One of the mid-Atlantic’s unsung treasures is the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Located approximately two hours from downtown Washington, DC, the Eastern Shore lies along the Chesapeake Bay and provides an ideal opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
The first time my family visited the Eastern Shore was in the summer of 2010, when we rented a home to celebrate my son’s first birthday. We rented a home via Eastern Shore Vacation Rentals, located down in Tilghman Island, a small island in the Chesapeake. To get to Tilghman Island, you have to cross a drawbridge and once you are in Tilghman, there’s very little by way of things to do.
Our rental home for the week, the Choptalk Cottage, was located along the waterfront and provided an ideal setting for celebrating my son’s first birthday, complete with a Smith Island Cake, the state dessert of Maryland.
amazing layers hidden inside the Smith Island Cake
A few years later, we decided to return to the Eastern Shore, but instead, visited in mid-October as our annual family fall getaway. It turns out, the Eastern Shore of Maryland is even more wonderful in the fall!
For our return visit to the Eastern Shore, we again rented a home, Heron Point, through Eastern Shore Vacation Rentals. Both rentals were as described and when we had issues with the internet service during one of our stays, the company was happy to send someone out to help us reboot the modem and get connected even though it was a Saturday afternoon. We did not, however, rent the same house we rented the first time, choosing instead to rent a home closer to Easton, Maryland, the county seat and where our dining options would be less limited.
Situated on three acres along the water, the view from our rental home was outstanding. Not only was there ample space for our family to enjoy dinners together, but we also loved sitting outside and just observing the world around us.
one of the many dinners we enjoyed
view of the dock from our rental home
My young son particularly loved the opportunity to be outside in the fall and we visited Council Farms, one of the best pumpkin patches we have ever been to – one where the pumpkins were still on the vine!
running through the corn mazechecking out the manual apple press
What little boy doesn’t love a tractor ride?
In addition to Council Farms, we also visited St. Michael’s, a small coastal town that offers plenty of opportunities to shop and dine. The Eastern Shore Brewing Company is located at one end of the main drag, so of course we stopped in to sample some brews.
A few things to note about the Eastern Shore:
Traffic can vary significantly depending on your departure/arrival times and, on occasion, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which you must cross to get to the Eastern Shore from DC, can close when there are high winds. In an attempt to avoid heavy traffic and delays, we usually leave very early in the morning to head out to “the Shore” and plan on spending a few hours visiting St. Michael’s or just puttering around somewhere instead of attempting to time our arrival with when the rental home becomes available (usually 3pm).
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is a very long bridge and can be intimidating to drive across if you are, say, from California and nervous about earthquakes. If you are uncomfortable driving across the bridge, there is a drive-over service that you can call one hour before your arrival. Although I have not personally used the service, I have friends who can recommend it.
If you happen to be visiting the Shore in the summer, make sure you feast on some Maryland Blue Crabs. Although there are places where you can get Maryland Blue Crabs in DC, nothing beats getting a bushel of crabs and eating them outside along the Chesapeake Bay!
If you aren’t one for vacation rentals, the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay may be a good option for you. It’s not only kid and pet friendly, but it has a number of options for the kiddos, including family portraits, evening s’mores, and more.
There are a number of restaurant choices in both St. Michael’s and Easton, but St. Michael’s in particular can get very busy during peak tourist season so expect a wait! Luckily, because it’s a heavily visited area, everyone is familiar with children and accommodating.
My husband is an avid fly fisherman and for years, many of their family vacations centered around fly fishing. At some point in our relationship, I accepted that fly fishing was always going to be a part of my life and I began keeping an eye out for new locations where my husband and my father-in-law could go fly fishing, while at the same time providing my mother-in-law and me with other distractions and things to do!
Rose River Farm in Syria, VA in located near some of the very best fly fishing in Virginia. The farm was purchased and built with the intention of providing a “fly fishing getaway” close to Washington, DC that offers the same uncrowded fly fishing experience to those who enjoy fishing in Colorado and Montana. In 2011, the Farm added two modern Mongolian Yurts, to provide sleeping quarters for both fishermen and their families. I personally find the notion of a yurt to be fascinating (bordering on a hobbit house like experience), so when I realized that I could combine both my yurt fascination along with my husband’s intense love for fly fishing in one fall getaway, I immediately booked us for a weekend at Rose River Farm.
The Farm now has a total of three yurts which are available for booking year round. Each yurt is just over 1,100 square feet, has central heating and cooling, two full baths and two full bedrooms (each with double beds). The yurts are fully equipped with just about everything you can think of for a fly fishing vacation, including washing machines, however, I must note that the yurts are not equipped with dish washers, which may be a dealer breaker to some.
The major benefit to my family, of course, was that the yurts provided close proximity to excellent fly fishing. By staying at the Farm, you have access to fish a stretch of the Rose River that is private access only. It is $95/day/person to reserve the right to fish the stream and the Farm limits access to five rods a day (if your party books four rods, they will reserve the entire stream for your use). My husband and his father loved being able to fish the reserved stream that was located just minutes away from the cabin and, when they were ready to take a break, they came back to the cabin and walked our son down to the pond so he could practice his own fly casting.
There are a number of nearby attractions in addition to fly fishing, such as wine tasting. My mother-in-law and I spent a lovely afternoon wine tasting while my son napped. If you’ve never been wine tasting in Virginia, it’s not quite the same as wine tasting in California, but there are a number of excellent wines (and ciders) that you can sample throughout the state.
The Farm also provides a list of other activities nearby, including guided kayaking trips, horseback riding, and fishing on public waters. Although having a three-year-old in our party meant that we could not participate in many of those activities, I would definitely explore more active activities now that our kids are older.
Finally, I would love to return to Rose River Farm, especially now that my oldest is 8 and could learn to fish on the relatively calm stretch of the river they offer private access to, but, unfortunately, the Farm does not allow pets. While this may be a benefit to some, with three cabins available for rent, I sure would hope the Farm reconsiders the policy and allow pets perhaps in one of the three cabins! I have no problem traveling without my pet when the need arises, but for fall weekend getaways close to home, it just doesn’t seem right to leave our four-legged child behind. Nevertheless, if you aren’t limited by this factor, I highly encourage you to getaway to Rose River Farm and experience a yurt, as well as excellent fly fishing, wines, and more, just two hours from DC.
When the summer heat and humidity gives way to crisp fall air, there are a few things that come to mind immediately: leaves, apple cider donuts, the outdoors. Growing up in Southern California, fall colors and weather were as mythical as unicorns. During my four years in college in rural Massachusetts, I came to love fall and everything it embodies.
Shortly after my first born turned 1, I realized that I wanted him to become familiar with fall and love it just like I did. Living and working in DC, the opportunity to run in massive piles of orange and red leaves was rare and I wanted to get away from the congestion of daily city living. I hatched the idea of a mini fall getaway, taking advantage of the Columbus Day holiday to sneak in an extra day off from work. My husband agreed and a tradition was born! We are avid fall getaway people and have taken advantage of long weekends to escape and unwind.
I first discovered Lost River Modern while perusing an issue of Dwell. My husband and I are fans of modern architecture and thus, we followed along on the owner’s blog, which detailed their efforts to build a modern prefab cabin on a hill in West Virginia. At some point, it dawned on me that Lost River, West Virginia was only 2.5 hours away by car and by then, the cabin was ready for booking so I decided to check into availability. I corresponded with the host via email, booked the cabin for three days and two nights, packed up our gear, and we set off to Lost River. The cabin was everything it promised to be – modern, inviting, perfect for our then-family of three and my in laws, who joined us for the long weekend.
The house itself is perched on a ridge, so it’s not a place you want to visit in the dead of winter unless you have four wheel drive.
the deck, where we spent many hours lounging and enjoying the quietphoto credit
main entrance to the cabin, with dutchtub available for usephoto credit
The deck itself has wire railing around (and baby gates were available so we could close off the entrance and keep our toddler safe), but the side of the house drops off the side of the hill very quickly, so you will want to watch any young children closely. The cabin also comes with a wood burning hot tub, the dutchtub, available for use, although we did not fire it up while we were there.
My son loved being outside… and throwing rocks. Lots and lots of rocks.The layout of the cabin was simple. The cabin was split into two levels: the main level, which contains the main living + dining room, kitchen, and master bedroom, along with one full bath. The downstairs level has two bedrooms and another living area, along with a full bath. Because of the divided space, we never felt crowded, not even with four adults and one toddler running around the house.
The kitchen and dining room provided a great space for us to enjoy our meals together. My husband loves to cook, and he spent the weekend whipping up fabulous meal after meal for us to enjoy.
one of the many meals we enjoyed
corner windows in the master bedroom
My husband and I loved the architecture and design of the space and my in laws quickly fell in love with it as well. Given its relatively remote location and distance from any grocery store of note, it was highly recommend that we bring all our groceries to the cabin with us, which we did. There’s a small general store about 20 minutes away by car, but not much else so make sure you pack everything you think you might need. The hosts were gracious and left us a bottle of wine to enjoy, which we happily sipped while cooking in the modern kitchen that also came equipped with a sound system that piped music throughout the house and the deck.
lounging on the couchWe did not do much during our weekend at the cabin, but that was the point: to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily city living. We discovered a zipline, hanging in the backyard, and we all took it for a spin.
a spin on the ziplineWe also took the short drive over to Lost River State Park, where there was no shortage of foliage.
I highly recommend Lost River Modern if you’re looking to truly get away. It’s not the destination for you if you’re looking to eat your meals out and have 1,001 activities to fill your day. But if you’re looking for a bit of quiet and solitude, Lost River Modern is the perfect modern retreat. When we visited in 2010, there was no cell reception within about 30 minutes of the cabin and no cell reception at the cabin either, but there is active internet and satellite television, so you aren’t completely cut off from the world. The house was also kid friendly with toys scattered around, a pack n play for our use if we desired, and, importantly, the absence of decorative chotchkies that would be dangerous but also irresistible to curious toddlers. Finally, although I would not hesitate to return, its remoteness makes it difficult for me to justify the visit, given that we now have two kids and a 75 pound dog to transport with us. Although the house is dog friendly, having to truck in all of our food items and cook all the meals is slightly overwhelming. The nearest large grocery stores are in Winchester or Front Royal, both of which are about an hour from the house. Given our crew, our car is usually packed to the gills with just our belongings and two hours in the car round trip is further than I would like to travel for groceries. Nonetheless, if you are interested in a modern oasis in the country, Lost River Modern can be the perfect location to disconnect and unwind in nature.
My eight year old son has spent the past year feverishly reading the Harry Potter World series. I did not read Harry Potter as a child or as a young adult, so when he started reading it, I decided to start reading it with him to share the experience. Although there have been times where he has been convinced that he will never finish, I’m happy to report that he finished the last book of the series just two days before our weekend getaway to Universal Studios Orlando! Here are my top tips for Harry Potter World at Universal Studios so that you too can maximize your experience!
Why Universal Studios Orlando?
Earlier this year, a friend of mine and I were discussing Harry Potter and how amazing the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios sounded. She had been to the Hollywood version and when she said she was game to visit Orlando with my eight year old and myself, I snapped up the opportunity. Within four hours, we had booked a weekend getaway to Universal Studios in Orlando, which is a convenient two hour plane ride away. When my mother-in-law heard that we had planned a trip to Harry Potter World, she immediately asked if she could tag along. We happily added her to our reservation and the trip was set for three adults and one kid.
How did we book our trip?
For the first time ever, I booked a vacation package via the theme park. I’ve visited Disneyland and Disney World before, but have never stayed on-site, much less booked a vacation package. Since our plan was strictly to focus on Harry Potter World, we knew we wanted to get the early entry offered only to hotel guests. We also wanted easy access to the Park, so we called Universal Orlando Vacations to get an estimate on how much the trip would cost.
Much to my surprise, a vacation package at Universal Orlando is extremely affordable. We booked:
three night stay in a two bedroom, two bathroom suite at the Cabana Bay Hotel;
three park-to-park tickets for four (three adults, one child) so that we could enter the Park on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday prior to our afternoon departure;
breakfast for four at Three Broomsticks on Sunday morning.
The total cost for three people was just over $600/person. Considering that a one day park-to-park ticket costs $165, I was floored by how reasonably priced our vacation package was and happy booked away. Our vacation package did not include flights (which we booked separately) and meals outside of breakfast the Three Broomsticks. Although there may have been a shuttle from the airport to the resort, we chose to ride Lyft to and from the airport. We did make heavy use of the hotel to theme park shuttle, which was prompt and, importantly, air conditioned.
Our hotel was located next to Volcano Bay, Universal’s water theme park. We had a great view of the volcano from our hotel room and this provided hours of people watching while we were holed up in our room either resting or cooling down.
view of Volcano Bay from our hotel room
Our hotel was retro themed and came equipped with VO5 and Zest. Of course, my friend and I noticed this right away and spent the rest of the week humming the “Zest fully clean” theme song under our breath.
The hotel’s major short coming, in our opinion, was the lack of a real restaurant. The Cabana Bay has a diner, which is self-serve cafeteria style. After a long day of walking through the Park, the last thing I wanted to do was wait in line at multiple stations to gather food for my son and myself.
We did, however, take advantage of the bowling alley at our hotel which, curiously, offers table service. On the second day of our trip, temperatures were nearing 100 degrees and thus, we decided to spend an hour bowling and munching on food in the air conditioning, rather than fighting the crowds and searching for dining locations within the Park.
What did we do?
We Harry Pottered of course! Going into the trip, I warned my son that our primary goal was to spend time in Harry Potter World. I did a small amount of online research for tips and travel suggestions and thanks to the advice I was able to glean online, we had a fabulous, yet not overwhelming experience.
First, park-to-park tickets are essential. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is comprised of two parks with two larger parks – Universal Orlando and Island of Adventure. Diagon Alley is the defining area at Universal Orlando and Hogsmeade and Hogwart’s are the two defining Harry Potter areas within Island of Adventure. For ease of reference, I’ll often refer to the two areas as either the Diagon Alley side or the Hogsmeade side. The two Harry Potter sections of the larger Parks are connected by the Hogwart’s Express, and you must have admission to both parks in order to ride.
Second, our hotel’s early admission policy gave us an extra hour to tour the Wizarding World of Harry Potter on the Diagon Alley side. During our visit, Universal Orlando opened one hour prior to Island of Adventure, so we had two full hours to experience Diagon Alley before high tailing it over to Hogshead and Hogwart’s.
entering Universal Orlando at 6:45am, before the sun is even up
To fully take advantage of the early entry, we woke up at 6am, got dressed, and took the shuttle bus over to Universal Orlando. Although there were many others entering the Park at the same time, it was by no means crowded. The walk through the Park is eerie, however, as the rest of the Park is not technically open. Early admission only gets you in early to Diagon Alley – the rest of the Park opens at the regularly scheduled time, so it is quite odd to walk through a deserted theme park, much of which was still covered in darkness due to the time of year and early entry.
The entrance into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando.
There is only one way to enter Diagon Alley and that is behind the London Waterfront. The London Waterfront is located at the far end of the Park, so it is quite a bit of a hike, but the first glimpse of Diagon Alley is well worth the walk.
my son’s first words to me were “this is so weirdly awesome”
Immediately upon entering Diagon Alley, you’re confronted by a row of shops and Gringott’s Bank. We practically ran to Gringott’s so that we could get on the Escape from Gringott’s ride. The ride does not allow any purses or backpacks and there are free lockers that you can store your stuff while riding. Although the locker areas were manageable in the early mornings and evenings, I would imagine they would get overly crowded during the day so to the extent possible, try to limit what you bring.
The ride itself is a treat (we ended up riding it a total of four times), but what surprised me was the level of detail that went into constructing Gringott’s itself. As you wind through Gringott’s bank for your turn to ride, there are little details that we took great delight in noticing and pointing out.
goblins banking as you wait for the Escape from Gringott’s ridebank registerdial above the elevator
Because of our early entry, we had no trouble getting onto the ride, after which we explored the shops and sights of Diagon Alley, including Ollivander’s, where my son purchased his interactive wand.
The attention to detail extended throughout the Park, including the fire breathing dragon at Gringott’s.
When the dragon breaths fire, there is heat that emanates (from the buildings?) so you can actually feel the warmth!
After walking around Diagon Alley a few times, it was nearing 9am and thus, time to ride the Hogwart’s Express to the other Park – Island of Adventure.To get to the train station, we had to exit Diagon Alley from the same entrance that we entered and walk to the London Terminal side of the building (less than 20 feet away). Although there was a slight delay as they had to check to make sure everyone had proper park-to-park admission tickets, we were on the Hogwart’s Express in no time and traveling to Hogsmeade and Hogwart’s!
View of Hogwart’s
Hogsmeade is less visually stimulating and impressive than Diagon Alley, but my son loved the shops there better than in Diagon Alley. Not only did Hogsmeade have its own Ollivander Outpost, but it also had Honeyduke’s, which was definitely my son’s favorite place to browse. My son also loved the “big ride” on the Hogsmeade side – The Forbidden Journey. As with Escape from Gringott’s, the line for The Forbidden Journey snakes throughout the castle and has small details to notice as you wait.
house beads hanging inside The Forbidden Journey
Although my son and his grandmother loved The Forbidden Journey, I was partial to the Flight of the Hippogriff, which is significantly tamer and includes not only a Hagrid’s Hut sighting, but a Buckbeak sighting as well!
Hagrid’s Hut as seen from the Flight of the Hippogriff line.Buckbeak, hiding in the grass near the start of the Flight of the Hippogriff.
There is so much to do in the two Wizarding Worlds of Harry Potter but the crowds quickly fill up and the Orlando heat did us no favors. In fact, the crowds were such that both full days we were at the park, we left the Harry Potter areas during mid-day and explored other areas of the Park or just went home to relax.
Tips & Suggestions
To make the most of your trip to Harry Potter Orlando, I recommend:
Staying on-site and getting park-to-park tickets, including one hour early access. With this perk, you can explore the Diagon Alley side for nearly two full hours prior to hopping over to the Hogsmeade side just as it opens.
If you have the time, I recommend staying two full days or at least 1.5 days. With 1.5 days, you can explore Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade early in the morning on two occasions, prior to when crowds get overwhelming. You can then spend the afternoon/evenings or the next morning leisurely exploring the shops and sights of the respective areas. It’s important to note that the two Wizarding World of Harry Potter areas are located within their larger respective theme parks and that each area is relatively tightly built to mimic the true feel of Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Because of the tight nature of the space, there just isn’t enough room for everyone who wants to be there, so if crowds are not your thing, you should try to stay more than one day so that you can fully experience both areas.
If you absolutely cannot stay onsite and your visit is limited to one day, I recommend pre-purchasing your tickets and splurging for the Express Pass. The Express Pass line will allow you to take a shorter line, thus ensuring sufficient time for rides and browsing. We did not do this because we had a full 2.5 days to spend at the Parks and the early entry allowed us to get our rides in before the crowds got overwhelming.
Plan to enter the various Harry Potter worlds at two separate times – once immediately upon opening (whether you have early access or not) and in the two to three hours prior to closing. On the first night we were there, we wandered back over to Hogsmeade at around 5pm and found that the earlier crowds had died down significantly. What had been shoulder to shoulder crowds mid-day had thinned out such that my mother-in-law and my son happily rode The Forbidden Journey with only a 15 minute wait (mid-day wait times had reached 90 minutes). Because our stay was 2.5 days, we had a total of five planned entries into the various Harry Potter areas. Although we only made four (we were rained out the evening of the second day), with our early entry, we go to ride each of the rides multiple times and spend plenty of time exploring the shops and doing the spells.
Get an interactive wand (or not). We did purchase an interactive wand (or three) for our party of four and although some love the spells, I didn’t find them to be too compelling. My son found them to be confusing at first, but enjoyed casting spells once he got the hang of it. During mid-day, the crowds to do the spells were overwhelming, so this was another activity that was good for our early morning visits.
Finally, there are a number of “secrets” that you can find on the internet about each of the Parks. Some of them are easy to discover on your own (Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom at Hogsmeade) and others are near impossible to know about without some prior internet research. I encourage you to search the internet for these “secrets” if you are so inclined. I did go to Park armed with a few secrets, but discovered one of my own while there:
You can exchange muggle money for Gringott’s currency at Gringott’s Bank in Diagon Alley (not the big Gringott’s that is the ride, but a separate storefront). That itself is not a secret – the secret is that there’s counterfeit deterrent on the currency – if you rub the money with your fingers, the heat generated will cause the keys to fade. Although it is intended as counterfeit deterrent, I thought this was a secret little bit of “magic” and loved it when the cashier at Honeydukes let me in on the secret. You can exchange muggle money for Gringott’s currency in denominations of $10 and $20 and Gringott’s money is accepted within the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and other select locations within the Park. There is no cost for the exchange or the experience – it’s a $1 for $1 exchange – so I highly recommend doing this just for fun.
I loved seeing 12 Grimmauld Place from the London Waterfront.
Final Thoughts
This was my first visit to a Universal theme park since I was a young child and I definitely noted that the Parks were not as nice as the Disney parks. Due to our early arrival at the Parks (7am all three mornings), we were usually starving by 10am, but there was no food to be found except for churros and pretzels. There are very few sit down, full service dining options within either Park. Indeed, we dined at both Three Broomsticks and the Leaky Cauldron while we were there and both were fast service restaurants where you order at a counter and then bring your food to a table via tray. We did dine at the one full service in Island of Adventure during our stay, Mythos, and the food and service were perfectly acceptable. I just wish there were more opportunities for full service sit down dining so that we could recharge our batteries in the air conditioning. And, while I found the dining options to be lacking, the quality of the food that we had at both The Three Broomsticks and The Leaky Cauldron was excellent (although maybe we were just starving from our early morning wake-ups?). We enjoyed both breakfasts that we had at the two restaurants and I would not hesitate to work them into future visits (although I loathe the thought of what must be a mob scene at lunch).
The bulk of our time was spent in the Harry Potter sections, but we did walk through the other portions of the Parks. Unfortunately, I found much of the Parks to be dated – Betty Boop? Popeye? The Simpsons? My son has no idea what any of these are and I’m not entirely sure he ever will, although he did enjoy the giant donut from Lard Lad Donuts!
Lard Lad Donuts to the rescue!
That said, however, all of the Universal employees were pleasant – from the ride/line operators to the trash collectors, all of them were super helpful and willing to assist. I particularly loved that each of the spell locations within The Wizarding World of Harry Potter had employees posted to help the little ones cast their spells. The facilities (bathrooms) were also more than adequate in terms of size and cleanliness.
The Hogwart’s Express conductor was happy to take photos with anyone interested!
Overall, if you have a Harry Potter fan, I highly recommend Universal Studios Orlando for the experience! When I close my eyes, I can still imagine how wondrous it was to walk into Diagon Alley for the first time and the best part? It has my son feverishly reading The Cursed Child.
reading The Cursed Child at the airport on the way home
Having grown up in Southern California, I have for years wanted to take my family to Monterey to explore the Monterey Bay Aquarium. For my son’s spring break earlier this year, we finally took the plunge and planned a week long trip to California with the goal of spending most of our week exploring the Aquarium.
In Part I of this series, I covered the logistics of our flight from DC to Los Angeles and our decision to spend the night in Santa Barbara and take our time driving up the Coast to Monterey. In Part II, I described the activities we packed into our seven day stay in Monterey (and there were many)! In this final post (Part III), I’ll cover our reverse road trip back down to Los Angeles and share some final thoughts and tips.
On the morning of our departure, my husband and I cleared out the fridge and enjoyed a hearty breakfast of french toast, hash browns, sausage, and fried eggs. After an activity filled week, both of my usually picky eaters happily devoured their breakfast before climbing into the car.
Hungry boys ate all of their breakfast for once!
With nothing planned for the day except to make it down to Los Angeles in one piece, we enjoyed the leisurely 3.5 hour drive from Monterey to our major stop of the day: Carrizo Plain National Monument.
The Carrizo Plain National Monument is located in southwestern San Joaquin Valley, roughly halfway between San Luis Obispo and Bakersfield. It’s a vast, remote area where, at times, I’ve had the entire place to myself. What first drew me there was ephemeral Soda Lake, which draws rafts of sandhill cranes in wet years, and the primitive campsites.
Carrizo Plain is the largest single native grassland remaining in California. During our week in Monterey, our local twitter feeds had exploded with reports of the wildflower superbloom happening in Carrizo, and although we knew it was slightly out of our way and would likely add an extra 2 hours of driving time to our day, we decided to take the detour in the hopes of seeing the tail end of the superbloom.
Although we were definitely at the tail end of the superbloom (the purple flowers had all but disappeared, but we saw plenty of large patches of orange), it was a worthwhile stop as it gave us the opportunity to stop and stretch our legs and take a little walk along the San Andrea Fault. The Wallace Creek Interpretive Trail along the San Andreas Fault was an excellent flat walk for the four of us to take and my son enjoyed learning about the fault lines and seeing the fault lines with his own eyes. There was a small number of parking spots at the trail head which we happily parked at, before heading out into the California sunshine for our short hike.
After our walk, we continued to weave our way out of the National Monument. Unfortunately, the windy roads were less than pleasant for my motion sickness prone toddler, who ended up needing a quick stop on the side of the road. Luckily, I had packed a few Carebags, in anticipation of the hours we would be spending in the car, and they ended up very handy to have. I will definitely be carrying these with us whenever we have road trips planned as it was much nicer than scrambling to find a plastic bag to contain the mess.
From Carrizo, it was a three hour drive to our hotel, the Residence Inn Los Angeles Pasadena / Old Town. Having been open for less than a year, it was a nice treat to stay in a brand spanking new hotel! My husband and I particularly loved that the rooms were suites, thus giving us a bit more space to spread out. In fact, my husband and I were able to sleep together in the king bed, while the boys shared the pull out mattress.
The next morning, we had breakfast at one of our usual haunts, Julienne’s in San Marino. Julienne’s is a small neighborhood restaurant that my husband and I have been dining at since the winter of 2002, when he came to visit me in Los Angeles for the first time. Since then, we have dined at Julienne’s every single time that we have been in Los Angeles and we even hosted a family breakfast there on the morning of our wedding rehearsal. Although my kids have no comprehension of how much Julienne’s has been a part of our story, I love that we take them to Julienne’s and I hope that someday they can appreciate just what a local gem it is.
My oldest’s first meal at Julienne’s at 10 months old.
After breakfast, went to Garfield Park in South Pasadena to burn off some energy before heading to the airport for our flight home. Garfield Park is a great park for kids of all ages. There’s lots of grassland and small hills for running races and abundant playground equipment. My brother, who is basically a big kid, met us there and did some sprints with the boys before we said our goodbyes.
running hill sprints with their uncle
Our flight home to DC was uneventful but my toddler, who is a terrible napper on the go, was able to cobble together only about 30 minutes of sleep on the plane, despite my best efforts.
My toddler is wearing Kidz Gear Wired Headphones, which I purchased in 2010 just prior to my older son’s first plane ride. I cannot believe these are still going strong – definitely a value at $20!
The lack of sleep became quickly apparent as his smiles during deplaning turned into tears as we made our way to the taxi line.
smiles while deplaningcrying in baggage claim
What would I do differently?
Honestly, everything about this vacation was so enjoyable that I really can’t think of anything I would do differently. Sure, there are ways it could have been better – the weather certainly could have cooperated so that we could have spent more time outdoors and I would have liked to have been able to drive down Big Sur instead of being road blocked by the mudslides that had occurred as a result of the heavy rains this spring… but in terms of things that I could have controlled? I really can’t think of anything. Although the thought of taking a road trip with my motion sickness prone toddler seemed insane at the outset of the trip, the drives ended up being more pleasant than I imagined. Although we definitely added time in the car due to various detours we took on each end of the trip, the detours were a nice way to break up the trip AND provided more opportunities to run and stretch than a basic bathroom or McDonald’s stop. All in all, I enjoyed our week in California and highly recommend it to anyone with young kids.
Although I have driven from Southern California to Northern California more times than I can count, I had only been to Monterey once prior to our family trip this spring. As an avid fan of aquariums, however, I have long wanted to take my husband there and when I started researching options for things to do in Monterey, I quickly realized that it would be a wonderful place to spend the week with the kids. In Part I of this series, I discussed the logistics of our flight from DC to Los Angeles and our decision to spend the night in Santa Barbara and take our time driving up the Coast. In this post, I’ll describe the activities we packed into a seven day trip to Monterey.
My Fourth Grade year was spent studying California history, which included an exhaustive series on California missions. I spent a lot of time as a child wondering about the missions and intrigued by their history. Although I did not get a chance to visit many as a child, my husband and I have explored many together through the years.
If you spend any time driving up and down the California Coast, you’ll invariably see signs indicating that you are traveling on the Historic Camino Real, the road connecting the 21 Spanish missions.
Happily for me, the house we rented was just a short 25 minute drive to the San Charles Borromeo de Carmelo Mission, or the Carmel Mission, and it was the perfect location for our Easter morning mass.
The mission was built in 1770 and many parts of it show its age. Luckily, it is now the home of a vibrant parish and school. The early morning mass we attended (7AM) was completely full, with seats in the courtyard for the overflow. Since I had a defiant toddler with me, we ended up exploring a lot of the grounds during mass. Unfortunately for me, a Southern California native, it was much much colder than I expected so I was freezing by the time my son and husband were done. Definitely do not underestimate how much colder it is in Northern California than it is in Los Angeles!
Juniper Serra, the Franciscan priest who founded the first missions in California is actually buried in the sanctuary floor. My then-seven year old, who had learned about the Spanish missionaries during Spanish class was intrigued by the historical significance of the Mission and we stopped by the gift shop to purchase some items to bring back and share in class.
Being that it was Easter, we, of course, did an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. The garden at the vacation house provided the perfect spot for hiding eggs.
As you might expect, we spent a lot of time at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This was the driving force behind our decision to visit Monterey and we visited every single day for a few hours at a time. The house we rented came with two guest passes to use for the duration of our stay and children under 3 are free, so we really only needed one more ticket. One day admission is $49.95 for an adult, so we decided to go ahead and purchase a $95 annual membership for my husband to use. Had our house not come with the two guest passes, we would have purchased a family membership which, at $250, is a bargain for a week of entertainment.
Many of the days ended up being rainy, so the aquarium was the perfect place to let off some steam and get some toddler energy out. My seven year old never got bored and my toddler loved the playspace.
The only downside to the experience is that my husband and I didn’t learn a single thing while there! We were too busy chasing our toddler (who thought it particularly fun to run like a maniac through the dark aquarium gallery). I did catch this video of the sea gooseberry, which was probably my favorite organism at the aquarium.
My kids loved the sardines swimming in an endless circle. I remember being fascinated by this very aquarium as a child, so it was neat to see my kids experience it as well, even if it is much smaller than I remember it being!
Monterey happens to be home to the Dennis the Menace Park. Unfortunately, our stay occurred while it was under construction, so we did not get a chance to actually experience the park. The park, however, is adjacent to Lake El Centro, where you can rent paddle boats from El Estero Boating.
We took advantage of a sunny afternoon for our first family paddle boating experience.
my fearless munchkin
The water was calm and as we were there in the middle of the week, it was not crowded. I believe we were the only people on the water that day. Now that the Dennis the Menace Park has reopened, this is an easy place to spend the afternoon with kids.
Our vacation rental was only a 15 minute drive from Asilomar State Beach, which turned out to be a surprisingly delightful place to visit. Across from the beach is the Asilomar Dunes Natural Preserve:
where a landmark stile stands at the gateway to this preserve and the Asilomar Conference Grounds. A ¼ mile boardwalk meanders through 25 acres of restored sand dune ecosystem where visitors can discover the native plant greenhouse where more than 450,000 plants, representing 25 species, have been grown and planted in the effort to preserve the dunes and coastal bluffs. Several boardwalk outlooks provide panoramic views of Asilomar State Beach and the blue Pacific Ocean.
coastal trail @ Asilomar Dunes Natural Preserve
Both my kids enjoyed the boardwalk and so did we! It was not crowded and the wooden pathways were easy for my toddler to manage on his own. Although it would be a bumpy ride for a stroller, it is certainly manageable – the bigger concern would be sand from wind. My seven year old had a blast playing army on the walk with his cousin while my toddler enjoyed stopping and throwing sand every few feet.
Later that week, we returned to the beach for some play time in the sand and despite the stiff wind, both kids had a great time.
My husband and I are avid hikers and there was no doubt that we would try to sneak in as many walks as we could. Of course, it is necessary to adjust your expectations when hiking with kids and we try to find small walks that they can enjoy. Jacks Peak Park fit the bill. Although there is a nominal fee to park (I believe it is $5/car), it was well worth it.
Looking out over Monterey with the map pointing out major destinations.
The trail was well maintained such that my toddler had no trouble walking most of the path himself.
Dad was happy to give him a ride when he got tired!
Although this is not a stroller friendly spot, it is a relatively easy walk without too much elevation change and the path is maintained such that I would not hesitate to bring a child in a carrier. Most of the walk was shaded and cool – especially with the ocean breeze coming in from the west.
Being in Northern California, there were many days in which it rained too much for us to do anything other than go to the Aquarium. One day, we took the kids to the Aquarium in the morning, but were desperate for indoor activities for later in the afternoon. My brother (who was visiting with his wife and two kids) ended up taking all the kids to Jump-N-Around, a local chain bounce house. My kids had a great time and it provided them with some much needed jumpin’ around time (pun intended).
Although we did not intend to do much, if any, wine tasting while in Monterey, we spent one afternoon exploring the Monterey tasting scene after we discovered there were a number of tasting rooms all centrally located in one area, thus saving us from having to drag the kids to and from wineries. One of the tasting rooms we visited was Georis, located in nearby Carmel.
The day we visited was pleasant enough to be outside and there is a little garden where kids can play without disturbing others (although there are cacti, so be careful)! Georis also has a limited menu, which we did not take advantage of, but it would have been easy to get a snack for the kids and keep them entertained while we sipped. Many of the other wineries we visited had similar set ups and it was definitely a more laid back environment than Napa. I would not hesitate to bring my kids along for some wine tasting next time we are in the area.
Relax
Reading through this post, it sure does surprise me how much we managed to work into a week long stay in Monterey! My husband and I each worked in a few visits to the Monterey Sports Center, where we paid a nominal fee for a day pass so that we could get some exercise in and we also spent plenty of time sitting around and just enjoying the cool, ocean air from the comfort of our rented backyard. Overall, we were pleasantly surprised by how much there was to occupy ourselves with and we never got bored. We tend to focus on big, exciting places to visit – London, San Francisco, DC, New York – visiting the sleepy town of Monterey was a nice change of pace and there was plenty to do while also providing us with some much needed down time.
Having grown up in Southern California, where most of my family still lives, traveling to and from Los Angeles is something that has become routine. My oldest has made the cross country flight more times than I can count and my youngest thinks nothing of a five hour plane ride. That said, over the years, we have exhausted the number of things to do in the greater Los Angeles area and when I suggested taking a trip to Monterey over Spring Break, my husband jumped at the opportunity as he and our sons have never been.
How did we get there?
Monterey is located approximately two hours south of San Francisco International Airport and five and a half hours north of Los Angeles International Airport. When pricing flights, direct flights to and from Los Angeles were significantly cheaper than San Francisco and with four tickets to purchase, we elected to fly in and out of Los Angeles and take a mini road trip up and down the coast with the kids.
A few years ago, we started renting vehicles from Silvercar when flying in and out of Los Angeles. Not only is an Audi A4 a much nicer car to drive than your usual compact rental car, but one of the perks of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is that I receive 30% off the cost of the rental car. Our nine day rental ended up costing approximately $500 out of pocket, which we were happy to pay considering it saved us from having to wait hours in the rental car line after a long day of travel. All vehicles are also equipped with WiFi and GPS, which was an extra bonus considering we intended to spend hours in the car with both boys, neither of whom are particularly fond of long car rides.
Buckled up and ready to go!
In order to break up the trip, we decided to stay in Santa Barbara on the day of arrival and in the Los Angeles area on the night prior to departure. This would not only give us time to do some sightseeing along the coast, but it would also give us an opportunity to visit family while also letting the kids stretch their legs.
Where did we stay?
Our first night was spent at the Hyatt Centric Santa Barbara. My husband used the free night certificate that comes with being a Hyatt cardmember and so our room was completely free. The room was right across the street from the ocean and although we were on the ground floor (which I usually do not prefer), our room also had a nice little private patio which was a nice place to sit and people watch.
Not a bad room for a free room!
For the seven days spent in Monterey, we rented a vacation home via Homeway. There are so many options in terms of vacation rentals, but the one we ultimately decided on seemed a bit off the beaten path and also had sufficient space to accommodate friends and family who would be coming to spend some portion of the week with us.
lovely rooftop deck where we enjoyed many a glass of wine while the little one napped
For the last and final night of our vacation, I redeemed Marriott points for a room at the Residence Inn in Pasadena/Old Town to help cut down on overall expenses from the trip. The hotel was newly remodeled and, as an extended stay location, came with a small kitchen and microwave. Although we were only there for one night, I wanted to check it out and see whether it would be a good location for future stays and visits (answer: yes, I would happily stay there next time I’m in Pasadena).
What did we do?
Although it was only 10AM when we landed in Los Angeles, we had been up since 2AM local time due to the time change and travel time. We stopped for a quick burger at In-N-Out before heading to our first stop of the day.
The Santa Monica Pier
Although largely believed to be a tourist destination, I happen to love the Santa Monica Pier. There’s a parking lot that makes it easily accessible, great ocean views, and lots of wonderful people watching. We actually had photos taken in our wedding attire after our ceremony/reception at the Pier, so it was great fun to return with both kids for some sightseeing.
As an added bonus, Santa Monica Pier is a known Pokemon Go hotspot and unless you’ve been living under a bridge for the last year, you can imagine how excited my seven-year-old was to do some Pokemon catching in a new location.
We spent about an hour at the Pier before climbing back into the car and heading up north to Santa Barbara for our next destination, the Santa Barbara Zoo.
Although I’ve been to Santa Barbara many times, I wasn’t even aware that there was a zoo until my husband suggested it as something to do to let our toddler run around. We had no idea what the zoo would be like, but the location of the zoo (less than one mile from the hotel) and the perfect weather convinced us that it was just the right thing to do before turning in for the night.
The zoo ended up being a perfect way to spend the afternoon! My toddler, who loves animals, was thrilled to run around and see animals after a long day of traveling and being cooped up and we loved being able to stretch our legs while breathing in the fresh ocean air. It’s a small zoo and thus had a more intimate feel than our usual zoo – the Smithsonian Zoo here in DC. If you happen to find yourself in Santa Barbara, perhaps doing some wine tasting, this would be a great place to spend a few hours in the afternoon, with or without children.
After a few hours at the zoo, we grabbed a quick bite to eat before turning in for the night.
Solvang
The next morning, we woke up bright and early thanks to our jet lagged toddler and quickly packed up and headed up the coast towards Monterey. Our first stop, however, was Solvang, a Danish Village in the Santa Ynez Valley, less than an hour from where we were staying. My brother attended UC Berkeley and so I’ve been visiting Solvang for years with my family as it is an easy pit stop between Los Angeles and Berkeley. My kids were wowed by the pastries, but unfortunately, we could not visit and do any window shopping because it was still incredibly early (before 8am) and none of the shops were open.
Pinnacles National Park
After our stop in Solvang, we drove three hours north on the 101 (US-101 N) to Pinnacles National Park. Pinnacles National Park is worthy of a visit for its unique rock formations and in recent years, it has become a hatching location for captive California condor.
Although our hiking options were severely limited by our toddler, we did manage a short walk from the Visitor’s Center up to one of the hiking trails. Parking is extremely limited and although the website states that a “section of the Bench Trail between Peaks View and South Wilderness Trail may be accessible to visitors in wheelchairs,” the parking options would make it undesirable, for me, if I had a child in a stroller. Luckily, my toddler was able to walk and/or be carried through the hike and although my husband had to run back and forth (about 1/2 mile) from the main parking lot to the overflow lot, this was a nice off-the-beaten-path detour on our drive up the coast.
Ever find yourself drinking wine and snacking on cheese while holed up with your spouse in the hotel bathroom so as to not disrupt the sleeping baby? If so, you’re in good company! We have stayed at many a hotel with our kids, but shortly after our first hotel stay with a baby, we realized the standard one room hotel was not an ideal set up when traveling with young kids who need to go to bed early or nap. Although we have used points to upgrade to one-bedroom suites, they aren’t always an option in terms of location or price, and even then, space is still limited.
Even under the best circumstances, staying in a hotel with a toddler is cramped.
Cue the vacation rental! We have rented many vacation homes from a variety of different sources – HomeAway, VRBO, AirBnB, and small local management companies such as Eastern Shore Vacation Rental and Lydia Mountain Lodge & Lodge Cabins. Having rented and stayed at dozens of vacation rentals over the years, there are a few things that are absolutely critical to ensuring you have an enjoyable vacation in a setting that works for your family.
Read the Reviews!
When I start planning a vacation, I usually flag 3-5 homes that I am interested in and save them as a favorite on whatever app I’m using. Then, when I’m up in the middle of the night and unable to sleep, I scroll through the reviews. Even if there are nothing but five star glowing review, reading the reviews will provide you with tidbits of information that can help inform your stay. For example, a reviewer might mention how the laundry machine broke during their stay and the owner sent out a repair person the next morning. A reviewer might also comment on the lovely Thai restaurant within walking distance that they dined at twice during their stay.
If there are negative reviews, you will want to not only gauge whether the review is relevant but also note whether the owner responded to the negative reviewer. For instance, if a reviewer mentions that their vacation was awful because it rained every day while they were there… you can likely disregard that one star review. If a reviewer comments on the cranky neighbor with the dog that barks all night long, you might want to scratch that home off your list. And finally, if the owner responds to a review complaining about a broken screen or some item that needed repair, you not only learn that the owner is engaged, but that the owner is interested in continuing to provide a quality vacation rental.
Finally, keep an eye out for reviews from families with kids. Even if they don’t mention specifically how the house was well suited for their kids, the fact that a reviewer says “our family of five stayed at the home and had a great time!” is a good sign that the house will work for families with children.
One of our first vacation rentals had a lovely outdoor balcony with high walls, so our toddler was safe to be outside and we had a nice retreat for naps and bedtime.
Contact the Owner and Ask Questions!
Although I study all the photos on the individual listings with a careful eye, the photos don’t always explain everything. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the owner or the management company and ask!
When planning our trip to Monterey, I quickly zoned in on one rental that I was very interested in. I had a difficult time figuring out the layout of the home and the description was not entirely clear either, so I contacted the owner to ask my questions and we ended up having a quick 10 minute phone conversation where he explained the layout to me. Not only did this answer my questions, but speaking with the owner directly on the phone gave me a sense of the owner’s personality and level of engagement with the home, which definitely helped persuade me to confirm the rental.
When asking questions, don’t be shy and limit yourself to property specific questions. If there is anything that is absolutely critical to you, ask away! When renting a vacation home in Hawaii, I asked what the walk to the ocean was like because the listing only said it was “a block away.” It turns out the “block” was actually a small street and an easement through the neighbor’s property. If I had not asked, I would have been disappointed upon arriving at the house because there was no clear pathway from the house to the ocean. Instead, I knew what to expect going into the trip and prior to confirming the rental.
A neighborhood easement led us to the most beautiful beach during our stay in Hawaii.
Without exception, every single owner I have contacted with questions has been happy to answer them. It’s their business and they have every incentive to make sure not only that the house is the right fit for you, but also that you enjoy your vacation so you can leave a glowing review.
My favorite rental house of all time was in Seward, Alaska and came with this view.
Know What’s Included
Knowing what your rental includes is important. When looking for homes in Monterey, I quickly noticed that many homes included aquarium passes for use. Thus, the homes that did not include aquarium passes were quickly crossed off my list as the included passes helped save us hundreds of dollars during our stay. In different areas, what is included can vary and typically the policies are the same in a particular area. For instance, I was shocked the first time we rented a house on the Eastern Shore because linens were not included in the base price – there was an additional $125 charge for linens or you could bring your own. When looking around, I found this was common in the area, likely because the homes are managed by a management company instead of a private owner. Long story short, know what’s included so you’re not surprised when you read the fine print later on or… when you show up for your vacation without linens and find bare beds!
Our tiny rental cabin in Delaware (near Dewey) that included linens for an extra $50.
Proceed With Caution
Before booking, make sure you know what you’re getting and understand that a vacation rental is not a hotel. Vacation rentals do not include daily housekeeping and turn down service so make sure you understand that. In terms of the individual booking sites, I have heard numerous stories of AirBnb rentals being cancelled at the last minute and my understanding is that AirBnb is more of an apartment sharing concept than a true vacation rental that you are likely to get from HomeAway or VRBO. Long story short, make sure you not only read the information on what’s included in the specific rental, but also read the individual website’s guarantees and policies. If you have any trouble with the individual owner, you may find yourself needing to escalate the issue with the booking site. And finally, if you can, book with a credit card that offers as many protections as you can. I personally prefer to book with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, which offers trip protection.
Enjoy!
My final tip is to kick back and relax! We have taken many amazing vacations with our kids, but our favorite vacations are the ones in which we rent a small cabin or home just a few hours away. Getting away from home provides us with a chance to take a breath and remove ourselves from the hustle and bustle of real life and juggling work and activities, but having a vacation rental allows us to have our creature comforts. Indeed, we have gotten so comfortable with traveling this way that we have mastered the art of preparing a meal to take and bake with us upon arrival.
Our standard first night meal at the cabin on our annual fall getaway.
And, the best part of these mini getaways is that we get to bring along our four legged family member!
Resting on the deck of our Lydia Mountain Cabin Rental.
In May 2011, I was given the opportunity to travel to Seattle for work. On a whim, my husband decided to accompany me along with our not-quite-two-year-old for a four day mini-vacation. The decision to accompany me on the trip was inspired by the fact that my son was still able to fly for free (two and under travel free as “lap children” on domestic flights) and we had sufficient points for my husband to fly for free on the same flight I was scheduled to travel on. Although many thought we were insane to take a trip across country for essentially a long weekend with a toddler, it ended up being one of the best family trips we’ve ever taken and I still have fond memories of it, six plus years later. For those debating a long weekend in Seattle with kids, here are my tips for what to do on a weekend in Seattle with kids!
Seattle
Pike Place Market
Seattle is one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever been to and my husband and I keep remarking that we need to plan a vacation wherein we rent a house near Pike Place Market and spend the week eating and drinking ourselves to oblivion. Even if you’re not planning on purchasing fresh salmon to fly home, I recommend you spend some time at the market – just soaking in the experience. There are tons of vendors selling everything from giant salmon to crafts to cheese! It’s really an experience that no trip to Seattle is complete without.
Pike Place is full of eateries, both inside and around the market and you can’t go wrong with any of them. Although we made a pilgrimage to the original Starbucks, located just around the corner from Pike Place, we stumbled across the Crumpet Shop one morning and were tickled to find that they had “Green Eggs and Ham” on the menu!
Green eggs and ham crumpet!
Seattle Aquarium
Also within walking distance to Pike Place Market is the Seattle Aquarium. I am a big fan of aquariums and make a point of visiting them whenever we’re in a city that has one, but the Seattle Aquarium was unique to me in that it was regionally focused. The adults learned a lot about Puget Sound and the local marine life and my son loved the open space to run around.
It’s an easy walk from Pike Place to the Aquarium.
The REI Store
If you know us, you know that we spent time at the REI Flagship store in Seattle. We didn’t need anything in particular, but there was a small play area for kids and we enjoyed walking around and getting some active play.
enjoying the play area at REI
Although I would not call it a must visit, it is a nice way to kill some time, especially when the weather is overcast and wet. It’s also a handy spot to pick up a fleece or two, if you find that you’re heading to the snow and you didn’t plan ahead for it!
Ballard Locks
In 2013, on our way home from Hawaii, we worked in a 24 hour layover in Seattle during which time we visited Ballard Locks with my then 4 year old.
The Ballard Locks carry more boat traffic than any other lock in the US, and the Locks, along with the fish ladder and the surrounding Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Gardens attract more than one million visitors annually, making it one of Seattle’s top tourist attractions.The construction of the locks profoundly reshaped the topography of Seattle and the surrounding area, lowering the water level of Lake Washington and Lake Union by 8.8 feet (2.7 m), adding miles of new waterfront land, reversing the flow of rivers, and leaving piers in the eastern half of Salmon Bay high and dry.[5] The Locks are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the American Society of Civil EngineersHistoric Civil Engineering Landmarks.
I was surprised by how fascinating it was to see the locks system and to watch the salmon climb the fish ladders. This is just one of the many amazing ways in which Seattle has focused on the local ecosystem and environment and made it accessible to its residents and visitors alike. And, although our trip to Ballard Locks did not take place during the same weekend in which we visited all the other sites in this post, it is easily something that can be squeezed into (and should be squeezed into!) a long weekend visit to Seattle.
Olympic National Park
After my work obligations in Seattle, we departed for Olympic National Park. Located approximately 2.5 hours by car from Seattle, we decided to head to Olympic because I had never been, but also because we were interested in the different climate that Olympic would have to offer. Instead of driving from Seattle, though, we took the Edmonds Kingston Ferry, which was a fun experience for all of us because we got to drive our car on board and then ferry across! It ended up taking about the same amount of time that it would have taken us to drive directly from Seattle, but it was a nice break from riding in the car and a new experience for all of us.
enjoying the Edmonds Kingston Ferry
We visited in late May, but upon arrival, found that Olympic was still definitely in the throes of winter.
snow covered Olympic
The roads were well plowed so we took a short walk near the Hurricane Ridge Visitor’s Center. The novelty of the snow packed up high along the roads was enough to entertain my son for a duration of the walk and I believe this is still the most snow he has ever seen to date!
Port Townsend/Discovery Bay
After our brief stop in Hurricane Ridge, we continued on to Port Townsend, where we had rented a cabin in Discovery Bay, through Adelma Beach Properties. Although we were surrounded by snow three hours prior, we suddenly found ourselves in a warm beach town where we took off our shoes and were able to relax for the next few days.
the private pier off our cabin
The house was well equipped with everything we needed and we ended up being very glad that we had rented a house instead of staying at a hotel, because it gave us the option of cooking meals and enjoying them quietly after putting our son to bed. Since there were two bedrooms, we could easily put my son down for a nap or his bedtime, but still enjoy having our own space to relax and talk, without risk of disturbing him. Luckily for us, there was a small organic grocer in Port Townsend, which was only five miles north of the house we were staying in, so we did our grocery shopping there by day and ate like kings at night.
one of the many fresh seafood meals we cooked
We basically spent the next two days eating, napping, and enjoying quiet walks along the beach. We did not even spend any time, if at all, in the town of Port Townsend. My husband ventured in by day to pick up groceries and wine, but I mostly stayed close to the house with our toddler and enjoyed the peace and quiet.
Seattle is one of those cities that I will go to whenever given the opportunity. There is SO much to do in Seattle that we have not gotten to do yet, but I know we will someday. For a long weekend in Seattle with kids, however, we had a great time on our escape from the hustle and bustle of real life and enjoyed some quiet family time.
Although it was initially on the radar as a possible place to visit, after a neighbor, who had recently returned from a trip to Alaska, identified Wrangell-St. Elias as a must visit, it quickly shot up the list and became a priority. My husband, son, and my in-laws ended up spending two nights in Wrangell-St. Elias and, by all accounts, it exceeded expectations.
How did they get there?
The night before Wrangell, they stayed in Tok, Alaska at an RV camp. It wasn’t the nicest of places, but it was sufficient and they were able to get in a long bike ride on the way to dinner – a nice break from riding in the RV.
biking to dinner in Tok, AK
The next day, it was a four hour drive from Tok to Chitina, where they boarded a small air taxi for a 20 minute flight to Kennicott Glacier Lodge. The decision to fly into Wrangell was made entirely due to the fact that there are only two roads into Wrangell-St. Elias and both are dirt/gravel roads maintained by the state of Alaska, not the Park Service. There are no fuel options within the Park or services along either road, so the decision was made to leave the RV parked in Chitina and fly into Wrangell, instead of possibly risking a vehicle incident that would impact the rest of the trip. The road that they would have taken into Wrangell is only about 60 miles, but would have taken hours had they driven the RV.
Both my husband and my father-in-law loved the flight into Wrangell. The views from the air were incredible and had my husband, who was a private pilot in a former pre-kid life, dreaming of giving up the nine-to-five workday for a bush pilot gig in Alaska. Predictably, my son slept through most of the flight and my mother-in-law, who is not a fan of flying in general, said it was “tolerable.”
“The flight in is spectacular, giving you a great view of the Wrangell Mountains and views of Mt. Blackburn and the Kennecott Glacier as well as big horn sheep and the occasional moose wading in small ponds.” – Charles
Where did they stay?
Kennicott Glacier Lodge, located right in the middle of Wrangell-St.Elias was their home for three days and two nights. Due to the remoteness of the location (and thus, lack of competing options), the decision was made to book one of the special packages that included three meals a day, lodging, and the flights in and out of Wrangell. The Lodge itself was nice, but unremarkable. The views, however, were incredible. The lodge sits several hundred feet above the valley floor and my father-in-law recommends getting a glacier facing room with private bath. He also recommends the meal plan as there is not anywhere else to eat in Kennicott.
What did they do?
There are two vendors that provide guided activities in Wrangell – St. Elias Alpine Guides and Kennicott Guides. Both outfitters offer similar activities and my father-in-law decided to sign my husband up for a day of ice climbing while he, my mother-in-law, and my son went on a half day hike on Root Glacier with St. Elias Alpine Guides.Since the ice climbing was also taking place on Root Glacier, my son was able to see his dad hang on the ice both coming and going from his hike. All activities were booked and confirmed via the internet well before their arrival. Unless you are experienced in ice hiking yourself, my father-in-law would not recommend going on the ice without a guide. The guides make it easy and safe to explore with kids.
chatting with the guide about glacial iceCrampons on and ready to go!my ice-climbing husband
My husband really enjoyed his ice climbing experience and the hike on Root Glacier was a great experience for my son. They provided him with (the required) crampons to walk safely on the ice and he managed the approximately 5 mile hike without incident. The guide was also nice and enjoyed conversing with my son, instead of dismissing him as “just” a kid. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience for everyone’s full day in Wrangell-St. Elias.
What did they eat?
All dining took place at the Lodge as they had booked the plane ride + lodging + food package. The food itself was unremarkable. It was perfectly suitable but as my husband reports, “you weren’t there for the food.” The meals were served largely buffet/family style and one night was salmon, the other night was steak. Although my son is not the most adventurous eater, my husband was able to get enough to accommodate his taste buds.
Is Wrangell-St. Elias a good experience for kids?
My son really enjoyed hiking on the glacier with crampons. The guide did a really good job of engaging with him and he was just old enough to experience, remember, and enjoy it. My husband also enjoyed his ice climbing experience. The days they spent in Wrangell-St. Elias ended up being unseasonably warm, so they found themselves quite hot, despite being surrounded by ice. Nonetheless, the views and the experiences made the trip into Wrangell-St. Elias worthwhile and my husband can’t wait to go back. He’s already said, however, that he would like to wait until the boys are older so we can do some back country hiking and camping – which may very well mean that it will be a guys’ trip!
The Farm also provides a list of other activities nearby, including guided kayaking trips, horseback riding, and fishing on public waters. Although having a three-year-old in our party meant that we could not participate in many of those activities, I would definitely explore more active activities now that our kids are older.
To get to the train station, we had to exit Diagon Alley from the same entrance that we entered and walk to the London Terminal side of the building (less than 20 feet away). Although there was a slight delay as they had to check to make sure everyone had proper park-to-park admission tickets, we were on the Hogwart’s Express in no time and traveling to Hogsmeade and Hogwart’s!
The zoo ended up being a perfect way to spend the afternoon! My toddler, who loves animals, was thrilled to run around and see animals after a long day of traveling and being cooped up and we loved being able to stretch our legs while breathing in the fresh ocean air. It’s a small zoo and thus had a more intimate feel than our usual zoo – the Smithsonian Zoo here in DC. If you happen to find yourself in Santa Barbara, perhaps doing some wine tasting, this would be a great place to spend a few hours in the afternoon, with or without children.
