Vacations Blog

Geothermal paradise of Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone is the crown jewel of our National Park System.  It was the first of its kind, and remains the most unique and diverse wilderness experience that you will find in this country.

It’s also an extremely cool place for kids.

But with almost 3500 square miles of lakes, geysers, canyons, and hot springs, there’s too much to see in one short stay.  So, after three visits to Yellowstone, and consultation with my own children, I have compiled the following list of park sights and activities that will make your family trip an especially memorable one.

Ten Cool Things For Kids (and Grown-Ups) in Yellowstone National Park

1.  Dragon’s Mouth Spring

Dragon's Mouth Spring

How can you resist telling your kids that a dragon lives in a cave near a mud volcano?  It doesn’t take much imagination to think that this cavern, with its growls and thumps, and spitting steam, might just hold a real dragon.

2.  Fishing Cone

Fishing Cone Geyser at Yellowstone Lake

It’s probably just a tall tale, but the story goes that the early trappers and explorers would catch fish in Yellowstone Lake, swing them directly into the Fishing Cone geyser just off shore, and have a meal of boiled fish in just minutes.  “Hook and cook,” they called it.  Like the dragon cave, another cool sight that will fire up the imagination.

3.  Old Faithful Inn

Old Faithful Inn

What kid won’t love the largest log hotel in the world?  Just walk inside the 100-year-old Inn’s lobby, with its four stories of lodgepole pine balconies and 500-ton stone fireplace, and your kids might just want to sit for awhile.  Preferably in one of the many handmade wood rocking chairs.  Better yet, stay in one of the Inn’s rooms.  Prices are reasonable, and the food in the dining room is first-class.

4.  Fountain Paint Pots

Fountain Paint Pots

This is what I remember best from my own childhood memories of Yellowstone.  The short half-mile trail is the perfect primer for the various thermal features you’ll see throughout the park.  It’s a little bit of everything, with numerous geysers, bubbling mud pots, hot springs, and steaming fumaroles.  With all that activity in a small space, it’s kind of watching a three-ring circus.

Buffalo Warning

5.  Dangerous Animals

Your kids might not be impressed by the thousands of bison that roam all over the park until they see the signs warning that these animals weigh up to 2000 pounds, run over 30mph, and think nothing of skewering a camera-toting tourist on the end of its horns.  They can be extremely dangerous.  Same goes for the grizzly bears, wolves, moose, elk, and badgers.  But worry mostly about the bison (sometimes called buffalo), because they will be all around you.

6.  Junior Ranger Program

The Junior Ranger program at Yellowstone is one of the coolest of all the National Parks.  It gets the kids involved in all sorts of activities involving wildlife, ecology, geology, hiking, and education.  If they complete the program, kids get an official Junior Ranger patch.  Best of all, they learn something while having fun.

7.  Stagecoach Rides

From Roosevelt Lodge in the northern part of Yellowstone, you can take a trip to the past with a rattling, bumpy ride on an old west stagecoach, just as visitors did back at the turn of the century.  The ride lasts an hour and is quite reasonably priced at $8 for kids, $10 for adults.  A nice way to soak up the scenery.

8.  Upper Geyser Basin

Geyser watching

You want geysers?  This is where you’ll have your fill of them, as the basin contains over 150 geysers.  That’s the highest concentration of geysers in the world.  Walking through this alien landscape makes you feel like the Earth’s crust could burst open in a cataclysmic hydrothermal explosion at any moment, totally ruining your dinner reservations at the nearby Old Faithful Inn Dining Room later that night.  But seriously, this is the best place for you and your kids to see geysers going off right and left.  Many of them, such as Castle Geyser, Grand Geyser, and Riverside Geyser are highly predictable, so you can figure when and where you need to be for the show.

9.  Grand Prismatic Spring

Grand Prismatic Spring

Not everything in Yellowstone bubbles, growls, and erupts.  Grand Prismatic Spring is simply a gigantic pool of steaming water.  In fact, it’s the largest hot springs in the United States.  You have to see it for the beautiful colors, from deep blue to orange to green to red, produced by different species of bacteria living in the water.  It makes for an interesting biology lesson for everyone.

10.  Old Faithful

Old Faithful Geyser

You know this would be on the list.  How could it not be?  It’s the most popular feature in Yellowstone, and is the park’s defining symbol.  The area around Old Faithful is crowded, commercial, and noisy, but it’s still very cool.  The geyser usually erupts on a predictable schedule, roughly every 90 minutes.  Up to 8,000 gallons of scalding hot water shoots upwards of 185 feet while busloads of tourists “ooh” and “ahh.”  On our last visit to the park, my kids and I made a game of running to watch Old Faithful go off.  Staying in the nearby Inn made that easy for us, and we ended up viewing eight eruptions during our weekend at Yellowstone.

Photos courtesy of the National Park Service

A thought occurred to me while sitting at the original Islamorada Fish Company, enjoying a grilled grouper sandwich and an ice cold guava margarita, watching the boats floating lazily on the turquoise water. I could get used to this.

The view at the Islamorada Fish Company.

Our trip to Florida served a dual purpose: we were visiting my wife Beth’s grandmother for her 92nd birthday, and following that our goal was to spend a couple of days in the Keys, seeing and doing as much as possible. The birthday celebration went well; Beth’s grandmother lives in Boca Raton (Florida law does require that all elderly Florida residents live in Boca Raton), and while Boca Raton is not the place that comes to mind when one thinks of a Florida vacation (when I think of Boca, I think of Del Boca Vista, where Morty Seinfeld suffered the humiliation of impeachment), the beaches are great (and in late April, pretty empty), and the place we stayed at – a Holiday Inn, no less! - was a fantastic bargain: $149 a night for a beachfront hotel. Still, I had bigger fish to fry. Figuratively – I’d been wanting to get to the Keys for a while, ever since my days as a single beach bum (for when one is a single beach bum, one listens to a LOT of Jimmy Buffett). And literally – fried grouper, fried yellowtail snapper, fried conch…we had two full days to wring the most out of the Keys, and we managed to do just that.

Our base of operations was The Islander Resort at Islamorada. I love places that look like the set of an Elvis movie, and in this regard The Islander does not disappoint. The Islander is an old school “beachfront” (more on that beach in a second) resort that underwent a recent renovation; the rooms are bright, clean, and retain that great early 60’s look. Two pools and a lovely indoor/outdoor bar that served killer rumrunners means that one need not walk the 50 or so yards to the “beach”; just as well, since the shore is hard reef, and not a great place to swim or catch rays.

Me on the beach at the Islander Resort.

We had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. After grabbing lunch at the aforementioned Islamorada Fish Company, and lounging around the pool watching the tourists covered with oil (it also seemed like everyone smoked. Including mothers. We saw at least 3 moms holding a baby in one hand and a cigarette in the other) we loaded up the rental car and headed down to Key West, in the hopes of watching the sunset from Mallory Square and grabbing a cheeseburger at – where else? – Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Cafe.

The drive down the Keys is truly breathtaking, especially the famous Seven Mile Bridge. You pass through places named Summerland, Big Pine, Big Coppitt, Cudjoe, and you really get the sense that you’re driving along the border of two worlds: the good ol’ modernized U.S.A. and the breezy, carefree Caribbean of Captain Jack Sparrow. The highway’s just two lanes, with the occasional passing lane, but we were lucky: traffic was light, and we sped down the blacktop, eyes peeled for the rare and protected Key deer. (My nightmare on many levels: running into a deer in a rental car with two young kids in the backseat.) We passed by moored sailboats and fishermen checking their lines, against an endless backdrop of water that had the hue of a bottle of Bombay Sapphire. “Idyllic” doesn’t begin to describe it.

And then we got to Key West.

Night falls on Key West.

I expected to be greeted by many things upon reaching the shores of Hemingway’s isle, but a Ford dealership and a Subway weren’t among them. Whatever notion I’d had of Key West escaping the gentrification that’s sweeping over the rest of the world was tossed out the window when we passed by the Starbucks on Duval Street. That legendary Mallory Square sunset? Partially obscured by multimillion dollar yachts. And as soon as the sun dropped, the place turned into an American Tijuana, with throngs of drunken middle-aged men and women staggering up and down the streets, the smell of onion rings, cheap cigars and vomit permeating the air. We were drawing stares, and I quickly realized that it was because we’d brought a 5 year old and a 17 month old into the fray. We found an unlikely haven at the Margaritaville Cafe; despite the subject matter of the song for which it’s named, the place turned out to be very wallet- and kid-friendly (at least at 8:00) and although the children’s menu did not include a kid-sized Cheeseburger In Paradise, both Lucas and Zoe had a great time checking out the colorful decor and listening to tunes by Buffett and other local musicians. I of course sampled the grown-up sized Cheeseburger In Paradise (with, of course, Heinz 57, lettuce and tomato) and a house margarita (not bad, but it always seemed odd to me that someone so closely identified with the southeast coast and the Caribbean would name his most famous tune after a drink so closely identified with Baja. In other words, advantage: California margaritas). We grabbed a piece of Key lime pie at an ice cream shop (stupid me forgot to jot the name down); the pie wasn’t very good, so the moral of the story is, when a bunch of people tell you that you need to go to Blond Giraffe to get your Key lime pie fix, listen to them. After that we navigated our way through the drunks and back to the car; it was a long drive home, and more fun awaited us the next day.

(To be continued…)

I lived in Maine for the first nineteen years of my life, and it’s the place that I still call “home”. The deserts of Arizona are lovely, to be sure, but Maine is where my heart is. During my annual or bi-annual trips back east, I never fail to stop at my favorite place on the entire planet, the Portland Head Light.

As you can see, the place is so darned picturesque that even rank amateur photographers (read: me) can take postcard-perfect pictures.

The Head Light is located in the town of Cape Elizabeth, a mere bridge-crossing from Portland’s Old Port Waterfront District. Entrance to the complex, which includes Fort Williams Park, is free, and admission to the park’s museum (open from Memorial Day to Labor Day) is $2.00 for adults and $1.00 for children. The complex and park itself are open year-round.

Bring a picnic lunch (I suggest a local favorite, an Italian sandwich from one of the nearby Amato’s), and spend a lovely afternoon exploring Fort Williams, the green park grounds, the rocky shoreline, and the tidal pools.

I long for home, but for now I’m just going to have to content myself with pictures. Oh, and word to the wise, watch out for these guys – they’re bold and they’ll steal your lunch right out of your hands!

When the Hostas finally, after a long and cold Winter, start pushing the warming earth, that’s when I usually come out of the cave.  It’s like my very own Bat Signal.  Only it’s not trouble that calls the Great Bear out of his hibernation.

It’s water.

Kentucky, as is it written in A Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to Kentucky, can boast more moving water than any other state in the Nation.  Save for Alaska.  Now, I can’t, with accuracy, say that the afore mentioned statistic is true or not.  And to be quite honest, I’m far too lazy to do the research.  Maybe lazy is not the right word. Hmmmmmm.  Motivation.  That’s it.  I lack motivation for the research of such statistics.

At any rate, after loading the Necky kayak and fully caffinating myself, I pointed my Volvo west.  Destination?  Frankfort, Kentucky and the Elkhorn Creek.

At the put in.

What’s that you say?  You don’t have your own boat or even gear?  No worries.  My friends at Canoe Kentucky have everything you need.  Canoes, Kayaks, PFD (personal flotation device – otherwise known as Life Vests) and paddles.  Those fine gentlemen, for a modest fee, will even pick you up and schlep you back to your car.  If you are uneasy about the water all together, a guided trip can be arranged.

From towering Palisades, to rolling farmland, from class II – III whitewater to fine Smallmouth bass and bluegill fishing in deep, cool pools, Elkhorn Creek has it all.  The creek will meander about some of the prettiest country around and if you’re lucky, you’ll fall out and go for an unexpected swim.  Who doesn’t like surprises?  That being said, it’s best to leave you’re cell phones and other “damaged by water” items in your car.  No need for GPS.  The creek will take you where you need to go.

Merrily Down the Stream

Like camping?  Try the Elkhorn Campground. If that isn’t your cuppa, there are a number of fine Hotel/Motel establishment just a few miles west.  I’ll just say, the Elkhorn Campground is smack on the edge of the Elkhorn Creek and having a river/creek sing you to sleep is just about better than anything.  Save for free beer and money.

I’d like to tell you that there is a cute little Mom and Pop in the immediate vicinity that serves Kobe beef and cold beer in 50 gallon buckets, but much like my date with the very pretty French princess from Braveheart, it’s a dream.  But fear not, Downtown Frankfort has a variety of eateries that are sure to please.

So what are you waiting for?  It’s getting warm.  Why not take an un-chlorinated swim?

It’s better for your hair.

All photos by C.A. Downs III

The luxurious Bellagio of Las Vegas

With hotels in Las Vegas slashing room rates to attract vacationers, there’s no better time to experience the luxury of Bellagio.

Photo by Jason Roth

Nick Hotel images courtesy of Nickelodeon Family Suites

Nickelodeon Family Suites in Orlando is offering a great deal on a family vacation in Florida.  You can save money on your hotel and get free admission to (my favorite) Orlando theme parks.

Nickelodeon Family Suites is a themed hotel (in case the name didn’t give it away) that is pretty much an amusement park on it’s own.

The Orlando hotel has two water parks, mini golf, a massive arcade, 4-D movie theater, and a kid’s spa.  The place is crawling with Nickelodeon characters like Dora and SongeBob Squarepants and even offers character breakfasts.

As an added bonus, you can enjoy daily slimes during your Florida vacation.  Come on, you know that’s awesome.

Free Sliming on your Florida vacation!

Nickelodeon Family Suites is offering a Buy 3 Get 2 Free Nights vacation deal at the Nick Hotel.  You can stay between now and September 7, 2009 – but you must book by June 30, 2009.

But what really makes this a great vacation deal is the theme park admission!

Dolphin and Whale Show at SeaWorld

When you book a stay at the Nick Hotel with their Buy 3 Get 2 Free special, you’ll also receive free unlimited admission to SeaWorld and one other SeaWorld park.  Choose either SeaWorld and Aquatic or SeaWorld and Busch Gardens.

my son at SeaWorld

To take advantage of this Florida vacation deal, call 877-NICK-KID.

When I moved to Arizona in the fall of 1993, the weather was a balmy 80 degrees. I thought to myself, “After a lifetime of grueling winters in Maine, this place is going to be like paradise!” Then, fall gave way to winter, and winter abruptly turned into 100+ degree searing heat. In MAY. I panicked. I was completely ill-equipped to deal with the furnace-like conditions. I contemplated packing up and moving the 3000 miles back home. I may have cried.

Yeah, that first summer was rough. But I learned some very valuable lessons, tips, and tricks, on how to get through three to four months of triple-digit temperatures. I learned the hard way, so you don’t have to!

1. Go North!

The higher elevations of Arizona enjoy four full seasons (unlike the desert, which only boasts two – Hot, and Not Hot), with summer temperatures ranging in the high 70’s to low 80’s. Flagstaff is a popular destination for hiking, biking, horseback riding, camping, and just plain ol’ getting out of the heat. Only a two-hour drive from the Phoenix metropolitan area, this college town is also popular for its shopping, fine and casual dining, and historic Route 66. It is a natural stopping-off place on the way to the Grand Canyon. It’s a great destination for a day-trip, or an extended stay.

If you and your family enjoy camping – tent or RV – the White Mountains recommend themselves as a beautiful, scenic, and COOL location. Show Low, Pinetop/Lakeside, and the surrounding areas offer countless improved campgrounds, and many areas where unimproved (non-hosted) camping is permitted. Big Lake, near Springerville, is a lovely remote area which hosts both tent and RV camping, and even boasts a handful of cabins for rent. There are public showers, boat rentals, and a general store – which is very handy, considering the hour-long drive back out to civilization if you’ve forgotten something vital.

2. Play Indoors!

Phoenix and the surrounding areas offer a wide variety of entertainment in cool, air-conditioned comfort. The Phoenix Art Museum is a world-class facility featuring permanent collections spanning cultures and genres, and a varied schedule of exhibitions and events. The museum is free to all on Tuesdays from 3:00-9:00 p.m., and the first Friday evening of each month from 6:00-10:00 p.m. At all other times, admission is $10 for adults and $4 for children.

Another popular destination, especially for families with young children, is the Arizona Science Center. There are many hands-on exhibits, an IMAX theater, and a planetarium. You’ll definitely want to schedule a full day to take advantage of everything the Science Center has to offer. General admission is $9 for adults and $7 for children. Special exhibits, the IMAX theater, and the planetarium are an additional cost.

Throughout the summer months, Chase Field is occupied by the Arizona Diamondbacks and visiting teams, as well as various scheduled sporting and non-sporting events. The stadium may have a vast retractable roof, but it stays closed during the summer months and is cooled to a comfortable 78 degrees, on average.

3. Resort Life!

Top resorts in Arizona are fully aware that it’s hard to entice customers to come play in 100+ degree temperatures. Many of them, such as the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort, and The Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa, offer significantly discounted rates and packages to appeal to “stay-cationers” and visitors alike.

Look for a resort with a large swimming pool or complex of water features. A swim-up bar isn’t a bad idea, either. Many resorts offer full and mini-spa treatments for men and women alike, as well as fitness classes, golf lessons, and entertainment for the children. Hundreds of locations offer a multitude of options, so go here to find the best place for you. The best rates are typically offered in the months of July and August.

4. Don’t Forget!

No matter what activities you indulge in while in Arizona, it is vitally important to remember these things:

• Water – First, foremost, and of the UTMOST importance, is water. Carry it with you everywhere and at all times. Keep a couple of gallon jugs of water in your trunk in case you break down. Freeze a few 16-oz water bottles, and when you’re ready to go out for the day, take them with you. They’ll melt (quicker than you’d think!) and keep your water cool for hours. It is vitally important to stay hydrated. Arizona is primarily a desert state and you can become dehydrated before you know it.
• Sunblock – Even if you plan on being indoors all day. Even if your exposure to the sunlight is limited. Please remember that it takes only TWO MINUTES of direct exposure to sunlight to get a burn during peak months. Sunblock your face (including the part in your hair and the tips of your ears!), neck, arms, and any other parts of you exposed to the sun. Don’t forget the tops of your feet if you’re wearing sandals!
• Hat – In tandem with the sunblock, a hat can go a long way toward keeping you cool, keeping the sun off of your head and face, and preventing dehydration.
• Sunglasses – Arizona is one BRIGHT state. Limit your eyes’ exposure to harmful UV rays by choosing lenses that block such light. Wearing sunglasses while driving also cuts down on the glare from the pavement and other vehicles. Plus, it’ll reduce the chance of crow’s feet!

This is but a very small selection of all of the available choices to escape the raging Arizona heat. I’ve indulged in them all – some more than a few times – and they’re some of the things that make it bearable to live in this state summer after summer (after summer).

Stay cool out there!

Encinitas, CA

Famous for its poinsettias and surfers, Encinitas is a seaside community north of San Diego that is a short drive from Los Angeles and a perfect weekend destination.  We ventured down there recently for a wedding and some beach walking, but if we had more time we would have poked around at Legoland, SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo, or any other of the attractive family activities located in the area.

The drive down from the San Fernando Valley was not bad on a Saturday at noon.  Apart from the blip of preserved nature you see driving through Camp Pendleton, the whole stretch feels like one long extension of Los Angeles.  Sign of the times:  without any pre-planning, we stopped for lunch when we got hungry, looking for the familiar signs of fast food eateries along an industrial stretch of road in Long Beach.  The beacon of a Quizno’s called us, but when we pulled up to the place we found it closed down.  That turned out to be a happy accident, because right across the street was a tiny shack called OK Burger that was deserted, so the cook whipped us up two delicious meals for the road in just a few minutes.

We stayed at the Best Western Encinitas which was the lodging of choice of the wedding party, so the deal was fantastic – $130 for the night for this balconied room with a view:

Balcony room at the Best Western, Encinitas

View of the pacific ocean in Encinitas

With a view like that who cares what the room was like?  Well, it was fine, but a word to the wise:  the coffee maker and cups are hidden in the dresser under the flat screen TV.  And once you lay down, you might not get back up.

Soft bed.

The wedding was held at the breathtaking Quail Botanical Gardens.  If you want to save money on your wedding flower budget, have it here.  I can’t imagine a more breathtaking backdrop for such a momentous and beautiful occasion. 

Quail Botanical Gardens

Wedding backdrop

The gardens were open for visitors while we were there, so we wandered among the different areas and found that everywhere the eye settled, there was something beautiful to photograph.

A pathway beckons at Quail Botanical Gardens

Quail Botanical Gardens is open every day from 9 to 5, and if you come with 4 people in your car they’ll waive the $10 parking fee.

I’ve been scolded in the past for not including local restaurants in my travel posts, and that will happen again;  if you have been out to eat in Encinitas please leave a comment with your favorite spots.  Like I said, we only had 24 hours for this little trip so we took part in the hotel’s continental breakfast – which, I might add, was actually quite good and included delicious breakfast burritos – before heading out to the beach.

The beach at Encinitas

"No having fun"

Long way down

There were surfers in the water as far as the eye could see, due to the incredibly long waves and seemingly polite nature of the crowds.  My husband, who is a surfer in Los Angeles, was surprised that multiple surfers could catch a single wave without getting in a fight.  Maybe it’s the local vibe, maybe it was the beautiful day, or maybe Los Angeles just needs some self-realization, Encinitas style.

Self-Realization Fellowship Temple

The clock was ticking on our daycare meter, so we had to settle for a morning walk and then head back north.  For parents of two young boys, we get our relaxation when we can, and Encinitas delivered nicely in even a small dose.

Relaxed mom.