Insider’s Guide: The Best Things to Do in Mumbai

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

Insider’s Guide: How to Ride Mumbai Local Train

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

Vasquez Rocks with Kids

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

Insider’s Guide: Top Restaurants in Mumbai

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

Dream Travel Destinations for 2015

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

An Honest Review: The Discovery Cube Los Angeles

Last week we had the opportunity to visit the science focused children’s museum Discovery Cube Los Angeles (which is actually in the Valley).  The few posts I had read on it made it sound amazing, so I went with high expectations. This might have been my problem, but overall I was a bit underwhelmed. However, the kids … Read more

What are kid friendly destinations?

One of my fellow family travel bloggers posted a question on their Facebook page a while back asking where people thought of when they thought of kid friendly destinations. My initial response was Costa Rica, mostly because we were in the midst of planning a trip there. But then I realized that every place is kid friendly … Read more

Things To Do in LA over Winter Break (Updated 2015)

This upcoming winter break is the first break at my son’s school in over a year that we do not have travel plans. After our India trip and a very busy fall, we have decided to stay put and spend our break exploring areas of LA that we never have time for. Although I would venture to … Read more

Sand Sledding: Winter fun for the whole family

It is almost that time of year again — sand sledding!  This is my favorite part of winter in LA. What isn’t awesome about sledding in warm weather not having to worry about gloves and hats and frostbite. And showing off sand sledding photos to all of our east coast friends bundled up is sort of … Read more

Malibu Lagoon Bird Watching with Kids

I love nature, hiking and animals, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine taking time on a Sunday to go bird watching. But yep, this is what happens in my household every month.  The Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society hosts a kid friendly bird watching walk at Malibu Lagoon State Beach and after our … Read more

10 Top Tips on Travelling to India with Kids

  Travel to India without children seems daunting to most people, much less with small kids in tow. However, traveling to India with kids can be a rich and rewarding experience for the entire family. Yes, it can be difficult, but I have to say that it is not that much harder than a trip … Read more

Family Friendly Hiking in Palm Springs at Indian Canyons

A trip to Palm Springs for most people means sitting by the pool soaking up the sun, shopping and maybe visiting a few kid friendly attractions (if you have kids). For us, it means driving back and forth to Joshua Tree (or Joshman Tree as my preschooler says) to explore. My son is not the … Read more

Family Fun: The National Park’s Junior Ranger Program

One of the coolest and maybe least known activities at many national and state parks is the Junior Ranger Program. I don’t know why the National Park Service doesn’t market this more, because it is an amazing program for children and families. It is a perfect way to get your kids interested in the world … Read more

Things I Miss About India

In preparation of our return visit to India (our expat home for 8+ years), I keep coming back to the things I miss most about it and why I feel the urge to return after only leaving 2 years ago. Food This is always the top of everyone’s list – no matter where you are, … Read more

Packing Tips for Travel with Toddlers

After more than 20 international and domestic trips with my toddler, I have almost perfected our list of what to take with us, no matter where we are going, San Francisco, Ireland or India. Much of our travel to this point has been to developing countries, therefore many of my recommendations are based on that.  However, … Read more

Travel Activities for Kids Without Using Electronics

We are not an electronic free family, but for much of our travel, our son has not been very interested in watching movies or playing on the iPad. This has meant coming up with lots of ideas on how to keep him entertained on our long trans-atlantic flights or our 7 hour car journey between … Read more

Packing List for a Toddler’s Travel Bag

When we travel I always follow the same packing list for my son’s travel bag. It contains all of the things that he will need during the flight (car, bus or train journey). I refresh the bag with supplies as needed for each of the major legs of our trip. By packing the same things every … Read more

Monrovia Canyon Falls: The Perfect Family Hike

I have finally found the perfect family hike and I am so excited to share it with anyone who will listen! Monrovia Canyon Falls is my new favorite hike to do with my toddler (and his friends). It has everything you want in a hike: short and long options, wild animals, plenty of shade and … Read more

Free Splash Pads on the East Side

It’s summer and summer means water play, especially on the Eastside where our summer temperatures soar. For us it’s even more important because we don’t have central air at our house, so we *must* get out in the afternoons to cool down! Here are our go to free splash pads and water play areas on the … Read more