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2013 Toyota Highlander Hybrid: More Space, Luxury, and Better Gas Mileage, Too

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...

Stress-Free Travel is Right Under Your Nose

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...

5 Summer Vacation Ideas for Teens

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...

Summer Vacation at the Boar's Head Inn in Charlottesville, Virginia

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...

Join In Our Instagram #TMOMphoto Meme

This month we are hosting our first Traveling Moms Instagram meme and we would love to have you join in the fun!

Summer Fun at Midwest Lake Resorts

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...

Best Advice for Planning Your Summer Vacation

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....

A Jersey Girl’s Ode to the Jersey Shore

“’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...

May 27 Twitter Party: Summer Travel Planning

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...

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Family Travel Experts

Family Travel Stories and Ideas

Family Indulgence: Grand Hyatt New York
Vegetarian TravelingMomFamily Indulgence: Grand Hyatt New York

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 [ ... ]

5 Fun Runs to Try This Summer
Marathon TravelingMom5 Fun Runs to Try This Summer

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  [ ... ]

Summer at Universal Studios Hollywood, What’s New?
GoodnCrazy TravelingMomSummer at Universal Studios Hollywood, What’s New?

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."

Boston Roadtrip with the Ford C-Max Hybrid
Vegetarian TravelingMomBoston Roadtrip with the Ford C-Max Hybrid

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 [ ... ]

Going to Thailand With Kids- By Kids
Middle East TravelingMomGoing to Thailand With Kids- By Kids

We, the Year 3 class of Ajman Academy in the United Arab Emirates, wrote this article in order to help parents know what to expect in Thailand when travelling with kids. Since we are 7-9 years old, we researched what to do in Thailand from a kid’s perspective. We had to do a lot of thinking and re [ ... ]

Teaching Children a Lesson on Travel
Middle East TravelingMomTeaching Children a Lesson on Travel

Recently, I had the opportunity to teach my Year 3 students of Ajman Academy all about planning and taking a trip.

In our school, we follow the PYP model of education, where we break our year up into six blocks, each one focusing on a transdisciplinary theme and central idea. Within each idea, there [ ... ]

Dell Rapids, South Dakota: A Great Plains Step Back in Time
Pets and Service Dog TravelingmomDell Rapids, South Dakota: A Great Plains Step Back in Time

Dell Rapids is a beautiful and quaint piece of Americana history with its Pink Rose Quartz buildings from the local quarry. Along the banks of the picturesque Big Sioux River since 1871, this small community of 3,650 is located approximately 15 minutes north of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This l [ ... ]

Back to a Family Vacation Spot 22 Years Later

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vacationSnow sports are particularly enticing when you live on the Georgia side of the Florida border where it’s almost always sunny and warm. That’s why my husband and I took our boys when they were 10 and 14 years old to North Carolina’s High Country for some ski lessons at Sugar Mountain. I think the year was 1990.

We went back without them to welcome 2012, see how the memories felt and find out what’s new.

Saw many more families than solo couples like us, and lots of evidence that outdoor fun at Sugar and three other mountain resorts works well, even with toddlers.

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Watching the others snow tube and zip line is perfectly good family time on the big deck at Hawksnest.


I kept an eye on the bunny slope and children’s ski lessons. We play a lot of I Spy with the many generations in and out of our house, and I was trying to spot a kid like my 10-year old Andrew those many years ago.

Clever kid then and now. Andrew conquered the kid stuff, got on the lift and skied down long hills several times before we returned to claim the boys after their lesson.

That’s how he took to scuba lessons too but that’s another travel story for another day and destination--  Cozumel, Mexico.

Andrew’s four-year-old daughter needs to go to this North Carolina High Country with me.

She already cuddles with a stuffed black bear that sits on a shelf in my North Georgia mountain cabin.

It came from mile-high Grandfather Mountain and I’d like to take her birding and bear viewing there.

I also want to take her to the Land of Oz. Auntie Em’s house, red slippers, enchanted forest, yellow brick road.

IMG 1570
There really is a Land of Oz with a yellow brick road on top of Beech Mountain.


That’s on top of Beech Mountain with an early October festival each year. Elevation at Beech is 5,506. Snowy and blustery my January day on the top at Oz, never more than 74 degrees on a hot summer day.

So what’s my blended family lesson? You can go back, fine without the fun of those little boys, happy as adults alone, and dreaming about which generation to invite next time.

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 Blended Family Mom Christine Tibbetts snow tubing without her children.


Top PhotoSki lessons at Sugar Mountain seem like a vital beginning.
 
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Author Profile: BlendedFamily TravelingMom  - Website

Christine Tibbetts filters travel through her blended, multi-generational "his, hers, ours and theirs" family eye. Follow her also on www.TibbettsTravel.com.

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Family Freebies

The Classic Road Trip with a Modern Twist!
The Classic Road Trip with a Modern Twist!

As the price to fly continues to rise, and the inconveniences rise, more and more people, and especially families, are turning back to the good, old-fashioned road trip.

My pa [ ... ]

Milwaukee for Free: 14 Ways to Have Fun
Milwaukee for Free: 14 Ways to Have Fun

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 [ ... ]

Five Free Family Friendly Attractions in Skagway, Alaska
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One glimpse of Skagway and it’s easy to see why this quaint Alaskan town is a popular port for cruise ships sailing along Alaska’s Inside Passage. Skagway offers beautiful [ ... ]