Cozy Digs on a Frosty Night – A Review of Burlington’s Hotel Vermont

If you follow this blog you know that our family spends quite a bit of time in Vermont. Whether we’re skiing the slopes or hiking the trails, the Green Mountain state is one of our favorite destinations. Despite frequent visits, we hadn’t managed to make it to one of Vermont’s coolest cities. Subsequently, Burlington has been at the top of my travel list for quite some time. Because of the abundance of outdoor activities in and around the area, I’d {Read More}

On the Shores of Glimmerglass – Cooperstown’s Otesaga Resort

Wherever the eye turned, nothing met it but the mirror-like surface of the lake, the placid view of heaven, and the dense setting of the woods. – From “The Deerslayer” by James Fenimore Cooper As a traveling family, we have had the opportunity to visit many hotels and resorts. Some of these have merely been a place to lay our heads at the end of a day filled with outdoor adventures while others have been destinations in themselves. The Otesaga {Read More}

Baseball and Beyond – A Weekend in Cooperstown, New York

Along many miles of two-lane roads through north-central New York, abandoned farmhouses languish with broken windows and sagging clapboard siding that has weathered to a deep gray.  Each one is its own version of Dorothy Gale’s house after the twister dropped it down on Munchkinland, yet the surrounding rural upstate-New York area has none of Oz’s Technicolor glitz. My girls and I were headed north for a weekend in Cooperstown, and as we traveled through the country beneath an overcast {Read More}

Taming the Beast – A First Timer’s Guide to Killington Resort

As a newer skier, I like to know what I’m getting myself into.  I’m always afraid to go up a lift and not be able to get back down.  I also tore a ligament in my thumb a few weeks ago, so I’ve been wearing a hand brace and skiing without poles (note to self–newbies shouldn’t ski too fast).  Consequently, I haven’t wanted to find myself at the tops of any runs that are out of my league.  So before {Read More}

Join the #KissColdAway Twitter Party – February 24, 9-10 pm

The northeast has been under winter’s siege since late January with above average snowfalls being recorded all over the country.  Nearly 8 feet of snow has fallen on Boston alone in the past three weeks! This may be well and good for winter sports—our family has certainly taken advantage of the awesome conditions on the ski slopes and snowshoe trails of Vermont this season—but shoveling the driveway, dealing with power outages, and listening to repeat blizzard warnings have been far {Read More}

The Gray Ghost Inn – Cozy Digs at the Foot of Mount Snow

What are some of the things people look for when choosing a place to stay for a family ski trip?  Close proximity to the mountain? Inviting rooms that comfortably accommodate the whole family? A relaxed, welcoming environment where you can snuggle up by the fire after a day on the slopes?  Accommodations in Vermont ski areas run the gamut from simple village B&Bs to luxurious slope side resorts and everything in between.  On a recent, spontaneous overnight to Mount Snow, {Read More}

Washington, DC with Kids – A Weekend Itinerary

Washington, DC is a quintessential family destination.  With so much to do and see it can be tough to narrow down the choices to decide what to fit in to a weekend visit.  I think that the important thing to remember with any trip is that you’re not going to be able to do it all.  The key is to narrow your focus to a few great places and activities–this strategy makes for a more relaxed visit and happier kids {Read More}

Washington, DC for Families – Touring the Monuments by Bike

Over Columbus Day weekend the girls and I took a mother-daughters road trip down to Washington, DC.  Depending on the traffic, the DC metro area is about a 5 hour drive from our house in Westchester County, New York, just outside of New York City.  Because the girls had a half-day that Friday, we were able to get on the road by noon which helped us avoid the bulk of the rush hour volume and we pulled into our weekend {Read More}

National Geographic’s International Photography Contest for Kids

This past weekend, my girls and I set out to explore Washington, DC.  It was a bit of a whirlwind and we did our best to experience as much as we could in only two days time.  We’d only visited DC once before as a family.  Four years ago I ran the Marine Corps Marathon (an awesome marathon if you’re in the market), and we spent the days before the race visiting the some of the Smithsonian museums and taking {Read More}

Fearless in the Forest – A High Ropes Adventure in the Berkshires

“Dude! You just crushed that one!” “Whoa! That was awesome, Buddy!” “You totally killed it! You definitely need to get a job here when you get bigger!” These were just a few of the exclamations that echoed through the forest yesterday during our visit to Ramblewild, an incredible tree-to-tree adventure park located at the base of Brodie Mountain in the Berkshires. This was my second visit to Ramblewild in as many months, the first time being a field trip my {Read More}