Vacations Blog

Spokane's Big Red Wagon

Seriously, who’s going to plan a family vacation to Spokane, Washington?

I was asking myself this very question today while watching news coverage of Spokane’s Hoopfest, the largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the world.  The tourney is celebrating its 20th year.

There are 400 courts spread out over 40 downtown city blocks, with 6,400 teams participating this year, and over 200,000 players and fans wandering around town.

But that’s not a family vacation.

Spokane is one of those average cities, like Des Moines or Sacramento, that doesn’t have much of a reputation as a vacation destination.  You hear Washington, and you think Seattle.  Or Olympic National Park and the Pacific Coast beaches.  Or Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier.  Or the Cascade Range.

Even though Spokane is the second largest city in the state, and the fifth biggest in the Pacific Northwest, nobody’s buzzing about it as a family vacation destination.

I figure people end up here for other reasons, such as a weekend of basketball at Hoopfest, and then at some point it dawns on them that there might be come cool things to see and do in the area.

So, what exactly is there for a family with kids to enjoy? see more »

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Old Orchard Beach is located in Southern Maine and is one of the most popular destination for local “stay-cationers”. It’s also a great vacation destination for people visiting the Pine Tree State.

Old Orchard Beach, pic by jennratonmort

Miles of white sandy beaches along the cool Atlantic ocean are lined with bed and breakfasts, motels, inns, bars, restaurants, and shopping. The focal point of the area is the OOB Pier (you’ve gotta get the pier fries!), and the beachfront Palace Playland amusement park.

Palace Playland, photo by chris knight

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I spent the better part of last Tuesday’s lunch hour checking out the Concord Farmers’ Market in Todos Santos Plaza.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past several years, you’ve probably noticed these outdoor grocery stores popping up all over the place.  In addition to Concord you can hit Farmers’ Markets in Clayton, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and dozens of other Bay Area cities.

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[photo courtesy of the Skirball Center]

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Photo by simax105

If you’re going to be in Arizona during the July 4th weekend, here are some celebrations that are going on around the state. There’s something going on in virtually every town, but here are ten key events that are sure to please:

Phoenix: Enjoy the 24th Annual Fabulous Phoenix 4th, at Steele Indian School Park. Entertainment (on three stages!) begins at 6:00 p.m., with the fireworks show beginning at 9:20. The event features local entertainment, a cooling misting area, inflatable rides, a Classic Car exhibit, food and beverage vendors, and a water spray zone manned by the Phoenix Fire Department.

Tempe: Check out the 58th annual Tempe 4th of July Festival, taking place in Tempe Beach Park alongside the man-made Tempe Town Lake. The extravagant fireworks show, local food vendors, and live entertainment more than make up for the crowds.
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What's More Amusing than a Canoe Ride?

People in the Seattle area are not easily amused.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that we here in the Northwest are not funny people. Quite the opposite really.  I mean, take a look at some of our most famous citizens: Bill Gates - A laugh a minute.  Kurt Kobain - What’s funnier than checking yourself out when you are at your prime?  Ichiro - Most hilarious Japanese import since Mr. Miyagi.

Actually, we would be a lot more amusing up here in the Seattle area if it weren’t for the dearth of amusement parks we have to deal with. Perhaps it is the months on end of drizzle, outright rain, and grey skies that doesn’t lend itself well to outdoor family fun.  Conversely, when the weather does get nice, there are endless natural wonders to behold.  Whatever the reason be, when we do come across just such an amusing place, however small scale it may be, it is certainly worth mentioning.

This past weekend, my wife, son, and I visited Remlinger Farms and Family Fun Park in Carnation, Washington.  Located about 35 minutes east of Seattle, Remlinger Farms is a unique family experience complete with acres of berry fields ripe for picking, a market loaded with fresh farm produce, a family friendly restaurant, various farm and fire vehicles to crawl in and around, a petting zoo where the little ones can get up close and personal with any number of goats, sheep, bunnies, chickens, or ducks, daily performance shows AND - you guessed it - rides.

Ever Rode in a Spinning Pumpkin?

Now these rides are not going to thrill many kids in the teen and older set.  However, for the little ones such as my 2-year-old son, this park was a thrill a minute.  There were pony rides, a slow paced canoe ride around a ‘raging’ river, a hay maze, old-time cars moving around a track where the little ones could get the sensation of driving, a long pedalcar track, bouncy rooms, a mini roller coaster and other carnival type rides including a thrilling pumpkin spin, and best of all for my son - a steam train leaving every 10 minutes. The train would circle the farm and view various farm and western themed displays before traveling through a darkened tunnel as it pulled back into the station.

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I’ll let you all in on a little secret: we San Diegans, we’re not particularly fond of tourists. You further clog up our clogged freeways, you crowd our beaches, and you make going to the Zoo a nightmare.  Yet we begrudgingly accept your presence here, for without you, San Diego County’s economy would collapse, there’d be anarchy and chaos and mass hysteria, Arizona would invade our county and annex it…regardless, I feel bad for you, visitors to our fair county, because often times you seem so overwhelmed by everything that San Diego county has to offer. I want to help you make the most of your San Diego vacation. So here are five things that you should know before coming here in the summertime.

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It’s 106 in the Phoenix area today, which is causing me to cast my memory fondly back to last Saturday and Sunday.

(Hover over the pictures to see captions.)

Last weekend was equally as sweltering, which prompted my husband to call me at work on Friday afternoon, all full of spur-of-the-moment planning. He asked if I wanted to head up to Flagstaff for an overnight getaway, to get out of the heat and to indulge in the annual Made in the Shade Beer Festival. Well, he certainly didn’t have to ask me twice (we are great fans of the beer festival, after all) - within a half hour I secured us a hotel room. Since, due to our last minute planning, everything in Flagstaff was booked or exorbitantly priced (the Beer Festival AND the Flagstaff Music Festival were going on) I ended up booking us a room in Sedona. It’s only a quick 28-mile jaunt down 89A from Flagstaff and, for that weekend anyway, cheaper.

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