Category: Kid-Friendly Trips
Arkansas Post National Monument, AR…
January 16, 2013 by Dana Ticknor · Leave a Comment
This year, in our annual winter trek across the southern states, we decided to take a new route between Texas and Florida. For this stretch, we usually take I-10 along the Gulf, but we decided that this year we needed some new stops – to see a few new destinations that we had not had a chance to visit before. So, we ventured a bit more north, into Arkansas, and stopped at a few fun, new-to-us places! One of the stops we did in Arkansas, was to visit the Arkansas Post National Monument. This park has some serious history going on! It played a key role in the exploration and settlement of the surrounding area, has been a military and fur trading fort, saw Civil War combat, and is the location of the remains of a 19th century town. The site is currently preserved as a National Park, and is a beautiful one at that! We arrived around lunch time last Friday, and after grabbing some lunch in the parking lot (I LOVE traveling with my home!), we toured the visitor’s center where the... [Read more...]
Texas State Aquarium, Corpus Christi, TX…
December 31, 2012 by Dana Ticknor · Leave a Comment
One of the other things that we did during our visit to Padre Island National Park, was to drive in to Corpus Christi and spend an afternoon at the Texas State Aquarium. The aquarium is part of the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums), so if you have a membership to your local zoo or aquarium, you would get in to the Texas State Aquarium for half price (like we did). One of the things that I loved the most about this aquarium, was that all the talks and shows were included in the entrance fee. The aquariums has educational talks, and animal shows every half hour, throughout the day. Our favorite stop of the day was at StingRay Alley (which is a large touch tank). During the talks that are given here (one in the morn, one in the afternoon), you can purchase a small tray of fish for $3 and feed the rays. This exhibit brought us back 3 times! LOL! The rays were docile, and friendly. They would swim right in front of the kids, and practically beg for attention! There were a couple... [Read more...]
Start the New Year Off on the Right Foot with a First Day Hike
December 27, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
With New Year’s Day just around the corner, people everywhere are zeroing in on their new year’s resolutions for 2013. Some will vow to add more exercise into their routines, and others will promise not to stay indoors as much. You can start the New Year off on the right foot, the left foot, or any foot by tackling both those resolutions at once and at the same time create a new family tradition by participating in a “First Day Hike” at a park near you, and together start off your year in a new direction. America’s State Parks announces that all 50 state park systems will sponsor guided First Day Hike Programs on New Year’s Day 2013. First Day Hikes originated over 20 years ago at the Blue Hills Reservation, a state park in Milton, Massachusetts. The program was launched to promote both healthy lifestyles throughout the year and year round recreation at state parks. State involvement has grown to the point where, for the first time in 2012, all 50 state park systems joined... [Read more...]
Ringing In The Heavenly! New Year
December 15, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · Leave a Comment
With the weather being downright cold outside, I was sitting here listening to Christmas music with a warm fire burning in the fireplace, thinking it is time to start planning an epic New Year’s Destination Vacation! Our plan this year is to head north for the most ultimate New Year’s celebration in a place we have never been before: Lake Tahoe! While we have been to some great snowboarding places closer to home, such as Big Bear’s Snow Summit, Bear Mountain, and even Mammoth; we have been contemplating checking out Lake Tahoe for the past several years. Luckily, my cousin has a connection so we have a cabin to stay in for free this year. With accommodations taken care of, our next step was to look for a place to go snowboarding nearby. In speaking with my cousin, it sounded like Heavenly and Kirkwood are the two closest places to go near the cabin. Once we looked into choosing from those two, it didn’t take long to choose Heavenly! Just the name itself kinda... [Read more...]
PassPorter’s Walt Disney World
December 15, 2012 by Canadianladybug · Leave a Comment
PassPorter’s Walt Disney World – The unique travel guide, planner, organizer, journal, and keepsake! One of our dream as parents is to bring our kids to Florida in vacation. Not for a week or two but more in the line of a whole month of fun visiting various theme parks including Walt Disney World. Last time my husband and I went it was our honeymoon and let me tell you that by what I am discovering these days via videos Science of Disney Imagineering and the book I am presenting you today, a lot have changed since then! So you want to plan a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. But you feel a bit overwhelmed with all the possibilities and fun things to do. No problem. Introducing the PassPorter’s Walt Disney World which is a travel guide that will help you plan and organize your discovery of this famous theme park. I know from experience that we enjoy our trips better when I plan in advance. Not everyone are like this but let me remind you that in the case of Walt Disney World, you... [Read more...]
National Parks – A Kid’s Guide to America’s Parks, Monuments, and Landmarks
December 7, 2012 by Canadianladybug · 1 Comment
National Parks – A Kid’s Guide to America’s Parks, Monuments, and Landmarks By Erin McHugh Published at Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers About the book “During National Parks Week, we reaffirm our need to maintain connections to the natural world.” —President Barack Obama President Obama has shared his views that it’s important for all of our country’s citizens to acknowledge the value of the natural world around us. National Parks helps families explore that world—the diversity, beauty, and history found in our national park system. Arranged alphabetically by state, this fun-filled book tours more than 75 U.S. parks, monuments, and landmarks, from the rocky shores of Maine’s Acadia National Park to the ancient redwood groves of Northern California. Also included is a removable, fold-out collector map to house the 56 America the Beautiful commemorative quarters! Through fascinating text and hundreds of vintage-style illustrations and photographs, ranging from digitally... [Read more...]
Stairs: The Hidden Danger In RVs
November 30, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · 4 Comments
The day after Thanksgiving, the full day of eating whatever we want; we set out for a fun weekend of camping at the beach. The beach camp spot my aunt reserved this year was at Leo Carrillo State Beach, a scenic stretch of canyon leading to gorgeous coastline, where the Santa Monica Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean. You access it from the Pacific Coast Highway, just south of where we live. My dear aunt was only one day late in reserving our typical spot at Carpinteria State Beach and, lo and behold, there were no spots left! So we settled for second best: Leo Carrillo, where I grew up camping and loving every second of it. Leo Carrillo is just off a narrow, windy stretch of highway along the coast with no bike lane, so bicycling with our kids in tow to the campsite was out of the question (although we did enjoy riding around the campground and over to the beach side)! We packed up our bikes and set off with the RV and a handful of tents for two nights at Leo Carrillo State Beach... [Read more...]
Book Review – Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World
November 26, 2012 by Canadianladybug · Leave a Comment
When you travel with your RV, you sometimes plan where you will end up. And one of the places we would love to bring our children is definitively Walt Disney World. My husband and I dream of the day where we can surprise the kids with an extended trip to Florida and explorations to places like Walt Disney World. I wish I would know when this could happen. I am hoping in a near future. In the meantime, we plan places to visit and where to stay. We have found a very reasonable place to stay for an extended period of time. We just need to figure out when we will go now. As part of our planning, I stumbled on an interesting book which highlights the secrets of Walt Disney World. Here’s my review of it. The Hidden magic of Walt Disney Wold – Over 600 secrets of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom Written by Susan Veness Published at F+W Media About the book Sure, it’s the Happiest Place on Earth, but how much do... [Read more...]
Black Friday Camping with an RV
November 21, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · Leave a Comment
Many folks enjoy getting killer deals the day after Thanksgiving. In fact, some will go to so much trouble as to camp outside of particular stores days in advance in order to get a good spot. While some will sit in a chair, others will actually pop-up a tent and get themselves extra comfortable since they figure they will be spending lots of time waiting, including at least one night there. They do this in order to get the first pick of all the amazing deals at a given store, and possibly even come up on a freebie or two. Some 34 percent of American consumers plan to shop on Black Friday, the beginning of the hectic Christmas shopping season, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Depending on their shopping list, people will camp outside of Walmart, Best Buy, Target, or any other store that offers the best deals on the items they desire. More often than not, stores will offer special savings and free stuff for the first 25 (or more) people in line. The... [Read more...]
Plowing for Diamonds in Arkansas
November 20, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 2 Comments
Crater of Diamonds State Park is the world’s only diamond-producing site open to the public. On average, two diamonds are found each day at the park. The state park’s policy is finder-keepers. What park visitors find is theirs to keep. Diamonds come in all colors of the rainbow. The colors found at the Crater of Diamonds are white, brown, and yellow, in that order. The search area at the Crater of Diamonds State Park is a 37 ½-acre plowed field, the eroded surface of the eighth largest diamond-bearing deposit in the world in surface area. Why plow the search field at the diamond mine? The practice of plowing the diamond field goes back to the earliest days of commercial diamond mining, according to Park Interpreter Margi Jenks. In the early 1900s miners used a mule team and farming plow to dig trenches. After tourism began in the 1950s, Millar’s Crater of Diamonds used a road grader to turn over the dirt on what is now the north end of the present diamond search area. Today’s... [Read more...]
