The herd is on the move! It doesn’t matter if you see black stripes on white bodies, or white stripes on black bodies, the one thing we can all agree on is that zebras are awesome. If you don’t agree you can take your post reading elsewhere (like the next post for instance, it’s zebra-free!).

Besides, this post isn’t about zebras, per se, but rather where they are running. That’s the Okavango Delta in the Republic of Botswana, you can’t miss it. Botswana, for those of you playing along  at home, is landlocked, claims one of the stronger economies in the world, and has a democratic government. Also, it’s hot.

The Okavango Delta is the largest inland delta in the world. It is produced by seasonal flooding from the Okavango River and, fun fact, instead of draining to the sea, the majority of the water is taken by plants and evaporation.

The delta is home to a variety of wildlife which has developed into a fairly lucrative tourist attraction. In addition to our zebras (above) you can find (from Wikipedia):

African Bush Elephant, African Buffalo, African Wild Dog, Hippopotamus, Lechwe, Topi, Blue Wildebeest, Giraffe, Nile crocodile, Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, Brown Hyena, Spotted Hyena, Greater Kudu, Sable Antelope, Black Rhinoceros, White Rhinoceros, Warthog, Chacma Baboon and over 400 species of bird.

I’m pretty sure it’s where they filmed the Lion King.

If you are planning on taking a safari vacation in the area, consider one of the many lodges with environmental-friendly policies. It’s a nice touch.

Tell the zebras I said hello.

Photo: Okavango Delta by Balfour/Getty courtesy of Life Books

Although the marketing material compared the town to Las Vegas, Nevada and Branson, Missouri – two destinations known for their over the top entertainment – I was nonetheless surprised upon driving into Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The billboards blinked and the painted buildings fought for attention from the eye. It was a landscape that seemed like it should be set to a soundtrack of honking horns and carnival barkers, although neither could actually be heard anywhere I visited. This was, it was clear with in moments, a place to come for a good time – although not necessarily a relaxing one. But with so many families using their precious vacation days to escape over-scheduled lives, isn’t a little relaxation practically a requirement for any family vacation? I think so, and fortunately we were able to find a little bit of it amid the hustle and bustle of this tourism cornucopia.

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Chicago's Navy Pier

Do you have a family?  Is Chicago your kind of town?  Well, you’re in luck.

The Navy Pier, pictured here, is free to the public.  That’s FREE.  It’s Chicago’s most visited tourist attraction and has all kinds of activities and events for travelers of all ages.

The Ferris wheel, a carousel and swing ride bring the boardwalk to life.  The miniature golf course, the Amazing Chicago Funhouse Maze and Chicago Children’s Museum give the area a taste that is strictly Chicago.  Also, stuff to eat.

Visit Chicago.  Take the kids.

UPDATE: Sorry about the Olympics, Chicago.  We still dig you.

Photo courtesy of the City of Chicago

For more family-friendly travel photos visit DeliciousBaby’s Photo Fridays.

Sometimes trade shows are fun.  And sometimes they are as fun as having a cold on a rainy day stuck at home with two little boys under 4 and no daycare.  Lucky for me the LA Times Travel Show held at the Los Angeles Convention Center February 14-15 fit into the former category.  Basically it was a giant room filled with people selling fantasy – if you did not leave that show without the overwhelming urge to hop on a plane to Africa or Utah or Ireland, then you must have serious pteromechanophobia.

Guard at the door

Admission to the show was $10 per person with many discount opportunities published in the paper and by AAA.  Parking was $12.  Hmm.  There was a food court outside the show where the only visible snacks were evident besides the Clif Bar samples at their booth.

Guard of the Clif bar samples (Actually, this is the Big Bear mascot posing with me.) (The BEAR is the mascot, I am the woman.)

I sauntered up and down the rows of exhibitors, reusable tote bag over my arm courtesy of Mendocino County.  Those tote bags were necessary for the collection of the hundred or so pamphlets, brochures, USB drives, business cards, postcards, maps, bookmarks, etc. that I collected.  Not to worry about waste – I will actually use them for future posts here, and when I am finished my children will turn them into art projects.  Go green!

There were exhibitors from every major travel destination that you can think of, and some you would not suspect, like Transylvania.  There were tour companies, river rafting guides, tarot card readers, underwear salespeople (yes, really), seminars by travel experts, performances by dancers or musicians native to some of the lands to which you might travel, and several notable miniature landmarks.

Look kids!  There’s Big Ben!

I attended the show during the last few hours of the last day.  It took me a few hours to make it from one side of the hall to the other, and by the time I got to the more exotic location booths, they were packing up to leave.  Africa Row had this picturesque exhibit of wild animals one might find on safari.  I leaned on the striped quadriped as I checked email on my phone, and someone came up to me and said “Is that your zebra?”  I don’t think I answered, I was so taken aback by the question.

The sign didn’t say “Don’t lean on the animals.”

Coming from a family vacation standpoint, I was looking for information about interesting travel destinations or attractions that are suitable for children.  A few of these were decidedly not so.

This woman runs a burlesque show starring women over 50.

But there were cool ideas I had not thought of before, including Home Exchange , a network in which you can home swap while on vacation instead of getting a hotel room or staying with relatives who have lots of staircases or breakable things.  You can match up with other like-minded families, whose homes are similarly kid-proofed, and save a lot of money.  If saving money is not your issue, you can hire a tour company like Intrepid Travel or Optical Edge Adventures to plan a one-of-a-kind travel package for you, tailored to the ages of people in your family and your travel preferences.

I missed all of the seminars held by respected travel experts like Rick Steves, Arthur and Pauline Frommer and Samantha Brown from the Travel Channel because of my late attendance.  However, I made it there in time to contemplate riding the zip line, for which there had been a 2-hour wait the day before.  It only took me 30 seconds and a glimpse at the precarious rope ladder to help me decide against it.

Instead, I had an immersive experience at the Be a Diver scuba pool where instructors from local dive shops taught novices how to use the underwater breathing apparatus.  They even took underwater digital photos, which I promise to share when they are posted at the Be a Diver website.

All this is to say that I got enough paper in my tote bag to write about here for at least a couple of months, and after going to the Travel Show I can say I recommend it.  If you love to travel and one of these events comes to your area, it’s a great place to gather information, ideas, and discounts, and to sign up to win free trips!