family travel

out the window coming home on a direct flight on a trip from Seattle to Bahamas from Alaska Air

Seattle to Bahamas – a nonstop flight to Nassau I wish we had when my kids were small

February 23, 2024

Sunny places in winter is what gets many of us Seattleites through the long dark season. And once you get into the school age zone, these trips often get squished into holiday breaks where you find everyone you know in the city on the same flight to Hawaii. That’s why my ears perked up at […]

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window of ground floor room at Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel at PDX

Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel might be good value if you have a soccer tournament at Delta Park

October 2, 2023

Even if you don’t have a soccer tournament, you might check out the Sheraton Portland Airport for a comfortable, safe-feeling place to stay in the Portland area. I have Marriott Platinum Bonvoy status with my Bonvoy Brilliant card and if you do to, this hotel has a lounge so that is currently included with Platinum […]

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making candles at Lorraine's candles in Seabrook and other new things in Seabrook 2023

Lorraine’s Candles and Seabrook Arcade : two fabulous new ways to bond with family on a Seabrook trip

September 21, 2023

Every time we visit Seabrook there is something new to look forward to. The last time we visited Seabrook the bakery there was half the size than it is now and the lineup was probably less than half as long too. It’s become VERY popular and with good reason. And now there’s a new grocery […]

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CN tower from Toronto City Cruises with Toronto CityPASS

How “worth it” is using a Toronto CityPASS for a summer family trip?

August 23, 2023

As usual, we were last-minute in looking up what to do in Toronto for our summer trip (all we had planned was the Hockey Hall of Fame) and discovered online that there is a Toronto CityPASS and instantly knew we didn’t really need to do any more research. We are big CityPASS fans and have […]

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nashville hot chicken

A Nashville hot chicken tour with my twin teenagers for mid-winter break

May 31, 2023

Timing and life doesn’t always give you what you want, and my husband had a work conference during our mid-winter break in Nashville. Nashville?!! My twin teenagers were not the most enthusiastic about this trip. Being from Seattle, February usually has us dreaming of somewhere warm like Hawaii. And mid-winter break can be a longer […]

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Oia on Santorini for one night on our Greece Trip

A 10 day family Greece trip Itinerary from Seattle with teenagers

May 22, 2023

I wish I could take more credit for this itinerary but I planned very little of this 10 day Greece trip. I didn’t think I’d actually get to go because I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease at the end of last year and I’ve been undergoing treatments. So I didn’t want to plan […]

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hidden worlds laika films exhibition at mopop Seattle

Hidden Worlds: The Films of LAIKA World Premiere Exhibition at MOPOP in Seattle

March 17, 2023

Even if you haven’t seen any LAIKA films you’ll probably want to stop by and see this new exhibition at Seattle’s MOPOP, especially if you are curious about how stop-motion movies are made. Hidden Worlds: The films of LAIKA is having its world premiere exhibition at the MOPOP and it will be there through summer […]

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costa coffee at seatac airport in Seattle

Costa Coffee is at SeaTac Airport and you can get it 24/7 there too

March 11, 2023

A few weeks ago I was invited to Seatac Airport where Costa Coffee has arrived in the N gate area. Seatac is the first airport in the USA for this UK-based Costa Coffee. And Costa Coffee represents one more new stop for travelers to get excited about at Seattle’s bustling airport. It feels like every […]

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Star Wars ride at Disneyland in 2022

It is “worth-it” to book a Disneyland VIP tour if you head to California this year

March 4, 2023

Disney is 100 years old this year. My family is not obsessed with Disney by any means but I do feel Disneyland is a historically significant place to visit (how many places and movies have shaped society the way Disney does?) and it can be a lot of fun. Disneyland is also a place where […]

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pool at best western plus Santa Barbara a family friendly hotel with apartment style suites

Best Western Plus Santa Barbara: an Airbnb alternative for families with a pool

January 24, 2023

Big checkmark for the Best Western Plus Santa Barbara because it has the pool that all families seem to need when we travel with kids. By teenager stage, the pool is no longer the biggest selling feature for a hotel on a holiday but it’s still something I look for and helps a place rank […]

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Hazel Mountain Chocolate Factory an Irish Chocolate factory and cafe you can visit

Three Irish chocolate shops with factories you can visit

January 10, 2023

Our family has been interested in chocolate factories ever since the Theo Chocolate factory opened in our Seattle neighborhood ages ago and we learned about the bean-to-bar process. Since then our kids have been to Costa Rica to see chocolate, and visiting chocolate factories have been a big part of our family holidays. Most recently […]

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Empire State Building pictures thanks to our New York CityPASS

When you learn you should have listened to New York City CityPASS and booked things ahead of time but your trip still works out

August 23, 2022

I love getting CityPASS when we travel because it’s often a great way to bundle a bunch of activities we know we are going to see and it makes sure we get a discounted price and often it helps with lines during busy seasons too. I was given two NYC CityPASSES on our recent trip […]

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Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point Terrace Ground Floor room

Three Nights at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort and Club in Dana Point California

May 12, 2022

This hotel, the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort is one of the reasons I love having an Amex Platinum card. We always check Amex hotel bookings online when we are planning our trips. If you book places labeled “Fine Hotels” with this card, they usually come with perks like late check-out, breakfast, and some kind […]

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Georgia aquarium with kids

Two stars and a wish for the Georgia Aquarium

May 29, 2013

As with all our trips, we are always excited to see animal friends on our travels and at the Georgia Aquarium I had a mission: a co-worker had told my husband that you can actually swim with whale sharks on Isla Holbox and Isla Mujeres in Mexico and the hubby wanted me to take the […]

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Best kids’ bathrooms in Seattle

March 12, 2013

As much as I want to know about where to eat, where to sleep and what to do when we go on vacation, I totally also need to know where to take the kids when they need to go! We were in the midst of toilet-training when we first took the boys to Asia and […]

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family travels in costa rica

An unconventional breakfast (San Isidro, Costa Rica)

January 19, 2013

Years ago, my pregnant self would never have imagined anyone would ever be able say to my kids “so you know how to collect eggs?” and have them answer “yes!” but something about having two boys who love adventure changed everything. Thanks to Farmer Jayne at Kelsey Creek Farm in Bellevue (two years ago we […]

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Denver Museum of Nature and Science (Denver, CO)

August 17, 2012

One of the greatest things about having memberships at local museums is that not only do they help support museums in your hometown, they often have reciprocal membership to other museums (free entry!) when you travel.  We only had an hour to spend at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science but we probably wouldn’t […]

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Toucan Rescue Ranch (San Isidro, Costa Rica)

August 15, 2012

Where do I begin to tell you about the most amazing, magical and enlightening place I’ve ever traveled to? The Toucan Rescue Ranch in San Isidro, Costa Rica is a place I want to go back to every year to watch as it grows. Leslie and Jorge, the owners of the ranch, are doing an […]

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how to travel safely in costa rica with young kids

Global Kids Adventures: traveling to Costa Rica with kids

August 13, 2012

I convinced the hubby we were going to take the fam to vista Cost Rica but the question was how we were going to travel.  We don’t like to sit still and the last time we went we went on a tour but wanted to adventure on our own.  Our solution was to book half […]

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visiting the sloth sanctuary where you can see sloths with kids in costa rica

Sloth Sanctuary (Cahuita, Costa Rica)

Trip planning is a joint decision in this household and one my husband and I make together.  When I first started  my “I want to visit Costa Rica” trip campaign to the hubby I reminded him of how wonderful a time we had when we went pre-kids and I told him that it would be […]

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