Vacations Blog

With a family of 4, it feels as though standard hotel accommodations can break the bank when we travel. Friends of ours, who have 4 kids, told us a little secret – they stay in hostels!

Hostels use to be the accommodation of choice for teenagers and young adults, 18-25 years, primarily while traveling through Europe. These days, more and more hostels cater to families, offering private rooms, ensuite bathrooms, and events geared towards all ages. Whether you are single and carefree, or traveling with your family, Northern California has many hostels to suit your needs.

San Francisco has dozens of hostel options, from guest houses in the Castro to several hostels within walking distance of Union Square and downtown. Check out Pacific Tradewinds Hostel on Sacramento or the Adelaide Hostel, a 5 minute walk from Moscone Center. Most of the hostels in San Francisco are geared towards student travelers, so if you take your family, be prepared for late night noise and possibly some unusual questions from your kids!

If you are adventuring outside of the City, I recommend checking out one of the beautiful coast-side hostels, including two lighthouses, Pigeon Point and Point Montara. Pigeon Point is near enough to Año Nuevo State Reserve, where you can visit the resident elephant seals. Both these hostels have close up views of the Pacific Ocean, offering a truly memorable travel experience.

Farther down the Peninsula, close to the UpTake offices, is a favorite local gem – Hidden Villa. As the name suggests, this hostel is tucked up at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains and is the oldest operating hostel in the United States. Known for its organic gardens and kids programs, the Hidden Villa property showcases several environmentally sustainable designs. Whether you stay overnight or visit for the day, guests of all ages enjoy the working farm and miles of hiking trails.

Have you stayed at a hostel recently? Any recommendations for your favorite in Northern California?

Photo courtesy of Hidden Villa.

1. The wind-we get high winds in my little town, sometimes it drives me crazy, but most to the time it feels strangely cleansing, it means home in a chilling kind of way. Great place to be during a heat wave.

2. The salt marsh-I never really knew much about  saltwater marshes, now I can see it change with the seasons and find it a place of peace especially at dusk on a calm evening.  Lots of hiking trails through the marsh even if the shopping mall is just across the street.

3.  Flower power-along time ago, an environmentalist found a flower that can only grow on the hill behind my house, it is called the Tiburon Lily.  This little flower stopped the developer dead in their tracks and now we have a fabulous set of trails to hike and grassy fields to gaze upon all day long.  It is officially found only on Ring Mountain from March to June.  You can find me on the mountain almost daily.

4.  San Francisco Bay-laps at the town’s borders. I love its icy water, the beaches, kayaking, the way the water reflects the sky.

5.  Richmond-San Rafael Bridge-definitely the forgotten bridge of the bay area, but I can see it from my home and I love the graceful curve rising above the water.  Plus, Berkeley is just across the bridge and you can spend a day there.

6.  Ships-as they pass under the bridge.

7.  Twin Cities Little League Park-it looks exactly like a major league park in miniature. Toss a baseball here and feel like a major league player.

8.  Picco’s Restaurant-technically this is not in my town, just across the border, but to get food this sublime in a little town, fabulous.

9.  Two malls-only five minutes away, it can’t all be about ships passing and hills for hiking, a girls’ gotta have shoes.

10.  Bike paths-the bike paths that go through and along the marsh and then along an old railroad that are great for family biking trips.  Nice and flat…

11.  Rick’s Wine Shop-tiny little storefront with delicious wines and service with genuine warmth. Great for adults.

12.  Paradise Beach-this secluded bay beach offers a peaceful setting, grassy lawns, a rocky shore and a fishing pier and it is only a ten minute drive from my house.  Great for kids.

13.  My neighbors-after college I lived in two large metropolitan areas, Seattle and San Francisco, I met only three neighbors in 15 years that I consider friends (and I am not shy).  I moved to the ‘burbs.  Now I know everyone on my street-it is so wonderful to drive up our little street and know the names of the people who live in each house and what they are doing for vacation, their dog’s name.  It feels safe to me. So not a reason to visit, but a reason to stay.

From guest blogger Marsha Takeda-Morrison of Sweatpantsmom

Monday, July 14 was Bastille Day, France’s National Holiday commemorating the 1789 storming of the Bastille that launched the French Revolution. I’ve never participated in any Bastille Day festivities, but thought I would honor the day by talking about shopping. Because I’m sure that’s what those French soldiers had in mind as they charged into battle – how they could get the best deal on a really nice handbag.

Chanel Store – Although I usually avoid Beverly Hills like the plague, the Chanel store on Rodeo Drive is sort of like how my husband describes certain streets in Amsterdam: Even if you don’t buy anything, it’s really fun to look around. Besides, what could be more French than the Parisian fashion house founded by Coco Chanel? So even if you’re not ready to spend your kids’ college fund on a purse, stop in and take a peek. You can at least spray on some Chanel No. 5 for free before you leave the store.

Café Des Artistes – Chances are, you couldn’t resist picking up that five-thousand-dollar keychain at Chanel, and now you want to take a break and have a good stiff drink and a meal to forget your troubles. Head on over to one of my favorite restaurants, Café Des Artistes. Along with the amazing food (I always order the steak and pommes frites but they are known for their French-style mac n’ cheese) the setting is beautiful – it feels like you’re dining in a home in the French countryside. Have a nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon while you’re coming up with ways to tell your husband about the keychain.

Maison Midi – This is my absolute favorite store for unusual housewares and gifts. It’s an offshoot of clothing retailer American Rag (which is right next door). You won’t find a more beautiful and varied selection of dinnerware and linens, much of it one-of-a-kind and imported from France. The best part: they have an excellent café that’s part of the store, Café Midi, which is modeled after an authentic French sidewalk café. While you’re waiting to be served your Croques Monsieur you can browse the store and pick up those new salad bowls you’ve been wanting.

Samuel French Bookstore – This place is not French, and has nothing to do with France, but it does have ‘French’ in the title and definitely would be the place to go if you were looking for the screenplay for “An American In Paris” or maybe a biography of Edith Piaf. Samuel French is the bookstore for anyone interested in, or wanting to break into, the entertainment business and a place for filmmakers, writers and actors to find plays, scripts, movie-buff material and industry magazines. Maybe you’ll even see Juliette Binoche browsing the aisles.

After your day packed with French-themed shopping, you’ll want to head home, make yourself some crème brulée and put on your favorite DVD featuring Johnny Depp (totally counts since he’s married to French singer Vanessa Paradis.) Très bien!

You may have seen Pam Mandel’s post on her blog about Blogher and our invitation to sponsor her attendance at the event and work with her to create a tightly knit travel blog community of some kind–yet to be defined…  It didn’t work out because Blogher was sold out by the time we had connected.

On to plan two…

I am still hoping to meet many travel bloggers at Blogher. Why? We would like to build a more connected community of travel bloggers for information sharing, ideas, and inspiration.  We think travel bloggers should be found more easily, there should be a means of connecting the related subjects and places discussed on all blogs and personally I could use a few tools to make it easier to include my fellow bloggers. Don’t you agree?

Here are few questions we would like to discuss at the travel meet-up:

1.  How can we build a travel blogger community in cooperation with all travel bloggers?  Great minds do think alike, right?

2.  What other communities do travel bloggers participate in that we could emulate? Does a tool or an application already exists that we can tap into for inspiration or improved communication?

3.  If we were to create a “travel blog meet-up” at other conferences, what kind of program would it be, would you attend, would you pay for it? Why or why not?

Pam sent me an email with her answers to these questions (thanks, Pam). We are hoping you too will respond and we can build this together:

How can we build more community for  travel bloggers?
Community building isn’t my expertise but I find that anything that encourages face to face meeting is good for the blog. I really have loved the travel bloggers I’ve met in 3D, really loved them.  Crazy, but true.

What other communities do travel bloggers participate in that we could emulate?
Boots n All and Lonely Planet have lively message boards. TripWolf is trying to create a Facebook type interactivity, but seems to be a real influx of social networking/travel sites on the market and I’m not clear on how to tell them apart.  I just reviewed My Life of Travel, another one with built in networking. Couch Surfing seems to me to be superior at getting the travelers together – I got my 20 year Austrian old niece on there and she can’t get enough of it. I recently spent some time explaining it to my folks. “You mean no money changes hands?” I’m a fan of the concept even while we don’t participate because my blogging connections keep a fairly steady rotation of travelers on our fold out.

Don’t overlook the expats. I got into blogging because I was an expat. It’s great informal community, the expat bloggers one. And Twitter -  I’m surprised to find myself saying how much I enjoy the 140 character conversations travelers are having on Twitter. I like it a lot and it’s put me in touch with folks I’d not have “met” otherwise.

If we were to create a travel blog meet up with other conferences, in a more organized fashion, what kind of program would they like, would they attend, would they pay for it? Other ideas…

1. I feel like many bloggers could wildly improve the readability of their blogs with some basic travel writing tips. My  .02 as someone who’s really wrapped up in writing.
2. “What’s in your travel kit?” is always a popular subject for bloggers who travel with their own technology.
3. Photography, of course.
4. Given the growing influence of blogs in the travel market, talking about ethics in travel blogging is an interesting, if contentious topic. Travel writers  want to take the high road when they’re faced with comped services, but at 10 bucks a post to blog about a destination, it’s hard to pay for your travels, much less make a living. Ethics on writing reviews, communicating with PR folks and travel providers, being transparent to your readers, etc… are all good topics for discussion.
5. Monetization, too, of course – can I make money writing a travel blog?
6. A lot of travel bloggers want to get off the blog into print and other media, how do they do that?
7. Finally, new media, pod casting, video… it’s really fun to work with other forms of blog communication.

Do you have suggestions, ideas or opinions about how to bring the travel community together and build some tools that work for us?  If so, email me, comment here, or meet at the meet-up.

Travel bloggers unite.

From guest blogger Marsha Takeda-Morrison of Sweatpantsmom

Along with the myth that everyone in L.A. has had plastic surgery, one of the big misconceptions about Los Angeles is that everyone has a swimming pool in their backyard. This isn’t true, of course – some of us can’t afford them because we’ve spent all our money on nose jobs and liposuctioning our butts.

So what do the unfortunate among us do when we need to beat the heat and cool off? Here are some ways you can take the plunge, or at least feel like you did.

Water Parks – We have two here, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor and Raging Waters. I have to admit I’ve never been to either, or to any other water park for that matter. It may or may not have something to do with an aversion to being immersed in water that is home to the body fluids of five-hundred strangers. But my tween daughters have been bugging me to take them, and I may just break down and, uh, take the plunge. I guess that’s what antibiotics are for.

Aquarium Of The Pacific in Long Beach – Okay, there’s not actually anywhere you can jump in and take a swim here, but there’s something so refreshing about watching the seals and sea lions glide through the huge tanks. Also, you can put your hands in the water in their outdoor Ray Touch Pool – at least your wrists will get a chance to cool off.

A Friend’s Pool – Besides a nice pair of Manolo heels, the absolute must-have accessory in Los Angeles is definitely a friend with a pool. I suggest seeking out these people with the determination one might reserve for finding a good mate or more importantly, a good plastic surgeon. Once you find them, nurture these friendships and you’ll be rewarded with numerous invitations to “come and swim.” Make sure you show up with a nice bottle of wine now and then, or at least a jug of chlorine.

The Beach – This is a no-brainer, and if I hadn’t already mentioned it ad nauseam in previous posts, I would extol the virtues of our wonderful beaches once again. Let’s just say you can’t have a bad time lying on the sand, frolicking in the waves and soaking up the sun.

Lake Balboa – Sure, it’s man-made and is usually totally overcrowded with families desperate for the sight of a body of water. But it’ll do in a pinch, especially if you don’t have the two hours it would take you to get to Big Bear Lake or Lake Arrowhead. I don’t think swimming is allowed in the lake, but you can take a ride on a paddleboat or kayak. Word of advice: Don’t ignore the signs that say ‘Don’t Feed The Ducks’ since even one measly crust of bread will have an entire gaggle swarming you and may result in you having to throw away not one, but three perfectly good Subway sandwiches in order to get them off your back. Not that it’s ever happened to anyone I know.

An Austin vacation won’t set you back as much as travel to some other U.S. cities (San Francisco and New York come to mind). But, I would go even one step further. I would say that Austin is a terrific city to be in if you are feelin’ broke! All you need is a bike (or your walking legs), a bathing suit, and an appetite for delicious food.

Bring the whole family, your ‘main squeeze’, or just yourself…it’s easy to have a wonderful day ‘on the cheap’!

Here is what I recommend you do…

Ideally, you should borrow a bike from your hotel (or rent one) as Austin is a city that is very bike-friendly–with bike paths that can connect you to much of the center of the city through greenbelts and parks. Another advantage to biking is that the warm Texas heat will be tempered by the breeze you create as you pedal through town. If biking isn’t your style–catch a free Dillo bus or taxi ride.

Get yourself to Zilker Park at Barton Springs Road. From here you are only a minute or two walk from swimming, sunning, playgrounds, and great restaurants.

Zilker is a large and beautiful green space along Lake Austin in the center of downtown. It has a lovely Botanical Garden, playing fields, private groves, and Barton Springs Pool. If you have a family in tow, the entrance to Barton Springs has a large playground and a passenger train that chugs around the park–slow enough that your kids can wave to every man, woman, and dog that you pass.

The entrance to Barton Springs is only $3.50 and you get a hand stamp that lets you come and go as you please. Spread out a blanket under a pecan tree and cool yourself in the shockingly cold water…because it is a natural spring, it is 68 degrees year-round. When you feel the urge, walk right outside and buy a snow cone or corn dog from a vendor and feed the leftovers to the hungry ducks and pigeons nearby.

As the afternoon progresses and your stomach starts to grumble– bike or walk the short distance across the lake to 5th street where you can eat cheap and tasty tacos out of a red caboose at Juanitas.

Once you have had your fill, wander down to Congress Avenue Bridge. As the sun drops below the horizon-watch the millions of bats stream out across the sky as you sink your road-wearied feet into soft green grass and sigh.

Life is good—and you barely had to pay for it!

Thanks to Jslander for the Barton Springs pic!

The French may not value Liberty as much as they used to do, but they sure do know how to celebrate it. Especially when they’re in New York. If you’re a night owl looking for things to do in New York, the Bastille Day celebrations in New York City extend into the wee hours of Monday, July 14th, with lots of hard partying, street festivities, games and getting collectively drunk enough that a lay visitor might be forgiven for assuming the Francophiles to be in the throes of a revolution trying to liberate NYC from Mayor Bloomberg’s iron grip.

From Saturday afternoon through Sunday night, there’s events lined up starting with the French Institute sponsored food street spectacle on 60th Street which stretches from 5th Ave to Lexington, the pétanque competitions at the Bar Tabac and the music shows, and then its time for the grand annual Bastille Day Ball at Spotlight Live on Monday evening, with dancing from 8 pm to 2 am.

Then there’s the Liberty Festival at Le Halles, which goes one step further. They started the party on July 4th, and are continuing it on upto July 14th, in an attempt to keep away the post Independence Day holiday blues, and keep the party alive for a whopping ten days from July 4-14.

But this is New York, and it inevitably gets progressively weirder. And if it involves the French, well.. even better. There’s a special Bastille Day party at the Lolita Bar in the Lower East Side from 6 to 9 pm July 14th, hosted by travel writer Tony Perrottet in honor of Napoleon’s Baguette, where he will unveil a replica of Napoleon’s disembodied penis. Any questions? Well, thing is, Perrottet just came out with a book titled Napoleon’s Privates: 2500 Years of History Unzipped, in which he addresses issues such as how Napolean’s organ ended up in New Jersey.

Photo credit – Le Comité des Associations Françaises (cafusa.org)