Summer is finally here, which if you have kids means a lot of time will be spent in or around the water. Don’t miss out on documenting your family fun just because you don’t want to take your camera near the water. Waterproof your life with the right equipment so you don’t miss that perfect shot in or out of the water this summer. Here are a few of our favorite waterproof wonders to take your summer photos to a whole new level!
Karilyn Owen
10 Electronic Free Activities for Kids 5-12
One of the first adages of flying with children is give in to the screen. Allowing your kids more screen time during travel makes life easier for everyone, but what do we do now that governments are moving to ban laptops and iPads from some international flights? In my post a few years ago, I outlined our favorite electronic free activities for babies to pre-schoolers, but what about elementary aged children? This is the age group that is of particular concern for families who have gotten used to handing over the iPad for long flights, no longer bringing bags of stuff to entertain them.
You need a backup plan. Here are some tried and tested items to have on hand to entertain your kids while traveling. Sadly the loser in the whole thing is you. Gone are the days where you can enjoy your quiet time while your kid is happily engaged with the iPad for 12 hours!
Monteverde Itinerary & Guide
Straddling the Continental Divide in the mountains of Costa Rica is Monteverde, one of the country’s top tourist destinations. In English, that translates to green mountain. And green it is! There is an almost always present layer of moisture in the air, creating what is known as a cloud forest. This unique habitat is home to an abundance of birds and other wildlife.
Most itineraries to Costa Rica typically include a couple day stop in the cloud forests of Monteverde. Even though most visitors don’t stay long, there is quite a bit to see and do if you are really into nature. That said, visitors can experience the main nature focused sights with only 2 days in town. Below is our Monteverde 2 day itinerary from our recent visit, with additional information needed to plan your trip.
Rejuvenate at SpringHill Suites in Oceanside
The last thing I wanted to do after finding my car broken into was drive 80 miles south of Los Angeles to Oceanside for a planned weekend getaway. Turns out, it’s exactly what I needed.
Packed up and ready to head out for a mother-son weekend, we had one last stop to make at my son’s school for a parent-teacher conference. During our short time inside, a desperate soul decided to smash and grab my backpack filled with snacks for our weekend away. Not remembering when I packed it that it also contained our passports, all of my camera lenses, our Gopro (with photos from our recent trip to Costa Rica still on it) and so much more, I left the bag in plain sight thinking it would be fine covered with squeezey pouches and veggie stick snack bags.
Walking out to the street to see shattered glass all around my car, my heart sank. I was devastated. Once the hours of formalities were complete and the window was fixed, I knew we couldn’t pass up our retreat carefully planned by Visit Oceanside. With a heavy heart and cluttered mind, we hit the road.
Arenal or Monteverde? Which is better?
Planning a trip to Costa Rica is a bit of a challenge considering how much there is to do, not in just one area, but in every region of the country. Many visitors opt for in-land adventure activities followed by time for relaxation on the beach. While considering where to go in-land, you will invariable come across Arenal/La Fortuna and Monteverde as being top destinations for a classic Costa Rican adventure. Given the unique appeal of both destinations, it’s no wonder that for visitors with limited time, the question quickly arises – which is better? Should I go to both or just one? I had this question over and over while planning our trip, so I decided to do both just to check them out. I cannot say which is better as that almost always amounts to personal preference, but I can provide details on what both places have to offer so that you can make the most informed decision possible.
Review: ProPacking Cubes, the Family Packing Essential
Do you struggle to stay organized when you travel? If so, this post is specifically for you! At home some might say I am an organized mess, meaning I know exactly where everything goes and is, even if it looks like a tornado swept through moments before. When I’m traveling I am pretty much the same. Super organized, but can lean towards sort of a mess.
In come packing cubes. I have been using packing cubes on and off since my first solo trip 16 years ago, however I have found they have achieved greater importance for me now that I travel with a child. I love packing cubes so much that I recommend them to every new traveler I meet. It really is a packing essential, particularly for families.
I already have several different brands of packing cubes that I rotate regularly between my trips using them for different purposes. However, when I was contacted by Pro Packing Cubes and asked if I was interested in their product I of course said YES! I love packing cubes and always love the opportunity to test out new gear to see just what I might be missing. I decided I would set all of my other cubes aside for my trip to Costa Rica and use only the Pro Packing Cubes to get a true test of how they function on the road.
Top 5 Things for Families to Do in Palm Springs
An exclusive vacation spot for Californians and out of towners alike, Palm Springs is known for its outdoor exploration, relaxation and intense heat. These things blend together to create the perfect desert experience. Ideal for a girls weekend away or a couples retreat, Palm Springs is also a wonderful destination for families. Skip the beach … Read more
World’s Best Family Road Trips
Road tripping is a quintessential part of life in many countries around the world. Growing up in the US, we often think of road trips as being an American thing (don’t we think that about all things!), but through my years of traveling around the world, I have seen how it’s part of the fabric of so many societies. One of the things that families throughout the world seem to have in common is their love of road trips!
Check out the top road trips around the world that my fellow family travel bloggers have recommended. Next week I will share the best road trips in the US (in case you were wondering why they are not here!).
Things To Do In Oceanside CA
Through the years, my son has become a real train enthusiast, moving beyond just playing with his toy trains to actually taking an interest in real ones no matter where they are. He loves to go to the local train station for train spotting (patiently waiting for trains so he can write down the train numbers as they pass), checking out boxcar trains at a local playground and taking the metro any chance he gets. For ages he has wanted to take a weekend train journey from Los Angeles to somewhere….anywhere!
When Visit Oceanside approached us about a stay there, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out the train for a weekend getaway. Turns out, there are a ton of things to do in Oceanside, Ca and it’s the ideal weekend escape from the hustle and bustle of LA traffic, especially for train loving families.
Top Stops from Belfast to Giant’s Causeway
Ireland is a spectacular country with breathtaking coastal scenery from the Wild Atlantic Way to the Cliffs of Moher and up to along the Antrim Coast in the north. With so much natural beauty, it’s difficult to decide just which road trip you should undertake on a visit.
One of our favorites is the Causeway Coastal Route from Belfast to Giant’s Causeway. To complete the entire circuit along the coast, it could take up to a week if you wanted to see everything. However, the most popular part of the Causeway Coastal Route is from Ballycastle to Dunluce Castle, which corresponds with the most spectacular part of the drive. That said, there are interesting sites to see outside of that small portion if you have the time and can ignore your GPS screaming for you to go inland for the quicker routes!
During our last visit, we only had 3 days for our mini road trip to Northern Ireland. Attempting to fit as much in as we could during that time, we made detours off the coastal roads in areas where there were fewer attractions, taking in some of the Antrim coast’s top stops along the way. Below are our highlights from Belfast to Giant’s Causeway along the Causeway Coastal Route.
Flying Southwest Airlines International
When I lived in Austin during college, Southwest Airlines was my go to airline for quick weekend trips back home to Dallas. I knew the system well and was always one of the first to arrive at the airport to get a low number boarding pass (pre-checkin days!). Those college days have long since passed and since Southwest Airlines is not included on most airline search engine websites, it is often overlooked as an option and as such has dropped to the bottom of my most used airlines.
Somewhere in my mind I knew that Southwest had begun flying internationally, but I still never sought them out as an option. That is until my recent trip to Costa Rica. For years I have had Costa Rica on my wish list, but my searches for flights from LAX to San Jose (the capital) resulted in expensive, multi-stop flights. Since having a child, I try to avoid multi-stop flights as much as possible to reduce the headaches of missed flights or weather delays.
I took the plunge and tried out Southwest Airlines for our trip to Costa Rica. I have to say that I will now be on the lookout for their sale fares as well as keeping up with any new international destinations they add to their flight plans!
If you are new to Southwest Airlines, there are some things you should know in advance before booking one of their international (or domestic!) flights.
Horseback Riding in Tucson
I have been a fan of horseback riding since I was a kid growing up in Texas. It’s something I try to do wherever I am, as it provides a good opportunity to see landscapes not otherwise accessible, as well as time to chat with a local about their home. As you can imagine, I was super excited this past summer when my son was finally old enough to go on his first trail ride outside of a stable or ‘amusement park’. He was hooked and now also looks for any opportunity he can to ride. It has become our perfect family friendly outing that everyone enjoys.
That said, it’s not surprising that my son kept noticing all of the horse crossing signs throughout Tucson during our visit. If you have horse riding fans like my little one, you will be hard pressed to get out of this beautiful town without getting on a horse.
One of the best things to do in Tucson is to stay at a ranch where you can ride horses every day. Since this isn’t a possibility for all families, I thought I would also give a few options for where you can ride without a being a guest at a ranch. In our 10 day stay, we had the opportunity to ride at several different places and were recommended a few as well. Regardless of what you end up doing, don’t miss your chance to go for a trail ride in the desert landscapes of Tucson.
Top Destinations in Costa Rica from Liberia Airport
In planning my yearly birthday trip, it came to my attention that there is a direct flight from Los Angeles to Liberia, Costa Rica on Southwest Airlines. I knew that Southwest had begun flights to Costa Rica, but hadn’t really checked into it. Instead I constantly search for direct flights to San Jose, which are few and far between and always expensive. For some reason I just couldn’t open myself up to flying into Liberia. Boy did I miss some opportunities!
I am so excited about this discovery though. Why? Timing and Price. The direct 5 hour flight on Southwest Airlines leaves at 2:10 pm daily from Los Angeles, which means it is perfect for a long weekend getaway. Even more importantly, if you book this flight in advance it is about the same price as a round trip ticket to most places inside the US, making a quick trip to Costa Rica even more feasible.
Since heading off to Costa Rica for a long weekend doesn’t seem that doable to many people, I thought I would share a few destination options to get you started on your trip planning. These individual destinations can easily be combined to make a week or longer trip as well.
Children’s Books on Costa Rica
One of the best ways to armchair family travel is by reading books based in different locations. As a family, we love reading books that teach us about different cultures and traditions around the world, especially when we are not traveling. However, whenever we are planning a trip somewhere, we always make a visit to the library to check out a few books about our travel destination. We have found that this helps our son participate more in the initial planning phases with his own thoughts on what he would like to see, as well as providing him a greater look into the destination before we arrive.
Since I do this research anyway, I thought I’d share it all with you to help inspire your little ones to dream about new destinations. Read on for some of our favorite books on Costa Rica.
Where to Eat in Tucson with Kids
If you follow us regularly, you will know that finding options for meals while traveling is one of my least favorite things to do. It’s the one part of traveling that I don’t enjoy. Being in a new city, surrounded by an excess of options that I’m not familiar with, sends me over the edge! It’s true. But I have to say that on our trip to Tucson I found it very manageable in terms of eating. Perhaps it’s because Tucson is a classified UNESCO city of gastronomy and loaded with delectable options? Or maybe it was the abundance of Mexican food scattered throughout town? Apparently, there is a wonderful 23 mile stretch of amazing Mexican food there. I did not know this in advance, so will have to return to investigate this further!
Either way, food options were plentiful and even random places we happened upon were really good (and cheap!). I must admit I am not a foodie. I am pretty simple when it comes to food. I like comforting authentic food in a fun, welcoming atmosphere that is conducive to eating with children. If that is you too, then read on! These were some of our favorites in Tucson, including some must try local’s favorites.
Exploring the Mojave National Preserve
If you are like most people, you have heard of the Mojave Desert, but your association might be limited to images of barren landscapes dotted with military bases. The Mojave definitely represents some of this, but it also has so much more. The Mojave Desert is a massive area encompassing large portions of California, southern areas of Nevada as well as small sections of Utah and Arizona. It’s expansive area includes Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley National Park and the Mojave National Preserve.
All these years in California I have heard about the Mojave Desert but didn’t really know what or where it was. I had vague inklings that it was out in the middle of nowhere on the way to Las Vegas, and that it pushed its way into portions of Joshua Tree National Park, but that was the extent of my knowledge.
On our recent trip to Death Valley, passing the Mojave National Preserve on the way home, our interest in the park was kindled. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to stop, but I promised my son I would get us back there soon. Less than a month later and there we were, checking off another national park (preserve) as well as finally checking out the JUCY mini-RV!
Travel Planning: Checklists for Travel
Throughout this series, I have covered the basics of how to add more travel into your life, how to research for a trip and where and how to book the trip. For the final step of travel planning, depending on what type of trip you are taking, I have put together some timelines, checklists for travel with some tips on how to make it easier. These are the things I tend to think about and/or use for each of our trips. Make sure to add in your own as well so you don’t forget things that are particular to you or your family.
Go on Safari in Santa Rosa, CA
Long before we looked to go to Africa for safari, I had my eyes on a little known place in Northern California called Safari West. The Sonoma Serengeti as some call it, is unlike any wildlife preserve you will have visited before. Experiencing Africa-esque glamping style tent cabins and wild animals dotting the rolling hills of wine country is pretty extraordinary, especially so close to home.
But I know you are wondering, how can there be wild African animals just outside of San Francisco? Does it feel authentic? Is it really worth it or is it just a glamorized zoo? My thoughts exactly. Read on to find out more and hear all about our experience.
Travel Planning: Researching A Trip
Last week I wrote about how you can add more travel into your life, but for many people, it’s the travel planning that is a huge barrier to actually getting out the door. Being a researcher at heart (and through training, I have a Masters in Research Psychology), this is one of my favorite parts of travel. However, I know that travel planning is insanely daunting to many people, including my dear husband!
To help you add more travel to your life, I wanted to also provide you with some of my how to’s for planning a trip, short or long. The first post in this series is researching a trip.
One of the best parts of trip planning for me is the research aspect. I love reading about travel, learning about destinations and checking out photos of places around the world. I have lists and lists of places I want to go and things I want to see for pretty much every country in the world. This part of researching for a trip is an ongoing process. I love my Listography app where I can easily jot down thoughts, locations and ideas when I see them.
I realize though that not everyone has these massive lists to inspire and guide their trip planning process. Instead, they feel overwhelmed and need a lot of help to plan or research a trip. If that is you, then continue reading for my tips on the first step of travel planning: how to research for a trip.