Seriously? Can this look any more wonderful? I don’t think so.

Whether you are taking a romantic sail beneath the moonlight, a solo trip around the world or an afternoon excursion with the entire family, it’s hard to beat a day of wind and water.

Not to be a downer, but there are some important things to keep in mind, especially if children are involved: Safety vests/approved flotation devices should be worn by kids at all times (and any adult that isn’t that strong of a swimmer), sunscreen saves skin and lives (plus it usually smells pretty good), know what you’re doing and where you are — this last one may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many three hour tours end badly. That said, sailing (and boating in general) is a great way to spend a family summer vacation. Have fun!

This post is part of our Friday Family Series.

Photo: crlbvi via Flickr

Who needs a StairMaster when you’ve got ancient ruins like these? This pyramid in Chemax, Yucatan in Mexico is older than the hills it is built upon (not really) and has been making tourists feel the burn for decades.

I’m torn between two schools of thought here:  a) random people probably shouldn’t be allowed to climb all over a crumbling historical site, both for safety and archeological reasons, and b) I really want to climb that pyramid. I’m going to go with the latter until I have a chance to do so, and then I’ll change my mind without a hint of hypocrisy.

This post is Wordless Wednesday entry. Don’t worry, the words will self-destruct in 30 seconds. Give or take.

Photo: Hugo Cadavez via Flickr

Dolphins in the Sea of Cortez, doing thier thing.

One day, about 5 years ago, my family and I took a vacation to Catalina Island just off of Los Angeles. It was a lot of fun and I’ve mentioned it numerous times over my years here at UpTake.

However, one thing that I’ve never gone into is how I was completely hosed on the dolphin experience that EVERYONE on the boat shared — except for me and my son. Turns out that his bladder also serves as an indicator to when something magical is going to happen, because he had to use the restroom, coming and going, just before pods of dolphins swam alongside our boat. Thousands of them, apparently. I hear it was fantastic.

Not that I’m bitter.

This post is part of our Friday Family Series.

Photo: lowjumpingfrog via Flickr

… but I’m giving you one, because, seriously? How pretty is this? If you said “very” then you are correct. Congratulations on that.

This photo was taken at Gooderstone Water Gardens in the United Kingdom. I figured that it had to be there or Seattle, what with all the green and the water and the wow! going on.

And then there are the mosquitoes, but let’s not talk about that.

This photo is a Wordless Wednesday entry and a Wordfull Wednesday entry AT THE SAME TIME. Except I made the latter one up.

It’s a good idea though.

Photo by Martin Pettitt via Flickr