This summer was sort of lame in that we didn't get to travel too much due to Carter healing from the surgery he had in May. That is OK. We still had a great summer with tons of family time AND we still were able to go on our annual trip camping at Snow Mountain Ranch. I love this camping trip. Each year we go with 9-10 families to Snow Mountain Ranch right outside of Winter Park, Colorado. Of course, we stay in a lodge, Indian Peaks to be exact, in a wheelchair accessible room. What? It's camping! There is no TV for goodness sake. We have to bring our iPad's and stream our home cable apps over their wi-fi just to watch Iron Chef! That's as primitive as I get people. What's great about camping at Snow Mountain Ranch though is that our friends that do choose to rough it in a tent have that option in the Hopi Campground area, or you can rent a yurt, or a cabin. Really, there are a ton of options for where to lay your head at night so it works out perfectly for a large group of diverse families. But I love staying at Indian Peaks because right outside our room is this: To the right of that is a huge playground for the kids. During the day, all the families ...
Summer Is California
We made the decision not to travel far this summer due to the surgery Carter needed to have. It was, obviously, the right decision and things going forward are going to be so much better for him and us as a family. But it's depressing giving up your summer to a hospital. It's also one of the first summers in a long time we haven't made it to California. To me, summer IS California. As a kid I would pack up and head to northern California to spend time each summer with my cousins in Marin County. My cousin Jenny and I would visit Santa Cruz to Fisherman's Wharf. Float down the Russian River and catch tadpoles at Lake Elizabeth. I'd spend a few days touring the big city (San Francisco) with my Uncles Guy and Stan and always always had to ride the trolleys and go to Ghiradelli Square. As I got older, summers meant Southern California beaches-La Jolla and Mission Beach seemed to be the two hot spots our friends split their time between as we were all what is unaffectionately called "zonies"-people from AZ that take over So. Cal in the summer. I think Bob and I are maybe 17 in this picture taken in La Jolla. As we got a bit older we would do silly things like fly to San ...
Our Caribbean Cruise on the Celebrity Constellation Review
This past spring break my family and I took a 4 night Western Caribbean cruise docking in both Key West and Cozumel.Celebrity Cruises had a reputation for being very wheelchair friendly and we choose The Constellation for 3 reasons-accessibility, dates, and we got a kicking deal booking last minute. The Constellation was built in 1991 and while its age is showing a bit, we thoroughly enjoyed our time on board. We had two balcony staterooms, cabins 6107, which is handicapped accessible and 6108. I wrote about the wheelchair accessibility of Celebrity Constellation on Traveling Mom if you want to check that out as well. Here are the Top 5 Things We Loved About Celebrity Cruises Constellation Ocean Liners In order for us to do a Celebrity Constellation review the PR department was kind enough to arrange a special dinner for my birthday at Ocean Liners, their premier pay French restaurant. The restaurant is beautiful and any foodie would be in heaven here. My family was treated to all the special menu offerings but the highlights were the flambéed lobster and the dark chocolate soufflé. If cruising on board with kids I suggest sending the kids to one of the many activities ...
Dallas Fort Worth Itinerary | I Left My Heart In Texas
Last November, Connor and I took off for a fabulous 3 day weekend for a Dallas Fort Worth itinerary. I wanted to wait and tell y'all about it because I had such a wonderful time that I didn't want this story to get lost in the holiday noise. If you have yet to visit the Dallas/Fort Worth area I hope that as you are planning your 2013 adventures, a trip to this area of TX lands on your map after this post. Fortunately a lot of friends attended this same trip with us, so for some of the details I will link you over to their posts. Our trip started off at the Omni in Dallas for the Family Travel Conference. I was really impressed with all the cool little features in the Omni rooms. During the conference, Connor snuck off down the street to the Old Red Museum. He loved it. We visited the Dallas Zoo one night for dinner. The food was lovely and we got some cool closeups of the elephants and the penguins. But the real star of the that trip was actually the Galleria Mall where Connor had a ball playing like a little kid. While we loved Dallas, Fort Worth is really the area that stole our heart. Really, we have met with plenty of CVB's (Convention and Visitors Bureaus) in our ...
A Fish Tale of a Fathers Day
Summer and fishing seem to go hand and hand. The idyllic idea of catching a gigantic fish with dear old Dad. Thing is, it usually isn't so idyllic. How it really goes: Family starts off all excited with a cooler full of worms and gatorade. Kid casts and hurts their sibling who was smart enough to stand behind them. Sibling cries. Dad helps get it safely in the water. "Dad, my string broke" "Dad, my worm fell off" "Dad, its been in the water 3 minutes. When will the big fish jump on it" "Dad, its been 5 minutes and no fish" "Dad this is boring" "Mom, did you bring my DS?" "Dad, when can we go home?" Parents pack up the car and head home with their Norman Rockwell dreams crushed. Multiply the above scenario by as many kids as you bring with you. I know. We have been trying since the kids were little. We have tried every lake, reservoir and have, yes, resorted to those 'shoot in a barrel' places (shhh....don't judge). So when my husband decided he wanted to learn how to fly fish with the teens I just rolled my eyes. Not only has regular fishing been a nightmare, I couldn't imagine how Carter would manage that in his wheelchair. But ...