Staging Site

We covered another 200 miles on Sunday, and I felt as if we zipped by many great stops: Castle Crags, Burney Falls, McCloud. We should have stayed a night in Shasta before continuing onto Oregon but our plan to meet grandparents in Portland and cousins in Seattle didn't allow us to dally. No matter, we found a few sweet spots.

1) Whiskeytown Lake, outside Redding, Calif.

Lake Shasta is gorgeous but you'll find few beaches where kids can splash around on its shores. Whiskeytown, seven miles outside of Redding, is better for families with sandy beaches, shallow swimming lagoons, and easy hiking trails.

We walked a quarter-mile to Crystal Creek Falls and then got our feet wet at Oak Bottom Beach (pictured). We also checked out the Whiskeytown Dam that President John F. Kennedy dedicated two weeks before he was assassinated.

Hooray! The $5 park entrance fee was waived--National Trails Day!

2) Mount Shasta, Calif.

Typically, I point out everything that's outside the window to my kids, as if I were driving a tour bus. But between Redding and Shasta, I decided to keep quiet. I was curious to see what my children would discover on their own.

We drove by Lake Shasta without them saying a word. The lake is full, practically spilling over, and its waters were crystal blue. But my kids were too absorbed in the soundtrack from Princess and the Frog to notice.

Neither mentioned the gigantic rock formations looming above the green mountains as we passed Castle Crags State Park.

When our front windshield framed Mount Shasta, my 7-year-old daughter finally said something.
"Look there's Mount Everest!" she screamed.
"That's not Mount Everest. That's Mount Diablo," my 5-year-old son "corrected" her.
I decided to speak up and give them a lesson in mountain geography at that point.

3) Ashland, Ore.

Seeing a play wasn't in our budget, but the kids got their first introduction to Shakespeare in the Ashland Shakespeare Festival ticket office where there's a display of elaborate costumes (pictured above).

We also stepped into the Elizabethan theater (pictured below), where I tried to recite a portion of Romeo and Juliet that I had memorized in high school English class. "Why are you talking like that?" my daughter said. "You sound so weird."

4) Rogue Creamery, Central Point, Ore.

Cheese, glorious handmade, artisanal cheese is what you'll find at this 75-year-old creamery. The cheese counter is piled high with a dizzying array of varieties from lavender cheddar to Crater Lake blue, and the people behind the counter generously offer samples.
You can also buy local wines, homemade pickles, salted caramels, fresh produce, and all sorts of gourmet items that make perfect picnic fixings. It's the type of place you'd expect to stumble upon in the French country side--only it's right here in southern Oregon.

My kids loaded up on free samples. They especially liked the fresh curds.

5) Jacksonville, Ore.

This former mining town is the first place gold was discovered in Oregon. Today, it's one of eight cities in the U.S. named as a National Historic Landmark, and if you're driving through southern Oregon it's worth pulling off the I-5 to explore Jacksonville's storied past.

Downtown looks like the set out of a Western movie with over 100 historic buildings. As my son said, "Mom, I think this is where cowboys live. We need to go find the cowboys."

6) Wild Bunch 2010 art exhibit, Grants Pass.

"Mom, look! There are bears on motorcycles. I want to go there!"

"Huh? We need to get to our hotel."
"Mom, there! Stop the car!"
My son would probably tell you that the highlight of our I-5 road trip was an exhibit of kitschy fiberglass bear sculptures riding motorcycles on display in a parking lot in Grants Pass, Ore.
I grumbled as I met his demand and pulled the car over. But once I started to take a look at the art pieces I was quite entertained. The picture above features the "Bearinator" -- do you notice a resemblance between this guy and Arnold?
The exhibit will be on display through September 6 at various locations throughout Grants Pass.

7) Best Western Inn on the Rogue, Rogue River, Ore.

Our hotel sat across from the Rogue River and the grassy park pictured above. We arrived in the late afternoon and walked over to the river where a fisherman let my son hold his pole. Later we walked across the bridge into town for pizza.

Trip details
Miles: 210
Hours in car: 3

Expenses:

Gas: $25 (note: our car gets 35 mpg)
Breakfast: free at hotel
Lunch: $23 (Zoey's Cafe, Ashland)
Snack: $3 (Rogue Creamery)
Dinner: $15 (Abby's Pizza, Rogue River)
Hotel: $110 (Inn at the Rogue)

Total: $173

Trip totals

Miles: 500
Hours in car: 9
Expenses: $354.63

Day 2: Sacramento to Redding Read Post

California I-5 road trip: S.F. to Seattle

Day 2: Sacramento to Redding

On day 2 of our trip we covered 170 miles, traveling from Sacramento to Redding. Many would argue that this is one of the most boring stretches of I-5 but we found plenty to do. Here are five highlights from our day:

1) California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento.

We started our day at this museum in Old Town. We took our kids here about two years ago, when my son was 3 years old and obsessed with Thomas the Train. Now that my kids are older, ages 5 and 7, they're actually interested in the stories behind the dozens of trains housed here.

Our favorite story was about the No. 1 Gov. Stanford, a 40-ton wood-burning steam locomotive that was the pioneer engine of the Central Pacific Railroad. It was built in 1862, then disassembled, put in crates and shipped around Cape Horn from Boston to San Francisco.
A docent named Glenn explained that the steam locomotive was retired in 1895 and eventually put on display at Stanford University. During World War II, trains were being turned into scrap metal but someone had the sense to hide the Gov. Stanford behind a brick wall in a warehouse. Today, this beautifully restored engine is the first train you encounter inside the museum.

2) Granzella's Williams, Calif.

In 2007, this popular family-owned Italian restaurant and deli, an hour north of Sacramento, burned to the ground. It recently reopened and many travelers argue that the newer, shinier version lacks the charm of the original old wood building. But this isn't stopping people from pulling off the freeway because when we visited on Saturday afternoon, I could hardly find a parking spot.
The Reuben sandwich my husband and I shared was delicious. It was layered with corned beef, sauerkraut, peppers, and melted Swiss cheese. My kids sandwich was stuffed with thick slices of peppery salami.

3) Hot Rod Show, Williams, Calif.

Downtown Williams, where we stopped for lunch at Granzella's, was hosting a Hot Rod Show. We walked along the main drag lined with an array of eye-popping cars.

4) Sundial Bridge, Redding, Calif.

This ultramodern $23 million bridge designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava spans the Sacramento River, and it's breathtaking.
We stopped by in the afternoon (pictured) and later returned in the evening when a jazz band was playing at a cafe overlooking the bridge. The sounds of Miles Davis could be heard clear across the other side of the bridge. The night was warm and muggy, yet the Trinity Alps in the distance were capped with snow. Swarms of swallows were circling the bridge, and a parade of Indian men wearing suits and women wearing gorgeous saris were walking across the bridge on their way to a wedding. Let's just say that we didn't feel as if we were in Redding.

5) Damburger, Redding, Calif.

In 1938, Bud Pennington had the enterprising idea to sell hamburgers from a tent outside the hiring hall for the construction of Shasta Dam. He was 18 years old. At that time customers could buy a "Damburger," a piece of pie and a cup of coffee for 25 cents.
Today, his business lives on at this restaurant, where the hamburgers are pounded flat like a pancake and cooked until the edges are crispy. My daughter said, "It tastes like bacon."

Trip details
Miles: 170
Hours in car: 3
Expenses:

Breakfast: free at hotel
Lunch: $14.63 (Granzella's)
Dinner: $25 (Damburger)
Entertainment: $22 (train museum)
Parking: $5 (Old Town Sac)
Hotel: $115 (Best Western Twin View Suites)

Total: $181.63
Trip totals

Miles: 290
Hours in car: 6
Expenses: $299.63

Day 1: San Francisco to Sacramento Read Post

California I-5 road trip: S.F. to Seattle

Day 1: San Francisco to Sacramento

There's something about the weather that ev'rybody loves. They call it the Indian spring of Sacramento. And when the sun is up in the sky The wind is blowing by the riverside most ev'ry day. You're in Sacramento, a wonderful town. Sing, sing, sing, din-di-din.

—"Sacramento," Middle of the Road

Why is it that you always end up leaving for a road trip several hours later than planned?

There are always those last-minute errands, that pair of swim trunks that you can't find, and the cat, who you forgot needs to be fed by someone while you're away.

It wasn't surprising that we left for our I-5 road trip later than expected and encountered traffic hell going to Sacramento. I found myself wondering why they don't set up a walking lane on Highway 80 on Friday afternoons.

Enough about traffic because we eventually make it to Sacramento. Here are three highlights from our evening.

1) The Nut Tree, Vacaville.

Above is a photo of my kids sticking their heads through the legendary Nut Tree Wall. Can't see their faces?

Here's a closeup.

When we couldn't take the traffic any longer, we pulled over at this legendary road stop. The Nut Tree originally opened as a fig stand in 1921, evolving over time into a major tourist complex on Interstate 80. For decades travelers stopped for pineapple marshmallow delight in its restaurant and then rode the little red train that circled the shady grounds.

Today, a smaller version of the Nut Tree lives on. The original train chugs around a courtyard surrounded by some restaurants and shops. We also found the original carousel and of course the Nut Tree Wall.

2) Discovery Park, Sacramento.

We arrived in Sacramento at dusk. The kids were ready to run around so we pulled off the freeway to go to this 160-acre park at the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers.

3) Quan Nem Ninh Hoa, Sacramento.

We were delighted by the food at this restaurant that's the No. 1 rated Vietnamese restaurant in Sacramento on Yelp.

The photo above is of the $13.99 special, which is basically "make your own spring rolls." Our waitress carried little plates of food to our table: vermicelli noodles; skewers of charbroiled pork; a pile of fresh lettuce, cilantro, basil, and mint; pickled carrots and daikon; bowls full of sweet peanut sauce; fried egg rolls; and then rice paper that you soak in water before stuffing with your choice of ingredients.

Our waitress showed us how to make the spring rolls.

4) Best Western Sandman Motel

My kids would tell you that this is one of their favorite hotels ever. They loved the animal statues placed around the hotel grounds. There was a "Bambi" right outside our room door, and an alligator swimming in the pond with a real waterfall. My husband and I liked this hotel for its location. It sits right on a walking path that traces the Sacramento River and takes you right into Old Town where you'll find shops, restaurants, and train museum.

Trip details

Miles: 120
Hours in car: 3

Expenses:

Dinner: $33
Hotel: $80 (Best Western Sandman)
Entertainment: $5

Total: $118

Read the complete I-5: San Francisco to Seattle series.

Hello Sacramento! Read Post

I-5 road trip: S.F. to Seattle

Hello Sacramento!

We kicked off our trip with a TV segment in Sacramento:

Summer road trip 2010: San Francisco to Seattle. Read Post

I-5 road trip: S.F. to Seattle

Summer road trip 2010: San Francisco to Seattle.

The Griswolds are on the road again!

Well, not quite. It's just my family piling into the car for yet another summer road trip. Yet while my husband isn't anything like Clark and would never crash the car through closed road barriers and sail us all through the air (we hope), there will certainly be some laughs on our trip with a 5- and 7-year-old riding in the backseat.
Last year, we traveled along the Mississippi River. The year before that we zipped along Route 66. This summer, we're driving I-5 from San Francisco to Seattle.
We've driven this stretch of highway many times. Typically, we're in a rush to get to my aunt and uncle's house. But on this vacation, we're taking it slow and spending nine days to cover over 800 miles.
We're excited about walking across the Sundial Bridge in Redding, visiting the Oregon Vortex where balls roll uphill, and strolling through the zoo in Portland. We want to stop at the fruit stands outside Sacramento and track down food carts in Portland, which supposedly dish up some yummy and cheap food.
Sound fabulous? Well, there's a catch. We're on a budget of $200 a day. This might sound like a lot to those who traveled around Europe on a shoestring budget, but keep in mind that our daily allotment must cover gas, lodging, attractions, and food.
How will we do it? Over the next week, I'll be telling you exactly how. I plan to share the good, the bad, and the ugly, and offer up practical tips on how you can travel on a budget. And I hope that you'll provide me with some guidance along the way. Know of a great place for cheap food in Sacto? Got a favorite roadside attraction along I-5 in Oregon? I'd love to hear about it.

Cutest travel game ever! Read Post

Cutest travel game ever!

We're taking off for a summer road trip next month, and so I'm starting to shop for some new travel games to keep the kids entertained in the car. I came across this adorable handmade tic-tac-toe set on Etsy. It's made of 100% felt and decorated in diverse embroidered technique. $30. More info.

Drive, fly, or take the train? Read Post

Drive, fly, or take the train?

Everyone in the travel industry is talking about it. Airlines are up this summer. If you didn't book weeks ago, you're going to be hard pressed to find any deals for June, July, or August.

So if you're traveling on a budget, does that mean you should opt for a road trip or train travel? Are these options cheaper?

USA Today answers this question in a recent article by looking at the cost of travel for three summer trips. Boston to New York City, Los Angeles to Las Vegas and Indianapolis to Chicago. The writer priced out airfare, bus fare, train tickets, and road-trip fuel costs, and also calculated the amount of time each respective travel method would take. Each scenario shows round-trip per-person costs, including all taxes and fees. Estimated duration times are each-way. For the fuel test comparisons, the writer checked prices on AAA's Fuel Cost Calculator using a 2005 Honda Civic as an example.

Route: Boston/New York
Flight Price/Duration: $123/1h 20m
Train Price/Duration: $98/4h 10m (NE Regional), $221/3h 35m (Acela)
Bus Price/Duration: $19/4h 15m
Fuel Price/Duration: $42/3h 40m
Route: Los Angeles/Las Vegas
Flight Price/Duration: $130/1h
Train Price/Duration: No train option
Bus Price/Duration: $60/5h 45m
Fuel Price/Duration: $54/4h 20m
Route: Indianapolis/Chicago
Flight Price/Duration: $156/1h
Train Price/Duration: $56/5h 5m
Bus Price/Duration: $28/3h 15m
Fuel Price/Duration: $35/3h 6m

A camera kids can't break! Read Post

A camera kids can't break!

Mom and dad enjoy snapping pictures on family trips--why not let kids get in on the fun?

This real digital camera from Fisher Price is tough enough, and easy enough, for kids to use themselves. The buttons are big and easy for little hands to press. And the controls are simple to follow. Store up to 500 pictures with 64 MB of internal memory. Requires four AAA batteries. Retails for around $50. More info here.

My new favorite iPhone app for travel: AAA TripTik Read Post

AAA

My new favorite iPhone app for travel: AAA TripTik

You're on a road trip, in the middle of nowhere, nearly out of gas, what do you do?

If you have an iPhone you check out AAA's latest app, AAA TripTik, that allows you to find gas stations close to your locations--and not only that. It will provide fuel prices at those stations so you can locate the cheapest price.

Yet again, the auto club comes to the rescue. This time with a GPS-enabled app that's basically a mobile version of the popular TripTik travel planner available at AAA.com. It similarly shows fuel prices and spots AAA Approved hotels and restaurants, attractions, AAA offices and other points of interest near a user’s location. Hotel information includes AAA’s Diamond Ratings based on professional in-person inspections and the option to call for reservations with the touch of a button. What's more, this app is free.

Kids Night Out Bingo Read Post

Dining out

Kids Night Out Bingo

We all eat out more when we're traveling. It's part of the fun. But when you have young kids--who can't sit still for longer than 10 minutes--it can be challenging.

Enter Kid's Night Out Bingo, a great game designed to keep little ones entertained in restaurants.

This twist on the classic is completely self-contained and portable, with punch-through icons to mark success in bingo (and not chewing with their mouths open).

Purchase the game for $8 here.

Smarter Travel: 5 off-peak summer destinations Read Post

Smarter Travel: 5 off-peak summer destinations

Summer is the most popular time for family travel because the kids are out of school. But it's also an expensive time to hit the road.

Smarter Travel came up with these five destinations where you'll actually find lower air fares and hotel rates in June, July, August.

1) St. Lucia — Many tourists stay away during hurricane seasons but the storms rarely touch ground.
2) Costa Rica — Summer is the rainy season but temperatures are still in the high 70s.
3) Miami — Summer humidity and hurricane warnings keep many tourists at bay, which means the beaches, hotels, restaurants, everything is less crowded.
4) Sri Lanka — It's Monsoon season on this island south of India, but the rain usually stops in the late afternoon and you can enjoy the spectacular scenery and wildlife.
5) Australia — It's winter time down under but even then the weather is quite pleasant.

Read the full story.

Kids addicted to computer games less likely to travel later in life Read Post

Kids addicted to computer games less likely to travel later in life

As 3-D technology improves, children are increasingly able to visit exotic, virtual worlds simply by parking themselves in front of a computer screen.

Futurologist Ian Yeoman, author of Tomorrow's Tourist, is predicting that this will curb kids' curiosity in exploring the real world.

In a report sponsored by Lastminutetravel.com, Yeoman said that kids who are spending their time playing computer games and surfing the Internet are less likely to travel.

What's he basing this on?

Trends he has studied in Japan.

Yeoman says: “They’ve had deflation and also the Japanese consumer has gone inward. So what they’ve seen in the last ten years is that they’re spending more now on in-home entertainment and technology rather than traveling the world. That’s an indicator of what could happen here.”

Source: Marketing Times

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivanwalsh/ / CC BY 2.0

Don't forget to sign your kids up for frequent-flier programs Read Post

Budget Tips

Don't forget to sign your kids up for frequent-flier programs

It's a huge mistake so many parents make--they sign themselves up for the airline frequent flier program but they never take the time to fill out the forms for their kids.

Yes, it's a hassle, but you should take the time because you don't want to throw miles out the window.

My kids recently became members of Virgin's Elevate program and at first I tried to sign them up online. But the system wouldn't allow me to do it and it wasn't clear why. I called customer service and the problem was that you can use only one email and I was using the same email for my account, and trying to use the same one for theirs. They're only 5 and 7 so they don't have email addresses.

And so I had to get them email addresses...sounds like a lot of work but they're already flown Virgin three times and they're on their way to a free flight.

Budget Travel: 15 places every kid shcould see Read Post

Budget Travel: 15 places every kid shcould see

Budget Travel magazine has put together a list of 15 places all kids should see. This list is a great resource as you plan your summer travels.

You'll find an excerpt below and can find the full story by clicking here.

1) Ellis Island Museum, New York City: About 40 percent of Americans are descended from someone who immigrated through this station. Visiting is a powerful experience, thanks to the smartly curated exhibits—and you get a terrific view of the Statue of Liberty on the same ferry ride (ellisisland.org, free guided tours, audio tours $8).

2) Ground Zero, New York City: The hole in lower Manhattan is sacred ground. The nearby Tribute-WTC Center exhibits crushed firefighter helmets and other recovered items (tributewtc.org, $10, students $5, kids under 12 free).

3) Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.: This is a city of inspiring sights: the Washington Monument, Arlington National Cemetery, and the Jefferson and Vietnam Veterans memorials. Still, the 19-foot marble statue of our 16th president is a can't-miss (nps.gov/linc, free).

4) Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Va.: Kids growing up with e-mail and iPods might not believe it, but there was life before electricity, and even before a United States. The 301-acre open-air museum features hundreds of restored, reconstructed, and historically furnished buildings, and costumed guides tell the stories of the men and women of the 18th-century city (history.org, $35, kids 6-17 $18).

5) USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii: Sunk by a surprise attack on December 7, 1941, the USS Arizona remains six feet below the water as a lasting monument to World War II veterans. A memorial that spans the sunken battleship was dedicated in 1962 (nps.gov/usar, free).

Click here for all 15.

Venice, La.: After Katrina, before the oil spill Read Post

Venice, La.: After Katrina, before the oil spill

Last summer, my family drove to Venice, La. This is one of the first places to be affected by the oil spill and so I thought I'd re-share this post. At the time, the area was recovering from Katrina and now they're being hit with this spill.

If you look at a satellite map and zone in on southern Louisiana, you'll see that the Mississippi River branches out into several water channels. Before dumping into the Gulf of Mexico, the channels run through skinny fingers of land, and on the last day of our road trip we take Highway 23 down one of these peninsulas to Venice. A two-hour drive from New Orleans, the town is the most southern community on the Mississippi accessible by automobile and many refer to it as the end of the world.
Our drive through the lower Mississippi River delta immerses us in a landscape that's long and flat, vast and mysterious, even mystical. The land rises only an inch or so above sea level and it is so low-lying that at a distance it disappears into a blend of sky and water. The road is surrounded on either side by levees, which serve as protection when the Mississippi water level rises, and as we drive I feel as if the smallest wave could cover us in water.

Highway 23 also offers a front-row view of Hurricane Katrina damage. The storm hit southeastern Louisiana on August 29, 2005, and it completely destroyed Venice and nearby towns, leaving them 10 to 20 feet under water. We pass demolished homes, fire stations, and grocery stores with sunken roofs, broken windows, and fallen walls. Rusty cars are piled high in open fields; dejected boats clutter the roadside.

While the devastation is apparent, signs of rebirth are even more discernible. The community has worked hard to rebuild and new construction is everywhere. We drive by countless new homes, most of them lifted high up off the ground on stilts.

The kids spot a shiny new playground, constructed with funds from Project Rebuild Plaquemines, a nonprofit organization established after the hurricane to assist with restoration of the area. A sign reads: "This park is dedicated to those whose lives were forever changed by Katrina--those who lost so much and those whose generosity helped to restore what was lost. Let it be known that this storm has marked us and changed us, but we have persevered." It's a gorgeous playground but nobody is there.

Where do you grab a bite to eat at the end of the world? The Riverside Cafe in Venice is one of the few places. We walk into a dimly lit room with deer trophies decorating the walls. A few men wearing rubber boots that ride up past their knees sit around picnic tables. We're clearly the only people eating in the restaurant who don't work on a fishing boat or an oil platform. We order some fried catfish, which tastes as if it was just pulled out of the river.
Our waitress, Leslie Smith, tells us the restaurant was under 15 feet of water after Katrina. She says that's why the mural of a swamp on the back wall is faded. It was painted by a French man who traveled through town, bedded down with the cafe owners, and paid for his keep by painting the back wall of their restaurant. "We're so glad the mural survived," Smith says. "It's special."

Smith was born and raised in Venice. She moved up the road to Belle Chasse after Katrina hit but eventually came back to her hometown and now teaches at the K-12 school that she attended as a child. "Why did you come back?" I ask her. "There's no place like home," she says. "And that's how 90 percent of the people who lived here before Katrina felt. People wanted to come back. They moved into tents because their homes were demolished. They wanted to live here on this land."
We drive 10 miles down the road beyond the cafe, past a marina where some fishing boats are docked. This is a popular spot for sport-fishing, and the few outsiders who do visit this part of the world come to catch fish.

As we head further south, water laps up against the road and sections are under several inches of water. Egrets and cranes wade through the small lakes. The birds get thicker and thicker and we have to drive slowly.

The road suddenly ends. A sign reads: "You have reached the southern most point in Louisiana." We stop to take photos of the sign. A crab scurries across the road.

We drove over 2,5000 miles to reach the mouth of the river--and taking a few photos of the sign doesn't satisfy us. I want a more poignant conclusion to our trip. We decide that we'd like to rent a motor boat and travel further down the river and so we follow signs to Bud's Boat Rentals. On the way we meet a friendly pelican who probably would have let me touch him if I tried.

It turns out that Bud's doesn't rent boats to families like us. Rather the business runs supply boats between Venice and the oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. We learn this from Roy Mareno, Jr., who is sitting behind a big desk.
The dark gray clouds outside start dumping rain and so we give up on our plans to find a boat rental. Instead we pull up chairs in Mareno's office. He's a bivocational minister, working as a manager at Bud's and as a pastor at a church in nearby Port Sulphur. When he tells us about his town he's passionate and intense. I can easily picture him speaking to his congregation.
Mareno tells us about enduring Katrina and about the tight-knit community who pulled through the storm. We ask him why people would want to come back to this area that's so vulnerable and clearly exposed to Mother Nature's forces. That's when he starts to tell us about the fish he pulls out of the water and the alligators that come out in the early evening and about the cranes that are pink because they eat so much shrimp. He was born and raised in Venice and he cherishes the area's natural beauty. He's not leaving.
We have been following the river for over two weeks; the river has worked its way into our souls and at the end of our journey it somehow seems fitting to meet someone who has a deep, spiritual connection to the river.
Listen to a sound bite from Mareno here:

The Hawaii jar: My new way of saving for a trip Read Post

The Hawaii jar: My new way of saving for a trip

Gone are the days of putting a vacation on the credit card. With interest rates skyrocketing and credit limits shrinking, it just doesn't make sense.

My daughter and I are now saving for a trip the old-fashioned way. We've put a big glass jar in a kitchen cabinet and we're stuffing it with money that will eventually pay for the two of us to go to Hawaii.

When I have extra change in my pockets, I put it in the jar. When I'm feeling depressed by the cold weather and wishing I was in a tropical place, I grab a twenty from my wallet.

My daughter is only 7 years old, so she's putting her allowance and tooth fairy money in the jar.

Photo credit: bb-shopping.com

8 'things' all kids should see in D.C. Read Post

family fun

8 'things' all kids should see in D.C.

If you ask my daughter what her favorite thing was about Washington, D.C., she'd tell you seeing Abraham Lincoln's hat at the American History Museum. She was absolutely fascinated by this top hat that the former President was wearing when he was assassinated.

During our trip to D.C. I realized that these individual things on display in the museums--Einstein's light bulb, Dorothy's ruby red slippers--helped bring American history alive for my children. When my daughter saw Lincoln's hat, she realized that he was a real person--it humanized him.

And so I came up with this list of 9 things kids should see on a visit to D.C., all of them on display at a Smithsonian museum offering free admission.

1) Julia Child's Kitchen at the American History Museum. All of the ordinary and unusual utensils are on display in this simple, retro-looking kitchen that was once in Julia's home. Kids love watching the cooking shows playing on a TV.

2) Hope Diamond at the Natural History Museum. When you tell your kids that you're going to see the biggest diamond they'll probably be a little disappointed when they see that it's not much bigger than a walnut. But this teaches the lesson that good things can come in small packages.

3) Faith Bradford's Doll House at the American History Museum. You could wait in line for 30 minutes to see Dorothy's ruby red slippers, or you could spend that time studying this five-story doll house with more than a thousand miniatures including a tiny goldfish aquarium and kitchen cupboards with real cut glass.

4) Star Spangled Banner at the American History Museum. It's the flag that U.S. soldiers raised at Baltimore’s Fort McHenry to celebrate a crucial victory over British forces during the War of 1812--and it inspired our national anthem.

5) Bell X-1 at the Air and Space Museum. Piloted by U.S. Air Force Capt. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager, this was the first aircraft to break the sound barrier and kids love anything that goes really, really fast.

6) The Peacock Room in the Freer Gallery. An opulent London dining room painted by Whistler in 1876–77.

7) Gilbert Stuart's "Lansdowne" painting of George Washington at the National Portrait Gallery. Your children will forever remember who our country's first president was after standing in front of this full-length portrait.

8) Little Dancer Age 14 at the National Gallery of Art. Little girls love this sculpture depicting a ballet student. It's one of Edgar Degas' most famous pieces.

Best Western: Stay twice, get $50 Read Post

Best Western: Stay twice, get $50

Stay twice at a Best Western through May 30, and you'll receive a $50 gift card.

Join Best Western Rewards and register for the Promotion prior to your next stay.

For more details.

Washington, D.C. cherry blossoms Read Post

Washington, D.C. cherry blossoms

"Mommy it looks like it's snowing!"

We were standing underneath a grove a cherry blossom trees in full bloom in Washington, D.C. When a gust of wind swept through the tiny delicate petals fell gently to the ground.

Those trees were absolutely spectacular. Here are a few photos: