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Four Common New Orleans Scams to Avoid

Sip in More of New Orleans Spooky Things to do in New Orleans New Orleans Cemetery Tour How to do New Orleans with Kids…and Their Grandparents

12 Tips for Teaching Kids to Ski (even before they hit the slopes)

Learning to ski is no easy feat for adults and for little ones it can be even more challenging, or so I have learned over the last few years watching and skiing with my two daughters. Teaching kids to...

Travel Trivia: 16 Things About Steamboat Springs

Welcome to the city of Steamboat Springs! Ok, not really but hey, it’s just a plane ride (or road trip) away. Being a history buff, lover of data points, fun facts – and the Olympics – I’ve put together...

12 Tips for Traveling with Seniors

My grandfather ran five miles a day and played golf until his mid 80’s. My cousin, in her mid-70’s skied ever week in Aspen during the winter months and hiked 14rs in the summer. They are two of my...

Things to do in Cozumel with Kids: Chankanaab Park

I’ve been to Cozumel in Mexico a few times, but this past Thanksgiving marked the first time I’d traveled there with with kids. In other words, no Senor Frogs or lazy day at beach with a bucket of Corona...

A Winemakers Tale: Adam Campbell, Elk Cove Vineyards

Welcome to this month’s edition of A Winemakers Tale where I feature interviews with winemakers from different wine regions around the world. Seeing as I’m still feeding (or rather sipping) my mild obsession with Oregon wine country I have...

Things to Do in Memphis: Beale Street

Beale Street in Memphis is known as the birthplace of rock and roll, most recently it also took the honor of being named the top Favorite Iconic American Street by The 10Best Readers’ Choice via USA Today. Two of...

A Winemakers Tale: Alexandrine Roy, Winemaker for Phelps Creek Vineyards & Domaine Marc Roy

Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are two of my favorite summer wines. This summer I discovered two new favorites from Phelps Creek Vineyards in the Oregon wine country. I recently had the privilege to interview its winemaker, Alexandrine Roy who brings a bit of old world to...

A search for THE best laptop backpack for tech gear. Review: STM Impulse Laptop Backpack

I love bags. A bit to much to be honest. The Husband has at times called me the ‘The Bag Lady’ and frequently encourages me to sell my collection. It’s not that I’m obsessed with bags, but rather I’m...

New Orleans Cemetery Tour (photo and history tour)

Visiting a cemetery isn’t something I typically seek out for fun, not even on Halloween. Which explains why I had yet to visit a New Orleans cemetery until our recent trek back to the Big Easy. It wasn’t so...

Things to do with Kids in Denver: The Denver Puppet Theater

I had big plans this summer. Plans that included trying two new places every week with the Princesses. Two weekly adventures we had not yet experienced in Denver. Essentially, checking off things to do with kids in Denver on...

Things to Know About WiFi on Planes & a Review of Gogo

For many travelers, especially frequent business travelers, having WiFi on planes is not their cup of tea. It’s simply the only time they can really disconnect. I understand and can appreciate that, but for me, and many other travelers,...

Things to do in Memphis: Visiting Graceland

If you’re in Memphis, visiting Graceland is a must! Or is was for me. I’m not a die hard Elvis fan, but come on it’s Elvis. Thirty-six years after his passing he’s still regarded as one of the most...

An Interview with Fat Tire Bike Tours Berlin

Last month The Husband had a last minute trip to Berlin, too last minute for me to tag along. Besides being bummed that I couldn’t go, I knew he would more than likely make the trip without seeing much...

Things to do in Denver: A Day in Washington Park Denver

We weren’t lost according to The Husband (then boyfriend) but we had no idea where we were. And that blue dot on the map on my iPhone that now saves the day had yet to be invented. To top...

Interview with a Winemaker, Austin Home of Hope Family Wines

A Spotlight on Wineries in Paso Robles With Austin Hope of Hope Family Wines Earlier this year I spent some time exploring several wineries in Paso Robles, where I discovered many new wines and totally fell for the region...

The American Flag: Photo Essay Celebrating Independence Day

Every morning for 10 years I stood in front of a desk saluting a flag, reciting a sentence etched in my memory. It was something the school did to begin the day. Something I did every morning without thinking;...

Sometimes a Souvenir Can Be Much More Than Just a Souvenir

It wasn’t just any courtroom. It was a Russian courtroom, in Chita, Siberia – The City of Exiles. The famed city in Russia where prominent intellectuals, including the Decembrist and many more were exiled. A “closed city” that foreigners...

Paso Robles Wine in Pictures

Ten years ago the Paso Robles wine region was home to only 35 wineries, that number has since grown to more than 200. As Matthew Liberty noted in a guest post for Carpe Travel, Paso Robles is not so...

Travel Inspiration: The more people who travel, the better the world would be.

My kids teach me a lot. Sometimes I think they teach me more than I will ever be able to teach them…especially when it comes to life. Children don’t filter themselves, their thoughts or what they loudly blurt out...

Aspiring to Inspire You to Make Your Travel Dreams Reality (and telling cancer to f-off)

This post has nothing to do with travel, yet it has everything to do with travel. Mondays are usually the dreaded day of the week. The one we reluctantly start. The one where the emails in the morning require...

Vacation Unplugged: How to unplug and enjoy your vacation

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” If you’re one of the ‘50% of U.S. travelers expected to leave unused vacation days on the table this year’ I’m talking to you. When I was working in...

Nine Things to do in London with Kids

I have yet to visit London but it’s on the list. So I was excited to have Laura Abrar offer to share her list of things to do in London with kids as a guest a post. Do let us...

Being in the right place at the right time = an unforgettable day of Montalcino wine tasting at Caparzo

One of the more interesting parts of traveling and exploring a new area is getting lost. And that’s a pretty easy for me, especially in Italy. But while this little tale starts off with dead ends at every where,...

An Ode to The Little White House…Sometimes coming “home” is the best part of traveling

Today I said goodbye to my “first love”. No, not the guy in the photo. He’s stuck with me “until death do us part”. Rather the little white house in the background. The place that taught me what home...

10 Tips on How to Get Great Service When Traveling

Ever wonder why that guy got the upgrade to First Class and you didn’t? Or why you always seem to get a hotel room next to the elevator? Sometimes there are reasons, but there is always a way you...

Things to do in New Orleans (where to eat, drink and listen to music)

New Orleans has become somewhat of my second home, at least in my heart. It was on my first visit to New Orleans more than a decade ago (that makes me sound sooo old!) when I realized I HAD...

Literally stuck on the side of a mountain with no where to go but up…

Sometimes the worst decisions make for the best stories…such as driving from Telluride to Ouray over Imogene Pass during my past life, the one before kids. Telluride to Ouray Sitting in the hostel in Telluride, CO The Husband (really...

10 Life Lessons Learned in a Bounce House

I used to love bounce houses when I was a kid so it comes as no surprise to me that the Princesses are in heaven when they have the opportunity to enter one. As a parent, I’m a bit...

10 Travel Safety Tips For Kids

If you are a parent or someone responsible for looking out for little people then you know the fear I’m about to describe. The one when you are at the store, you turn around to look at something for...

Travels in Siberia (Chita Russia). In the winter. By myself. (Gulp…)

On Sunday it will be exactly a year ago when I stepped out of the car at DIA, kissed Princess One and The Husband goodbye. As I watched them driveway, it hit me. I’m traveling to Siberia (Chita Russia)…by...

Christmas in Moscow!

Since we weren’t really allowed to post photos this time last year from our trips to Moscow, I thought it was timely and appropriate to share a few holiday photos now. Christmas in Moscow is cold – and beautiful....

Road Trip? A Few Driving Safety Tips to Remember

If you are one of the 84.4 million motorists are expected to travel during the Christmas holiday listen up! Share the Road, a highway safety outreach program of the American Trucking Associations released a few driving safety tips to...

Plan family vacation based on family’s travel styles…and shoes?

Christmas vacation is right around the corner, and Spring Break is just a few months away meaning it’s time to start mapping out and plan family vacation. Every family is different though, so when I was sent the following...

When in Russia…what to wear?

I talk to a lot of families before they travel to Russia and there is one question I get time and time again that always makes me smile, “what do Russians wear in the winter”? “What should I pack?”...

The Original Space Bag, Travel Product Review

Travel Product Review: The Space Bags (video)

I’ve had to become a much more efficient packer since I’m always the one who seems to be sharing a suite case with BOTH Princesses. When packing for THREE people in ONE small, carry on bag for a four+...

The Encounter with TSA Flight Rules: Being Kicked Off a Flight by TSA

On a trip to Russia The Husband and I boarded our United flight, settled into our seats and took a deep breath. We were on our way. Or so we thought… When you’re flying into Moscow from the US...

Study Finds Many Not Using Vacation Days. Are You?

By Elaine N. Schoch Thought for the day: 65 percent of working Americans had unused vacation days at the end of 2011. Ouch. A study that was released last spring by Kelton Research for Radisson Hotels also found nearly...

Eight Easy Tips on How to Save Money for Vacation

My family travels a lot. Almost too much. Ok, too much, according to our American Express bill. But we LOVE to travel so we’ve done a few things to help save money beforehand. Doing things beforehand to save money...

10 Translation Apps Reviewed: Forget Being Lost in Translation When Traveling Abroad

When I travel internationally I try to learn key phrases and things to get by. Having taken Spanish for years in school and working in the restaurant business for way too long I know enough Spanish and Italian to...

Are Airport X-ray Scans REALLY Safe for Laptops?

So are airport x-ray scanners safe for laptops? The answer is no. At least according to me they aren’t. On my first jaunt to Russia I chose only to take my laptop and iPhone, forgoing the iPad. I mean...

Russian Bathrooms + Kids = Disaster

Before traveling to Russia several friends who had been there warned me about the bathrooms. Not only are they scary, but I was repeatedly told “toilet seats don’t exist”, they’re just a “big bowl on a stick shooting out...

How to Handle a Canceled Flight

By Elaine N. Schoch We’ve all been there. Your flight is canceled or delayed and you’re going to miss your meeting, delay the start to your vacation or for me, miss picking up my daughter from preschool. Now, that...

It all took place in a little town known as Ekatrinburg

If you’ve studied history, you may remember the story about the last Russian Czar, Nicholas II and his family being murdered in a little town called Ekatrinburg (also called Yekaterinburg) there by Bolsheviks at the Ipatiev House. But the...

My New Appreciation for Roped Lines

I admit, I’ve always taken roped lines for granted. You know the ones I’m talking about, the lines artificially formed with metal posts connected by thin cloth/rope that direct the masses into an orderly line to say go through...

Things to do in Moscow: A Visit to Red Square

We’ve made three trips to Russia since November and really have only been able to experience a little taste of what Moscow has to offer. On the list of things to do in Moscow – Red Square, The Kremlin…and...

Starbucks, a Russian Coffee House?

I’ve often mentioned my obsession with finding the best lattes when I travel but on our recent trip(s) to Moscow, Russia I had no such interest. Normally, I would seek out a local coffee shop to try to experience...

Napa Valley: Charles Krug Winery – 150 years in the making

The last of my Mondavi visits this trip to the Napa Valley was to Charles Krug Wineryin St. Helena. There are still more Mondavi family wineries to visit next time though…I had not realized how excited I was to...

Napa Valley: Newton Winery

A visit to Newton Winery was a must on our visit to Napa Valley. They produce wines we’ve only enjoyed out and about, but never at their winery so this trip we made it priority. I had not realized...

Sipping in a Robert Mondavi Winery Tour

After having read The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty, I became a little obsessed with the Mondavi family, it helped that I loved their wines. So, during one of our Napa Valley...

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