One of our most memorable days during our visit to the Riviera Maya region of Mexico was our last minute trip to Xcaret (ish-car-et). Skeptical, but lured in by the advertisements, we weren’t sure how we felt about spending our last day at a cheesy Disneyeque theme park, but we were game to check it out.
Everyone woke up early, ready to “go go go” as my little one likes to say. It was a cool foggy morning, so we decided to head out to Eaton Canyon Falls for a hike. It had been on my to-do list for ages and it looked like a perfect morning to check it out. And right we were. Seeing only 3 other cars there, we knew we would have the trails to ourselves.
From high-rise-filled cities to small mountain villages, with thousands of temples and gardens in between, visitors often find it difficult to decide where to go in Japan. After a magnificent 3 weeks traveling this island nation by Japan rail, following geishas in the streets of Kyoto, visiting snow monkeys in the wild, sleeping in a Buddhist Monastery to exploring the bustling streets of Tokyo, we just barely scratched the surface of all that Japan has to offer. Here is our itinerary, in photos, of one of our all time favorite holiday destinations.
There are few constants in life, but one of them seems to be the Groupon deal for the Wildlife Learning Center in Sylmar. I guess what they say is true – the more you see something, the more likely you are to check it out! Today we had nothing on the agenda so decided to take the bait and visit. … Read more
I have survived my first Spirit flight! And you know what, it wasn’t so bad. Flying Spirit is not for everyone, but for the budget conscious it is fantastic option. Without the low fares available on Spirit Airlines, it would not have been possible for our family to go away for a quick Mother’s Day weekend. I … Read more
We have tried the Switzer Falls hike a few times with friends, but have never made it very far (due to those pesky kids playing in the creek!). We were jonesing for a hike and decided to give it another go. I had forgotten to check online to see how long the hike was before we set … Read more
One of the main reasons we chose the Big Island over the other Hawaiian Islands was to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. My son had seen a brochure about the park at a friend’s house last summer and has wanted to go ever since. Turns out, this was the highlight for all of us. There is so much to … Read more
Okonomiyaki: The Best Food in Japan Japan continues to top our favorite trips list, with Hiroshima being one of our favorite places in Japan. So rightly so, that okonomiyaki, a dish from Hiroshima, remains as one of our favorite travel meals. It’s not often I post about food in my travels. There are a handful of … Read more
Do you have a construction loving little one? If so, this is the post for you! My son gets confused with all of the large warehouse type stores, so when he sees Home Depot he says “This is my favorite Target!” very excitedly. It must run in the genes. His grandfather is a contractor and … Read more
The Insider’s Guide to Mumbai series is loaded with information to help you visit and explore this expansive and vibrant city like a local. After living as an expat for so many years, I found that to really get to know a city quickly you need to stay outside of the tourist zones and hang out and eat where the … Read more
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge, an initiative that invites bloggers to post an alphabet-themed post every day (excluding Sundays) during the month of April. As part of this challenge, I’ll be sharing some of my travel memories to known and unknown places in the hope to inspire your travel dreams. J is for Jaisalmer (India) It’s … Read more
Devi Garh Palace (Udaipur, India) The difficult part of living abroad is that eventually you have to leave. When our time was almost up in India, I knew I had to fit in a few more places from my never ending (India) bucket list. One of these was the beautiful (and expensive!) RASS Devi Garh Palace … Read more
Hiking is the thing to do in LA. Before moving here I didn’t think that hiking with kids was even possible, especially once they were too big to carry and no longer interested in the stroller. As a baby you can carry them and older kids can walk, but what do you do during those few years where your … Read more
Celebrating Holi is one of our favorite Indian holidays. The yearly festival was the highlight of the spring for our family and so many in India. In our 8+ years in Mumbai, we never missed one Holi. This was one Indian tradition I felt we had to continue even after moving to the US. Holi, also known as the festival … Read more
On a day to day basis it was the longest most frustrating 14 days of our lives, looking back it was the most amazing and adventurous 14 days. I should be scared, but I am not. I am full of excitement and anticipation sitting in the long line of rickshaws waiting to launch from Pondicherry. … Read more
The Insider’s Guide to Mumbai series is loaded with information to help you visit and explore this expansive and vibrant city like a local. After living as an expat for so many years, I found that to really get to know a city quickly you need to stay outside of the tourist zones and hang out and eat where the … Read more
The Insider’s Guide to Mumbai series is loaded with information to help you visit and explore this expansive and vibrant city like a local. After living as an expat for so many years, I found that to really get to know a city quickly you need to stay outside of the tourist zones and hang out and eat where the … Read more
My son woke up saying he wanted to go on a hike and I knew immediately where we should go. Vasquez Rocks. It has been on our to do list forever. All I knew about Vasquez Rocks was that it’s great for kids who like to climb rocks and that an episode or portion of Star Trek had been filmed there. … Read more
The Insider’s Guide to Mumbai series is loaded with information to help you visit and explore this expansive and vibrant city like a local. After living as an expat for so many years, I found that to really get to know a city quickly you need to stay outside of the tourist zones and hang out and eat where the … Read more
I live and breathe travel. If it was up to me I would be traveling full time, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards right now. So instead, I dream up all the trips I hope we can take. I plan them out in my head and often on paper, holding on to … Read more