states a quote from Gerry Cullity displayed in the lobby. During each play, kids are expected to join the community to clean up the theatre, re-paint every wall and floor, re-organize countless costumes and props, and clean every nook and cranny. It gives children a sense of responsibility. They take ownership of the theatre; this is THEIR place. As well they should, not only are all the plays in the junior line-up performed by children, they also run the tech booth – lights and sound effects, and assist in directing and choreography.
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With so many children participating, it’s a wonder how Laurie Cullity keeps track of them all, let alone directs them. But direct she does. Miss Laurie maintains absolute control and still takes time out to console a crying Knave of Hearts or applaud a Flower’s perfect bun. One moment she’s talking paint with a teenager and the next she’s assisting Nathan with choreography for his battle scene.
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Gerry Cullity’s original songs also give the kids a chance to express themselves with catchy tunes in various genres. From a blues singing Cheshire Cat to a hip-hop version of “Walrus and the Carpenter”, the array of songs matches Carroll’s fantastical and imaginative vision of Wonderland. The whole audience, no matter their age, will be tapping their feet to the beat. Nathan and Seamus can’t seem to stop singing them, even recording them and texting to friends. In fact, Cullity’s songs are so memorable that the songs from last spring’s “Peter Pan”, in which the boys played pirates, still top their playlists.
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The intimate theatre-in-the-round at Desert Stages means every seat is a good seat making it a perfect place for kids to experience their first…or fifty-first show. The fantasy of
<i>Alice in Wonderland </i>runs now through March 25 and will surely have you grinning from ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat. More information or tickets at <a href="http://www.desertstages.org">www.desertstages.org</a>
</div>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-44381599028234109212012-03-01T22:10:00.001-07:002012-03-01T22:10:37.415-07:00Plant The Seed: Travel to the Places that Inspired Dr. SeussKnown for his outlandish worlds and colorful characters paired with rythmic rhymes, Dr. Seuss is one of the best known children's authors in the world. His books have come to life in movies and on-stage bringing with them a flair for the fanstastical - afterall who can forget Jim Carey as the "The Grinch" tapping his furry fingers, grinning his wide, evil grin and pacing around talking to himself like a madman. This March, we can expect more of the same with the release of the animated film "The Lorax". Danny Devito plays the grumpy, and quite impish, main character sputtering famous lines such as "I speak for the trees" ensuring this will be classic Seuss fun. Just as intriguing to me are those Seuss landscapes - puffy pink and yellow trees, rainbow colored bushes, crazy sizes and shapes. It's "Those Tuffula Trees! All my life I'd been searching for trees such as these." that drives Seuss' main character to set up shop in "The Lorax". But what inspired the crazy shapes and colors of the landscapes on Seuss' pages? Where lies the muse of his imagination?
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Although we did not see any Brown Bar-ba-loots or Humming-Fish as populate the pages of "The Lorax", we did encounter another equally fascinating creature - the Gray Whale. During the months of January - April, the lagoons along Baja's Pacific Coast are packed with Grey Whales who come to shelter while courting and mating, birthing and raising newborns. These lagoons have long been a safe haven for the whales who make the longest mammal migration on earth, traveling thousands of miles from the Arctic Ocean. We visited Scammon's Lagoon, near Guerrero Negro, about midway down the Baja peninsula with <a href="http://www.andiamo-travel.com/2010/index.html">Andiamo Travel
</a>. After a short launch ride past colonies of seal lions and huge mounds of salt (the salt flats here are the largest natural outdoor salt facility in the world), we hear spray and are covered in what the kids call "whale boogers" - the mist that rides the wind after a whale surfaces and exhales. Soon enough we are surrounded by whales and it's difficult to tell who is watching whom. One whale gets so close to the boat, you can see his eye peering up through the water - it's no wonder they call them "friendlies". The whale seems very curious and drifts closer, seemingly...and then actually...within touching distance. Nathan reaches over the side of the boat, and with a little help stretching over the side from another passenger, reaches through the water and gives the whale a little pat. Esther, co-owner of <a href="http://www.andiamo-travel.com/2010/index.html">Andiamo Travel</a>, says they never get within touching distance unless they want to be. She recounts numerous occassions where a whale lingers just out of reach, but this one hangs snug to the boat allowing both kids plenty of time to pet him.<br><br> <iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lLKrO9Xi5w4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><br>
The Gray Whales are making a come back thanks to their position on the endangered species list for so many years and the Baja Peninsula remains a pristine and remote outpost little touched by tourism. In addition to the desert and ocean life, there are many small towns and missions to visit. At the start of the road that runs down the peninsula are the cities of Tijuana and Ensenada and at end of the road lies <a href="http://www.travelwithkids.tv/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=62&Itemid=71">Cabo San Lucas</a>, a mega-tourist development with its own share of exciting family-friendly activities (and a nice respite from the rustic life along the peninsula), but in-between there is much to explore and discover. But go now, before a Once-ler comes along and starts cutting "Those trees. Those trees."!
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For us Mexico has been a safe and fun adventure, but just in case, we always purchase travel insurance. We have used it for delayed luggage and medical mishaps and its worth every dime...even just for peace of mind. Consult A Doctor is a wonderful service offered by <a href="http://www.csatravelprotection.com/travelwithkids">CSA Travel Protection</a> that links you to a network of doctors on the road. Yes, they do sponsor our show, but yes we do use their services and have had excellent experiences with them as consumers.Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-62491567158695596452011-12-05T21:29:00.001-07:002011-12-05T21:55:20.030-07:00Celebrate Globally<b>Celebrate Globally
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Countries the world over celebrate winter holidays. Although much of Christmas has been commercialized, there are still many holiday traditions that remain unique to different nationalities, giving the world a special diversity. Many of these traditions utilize natural resources making them green by design. Mixing some of these worldly customs into your own traditions, not only adds flavor to your holidays, but can turn the season a bit greener.
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<b>The Salutations
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Instead of sending holiday cards, which are a great tradition but use a lot of paper, people in parts of the British Isles go from house to house caroling. A tradition that was brought over to America in its early days, but has since fallen out of popularity, caroling parties are making a bit of a come back. Greeting neighbors with songs of joy and love for a happy holiday season is much more personal than cards and it can be a fun family or group activity. We were invited to a caroling party last year. The hostess created little song books and handed them out to all the kids and parents. We were served hot chocolate and cider and off we went a caroling. Everyone had lots of fun, and neighbors even joined as we strolled along.
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<b>Delivering of Sweet Treats
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In the United States, many people exchange homemade baked goods like cookies, fruit cakes or bread, but delivering all these treasures means spending a lot of time driving from house to house and burning a lot of fuel. In Canada, they have a solution. Instead of delivering the cookies from house to house, one family hosts a cookie party. Each family brings ingredients for one type of cookie and the bowls and mixers necessary to make them. Then they meet at one house and spend the day chatting and baking cookies. A recent tradition is exchanging butter cookies for Chanukah, so this tradition can be incorporated as well. At the end of the party, each family goes away with a variety of cookies to enjoy at home or share with their neighbors. It saves gas and makes cookie-making into a fun, new family tradition.
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<b>Decorations
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In Nigeria, they use palm fronds to decorate the house. In fact, many cultures use greenery beyond the evergreen to decorate. In Sweden, they use apples. In the desert, we have the benefit of having green plants through most of the winter. Using some trimmings after pruning live plants outside is easy on the environment and can make for a festive house. Last year, I trimmed the citrus and sumac trees and placed them in vases around the house just before our holiday party.
I have to admit, I am a sucker for tradition when it comes to the fresh cut pine tree at Christmas. But, in some parts of South America, instead of decorating a fresh evergreen tree, they decorate a large, or cluster of medium sized, dried branches. They string it with lights, paper flowers and other ornaments. It reminds me of one of my favorite Christmas trees growing up. We had decided to spend Christmas in a cabin in Telluride, CO but didn’t arrive until late Christmas Eve night. The stores were all closed and because of a large snow storm, getting off-road for a live tree was out of the question. We found a large bare branch of an aspen tree and with some help from the extra clippings from our neighbor’s pine tree, which we tied to our branch, we created a homemade Christmas tree. It wasn’t the Norman Rockwell version of a Christmas picture, but it was the one our family remembers most. The point is, Christmas trees can come in all shapes and sizes, it’s more about the love that goes into it, then the color of its leaves. We could learn a few things from our neighbors to the south…the bare branch makes for an interesting display and is much easier on the environment than a fresh cut tree or something synthetic. In the desert, many people take it a step further and go native…decorating a live cactus.
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<b>Gifts
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In many parts of the world, holiday gifts are handmade works of love. This tradition not only shows the gift recipient how much you care, putting in hard work and time, but it decreases the footprint of the gifts you give. If you think about store bought gifts, not only just the materials used, but the process to get the gift from raw form into its present form and the transportation to get the gift from the factory to you, and then multiply that by the number of gifts each person gives and the number of people giving gifts and you end up with a huge impact on the environment. While making your gifts won’t always be a good fit (I’m not saying no toys for the kids this year), it’s definitely something to think of when the children are giving gifts. Here are some ideas from other countries.
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Plant a seed. In Malta, they plant wheat seeds weeks before Christmas, so that they sprout just in time for the big day. In that island country, they use the sprouts to decorate for the holidays, but it could just as easily make a good gift.
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In Japan, they decorate with paper lanterns, which can easily be made using colorful tissue paper and small wooden rods. Painting on the tissue paper can make each gift unique.
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Papier mache is always a good green project in that it uses old newspapers and water and flour for glue. In Venice, Italy, the papier mache mask is traditional and easy to make using a balloon as your form.
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Homemade candles are a nice gift to give for Chanukah or Kwanzaa. You can make candles rolled from beeswax or get melting wax from a craft store and dip your own candles. You should make nine candles for Chanukah (eight for lighting and one shamus or lighter candle) and seven for Kawanzaa, three red, three green and one black.
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For more information on holiday traditions from around the world, visit www.theholidayspot.com. For more information on our family travel television series, which immerses in cultures from around the world, visit <a href="http://www.travelwithkids.tv">TravelWithKids.tv</a> or "LIKE" us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/travelwithkids">Facebook
</a>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-66531864982202759902011-10-25T15:52:00.000-07:002011-10-25T15:52:13.094-07:00The Cyber Sharks Are Circling: Ways to Keep Your Kids Safe On-LineMany people are surprised when they see our kids snorkeling with sharks or flying through the forest canopy on a zipline. “Isn’t that dangerous? Weren’t you worried about their safety?” they ask. The answer is no. These activities take place in a fairly controlled environment with a history of safety records. Plus, I am there looking over their shoulder making sure everything is alright. The sharks that do worry me are the cyber sharks. The tough kid at school being mean; the stranger approaching them with candy…with the advent of technology, these villains now enter our home. And with technology changing so rapidly, it’s hard to keep up. How do I keep them safe from something I don’t even fully understand…texting, sexting, cyber bullying, cyber predators? It’s all kilobytes to me.<br />
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The first key to keeping them safe on-line is to talk to them about what is appropriate to share. Don’t share more than a first name. Don’t tell an on-line friend where you live or what school you attend. But as much as we tell them, does it ever really sink in? I was watching a YouTube video made by a child from my kids’ school. She was walking around her house, filming her room, her pet hamster, giving a constant narration about her life. It all seemed innocent enough until she held up her report card. Not a big deal right? Just a kid venting about grades and school, but the report card envelope had the school logo and the child’s address on it. When I paused the video, I could see where this kid lives. I’m sure it never even dawned on her that she was sharing information, but there it was as clear as day. Directions for any predator in cyber space to this girl’s house. As much as we tell them not share information, there are ways the information is released without them even realizing it. So what can we do as parents? According to the University of Oklahoma Police Department, who released a brochure called “Keeping Kids Safe On-Line”, parents should:<br />
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- Know their child’s email username and password<br />
- Keep the computer in a family area where supervision is easy<br />
- Talk to the child about what is discussed and what sites they are visiting<br />
- Tell the child to log off and tell a parent immediately if they feel at all uncomfortable with something happening on-line<br />
- Give feedback to sites and service providers about inappropriate content or advertisements<br />
- Warn your child about how easy it is to pretend to be someone you are not on the Internet and the dangers that go with that.<br />
- Tell your child to inform you if anyone ever asks them to meet in person.<br />
- Invest in a program that provides parental controls for on-line use.<br />
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So, beyond talking about it, which is always good, how else can we protect them from technology? Travel With Kids recently partnered with a company called MouseMail.com that offers filtering programs for e-mail, texting and social media. Parents and kids can work together to create an approved list of contacts and parents have the ability to check on their child’s activity. The filtering system also scans all the incoming e-mails, texts and social media posts for inappropriate content. If the system detects bullying, sexting or other inappropriate scenarios, an alert is sent to parents. Inappropriate emails are actually diverted to parents before they even reach their children. I am really impressed by what this company is doing to help parents keep kids safe on-line. The program allows kids to take advantage of technology while offering parents the tools to protect them from the dangers that lurk in the cyber sea.<br />
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As my kids get older and enter the on-line world, it gives me peace of mind knowing that there is someone who can stay on top of the rapidly changing technology and help me protect my kids from the cyber shark, so I can focus on enjoying my time snorkeling with the real ones who are far less dangerous in my opinion. For more information on this program, visit <a href="http://www.MouseMail.com">MouseMail.com</a>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-29345499573436995582011-09-22T11:54:00.001-07:002011-09-22T11:54:59.636-07:00Travel With Kids TV show comes to the ROKU Player: Travel With Kids ChannelRoku player users can now purchase the Travel With Kids channel from the channel store for a one time fee of 4.99 to view all 4 seasons of the show!<br />
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Roku streams netflix, hulu, amazon on demand and dozens of other channels right to your TV.<br />
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Roku.com<br />
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<a href="http://blog.flingsoft.com/post/10456217750/new-roku-channel-travel-with-kids-released"></a>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-60026332316965229292011-08-10T16:11:00.000-07:002011-08-10T16:11:03.913-07:00The Great Leap ForwardThe Great Leap Forward...that's what they called it when Chairman Mao pushed the Chinese populace to export more food (to the point of which the general public was starving) and melt down steel for export (which had peasants thowing everything metal...including necessary items such as cooking pots and tools into the fires) so that China could import factory and military technology to modernize their country. The plan was a fiasco ending with countless dying of starvation and many of Mao's own camrades turning on him. Too much too fast at too large a sacrafice. However, when traveling through China today...high speed trains darting through city after city of high rises past world monuments in the shadows of modern marvels, you have to wonder if this is the China Mao had envisioned. And in the process of leaping, has China missed out on something along the way? We crossed China by train this summer to find out.<br />
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We started our trip in Shanghai - a thriving metropolis with sky scrapers in quirky shapes (one with a spire engulfed by a giant ball, The Pearl Tower and one with a giant open square in the middle, The Bottle Opener) lit up in every shade of neon imagineable. Kid-friendly activities range from an aquarium with "the world's largest underwater acrylic tunnel" to a massive science museum with Disney-esque displays on rainforests and robots. Expansive concrete squares and walkways were surrounded by designer shops with neon signs and upscale eateries, but there was something missing - Chinese history and culture. There are parts of Shanghai that nod to the past...the French Quarter, the Bund, the Yu Gardens area, but most are tourist attractions, not living history.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2zqyjC4CQfNytK2dE5t7P-vzjrKwpfM6TTHaQPM49gthivf4omEB67IwqYktPgqyey_gqwDVCRf6c065_MKtIsdQ8uqNKGBchexDTbViUNI4Ea6jupvXvYkDHmhyTesdF2Usm1sNhf-ob/s1600/P1320103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2zqyjC4CQfNytK2dE5t7P-vzjrKwpfM6TTHaQPM49gthivf4omEB67IwqYktPgqyey_gqwDVCRf6c065_MKtIsdQ8uqNKGBchexDTbViUNI4Ea6jupvXvYkDHmhyTesdF2Usm1sNhf-ob/s200/P1320103.JPG" /></a></div><br />
None-the-less the kids loved strolling down the paths and feeding coi fish in the Yu Gardens and bargaining for Mao merchandise (a watch with Mao's hand waving as the second hand or a general's hat from the Red Army) by the gates. The dumplings at the stalls nearby were outstanding (Nathan - our ten-year-old's new favorite food) but the line to get them was just as outstanding...they're very popular and there are A LOT of people in China! The people of Shanghai are very modern...in Western dress, with mobile phones, eating at Western fast food chains and moving at break-neck paces...unfortunately no one has schooled them on Western manners as lines are non-existent (people just tend to surge forward in a swarm-like fashion) and spitting is rampant (although signs are posted everywhere warning against the practice as it spreads germs), but it's all part of the fun of foreign travel, right? After Shanghai, we decided to head up the Yangtze River to the interior of China to see if this modernization had spread into the countryside. We purchased China train tickets through <a href="http://www.acprail.com/">ACP Rail </a>before we left and they delivered them to our accommodations in Shanghai.<br />
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On the overnight train from Shanghai to Chongqing, we got a bit more of the non-line formation as the crowd pushed forward on the train platform as if Justin Bieber had just walked by. We held back a little and found that we could board the train just as easily after the rush as over and we had assigned cabins anyway, so what was the point of pushing? The kids loved the train journey! Although not many people spoke English (only one or two people and very limited at that), Westerners were a bit of a novelty...more than one person during our weeks of overnight trains asked why we didn't fly. In addition to getting to see the countryside whiz by the window <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQOoT2Lf60Mv7BR1hqXlzYOOdwe8z8uZQTwd8PjehNG-6G2pV-GikDLhLN70qJVVH8-ctHY6X9d3zfuBGFoQXyGcRT63MOtbdQLOCY_gezl4YPyocrJbmj0PJlQeL4G6_cVWVDIquWniP/s1600/china+rice+field.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQOoT2Lf60Mv7BR1hqXlzYOOdwe8z8uZQTwd8PjehNG-6G2pV-GikDLhLN70qJVVH8-ctHY6X9d3zfuBGFoQXyGcRT63MOtbdQLOCY_gezl4YPyocrJbmj0PJlQeL4G6_cVWVDIquWniP/s320/china+rice+field.jpg" /></a></div><br />
and meeting locals, immersing in the culture, another benefit to overnight trains is that the price includes a night of accommodation....and the kids thought the bunk beds were pretty cool. Everytime the kids walked through a compartment the whole crowd would turn and stare and that's when the pictures started as well...about once or twice per compartment, someone would ask us to sit and take a picture with them. The kids thought it was great...just like being famous. They also liked the bunk beds in the train compartment (we traveled on soft sleepers which were private compartments with four beds and air conditioning). We didn't pack much to eat thinking we could eat on the train, but the options were very limited. We did hit the fruit cart for bananas a few times and had Ramen noodles. <br />
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In Chongqing, we boarded a ship for a three-night journey with <a href="http://www.sanctuaryretreats.com/cruises/">Sanctuary Retreats</a> down the Yangtze River through the infamous Three River Gorges. As many of you know, one of the world's largest dams, the Yangtze River Dam, was constructed in this past decade in an effort to control flooding at produce hydro-electricity, an effort which caused the relocation of millions of Chinese people and flooded over many historic buildings and sacred places. With the change of scenery and relocation of towns, we wanted to see how this leap forward had affected the countryside. In the first stop on our cruise, the cruise director had arranged for our group to visit both a traditional home and a new home for people who were relocated. The traditional home was obviously more rustic - dirt floors, simple furnishings, limited electricity - life as always. While the modern apartment into which families were relocated had air conditioning, glass windows and tile floors, but the inhabitant said the biggest draw back was that she was separated from her neighbors - a leap away from traditional community - and she missed that. At the end of the journey, a wide slab of concrete juts a mile and a half across the Yangtze with much controversy. The Yangtze River Dam is the largest construction project in China since the Great Wall (Mao would be proud as it was he who originally suggested a large dam here during the "Great Leap Forward").<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlCc5YmHkeyArdroIX1W9fQXYOep7qwnrRc5as9Hb9AcGepcboFSwJa-tvurwCFCpOCyJ3tmROKeH0SE4RKrg87ZB4f3YPkYJpY7_Zrsi0czs0Ep4sDffEplGNns2RoBcwzzt-N9H9tMw/s1600/P1320917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlCc5YmHkeyArdroIX1W9fQXYOep7qwnrRc5as9Hb9AcGepcboFSwJa-tvurwCFCpOCyJ3tmROKeH0SE4RKrg87ZB4f3YPkYJpY7_Zrsi0czs0Ep4sDffEplGNns2RoBcwzzt-N9H9tMw/s200/P1320917.JPG" /></a></div><br />
The dam has been the source of much heated discussion due to its relocation of almost 2 million locals and the environmental impact of displacing that much water. Although the soaring limestone cliffs are less soaring now (the water was raised by almost a football field) they are still spectacular and a journey through the gorges is well worth doing. <br />
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Our ship docked in Yichang where we boarded an overnight train to the political heart of China, Beijing. The center of Beijing is the vast cement slab of Tiananmen Square which is guarded over by a massive portrait of Chairman Mao (hanging from the entrance to the Forbidden City - the last home of the emperors of China and one of the few ancient sites that was not plowed over during the Communist take-over).<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgH8zK7pr86gYpEvDCP5X5L_PPkrDZ4p5Y1MF9r6QWR8zgYm_G2IjVlg7XNA8oOaU-bi3bPn7x6xdF-uIH3xHYn7Oi11chb6hByjd81aUjjIEC6qBsRIyy3xi8ClCG5EzS1vCK3Ox1uako/s1600/P1330265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgH8zK7pr86gYpEvDCP5X5L_PPkrDZ4p5Y1MF9r6QWR8zgYm_G2IjVlg7XNA8oOaU-bi3bPn7x6xdF-uIH3xHYn7Oi11chb6hByjd81aUjjIEC6qBsRIyy3xi8ClCG5EzS1vCK3Ox1uako/s320/P1330265.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Tiananmen Square was originally built for the people, but today, due to riot control, security is tight, there is no filming and it is closed at night. The square is surrounded on two sides by Communist/government buildings. The third side is lined with Western fast food chains (Mao is probably rolling over in his masolaeum, which is in the center of the square) and the fourth is the Forbidden City. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Y-MrncUwkusQmf0r0zecEWBA17GOcDA59KCvUSdQy_r0e93tRC-Graz2bBpGg09VmH8C8OWliajlCgTgLQx0F7nyvULakAPKHCWZ3TdVgBc8x_y0Qm3Rs79TG6PYuqDsn8vC1W1suVP-/s1600/foridden+city.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Y-MrncUwkusQmf0r0zecEWBA17GOcDA59KCvUSdQy_r0e93tRC-Graz2bBpGg09VmH8C8OWliajlCgTgLQx0F7nyvULakAPKHCWZ3TdVgBc8x_y0Qm3Rs79TG6PYuqDsn8vC1W1suVP-/s200/foridden+city.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The soaring red doors, colorful murals and curled up corners of the buildings in the Forbidden City is quite a contrast to the gray cement rectangles of the Communist era buildings nearby...a leap right over any local architectural tradition. The kids enjoy wandering through the narrow alleys of the Forbidden City.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5T7cw-1TCScKuA0r6Yo6evz23vUagMLJng85crC9q5qde-12eCdTAEH26Z-82fUdZh0vzU2JrWJ8rKXILytnieRY6ElA4SSbSFy9rVsIwE_hgywycCRYdLU9iUeXhiFT6WV_2P15WDCO/s1600/n+and+s+forbidden+city+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:left; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5T7cw-1TCScKuA0r6Yo6evz23vUagMLJng85crC9q5qde-12eCdTAEH26Z-82fUdZh0vzU2JrWJ8rKXILytnieRY6ElA4SSbSFy9rVsIwE_hgywycCRYdLU9iUeXhiFT6WV_2P15WDCO/s200/n+and+s+forbidden+city+2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
They meet kids snacking on chicken feet (a common snack food here in China)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8NyPtzYvHRydaNojJwZnEVSeBtMknQPW7sCRWtHLJsBORnUkcOoWmdfOB-aumQXS6_7Is44KkXqBIRudAqM8niOymFXQ-CJprdbMDTfkH9k5SPSifWHZhrvOxX5fA3HOVwMOPs5HcEik/s1600/P1320410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8NyPtzYvHRydaNojJwZnEVSeBtMknQPW7sCRWtHLJsBORnUkcOoWmdfOB-aumQXS6_7Is44KkXqBIRudAqM8niOymFXQ-CJprdbMDTfkH9k5SPSifWHZhrvOxX5fA3HOVwMOPs5HcEik/s200/P1320410.JPG" /></a></div><br />
and are asked to have their picture taken over and over again. They are starting to get the idea of why famous people become reclusive. But it's short-lived so they're happy to oblige. We learn about the emperors and empresses that live here and what life was like in the royal court.<br />
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If there is a feather in the hat of Chinese progress, it's their hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games. About 45 minutes out of the center of Beijing, we visit the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube - landmarks from the games. The kids are delighted to find the Water Cube, where Michael Phellps set so many records, has been repurposed into Asia's largest indoor water park. So they hop in, sliding down two story slides, hopping around the wave pool and joining the locals as they "splash attack" various other patrons.<br />
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The other highlight to our trip to Beijing is a visit to the other great construction project in China...the Great Wall. The wall runs over 5,000 miles from northeastern China following near the Mongolian border. We had been approached in Tiananmen Square by an English speaking driver to hire a private car for four of us, which turned out to be cheaper than taking an organized tour. Badaling is the closest wall access to Beijing, but it's very crowded, so we head to Mutianyu about 50 miles from town. After weaving through trinket sellers, where Seamus enjoyed tasting amazing dried fruits, we found a chairlift to the top of the wall. The chairlift looks like something from a 1950s film set in Switzerland with rickety chairs with narrow seats, but the views are incredible and the kids thought it was lots of fun. I'm glad we decided to take the chairlift too because once you are at the top there is plenty of hiking along the wall and the kids would have been too worn out by the intial hike to do too much exploring. The kids had lots of fun imagining they were Chinese soldiers and the huns were attacking as they ran up steps to the watchtowers that connect the walls, peering out narrow, stone windows through the forest where the wall bumped and dipped along the form of the mountain terrain winding off into the distance. After a couple hours appreciating the wall, it was time to head down, but instead of hiking we took the luge. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTzh-WJTTlFe9FCTYvFDZhfbd3sOQKxeubHLt0BNTekejaRiVDecEh-lSSolxOREfJYm_bXXZcRQ8h0pH7szZ-Ll_pDQGoVU8WJaQpUKHRAMTaZQO7d-_hQvZiWfJ1dQSBQo04O2oMUSE/s1600/P1330435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTzh-WJTTlFe9FCTYvFDZhfbd3sOQKxeubHLt0BNTekejaRiVDecEh-lSSolxOREfJYm_bXXZcRQ8h0pH7szZ-Ll_pDQGoVU8WJaQpUKHRAMTaZQO7d-_hQvZiWfJ1dQSBQo04O2oMUSE/s200/P1330435.JPG" /></a></div><br />
You read it right...they have a long metal slide with go karts that wind down the mountain side back to the base. Cheesey tourist attraction...yes, but not something you can pass up with two little boys. It ended up being a neat way to get down...gliding quietly through the forest.<br />
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If Beijing is the political capital of China then Shanghai is the capitalist and financial capital, but how does Hong Kong fit into this modern country? Our last stop in China showed us that not much has changed in this British enclave...at least on the surface. You still have to go through immigration to and from China, they still use different money...you get the idea. The one thing that I noticed was different from last time we were there, which was just around the time of the British hand over, is less British pubs. We stayed at <a href="http://www.parkhotelgroup.com/Default.aspx?alias=www.parkhotelgroup.com/phhk">Park Hotel Hong Kong</a> in Tsimshatsui - an area lined with mostly Chinese restaurants and great shops selling everything from fashion clothes to Chinese trinkets. The kids enjoyed a surprise trip to <a href="http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/home/home?name=HomePage">Hong Kong Disneyland </a>while we were there. The park is set up very similar to the original, although it is smaller with a few rides missing. But they enjoyed the Jungle Cruise ("It's even better than the original with fire and water geysers!" says Seamus) and of course, "it's a small world", where the no-lines culture hit a feverish pace as visitors pushed to board the little boats standing back to belly, filling in every bit of space. At night we enjoyed gelato at the top of Victoria Peak overlooking the city lights.<br />
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With the massive construction (cranes on almost every building it seems) and cities popping out of what used to be farmland, and two more dams in the works, even bigger than the Yangtze River Dam, it seems China is still taking a huge leap forward. Where it will end up, especially in this world's economy, is yet to be determined. But if you want to see ancient China with its winding hutongs and rice fields, and travel through a foreign country where few speak English and squid on a stick is a popular snack (even in Disneyland) then you best go fast as they may soon leap right beyond the cultural divide.Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-88280374449375442032011-05-13T11:49:00.002-07:002011-05-13T11:56:15.020-07:00Travel With Kids on Hulu.com<object width="392" height="210"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/widget/embed/videopanel"></param><param name="bgcolor" value="0x000000" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="flashVars" value="partner=CSWidget&layout=Horizontal2Thumbs&watchOnHulu=true&searchEnabled=true&sortEnabled=true&sortDefault=recentlyadded&show=travel-with-kids"></param><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/widget/embed/videopanel" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashVars="partner=CSWidget&layout=Horizontal2Thumbs&watchOnHulu=true&searchEnabled=true&sortEnabled=true&sortDefault=recentlyadded&show=travel-with-kids" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="0x000000" width="392" height="210"></embed></object>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-3928929542872163032011-05-13T10:06:00.000-07:002011-05-13T10:06:58.065-07:00Around the World in Six Fabulous Bits of NatureWith all of last month's earth celebrations, I took time to reflect on all the natural highlights this globe has to offer. From lush green rainforests to fish-filled tropical reefs to grassy savannahs dotted with herds of elephants and giraffes, our globe has a bountiful feast of natural features. It used to be that global exploration was for the well-to-do only, but in this modern day of budget travel, it’s easier than ever to explore these natural wonders on your own. One of the best ways to do it is on a trip around the world, which is easily accomplished by piecing a series of one-way tickets together using a consolidator like Airtreks or by purchasing a single airline’s, or airline group’s, around-the-world-fare. This travel experience is possible on a budget by staying in locally-owned small hotels and taking local ground transport. In some areas you can get by on just a few dollars a day, including fantastic food!<br />
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I was lucky enough to take my own trip around the world….I won’t say how many years back. After graduating college and working for a few years, I traded in my briefcase for a backpack and took an eight-month sabbatical, which included visiting five continents. I would love to repeat that trip with my kids so they can get a sampling of all the natural paradise the globe has to offer. Here are a few of the natural wonders I discovered along the way.<br />
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<b>Hat Noppharat Thara-Ko Phi Phi National Park, Thailand<br />
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Tucked in the Andaman Sea off Thailand’s south western coast, Ko Phi Phi’s tall limestone crags, white sand beaches and turquoise waters are the stuff of postcards, and movies…most specifically, The Beach – a tale of backpackers attempting to create the ideal island civilization. Deep caves punctuate the cliffs around Ko Phi Phi, which are ripe for exploring by kayak and rock climbing. Shallow bays are lined with powder white sand beaches where floating market boats sell fresh fruits and supplies. And beneath the water, tropical fish swarm coral heads in a massive underwater society.<br />
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My favourite part about Ko Phi Phi is that you could walk just minutes through the jungle to reach three different incredible white sand beaches. I spent my days sitting on the flour-like beaches, nibbling on pineapples bought from local vendors and climbing through the rocky caves backing the beaches.<br />
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<b>Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia<br />
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The island of Sumatra in Indonesia hosts a lush jungle habitat unbroken for miles on end. This park, named after its highest peak, Gunung Leuser, which reaches over 10,000 feet in elevation, encompasses a diverse area of mountains, lakes, jungle and coastline. It is also home to the Bukit Lawang Animal Sanctuary, which cares for the Sumatran Orangutan, a critically endangered ape whose numbers are limited to about 7,000 animals left in the wild. These orangutans are endangered because their habitat is disappearing – an area equal to six football fields every minute of every day according to the Sumatran Orangutan Society. Visitors to Sumatra have the opportunity to see orangutans, elephants, gibbons and more. <br />
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This is where I met Abu, a two-year old orangutan who had been rescued from captivity, where he had lived since birth. He was being taught to survive in the wild by trainers at the sanctuary. I walked through the verdant jungles with the trainers as they taught Abu to climb trees. To my surprise as we walked along the path, Abu reached up to hold my hand and on the way back into the sanctuary, he opened the gate for me. After so much human interaction, Abu will never be able to live completely on his own, but the scientists at Bukit Lawang hope to release him into their semi-wild program to breed. His amazingly human hands and expressions made me wonder how much we really do have in common with apes.<br />
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<b>Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal<br />
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It’s said the Himalayas are the gateway to the heavens, and with six peaks in the Annapurna Conservation Area alone, reaching over 23,000 feet in elevation, it’s easy to see why. The rolling green hills around Pokhara, the base town of the region, are backed by soaring white capped peaks piercing the blue skies. The area is renowned for its trekking…the most famous of which is the Annapurna Circuit. The entire circuit climbs steep mountain passes, cuts through terraced fields and deep valleys, passes by Hindu and Buddhist holy sites and takes about two to three weeks to complete. <br />
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I took the Royal Trek made famous by Prince Charles, who hiked it in 1981. I figured if a prince could do it, then so could I. So I strapped on my hiking boots, hired a guide, and headed up the hills through tiny villages where children came running from school houses to greet us. The views of the snow-capped peaks of Annapurna and Macchupucchre, the "Fishtail Mountain", were incredible their white jagged edges cutting through skies so blue they would make Prince Charles envious. The trek ended by cutting through verdant fields of rice, terraced into the hillside for miles in every direction.<br />
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<b>The Red Sea and the Dead Sea, Middle East<br />
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Very different, these two seas of the Middle East: one teeming with unique marine life and one…well…dead. The Dead Sea, also called the Salt Sea because of its high salt content, is a great blue dot in the vast brown of the Israeli desert. Because of the high salinity, almost 34% (about the same as the ocean), you are very buoyant. The water is warm, almost too warm, and feels a bit slimy, but the area around the sea is famous for its biblical historical sites. The Red Sea, which also has its share of biblical history, is a living ecosystem with over 1,200 species of fish. It has coral reefs and atolls and excellent snorkeling and scuba diving. <br />
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I went on a night dive in the Red Sea. The warm waters swayed around me like a comforting blanket protecting me from the darkness beyond. Fish swarmed my light as spiny lobsters twitched their antennae warning me to keep my distance. The colors and variety in this desert surrounded sea are spectacular.<br />
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<b>Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya & Serengeti National Park, Tanzania<br />
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Located in the Great Rift Valley, with a protected area of almost 400 sq. miles of Savannah grasslands dotted with acacia trees, Masai Mara Game Reserve hosts a multitude of animals: zebras, giraffes, elephants, leopards, lions and cheetahs to name a few. The much larger Serengeti National Park, which covers about 7,500 sq. miles is immediately adjacent.<br />
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I visited Masai Mara and the Serengeti during the wildebeest migration in summer when the rain dries up and thousands of wildebeest move towards Lake Victoria to the west. The wildebeest trailed off in lines into the dusty plains like ants inching along a giant dirt pile. Along with the migration, come the predators – following their prey to greener pastures - and a whole slew of other animals. There were leopards and lions, huge herds of elephants and giraffes, zebras striking their pattern against tall grass and rhinos blocking the road.<br />
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<b>The Amazon Rainforest<br />
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Often called the lungs of the earth, the Amazon Rainforest is the largest forest on the globe covering over three million square miles. It spans the borders of nine countries and hosts trees reaching over 200 feet tall, which house entire ecosystems in their branches. The Amazon has the highest biodiversity of anywhere on the planet with over 400,000 species of plants alone. This is one nature-thrill we have taken the kids and they loved it. Zipping up and down the river in canoes looking for capyberas, monkeys and alligators and trotting through the forest at night searching for bugs...a boy's dream come true!<br />
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According to the National Academy of Sciences, a typical four square miles in the Amazon contains over 100 mammal species, 400 species of birds, 100 species of reptiles, 50 species of amphibians, and 150 different kinds of butterflies; and I believe it. When I visited the Amazon in Peru, the lush green foliage dripped with insects – caterpillars dangling from thin threads, spiders burrowing holes, butterflies flitting past, ants marching along the forest ground. Along the river banks there were mammals such as capybaras – huge rats – and in the trees spider monkeys swung and screeched.<br />
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The earth is filled with natural wonders and beautiful landscapes hosting a huge array of wildlife. With Earth Day ever present on the horizon, this is the perfect time to make a commitment to see it all. And, even if you can’t make it around the globe this year, remember there are plenty of national parks and wonders to explore right here in Arizona. <br />
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Resources:<br />
<a href="http://www.airtreks.com/">Airtreks <br />
</a> <a href="http://www.staralliance.com/en/fares/round-the-world-fare/">Star Alliance Round the World Fare</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.dnp.go.th/parkreserve/asp/style1/default.asp?npid=35&lg=2">Hat Noppharat Thara-Ko Phi Phi National Park </a> <br />
<a href="http://www.orangutans-sos.org/">Sumatran Orangutan Society</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.dnpwc.gov.np/conservation-annapurna.asp">Annapurna Conservation Area</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.masaimara.org/">Masai Mara Game Reserve</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.serengeti.org/">Serengeti National Park <br />
</a><a href="http://amazon-rainforest.org/">Amazon Rainforest<br />
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Carrie Simmons is the producer of Travel With Kids, a family travel documentary series airing on television around the world and has traveled to five continents in search of adventure. For more information on the series, visit TravelWithKids.tv<br />
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Article originally published in Green Living Arizona magazine.Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-69830981191218790482011-05-11T09:45:00.005-07:002011-05-11T09:49:42.998-07:00Travel With Kids DVDsHello readers. We just returned from an amazing Travel With Kids production trip to Tahiti, Moorea & Bora Bora. Head over to our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/travelwithkids">facebook/travelwithkids</a> to become fan ("like") and check out the photos. <br /><br />Don't forget, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1279989092/ref=sr_st?keywords=travel+with+kids+dvd&page=1&rh=n%3A130%2Ck%3Atravel+with+kids+dvd&sort=relevancerank">All DVDs are available at Amazon.com</a>. Our new <span style="font-weight:bold;">Scotland</span> with Kids was recently released.Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-24399319967174489372011-05-09T10:32:00.003-07:002011-05-09T10:51:31.213-07:00Dude, Where's My Bag?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjweJToEPXZE2A4P4zMVW9qFC8b9WvPTeB9Ld5r2eVuXYNgg-ysKansW8fbI25Y3JaPXHu_gWFI5cK4iCKdkwQ9mGjrFM5Gas7U3lay1zcyq_3TJHlU7uKg7H6VosU422-pUDA07lz-lbZ2/s1600/nathan+with+luggage.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjweJToEPXZE2A4P4zMVW9qFC8b9WvPTeB9Ld5r2eVuXYNgg-ysKansW8fbI25Y3JaPXHu_gWFI5cK4iCKdkwQ9mGjrFM5Gas7U3lay1zcyq_3TJHlU7uKg7H6VosU422-pUDA07lz-lbZ2/s320/nathan+with+luggage.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604772604858180498" /></a><br />As any parent knows, when you are traveling with kids, you are traveling with lots of luggage. In the chaos of leaving airports and boarding trains, I am constantly counting to make sure we have everything. I perish the thought of arriving somewhere without one of the bags, or strollers or baby backpacks. But, it happens.<br /><br />When our youngest, Nathan, was a baby we took a six-week trip to Spain, Morocco and Ireland. After surviving our first overseas flight with infant in tow, we thought we were doing pretty well. One early morning layover in Belgium, and we arrived in Madrid, where we were immediately taking the train south to Sevilla. As we deplaned, Nathan still sound asleep in my arms, and bags hanging from every limb, we picked up our stroller and headed to baggage claim. As each piece of luggage (we had a lot as this was our first trip with baby) came off the carousel, I made a mental note…1, 2….and then the conveyor belt stopped. A million questions flooded my brain. What happened to bags #3 and #4? What was in bags #3 and #4? How were we going to get bags #3 and #4 when we were taking a train four hours away?<br /><br />After speaking with representatives at the airport baggage desk, we found that they could forward our baggage to our hotel in Sevilla; however, it would take a couple of days. A couple of days without efficient baby supplies? Without adequate changes of clothes? Have they never seen a baby blow-out? I need those extra clothes!! I have to admit, I was not the coolest cucumber and I was not a happy Momma! What a way to start our first family trip! But, luckily for us, and the airline clerk, we had travel insurance. And it was baggage delay to the rescue!<br /><br />When we got to Sevilla, we called the insurance company and they confirmed that we had baggage delay reimbursement of $200 per insured person who was affected, which means I had $400 to buy alternate clothing and baby supplies. In the end, I was able to get Nathan and me some new clothes, which became after-the-fact souvenirs from the trip, and purchased diapers, baby food and other supplies I needed until the luggage arrived two-days later. And, yes they do sell diapers and baby food in other countries that are just as good, sometimes even better, than the ones from home. The trip turned out to be a wonderful first-step to traveling with kids and I have amazing memories of touring the pedestrian streets and churches of Sevilla, playing on a camel-strewn beach in Morocco and roaming sheep-filled hills in Ireland. And I even still own one of the replacement shirts I bought in Sevilla. It reminds me how I did not panic...at all…when our bags were delayed.<br /><br />To find out more about Baggage Delay coverage and travel insurance in general, visit <br /><a href="http://www.csatravelprotection.com/travelwithkids">CSA Travel Protection</a>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-77329790783823474632011-01-05T08:30:00.011-07:002011-01-05T10:29:05.714-07:00Mexico: Safe, Sunny and So Much Fun!Our most recent trip to Mexico was last month during the filming of <em>Travel With Kids Baja Mexico</em>. When we first proposed filming there, we got a lot of questions about whether we felt safe visiting Mexico and our unequivocal answer is Yes! The Los Cabos area is incredibly tourist friendly and with sunshine and beaches is a great family destination.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjzSQ9DZHarYYNv9jSYEZvMkqueH6hdTknrN-RN76CTTHRu8g5UBXrXDcbE3k3WtPN6qhwcYzGS0vaNb5G2Wxrn8rDnNvzG3QfrY9TmUuUUd_HoxLFVKlqi3IZnJbf7SjORJFcZ4Evmpo/s1600/dreams+los+cabos+pool.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjzSQ9DZHarYYNv9jSYEZvMkqueH6hdTknrN-RN76CTTHRu8g5UBXrXDcbE3k3WtPN6qhwcYzGS0vaNb5G2Wxrn8rDnNvzG3QfrY9TmUuUUd_HoxLFVKlqi3IZnJbf7SjORJFcZ4Evmpo/s320/dreams+los+cabos+pool.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558752211906462178" /></a><br />We stayed at <a href="http://www.dreamsresorts.com/drelc/">Dreams Los Cabos Resort</a> in the Corridor...the strip of beachfront between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, at the tip of the peninsula. On this trip we did something a little different for us, we booked an all-inclusive trip with <a href="http://www.applevacations.com/">Apple Vacations</a>. While we don't usually book package tours, we decided to give it a try and it definitely has its benefits. We were picked up at the airport by an Apple representative, so we didn't have to figure out what transport to take to the hotel or negotiate prices. Simplifying the process is always nice, especially with kids and lots of bags (I swear we pack light, but it just seems to multiply in the suitcase!). As we wound our way through the swarms of timeshare salespeople at the airport, we were relieved to be able to say, "No thanks, we already have our ride and activities booked."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dreamsresorts.com/drelc/">Dreams Los Cabos Suites Golf Resort and Spa</a> is a great place to stay for families. Even though it is an all inclusive resort, which is a great way to go with kids...when they want ice cream or to play mini-golf, you don't have to reach for the wallet, you can just say yes...the food was incredible. No same-old, same-old buffets here. There is a seafood restaurant, a steakhouse, an Asian restaurant (the kids loved the sit-on-the-floor table) and an Italian restaurant. If you are in a hurry, or prefer the buffet set up, they have that too. As for entertainment, the kids always had something to do. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSS4U1a2Y7JGk82j3x7Uk_9oa_ejdKiiqVp6Udta8IUSXaMEbWMQsTiihtK2b8ZgLAkVUcsV8QdwJVzDLxxUZ-rlaVux1uC95wNbWV4f-XYF-6ex8WW2P3H1SSWI5_3Iojc7XaAD0dBvro/s1600/dreams+cabo+pool.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSS4U1a2Y7JGk82j3x7Uk_9oa_ejdKiiqVp6Udta8IUSXaMEbWMQsTiihtK2b8ZgLAkVUcsV8QdwJVzDLxxUZ-rlaVux1uC95wNbWV4f-XYF-6ex8WW2P3H1SSWI5_3Iojc7XaAD0dBvro/s200/dreams+cabo+pool.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558752427718870562" /></a><br />A beachfront infinity edge swimming pool with water slide and swim-up bar (which serves excellent smoothies) is the center of the resort. Nearby, there is monster size chess, mini-golf, croquet, beach volleyball and, our boys favorite, Euro Bungee, a trampoline that you are strapped to with elastic bands and are slingshot 20 or so feet into the air. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu14IvaNiF9sCJN3VHJHOfXRGANDXN_cesfGwxkwrcEZmYq0joA-deZ3LMvkaasEcHBAAEds_HJHlljq2FZLLnIJCOfG0xVfnaC-DHQQq3yTNcDqCmi8TqvsZMgDEfZ9lMyI8fbkA2xdFd/s1600/euro+bungee+dreams+los+cabos.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu14IvaNiF9sCJN3VHJHOfXRGANDXN_cesfGwxkwrcEZmYq0joA-deZ3LMvkaasEcHBAAEds_HJHlljq2FZLLnIJCOfG0xVfnaC-DHQQq3yTNcDqCmi8TqvsZMgDEfZ9lMyI8fbkA2xdFd/s200/euro+bungee+dreams+los+cabos.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558752680440127090" /></a><br />For those parents that are thinking "this all sounds great, but I was looking for some downtime myself", not to worry. Dreams Resort offers Explorer's Club for Kids with activities like iguana hunts and campouts with marshmallows on the beach, which allows parents to enjoy some relaxation at the pool, at the spa, at the beach or playing golf. At night there was beach parties with live bands and large screen movies on the beach. And, if you are here at the right time of the year, you can participate in a turtle release...letting baby sea turtles crawl into the ocean after they hatch. What a memory for kids and a lesson in conservation!<br /><br />With all the amazing activities on property, it's a wonder we found anytime to explore the Cabo area, but there is so much to see and do, we had to check it out. We booked all our activities through Apple, and their activities company, <a href="http://www.amstardmc.com/mexico/destinations/los_cabos/los_cabos.php">Amstar</a> so they provided transportation to and from the hotel as well. We were in Cabo during whale watching season (about December to March), and on the first day we actually saw whales as we sat in the pool at the resort. The boys were eager for a closer look, so we went out with <a href="http://www.cabo-adventures.com/">Cabo Adventures</a> on a photo safari. The naturalist guide gave us lots of detailed information on the whales that frequent the waters near Cabo (Gray whales, blue whales and humpback whales are the most common) and the captain got us within shouting distance of the whales (humpbacks in our case). We could actually hear their spray as they surface, their black bodies rolling along the ocean. Back at Cabo Adventures, we get a feel for one of the areas most popular sea creatures, dolphins. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj19N042Qde49OqDy3zAGE6rwbWVnu2nbzmLGZMZLmvEUDage3cpieTJklMSsUG1xWvhH0TH6QaS1EU99zv7npW5KV-IPk4c1Eh-4n0uyVXwDLAUs08BTfJ3A1n7LWkHR5jY7HEOovCj9Ke/s1600/seamus+with+dolphin.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj19N042Qde49OqDy3zAGE6rwbWVnu2nbzmLGZMZLmvEUDage3cpieTJklMSsUG1xWvhH0TH6QaS1EU99zv7npW5KV-IPk4c1Eh-4n0uyVXwDLAUs08BTfJ3A1n7LWkHR5jY7HEOovCj9Ke/s320/seamus+with+dolphin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558752942007942978" /></a><br />At Cabo Dolphins, we can get in the water with the dolphins, feed them, pet them, kiss them and even ride them. The center is dolphin focused though...each dolphin is limited to less than two hours a day with guests on a voluntary basis. If the dolphin does not seem interested, they are not forced to play. <br /><br />With dolphins and whales on the brain, we decide we'd like a closer look at more wild animals. With its location at the meeting point of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez, Cabo San Lucas has an amazingly diverse line-up of underwater life. We head out to the El Arco area (the famous arch of Cabo) to explore under the surface with <a href="http://divecabosanlucas.net/">Sunshine Dive and Charter</a>.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyZ7eLbbYOzXXiEX5UV2juv4oFt6fsQKPBPr_Ti2tAo8UJcpxSgWXzxigpvbmSOb_EtJVIT98r6hHMUZIJyyLFeX2Cz4T0pz5sXn-MQk3GunXe80-k2I5QJoguwI9b0JkUtzzOjI7Ctukw/s1600/diving+el+arco.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyZ7eLbbYOzXXiEX5UV2juv4oFt6fsQKPBPr_Ti2tAo8UJcpxSgWXzxigpvbmSOb_EtJVIT98r6hHMUZIJyyLFeX2Cz4T0pz5sXn-MQk3GunXe80-k2I5QJoguwI9b0JkUtzzOjI7Ctukw/s320/diving+el+arco.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558754332061336930" /></a><br /> The boys were raring to go, and the dive instructors, Lars and Jonathan, are great with kids. They made sure we were comfortable with the gear, then took us down into the shallow waters where we saw huge schools of fish, giant parrot fish, Christmas tree worms and sting rays. The kids were amazed by the incredible underwater scenery! And they liked watching the sea lions on the rocks nearby.<br /><br />Back in town, we decide to set out on our own for a little exploration. We peruse little markets(negotiating of course...the kids have become great little bargain hunters) filled with wood carvings, weavings, jewelry and other hand-made items along with t-shirts and other tourist paraphernalia. Everyone is very nice, and although we try to use our Spanish, most of the vendors speak English as well.<br /><br />In addition to the ocean, the desert in Baja is a big draw. This is the terrain of the famous off-road race, the Baja 1000. So, we decided to check it out at <a href="http://www.wildcanyon.com.mx/">Wild Canyon Adventures</a> where we rode Tomcars with Green Zebra Adventures through the desert and out to the beach. We got an overview of the desert on Wild Canyon's zip lines...they have eight lines one of which soars almost 300 feet in the air for the length of almost nine football fields! For a more natural look at the desert and beaches around Cabo, we also set out on horseback at <a href="http://www.ranchocarisuva.com/">Rancho Carisuva</a>. The ride was lots of fun and as we trotted down the beach we saw whales breaching tying the whole environment together!<br /><br />The trip was lots of fun for the whole family and we felt entirely safe the whole time. Would I wander around a border town in Mexico by myself? No. But, do I think Mexico is still a safe place to travel? Yes. The tourist areas of Mexico have been largely unaffected by the recent wave of drug-related violence and after visiting a couple of tourist hot spots, I am happy to report that I felt as safe as I ever have visiting the sunny shores of this exotic, culture rich country.<br /><br />With its sunshine, beaches and exciting, kid-friendly activities, Cabo San Lucas turned out to be a great family vacation spot. For more information on the Los Cabos area (Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo and the beachfront in between), visit <a href="http://www.applevacations.com/mexico/los-cabos/">Apple Vacation's Los Cabos page</a>. For more information on the Travel With Kids television series, visit <a href="http://www.travelwithkids.tv">www.TravelWithKids.tv</a>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com142tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-48593708698434110682010-11-29T10:47:00.011-07:002010-11-29T11:13:14.621-07:00Maya History Meets Oh-my-ahh! Scenery<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiqUnXnWq9R8atcYPgByH78T4VvZkWyq20HSyI034ypgiYykG8qcpVBxXO_ITTE1JgXLZbB8hom6GPZW6IF41vy3ECkRikg3YkqkrIadXSGrM9iiBTxPmo_kwqmbjH8sVA_kRhWqzTUoG/s1600/tulum.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 139px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiqUnXnWq9R8atcYPgByH78T4VvZkWyq20HSyI034ypgiYykG8qcpVBxXO_ITTE1JgXLZbB8hom6GPZW6IF41vy3ECkRikg3YkqkrIadXSGrM9iiBTxPmo_kwqmbjH8sVA_kRhWqzTUoG/s200/tulum.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545032118879999778" /></a>Follow the coast south of Cancun, and you come to a spot where the rich history of the Mayan people clashes with the turquoise waters of the Caribbean making for a colorful and memorable vacation for the whole family. Off-the-beaten path, the Riviera Maya feels adventurous (think Indiana Jones), but spares no comfort to the wandering tourist. We ventured down this coast while filming Travel With Kids Mexico: The Yucatan. I have fond memories of climbing pyramids like those at Coba and Tulum and enjoying the amazing wildlife both on shore (the kids loved the huge green iguanas sunbathing on the pyramid rocks) and in the water (we snorkeled with colorful fish and watched sea turtles laying their eggs). <br /><br />Cancun offers fun-tastic, action-packed vacations, but if you want to get away from the crowds, and really feel like you are exploring the area, head a bit further south. About two hours south of Cancun is Tulum. Home to one of the most photographed Mayan pyramids (due to its location on a cliff hanging over the Caribbean Sea), Tulum hosts the perfect combination of history, culture and family-friendly activities. <br /><br /><strong>What To Do:</strong><br /><br /><strong>Mayan Pyramids: </strong>The huge ancient cities of the Mayan people make<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOud3P3ccdhvo4tk1raKXDMimIxzrB3f5jBQyjkS3qAbXLJ24c_5sCOf9ZjF1agCJn3ZTESwJtybIqP3CXImyzOf7CwuD02KK8JGT9tWE2CPzaHOwmZCmechGPPOr-wlhzDV0xH4LyODWn/s1600/Roberts+in+the+Yucatan.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOud3P3ccdhvo4tk1raKXDMimIxzrB3f5jBQyjkS3qAbXLJ24c_5sCOf9ZjF1agCJn3ZTESwJtybIqP3CXImyzOf7CwuD02KK8JGT9tWE2CPzaHOwmZCmechGPPOr-wlhzDV0xH4LyODWn/s200/Roberts+in+the+Yucatan.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545033924762099186" /></a><br /> this Caribbean Coast unique. Hike through the forest where an opening leads to vast green fields dotted with soaring stone pyramids. Our favorite was Coba. It’s about an hour from Tulum and is still being excavated, so the jungle is right there, a living part of the display. It has a much more adventure-y feel with vines covering pyramid stones and yet to be excavated mounds lurking in the shadows. It’s a huge pyramid complex, so locals on three wheel rickshaws can make transport around the grounds easier on the whole family. Other popular pyramids along this coast include Tulum and Chichen Itza (about an hour and a half inland from Cancun).<br /><br /><strong>Snorkeling:</strong> <br />The Mayan Riviera hosts several marine parks like Xel-ha and Xcaret. These parks have lots of colorful tropical fish and other marine animals in sheltered and enclosed lagoons, making snorkeling easy for kids as well as animal life abundant. We went to Xel-ha where the kids enjoyed climbing rope bridges, swinging from vines and cliff jumping. Of course, you can also join a snorkel tour or just go snorkeling right off many of the beaches here and see breathtaking underwater scenery. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcVxeZmTTVDBOWa4fzgIThkAPFURlOHvyC_7hNXMedmsf9uRW_Lmww3HIy_n48vAluikSdhrONA_gfZyRZ67YYxiV3R0CmM_BvmJXnvCW2ClBTLHKy25P5QxY4HToh7zPfbsCSWP5mWTaa/s1600/seamus+in+cave.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcVxeZmTTVDBOWa4fzgIThkAPFURlOHvyC_7hNXMedmsf9uRW_Lmww3HIy_n48vAluikSdhrONA_gfZyRZ67YYxiV3R0CmM_BvmJXnvCW2ClBTLHKy25P5QxY4HToh7zPfbsCSWP5mWTaa/s200/seamus+in+cave.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545034216030279490" /></a><br /> One unique snorkeling trip the kids still talk about is with <a href="http://www.hiddenworlds.com">Hidden Worlds</a>. Hidden Worlds takes guests on a tour of one of the longest underground rivers in the world. Don snorkel gear, climb stories below ground to explore beautiful caves where you can float just feet below amazing stalactite formations.<br /><br /><strong>Shopping:</strong>About 40 minutes north of Tulum, Playa del Carmen’s famous 5th Avenue offers excellent shopping. Wander the pedestrian-only streets through<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pNS25eFolCXtRWZgcaz6tCDTORuAXPwoIzBEQ_3gpbIdSFO8y5l4wRF1o5yKGzq_qmmFaPwXvrNJvppmPBjFTwpy4gaFPLDyY2Eanw4of4qoSh4bxwp54rV-w53MG2tun5kH-5htcQtF/s1600/playa+del+carmen+6.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pNS25eFolCXtRWZgcaz6tCDTORuAXPwoIzBEQ_3gpbIdSFO8y5l4wRF1o5yKGzq_qmmFaPwXvrNJvppmPBjFTwpy4gaFPLDyY2Eanw4of4qoSh4bxwp54rV-w53MG2tun5kH-5htcQtF/s200/playa+del+carmen+6.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545034705010625938" /></a><br /> vibrant boutique shops where vendors sell everything from inexpensive souvenirs to top-rate jewelry and fashion. We gave the kids a few pesos and they enjoyed negotiating prices and getting to know the locals. They also loved posing for pictures with parrots and iguanas along the street. You can also take the ferry from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel (less than an hour; leaves every couple hours, $14 adults/$9 kids) for full day of shopping, or check out the sea from a hundred feet below aboard Atlantis Submarine.<br /><br /><strong>Where To Stay:</strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjenG2e_Y4k7RVNPEjxh6o4GgVh62GtubM3DpQo3UjSv5UF6o-o8qtfbbTGetEOZVoH4EdTDKAiDqrKrsia0a3p1jzeXiBPew4zKxLUTLyrvH_oiQCzYSSPzRqXEIGAK233bLv-iCU4rho5/s1600/DRETU_4255BE1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjenG2e_Y4k7RVNPEjxh6o4GgVh62GtubM3DpQo3UjSv5UF6o-o8qtfbbTGetEOZVoH4EdTDKAiDqrKrsia0a3p1jzeXiBPew4zKxLUTLyrvH_oiQCzYSSPzRqXEIGAK233bLv-iCU4rho5/s200/DRETU_4255BE1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545035248111858770" /></a><br />The coast near Tulum is lined with beach bungalows, but for an exceptional family vacation, try <a href="http://www.dreamsresorts.com/dretu/index.html">Dreams Tulum Resort and Spa.</a> The spacious rooms and suites are set up with families in mind and pamper guests with incredible views of the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean or the lush jungles of the Yucatan. The resort is just five minutes from the Mayan pyramids and offers a splendid line up of on-site activities including sailing, kayaking, snorkeling, tennis and more. The Explorer’s Club for Kids has lots of fun activities for the kid in everyone including rock wall, big-screen movies on the beach and sandcastle building contests.<br /><br /><strong>How To Get There:</strong>There are lots of flights from the U.S. to Cancun, but keep in mind Tulum is two hours south of there. While you can do it on your own, it is easier, especially with kids, to have transfers pre-set. <a href="http://www.applevacations.com">Apple Vacations’ </a> Apple Advantage program offers assistance with your entire vacation from start to end. They arrange airfare, hotel, activities and all transfers in-between. Plus, they have an English speaking representative to help you out along your way.<br /><br />To find out what we did on our trip to the Mayan Riviera, watch <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WVQ0C4?tag=wwwequatordco-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B000WVQ0C4&adid=11KP8NEX73DE3ABT94MP&">Travel With Kids Mexico: The Yucatan.</a> or visit <a href="http://www.travelwithkids.tv/mexico_caribbean_with_kids.html">Travel With Kids</a> for more information.<a href="http://www.hiddenworlds.com"></a>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-77405943720233341562010-11-11T08:57:00.005-07:002010-11-11T09:09:22.650-07:00Doctor, DoctorGetting sick on vacation is no fun, but it does happen. No matter how much you prepare––eating right, getting plenty of sleep, staying away from other sick people––there’s nothing you can do to entirely prevent sickness. When it does strike, especially when it’s a child, it can be scary and costly. When Nathan was just four, he was running a high fever in the heart of rural Mexico. Lucky for us, a caring pharmacist directed us to a thermometer and fever reduction medicine and we were back in the business of exploring the Yucatan within 24 hours. Remember, no matter where you are, the locals get sick too and they have doctors and pharmacies to help.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr262ZmkD2lf3Rw4HScnPZd7Q_FVkDMC6NbN0CWO_Jytf7o9bYXSSS1Fo5aillmefeUltTbgKvmUKf-qfJhNVJAuvlRUErmkTEMAWLqB8FgXjEJDpT24CsiVazijcT4gkQP_o-SeFQ4YVe/s1600/P4130057.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr262ZmkD2lf3Rw4HScnPZd7Q_FVkDMC6NbN0CWO_Jytf7o9bYXSSS1Fo5aillmefeUltTbgKvmUKf-qfJhNVJAuvlRUErmkTEMAWLqB8FgXjEJDpT24CsiVazijcT4gkQP_o-SeFQ4YVe/s200/P4130057.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538324158974519154" /></a><br />Depending on where you are, the cost of recovery can be pricey. We were in New York City filming Travel With Kids New York when Seamus got an ear infection. I knew from his pain and sleep pattern that it was an ear infection, so I hoped to visit a walk-in clinic and get a prescription for an antibiotic. Unfortunately, New York was in a transition period and all of the urgent care facilities had closed down. The hotel concierge said the only urgent care places they knew of had shut their doors. We visited a couple of pharmacies and got the same message: a quick cure was a no go. Even the taxi drivers agreed, and as everyone knows they are at the heart of information in a big city. We would have to visit the emergency room. After shelling out over $1,000 and sitting in waiting rooms for the good part of a day, we found out … Seamus had an ear infection.<br /><br />There was one way we could have better prepared for that, and saved some money along the way: with a service I just recently learned about called On Demand Medical Care, included with many travel insurance policies from CSA Travel Protection. Through their partnership with the “Consult A Doctor” program, I would have been able to talk to a local physician directly who could provide advice, treatment and a prescription, if appropriate. No more worrying about finding a doctor or waiting all day in the emergency room for something that isn’t that serious. That is definitely worth the cost of insurance!!<br /><br />We always recommend travel insurance and this product, On Demand Medical Care from CSA Travel Protection will definitely be in the mix next time we plan a trip. For more information on the service, visit <a href="http://www.csatravelprotection.com/travelwithkids">www.csatravelprotection.com</a>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-36701176815901428642010-09-20T09:42:00.017-07:002010-09-20T11:43:47.271-07:00Magical Reno NevadaMagical Reno...I use the word magical because Reno has the ability to transform itself from one thing to another, and just when you think you have it pegged, it changes again. Always enticing you to explore more of "The Biggest Little City in the World". We started off our production trip to Reno thinking bowling, lots of arcades and fun family activities and maybe a few outdoor experiences. But it ended up as much more than that...a true something-for-everyone, loads of fun family destination!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIa0bMHHQqxGfcUYeULTkFgKfm2NcHXGTfCRZZPnw62JlCU85HyP-_vL1m3CCtdfmfDp3-GR9lBVjs5zQK3N8PF1upgmjPkgSEusTYhqSywdN696rNsVenNBAtIgZLZLJEt9WENJZS5oFH/s1600/iPhone+Pics+291.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 140px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIa0bMHHQqxGfcUYeULTkFgKfm2NcHXGTfCRZZPnw62JlCU85HyP-_vL1m3CCtdfmfDp3-GR9lBVjs5zQK3N8PF1upgmjPkgSEusTYhqSywdN696rNsVenNBAtIgZLZLJEt9WENJZS5oFH/s320/iPhone+Pics+291.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519060729158481154" /></a>Day 1: We started off Reno just how we thought we would. We hit the arcade, played some laser tag, then went to Coconut Bowl and did some glow bowling and glow in the dark miniature golf followed by some go kart racing and indoor rock climbing at Rock Sport. Enough family fun in our first three hours to last a whole vacation. The kids, of course, LOVED it! And we all enjoyed some great family fun time. But I was left wondering what Reno was like on the outside? Were arcades all there was to this family vacation? Day 2 would answer that question.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EY87H7tSBrxEHNG5XHm5OjvXy6JVj_DiHLjOxSDqPKh4RpbFcKLCvP98cMcqXfsa1_PzcFKdl1Ild-ZNgrXmelCvyZScWYgCSu9DeyvSk7srMjmlkNttYrIA5_gvBgiFWDrb3eX2NhZA/s1600/iPhone+Pics+403.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EY87H7tSBrxEHNG5XHm5OjvXy6JVj_DiHLjOxSDqPKh4RpbFcKLCvP98cMcqXfsa1_PzcFKdl1Ild-ZNgrXmelCvyZScWYgCSu9DeyvSk7srMjmlkNttYrIA5_gvBgiFWDrb3eX2NhZA/s200/iPhone+Pics+403.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519061174361317506" /></a><br />Day 2: We began the day with an early morning at The Great Reno Balloon Race (Reno's event calendar is filled with fun family-friendly events: <a href="http://www.visitrenotahoe.com/reno-tahoe/what-to-do/events">Reno Events </a>) where we got to go up on a tethered hot-air balloon. The views over Reno were amazing. I never realized how green it is along the Truckee River and the tall, rugged mountains that form lake Tahoe are incredible! After the balloon, we headed to a couple of cool Reno museums: Wilbur D. May Center and The National Automobile Museum, where the kids were revved up to dress up in period costumes and pretend to drive a Model T. But the river was calling us, so in the afternoon, we rented a bike and a boat with Sierra Adventures. After riding bikes down the Truckee River Path to Reno Whitewater Park, we boarded a raft and learned to ride the waves...forward paddle! Paddling through an urban setting was surreal, with tall buildings and urban parks lining the shores...a really unique experience. The small rapids in Reno Whitewater Park provided the perfect combination of adrenaline pumping excitement and safety-conscious fun. If you are looking for a more natural setting, the Upper Truckee cuts through the Sierra Nevada and provides more challenging rapids and beautiful scenery.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0yDC6or0P_9VbsjIzMR9KJwZmaVe6OoUFc6IK1W_g6UkjI1e9oKjue8or7O1xQlKwxt1hO0Ba4zez1rKybOyMUmtrptLObK5zktIDmjXJltanlTiszI4bJzdo5huCeNF1M1DWSqPU7re/s1600/iPhone+Pics+387.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0yDC6or0P_9VbsjIzMR9KJwZmaVe6OoUFc6IK1W_g6UkjI1e9oKjue8or7O1xQlKwxt1hO0Ba4zez1rKybOyMUmtrptLObK5zktIDmjXJltanlTiszI4bJzdo5huCeNF1M1DWSqPU7re/s200/iPhone+Pics+387.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519062193093093330" /></a>Day 3: Northern Nevada is famous for its wild mustangs, but this morning we decided to befriend a couple of their tamer cousins with a horseback ride with Verdi Trails West. The horses were super friendly...Nathan even commented "These are the best trained horses I've ever ridden." The boys had fun trying to pass each other and we all enjoyed the scenery through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. After lunch, we headed to Virginia City for a different type of race...camel races. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD8ckjJ9PANM85HodrpiOPWZH90_X64ni_QeScJo4dvIgbjdUFWgH7Z7U4uE7a_SJZW5DZiG3D7qDSp5Hnunv41h8Qm_ypo_nx-NyRu_NVT-1OcLX_StYj5f_-IPab_ezC8O2ineOorUOg/s1600/iPhone+Pics+458.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD8ckjJ9PANM85HodrpiOPWZH90_X64ni_QeScJo4dvIgbjdUFWgH7Z7U4uE7a_SJZW5DZiG3D7qDSp5Hnunv41h8Qm_ypo_nx-NyRu_NVT-1OcLX_StYj5f_-IPab_ezC8O2ineOorUOg/s200/iPhone+Pics+458.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519062505208793538" /></a> After exploring Virginia City's Old West history at the old school house, a cowboy gun show, riding the V & T Railroad (where we actually got to sit in the engine) and then joining the town parade, we headed down to the race track to watch camels and ostriches. Jockeyed by a brave group of volunteer jockeys, the camels speed around a dirt track. Kids get in on the action herding chickens and emu around the track. Nathan and Seamus loved petting the camels, and they even got to ride them during an intermission, but they're not quite ready for racing them yet. It's amazing how fast those camels get going...it's a wonder any of the riders can hold on!<br /><br />Our days were packed with fun outdoor activities, but what about the evenings? There's plenty for families then too. One afternoon, we set sail on Lake Tahoe for a two hour tour of the crystal clear waters and pine-tree lined shores of America's second deepest lake. The scenery is amazing...there's a reason they say "Keep Tahoe Blue". The blue waters fade into the distant shore where blue-green pine trees stand guard in front of purple-blue mountains. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqwKLhNwqMCcTd89qWtd8oIQ0ozo9FPPJgUwXdV1wn85qUEFtUggA58zBzfSa8F5ID_6ANqCKOfe3tLJ7rvGze4aFK6aYDcOWGpmDXp_KZOFjSvI6BORE14aSTfZpvNCCS38yJeMQe4nlC/s1600/iPhone+Pics+359.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqwKLhNwqMCcTd89qWtd8oIQ0ozo9FPPJgUwXdV1wn85qUEFtUggA58zBzfSa8F5ID_6ANqCKOfe3tLJ7rvGze4aFK6aYDcOWGpmDXp_KZOFjSvI6BORE14aSTfZpvNCCS38yJeMQe4nlC/s200/iPhone+Pics+359.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519063295836634690" /></a>Another evening, the magic came alive under the Big Tent...at Circus Circus Reno. The kids had a ball playing carnival games and everyone enjoyed the circus acts like Chinese acrobats and JR's Best Friends, a dog show. The kids even got to participate in the dog show and JR turned a little dog into Seamus! Magic and pets...I don't know a better combo for kids!<br /><br />Day 4: Just as I thought I'd gotten a read on what Reno is like, it changed on me again. On our last day, we visited Animal Ark, an animal rescue zoo. The animals at the zoo range from local birds and mammals like mountain lions and black bears to exotic species like tigers. The park has a conservation focus and taught us lots about all the different animals and their environments.<br /><br />We felt the magic of Reno in so many ways, Old West shoot outs in Virginia City, outdoor fun along the Truckee River and horseback riding through the foothills, plus the magic of stage and lights at Circus Circus and the glittering waters of Lake Tahoe. For more information or to feel the family magic in Reno, visit <a href="http://www.visitrenotahoe.com/reno-tahoe/what-to-do/family-fun">Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority.</a>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-82298700515419610712010-07-24T09:40:00.004-07:002010-07-24T09:45:14.438-07:00Travel Guide DVDs available onlineBuy Travel With Kids at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk<br />15 destinations available. Travel With Kids in on TV in 30 countries. Visit us at facebook.com/travelwithkidsTravel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-65178245000606804482010-07-21T07:18:00.012-07:002010-07-21T08:28:03.678-07:00The Narrow Passage<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5XXyi281cbqplYDUBkMJhZhvB1xhDP-TXA5iqCTnjy6uclNNOfvERj6rp6BZx7mMNJHxm07cCvJ59yY9m2SQgeT50poKUEB2NyhQ-123iVTpZOQYBjNtigeVrgHF4RDZ1IUZZC6CRSC4F/s1600/P1240604.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5XXyi281cbqplYDUBkMJhZhvB1xhDP-TXA5iqCTnjy6uclNNOfvERj6rp6BZx7mMNJHxm07cCvJ59yY9m2SQgeT50poKUEB2NyhQ-123iVTpZOQYBjNtigeVrgHF4RDZ1IUZZC6CRSC4F/s200/P1240604.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496377669701024834" /></a><br />OK when they say narrow boat, they mean<em> narrow</em>! We arrived at the Llangollen Canal and boarded our hotel/transport for the next couple of nights, which is a boat about 50 feet long by about 9 feet wide. Manuevering a boat that is 5times as long at it is wide along a canal, which is only about 10 feet wide in some places, took some getting used to, but once we got the hang of it, it was loads of fun!<br /><br />The canal was originally used to haul cargo, and later drinking water, from the River Dee to a resevoir, but today it mostly transports visitors through the majesctic countryside of Wales. The canal passes under bridges, through tunnels and locks, past sheep filled fields, along one very high aqueduct, under one very old draw bridge and past one very pungent chocolate factory (unfortunately closed to the public). Along the way there are plenty of pubs at which to dock or the boats have on-board kitchens to make your own meals. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzsAHojh_lrVUH4avQnKaUjWmhOLLdyXaHBpE8lCbeqfOfkzagWE6GqN4L4eygO5N6B9vcB0upAsQN-XCkUsJrZDVVJpIp7i2bdwKERaoBwSR5cV5LMwL4lbnEU91cJoQ12n7zIoZp0mw/s1600/P1240504.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzsAHojh_lrVUH4avQnKaUjWmhOLLdyXaHBpE8lCbeqfOfkzagWE6GqN4L4eygO5N6B9vcB0upAsQN-XCkUsJrZDVVJpIp7i2bdwKERaoBwSR5cV5LMwL4lbnEU91cJoQ12n7zIoZp0mw/s200/P1240504.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496378579373660146" /></a> The kids loved feeding ducks, riding on the roof of the boat and operating the locks and drawbridge.<br /><br />Just past the Maestermyn Marine (where we rented the boat) docks, we reached our first lock. The lock is almost precisely equal to the size of the boat. It has two gates. We tie up along the canal and the kids race with the lock crank to the gates. The technology is simple, but genius. Open gate, drive boat in, close gate. Open panels in front gate to let water in from above, boat raises. When water level is even with the raised part of the canal, open forward gates and drive out. The kids were workaholics with the hand cranks, they even helped other boats in and out of the locks. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfXIMSgzg8nJ7-i3hEdKG7GXANhuNciD3jM9sqmv2s93z5_9a4SZaybIkjMDf-DLvsSsvRHn3uA4ycADyDD8I8ArPZd6ArQ7X2IZ-Xvi31yUMu-CNc2HlixQJaLnMVeNYVbk9DuTywJdD/s1600/P1240496.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfXIMSgzg8nJ7-i3hEdKG7GXANhuNciD3jM9sqmv2s93z5_9a4SZaybIkjMDf-DLvsSsvRHn3uA4ycADyDD8I8ArPZd6ArQ7X2IZ-Xvi31yUMu-CNc2HlixQJaLnMVeNYVbk9DuTywJdD/s200/P1240496.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496379021334791458" /></a> After we made it past the second lock, we passed through two tunnels, one of which had to have been 1/4 mile long. The tunnel opening was not much bigger than the boats and there were no lights inside. It brings a whole new reality to the phrase "light at the end of the tunnel". We turned our front light on so that boats coming the other way knew that there was a boat in the tunnel (only one boat could fit at a time) and the kids sat on the roof (ducked over) making howling ghost sounds and giving us status reports. (They had a much better view than we did as the steering was done from the back of the boat).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgSPnWE642haWJ8L9BJtacKJ6f-d9naDJyDuCMCwHMpq3Hdpc65Kj2tLYwlDKCI639iHwUsbmzJs9aV0QGgFH1qd9k0RHeIaiZECjaTRf_SvKiOvgKlcJw1Tt-WwEUuU5SDD3jG9aajef/s1600/P1240516.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgSPnWE642haWJ8L9BJtacKJ6f-d9naDJyDuCMCwHMpq3Hdpc65Kj2tLYwlDKCI639iHwUsbmzJs9aV0QGgFH1qd9k0RHeIaiZECjaTRf_SvKiOvgKlcJw1Tt-WwEUuU5SDD3jG9aajef/s320/P1240516.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496381448000642850" /></a> We ended our day traversing the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Built in 1805 to carry the canal over the River Dee, the aqueduct is about 1000 feet long and soars over 100 feet above the river valley below. Oh, and did I mention it's only about 12 feet wide? To one side is a narrow walking path and on the other side only about 6 inches of iron separates you from the precarious drop to the river bed below! My fear of heights was well tested on the drive over the aqueduct, but the views were incredible...the dark river cutting past lush trees backed by rolling green fields dotted with fluffy white sheep. You could see our shadow following along on the grssy fields below. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0fGyjaqOaygfUbLquRyAJK1zUhyphenhyphenANdiL-pFtxRWiosxqvfC3r1JEgbm0ExfF1OINuJFFOhE5N6Bgd5emv0gK82O7EyHXtoaQfzDv8nt7n9dWDRiX8p-S2x5x04kmVsdF_uHk2LkmI_36/s1600/P1240562.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0fGyjaqOaygfUbLquRyAJK1zUhyphenhyphenANdiL-pFtxRWiosxqvfC3r1JEgbm0ExfF1OINuJFFOhE5N6Bgd5emv0gK82O7EyHXtoaQfzDv8nt7n9dWDRiX8p-S2x5x04kmVsdF_uHk2LkmI_36/s200/P1240562.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496380511899105986" /></a><br /><br />After spending the night docked in a town just past the aqueduct where we watched a World Cup game and stayed up late chatting with the owner of the pub who was dressed up as Ginger Spice (she had just come from performing at a charity event), we headed back up the canal and, with much reluctance, said our final goodbyes to Wales.<br /><br />The trip to Wales was a remarkable and unexpected journey that will stay with us for a great time. Learning history, both natural (in caves, fossils and coastlines) and man-made (in the mines, Roman ruins and castles) and discovering the new Wales, which is green in every way (eco travel to the max!) and filled with adventure (mountain climbing, coasteering, ropes courses, hiking, horseback riding, skiing and more!) and warm, welcoming people. To all we met along the way, a big "Diolch" for all of your help, insight, laughs and passion. We look forward to our return someday. And for all who followed our journey on-line, thanks for tuning in! Watch for the epsiodes to air around the world, including PBS this coming year in the U.S. and stay updated on Wales and other destinations by visiting us online at <a href="http://www.travelwithkids.tv"></a>Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-48347793485011507772010-06-19T00:10:00.004-07:002010-07-21T06:55:01.662-07:00Black Diamond (or Big Foot) AheadWith a name like Snowdonia, you would think that this area in North Wales is known only for winterland bliss; however Snowdonia delivers summertime excitement as well. And not just on the black diamond level, although you can find that extreme entertainment as well.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjloaOnsYGpFbuEB3Ls4CEPNyIKqHg1HmJkgpWIpalBU95IRVFeIpGiz1FjX5xaw44u2EGofrUQUE6f0aTXrqgM-0__J7ViY0tKP-XVN8WOyNL9hEXabG7GSQuxXqE1nwQIX6C0FvcSz-6F/s1600/P1240278.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjloaOnsYGpFbuEB3Ls4CEPNyIKqHg1HmJkgpWIpalBU95IRVFeIpGiz1FjX5xaw44u2EGofrUQUE6f0aTXrqgM-0__J7ViY0tKP-XVN8WOyNL9hEXabG7GSQuxXqE1nwQIX6C0FvcSz-6F/s200/P1240278.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496355035714232882" /></a>Upon our arrival at Graig Wen, where we are tucked away in a glorious yurt. Some of you may be asking, what's a yurt. Imagine the luxurious large round tents that Ghengis Khan and company stayed in and you'll get the idea...ours comes complete with oriental rugs, plenty of fur, plus a gas burning stove and wood burning stove for heat. The area around our yurt, and all through Snowdonia, is lush...huge stands of pine forest surrounded by tangles of oak and ash cut with walking paths. I half expect Big Foot to pop out of the bushes.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mcPGNPI0_QMLxYoL39_rGfQyuYz1W11DW35mYhenhzLsiTVsjjzZMgX0Uqymu3wHQTdQhnnJQfRB_Nj79QCWUMjajAkITy0PdpYrU9pERzEbqFUCJdRQCCOVcCMdIy0y3ECh91upMmZX/s1600/P1240274.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mcPGNPI0_QMLxYoL39_rGfQyuYz1W11DW35mYhenhzLsiTVsjjzZMgX0Uqymu3wHQTdQhnnJQfRB_Nj79QCWUMjajAkITy0PdpYrU9pERzEbqFUCJdRQCCOVcCMdIy0y3ECh91upMmZX/s200/P1240274.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496355576643150530" /></a> At the yurt, Heath from Firefox stops by to give us a crash course in outdoor survival, skills necessary to the major hikes and climbs that are so popular in this area. The boys love learning to start a fire...what boy wouldn't?...and learning to put a "basher"...a small shelter. After we bid Heath goodbye, we embark on our own hike, but I think the large flock of sheep are more in need of survival skills than we are as the boys attempt to heard them.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzJsIEMSDiILohlQEM4DQiCoreq3ai1EUVOhpwh0bue_674O16qQAsV96TifvFi1qsGg_CFbNemkbDNiv24UpjgFa2ofi2yMHEYRgwTd-nXn2SIVE0Nu6ibs8QWFiEIjs60s2wm_BFvqG/s1600/P1240402.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzJsIEMSDiILohlQEM4DQiCoreq3ai1EUVOhpwh0bue_674O16qQAsV96TifvFi1qsGg_CFbNemkbDNiv24UpjgFa2ofi2yMHEYRgwTd-nXn2SIVE0Nu6ibs8QWFiEIjs60s2wm_BFvqG/s200/P1240402.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496356495202733970" /></a> We can't come to <em>SNOW</em>donia and not try skiing, and the slopes are calling, the dry slopes that is. At Plas y Brenin, they offer courses in kayaking, mountain climbing and skiing. So the boys pop on the Rossis and head down a grassy slope covered in a white netting and sprayed with water. Skiing without freezing, the cold wimp in me approves!<br /><br />We end the trip just outside Snowdonia in the medieval town of Conwy where we stay within the still intact town walls just down the street from a towering castle! History comes alive as the kids solve the mystery of the Children's Trail through the castle, which includes a ramble along ramparts and a climb up to a soaring tower...hundreds of feet high!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEdpULtYD3wSB2S0pMpEUhplK2iMW4ZH2w6S3RjVpIRHl-gg9hUicDmE8BdvDSeNk5WuP4xo6A20kZdnhYrZAI4mRWBaM6cVF5OXYFma-n8iKAMytgDsoYPQIJlinKaLfSqxXa5rwpCZJ/s1600/P1240438.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEdpULtYD3wSB2S0pMpEUhplK2iMW4ZH2w6S3RjVpIRHl-gg9hUicDmE8BdvDSeNk5WuP4xo6A20kZdnhYrZAI4mRWBaM6cVF5OXYFma-n8iKAMytgDsoYPQIJlinKaLfSqxXa5rwpCZJ/s200/P1240438.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496357536114446642" /></a><br />Snowdonia's adventure land has been lots of family fun, but tomorrow we're off for a different sort of adventure...a journey down the Llangollen Canal. If you see us floating by, be sure to say Hello!Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-45153883844537197682010-06-18T01:46:00.010-07:002010-07-21T07:04:40.897-07:00A Knight in Eco-Friendly, Very Green ArmorWales is known for it's legends... most notoriously that of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, but are there real knights stl living in Wales? Today we're exploring legends from a by gone era and the heroes of Wales today. <br /><br />Nearby Bantwen cottage, we stumbled upon Merlin's hill...a place where Merlin was supposedly captured and at night residents claim to hear him moaning to this day. The kids get caught up in the mythical legends of Wales...stories that include wizards (Merlin is the most famous of them), giants, dragons and more. Just north of Pembrokesire, near Machynlleth, we voyage below ground to explore King Arthur's Labyrinth, a boat journey and walk through abandonded slate mines with still life scenes, light and audio displays, and a medieval guide to tell the Just Just down the road from Bantwen cottage, we discover the place Merlin was captured, Merlin's Hill, the final resting place of Wales' most famous wizard. Locals say you can still hear him moan at night. It really makes the stories come alive for the boys, who, of course, want to buy wizard wands in the gift shop and try the magic out for themselves. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEIEvDYuO3DiHbUdsmDqltfkTbER3F0LsZBTDFc-LMcbegETw6Q7guiBk0H5bXG2KBQE4s5kOn828Pq_EbtTV8J4JpvGNdtp4CzChpDYVf50zGIchnNSkcdeCjjOg9shkhIW4WhACfPcY/s1600/P1240241.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEIEvDYuO3DiHbUdsmDqltfkTbER3F0LsZBTDFc-LMcbegETw6Q7guiBk0H5bXG2KBQE4s5kOn828Pq_EbtTV8J4JpvGNdtp4CzChpDYVf50zGIchnNSkcdeCjjOg9shkhIW4WhACfPcY/s200/P1240241.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496359675697645874" /></a> Just down the road from King Arthur's Labyrinth we discover green Wales at the Centre for Alternative Technology. The interactive exhibits at this outdoor museum inform visitors about energy usage, conservation choices, and alternative methods of doing things in an easy to understand and translate to your own life sort of way. For example it tells you how much water a bath uses vs a shower, and how much energy it takes to put a computer to sleep instead of turning it off...real life facts that can be incorporated easily into everyday life. The kids like all the hands-on exhibits and the ride up to the museum on a water-weight, pulley system tram. <br /><br />Another area of Wales known for it's green-ness is Pembrokeshire. The coastal path that winds over 100 miles down the dramatic coastline here is popular for weeks long hiking breaks and St. David's, Britain's smallest city, is about to be it's first carbon neutral city as well. Our hotel here is in a restored barn, but very luxurious, and is very Eco-friendly. The Asheston House has solar warmed water and wind powered electrcity but plenty of creature comforts too with fluffy beds, a full kitchen and amazing views of the Welsh countryside. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkB29xMOBpWB5dMx5Bkvy2H1rAMGi1i-1SYlwdwCHn3Oc1xacjlDI0LsysxdFHeTL3s6D1iW3BpTgostPHduXZcWpsjmBjHz5Wi9l6GHGs-c_Us5k_uHrC86GzM__AFfRvmQAlhGprxGj1/s1600/P1240210.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkB29xMOBpWB5dMx5Bkvy2H1rAMGi1i-1SYlwdwCHn3Oc1xacjlDI0LsysxdFHeTL3s6D1iW3BpTgostPHduXZcWpsjmBjHz5Wi9l6GHGs-c_Us5k_uHrC86GzM__AFfRvmQAlhGprxGj1/s200/P1240210.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496360069419706562" /></a> One of the main promoters of St. David's greenitude is Pembokeshire's own enviro-knight...protector of the environment, Andy Middleton. He rides his bike to work, when he does drive it's in a car powered by leftover cooking fat, and he's currently working on a turbine project that creates energy from the tidal shifts. So, you may be thinking this guy's an eccentric, but he looks just like anyone else walking down the street. He also runs a coasteering company, a sport which he founded in the 1990's because of his love of exploring his childhood coast. It basically combines kayaking, mountain climbing and surfing skills. So we suit up, in full wetsuits to protect us from the cold waters and sharp rocks, and scramble down and over cliffs, swim through bays, and exore sea caves before kayaking back to base.Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527558281397189633.post-50543112785855318272010-06-16T10:26:00.004-07:002010-07-21T07:11:46.889-07:00Wales in WonderlandI don't know whether we've just fallen down a Welsh rabbit hole, but the countryside here in Wales is as intriguing and mythical as any Lewis Carrol story. Just after The Big Pit we went below ground again at Dan-yr-ogof Caves where we saw soaring rock formations, six foot pillars and ribbons, straw formations and more. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQz7HPSlaGx3wBHezFWVq3Nt0zrxP5F6CI6NBu8t0x2HhI3O_YnStOu7ogo71QYdR7OzxANUU8iVGcf5NS2m0AUzo28LVEpM2wqLdOGxeF5sgHtUJx07hnsYgfObd38X93CmSiCTe0sVa/s1600/P1230848.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQz7HPSlaGx3wBHezFWVq3Nt0zrxP5F6CI6NBu8t0x2HhI3O_YnStOu7ogo71QYdR7OzxANUU8iVGcf5NS2m0AUzo28LVEpM2wqLdOGxeF5sgHtUJx07hnsYgfObd38X93CmSiCTe0sVa/s200/P1230848.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496361208269009442" /></a> There are three caves, one of which was hosting a wedding, but what really brought home the history of the location for the kids were the dinosaurs...at least fifty almost life-sized statues of dinosaurs fill the jungly surrounds of the park. The kids loved exploring and posing for super scared pictures with them! <br /><br />After the caves, we drove through fields and fields of rolling green hills bordered with stone walls and dotted with sheep. It looks much like Ireland...though we never saw an actvity center like Llangorse Actvity Centre when we were there. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLjIq38CVBbuvQZ7y-EG1rsWptvaQXTSKYCKUR3xvNZPwmcDVcm6Q_UY5ji37F9dsDblkwwzFbVA7xO0DWL0EJsA-rRo0PHSYtfMe3FoLmAT4tft1cMpiLbO5L7DwfJFJRCGx_N1bReFM/s1600/P1230932.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLjIq38CVBbuvQZ7y-EG1rsWptvaQXTSKYCKUR3xvNZPwmcDVcm6Q_UY5ji37F9dsDblkwwzFbVA7xO0DWL0EJsA-rRo0PHSYtfMe3FoLmAT4tft1cMpiLbO5L7DwfJFJRCGx_N1bReFM/s200/P1230932.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496361863425823298" /></a> The center hosts huge obstacle and ropes courses and the kids enjoyed riding horses, zip lining and mountain climbing through an indoor wonderland, but took a miss on the Dingle Scramble, which would entail soldier crawling through very chilly mountain water.<br /><br />Our accommodation in Brecon Beacons consisted of a beautiful restored farmhouse, Brynich Farm Holiday Cottages, still run by the man who grow up on the farm followed by a stay in a traditional thatched roof hut. With a vaulted twiggy ceiling and tiny doorways Bantwen Cottage felt very much like the White Rabbit's house...though with cable for the World Cup and Wifi to stay in touch with the outside world.<br /><br />Next, we're off to explore the west coast of Wales with very green, in the environmental sense and the landscape, St. David's, and the dramatic Pembrokeshire Coast. Stay tuned...Travel With Kidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17662709900778116408noreply@blogger.com4