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Summer vacations for some families mean active adventures, while for others the summer is a perfect time to start exploring college campuses. Imagine being able to do both in one...
This month we are hosting our first Traveling Moms Instagram meme and we would love to have you join in the fun!
Planning your family vacation can be overwhelming--where to go, what to do, how to get there, you name it. There are a lot of details to planning a summer vacation....
Thomas Jefferson advised the we should have a revolution every 20 years. He meant government, but the idea applies to anything: If we don’t continually rethink how we do what...
Midwest winters can seem endless. The payoff? Perfect summer temperatures! Each year I vow to savor every minute of the warm weather. Although I can’t put everything on hold, I...
Air travel can be stressful nowadays with long lines, flight delays and cramped seating. Add luggage, children, strollers and even pets to the mix and you have a veritable powder...
Teens sometimes get a bad rap. People think they’re hard to please and harder to travel with. But the key to traveling with teens—and keeping the whole family happy—is to...
Summertime's almost here – time to start planning your summer travels! We've taken the guesswork out of your planning by seeking out advice from top family travel writers from across...
“’Cause down the shore everything’s all right.” ---Tom Waits, JERSEY GIRL Some see the Jersey Shore as a travel destination, a place to take the family for a couple of...
Your passport is gone and you are in another county. What are you going to do? Misplacing your passport is enough to strike terror in the hearts of any traveler but imagine you are 15, traveling with your aunt to Paris on your first-ever international trip, and you set down your airplane ticket and [ ... ]
One of the best ways to experience new places is to eat the local favorite. Each country, state, region and even city has a dish that allows you to have a unique culinary experience while visiting. It tells me about the destination and the people who call it home.
Unfortunately, I can’t travel all [ ... ]
Heading to Las Vegas with the family this summer? Not to worry, here's a quick list of my Top 5 picks to keep all ages satisfied: Wet-N-Wild Las Vegas is the place to be this summer. Nevada's premier water park will offer over 25 slides and attractions. Several of the attractions are named after fa [ ... ]
Train travel is often associated with romance and air travel (at least nowadays) with hassle. Similarly, hotel airports have a seedy reputation, while a hotel in a train station sounds elegant.
My kids and I have stayed at the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Downtown Union Station, with rooms in an actual [ ... ]
Playing in the mud, getting splashed with paint, lighting up the night or getting chased by zombies all add a little excitement to the typical 5K race. Fun runs are all the rage and a great way to get newbies involved in running; or to give veteran runners a change of pace. Most fun runs remove the [ ... ]
Head over to Universal Studios Hollywood for two new rides and an expanded Studio Tour! It’s a perfect Summer Vacation Idea. Plus, right now when you “a day you get the rest of 2013 free."
As a runner, I wanted to pay my respects to the Boston Marathoners; as an environmentalist, I didn’t want to use a lot of gas to go to ston.
We had no choice but to drive to Boston to pick my daughter up at college; the self-same daughter who refuses to eat industrialized food or buy clothing pr [ ... ]
The college visit is fraught with expectation, for both the parents and the child; will she like the campus? The students? The school colors? Then there’s the worry; what if she likes it too much, and doesn’t get in?
So it is with Brown, the school I really wanted to go to, but didn’t get in to. It is still as I remember it, a gorgeous campus in a cute, small city. I didn’t want to sway my daughter’s opinion, but Hallie had already decided before she ever stepped foot on campus, that Brown was for her. The info session and tour only served to reinforce this feeling. And putting aside my own feelings – I wasn’t bitter, but when my younger sister got in (and went there) I was really pissed. We had similar grades, scores, extracurriculars. What did she have that I didn’t have? And what did Hallie have to set her apart from the 300 or so kids at our info session.
Yes, it was the height of college tour season, spring break, and Brown was apparently the only godless school on the east coast to offer tours on Good Friday. The overflow crowd teemed with dark-haired Jews like us, but I know I saw a couple of crosses on kids at the info session. College trumps Christianity, I guess.
Hallie loved the self-directed nature of Brown, the historic buildings, the lack of a core curriculum. She loved our tour guide, a cute, funny guy from New Jersey, and she loved that she could walk to a number of coffee shops and get a chai latte, just like at home.
But after seeing something like 18 colleges, she made a dramatic switch. She no longer wanted to be in a city, having grown up in one. Although applying early to Brown would double her chances of getting in, she was no longer even that interested in the school. She did apply, but in the regular pool (13% acceptance rate) and didn’t get in. But she got into 8 of the 10 schools she did applied to. Unfortunately, she hadn’t actually seen any of them, starting a frenzied new round of tours, the accepted student tour.
Since I have two more kids, our family has two more shots at getting in Brown. My secret hope? One of them applies, gets in – and rejects the school. Um – if anyone from the Brown admissions office is reading this – can you take a joke?
Read Judy's blog at Veggie Mom.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin has big city attractions and a friendly Midwestern vibe. Families can take in a Brewers game, or tour a brewery (with soft drinks for the kids). There are [ ... ]
There is nothing like casting your line in and fishing away your worries….okay, I seriously can’t say that, because I am not much of a fisherman. Yes, I go fishing, but mo [ ... ]
Police, Fire and EMS Appreciation Days return in May. Police officers, fire fighters and EMS employees can receive a free single day admission to LEGOLAND Florida, along with [ ... ]
