ATTN PARENTS: NEED SOME IDEAS TO TRAVEL WITH KIDS?

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Now is the time to plan a daycation on roads less traveled.

From picnics in open spaces to stepping back in time with visits to historical sites, nature excursions to walking and driving tours, small towns offer options for off-the-beaten path getaways. All provide plenty of relaxation and outdoor adventures, with fewer crowds and room to wander.

But, planning trips can be so frustrating … especially when your kids are bored and begging for ideas on something fun to do … away from the backyard! “Traveling with kids shouldn’t be so hard. We wanted to make family trips easy so, we researched and wrote books about years of experiences,” says Family Travel Mom, Michele Z.  KIDS LOVE TRAVEL GUIDES include great hints on what kids like best.

  • Kids can discover places to race and fly over giant sand dunes or just dip your toes in the water.  Watch a butterfly form before your eyes or learn the secrets of a perfect children’s garden.
  • Another weekend you’ll discover where ponies swim and dolphins dance, or dig into archaeology and living history. Search for real treasure, pirates, castles and lost civilizations. Cross prairies, romp around forts, or venture on journeys of Indians and explorers.
  • And what about the wonders of nature – the roar of the falls, fossils, fish ladders or pine forests.  Rent a boat to traverse a new river or smile at the antics of baby animals in zoos.

The books provide all the details a family needs to know (i.e. maps, directions, websites, prices, reviews) to save lots of time. PLUS:

  • The ACTIVITY INDEX is helpful. Choose to explore Animals & Farms, Outdoor Exploring, or Historical sites that often have walking trails and gardens.
  • Limited budget, don’t worry – each book finds lots of places to visit for little or no charge!
  • Packed full of over 500 places designed for children between the ages of 2-15. Updated regularly.
  • Quick look Favorites in each region.
  • Tried & true Suggested Lodging & Dining that appeal to kids. Often we mention candy shops & Mom & Pop ice cream shops around the corner from major attractions.

The series offers 16 regional travel guides: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, The Carolinas, Virginia, Wisconsin, I-75 & I-95

Grab your KIDS LOVE TRAVEL GUIDE and Create your own old-fashioned Road Trips!  Books can be purchased at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Updates are on https://kidslovetravel.com/travel-books/

NEW Edition – Kids Love I-95!

KIDS LOVE I-95 – Your Family Travel Guide to I-95. 500 Kid-Tested Fun Stops & Unique Spots from the Mid-Atlantic to Miami

Welcome to Side-Tripping with Kids – a New Way to Travel Quick Stops along I-95. 

SideTrips!: travel just minutes off the interstate to learn of hidden messages and historic secrets. Fly in Space and see priceless national treasures. Escape rooms full of bugs, enchanted gardens, explosive museums, pirate ships, and haunted lighthouses & forts. See George Washington’s teeth, experience a Civil War battle, and find the elusive Fountain of Youth.

We’ll tell you exactly how to find unique landmarks and favorite pit stops, too. Make spontaneous or planned sidetrips and get to know your favorite destinations better! All on a budget of time and money.

The print books are available at Bookstores and Online Retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. NOTE: Amazon often runs sales on our best selling titles each season. Our travel guides are best suited to print books so you can easily mark and highlight places you want to visit next!

New, Updated Kids Love Pennsylvania is here!

Just in time for spring and summer travels…

KIDS LOVE PENNSYLVANIA

An Organized Family Travel Guide to Exploring “Kid-Friendly” Pennsylvania – 600 Fun Stops & Unique Spots

Your kids will love finding where to discover Oil and take a tram ride deep into Coal Mines…hike along tall trees, great lakes, waterfalls and grand canyons…tour fun Snack Food Factories…twist your own Pretzel…take a peak at Polar Bears and Groundhogs…travel around Train Curves and Inclines…or, “meet” Ben Franklin, Abraham Lincoln and even see some real Christopher Columbus stuff!

Each chapter is a day trip zone including points of interest, events and suggested lodging and dining options.

Save Time. New features include QUICK TOURS and web resources to quickly help you make the most of a short trip in each chapter. Searching countless hours on the internet? We give you fast travel facts, prices, and our kid-tested reviews for every listing. We did the work so you don’t have to.

Save Money. Once you purchase the book you’ll have access to a special page of online updates that keeps your book FRESH for years. Plus, we’ve found many places to visit for little or no charge.

The books are available at Bookstores and Online Retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

SPRING BREAK AT THE BEACH

Hilton Head Island Beach Fun

On a recent trip we found a wonderful base hotel, The Beach House, from which we could play. Comfortable rooms, right on the beach, good food and drink served at the Porch and Tiki Hut, a spacious pool area with loads of lounge chairs, and the best part, easy access to all this island offers!

We puttered around the island, too, and can offer some insider tips: 

Coastal Discovery Museum: A great spot for learning about the history and the Lowcountry’s natural surroundings. The kids can romp and play around history and unique natural environs. The grounds are free to access, and they hold regular hands-on learning events:

Sea Pines Resort: Hilton Head Island’s original resort, and home of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage. Explore the natural history or ancient Native American shell rings at the Sea Pines Forest Preserve, shop at Harbour Town, visit the animals at Lawton Stables or the Salty Dog at South Beach Marina.   

Sandbox Children’s Museum: An interactive and sensory experience for kids. This brand-new building opened just two years ago.  
While you are there, check out the Lowcountry Celebration park, Hilton Head Island’s newest and award-winning park, complete with a playground modeled on a replicate of the Adventure – the ship in which Capt. William Hilton discovered the island. It’s located in the popular Coligny district – where the Beach House is located.

Harbour Town Lighthouse: A climb to the top is a history lesson of Hilton Head Island, and the views of the Calibogue Sound offer a beautiful view – especially during sunset.
https://harbourtownlighthouse.com/  

Kids can easily climb this lighthouse and the reward is the walk around the top!

Mermaid of Hilton Head: https://www.mermaidofhiltonhead.com/

Pirates of Hilton Head: An interactive treasure hunt. www.piratesofhiltonhead.com

Bluffton parks: Just over the bridge of Hilton Head is Bluffton, which has been growing with young families. Their parks are state-of-the-art: Oscar Frazier, Wright Family, Martin Family, and DuBois. Bluffton is also home to a thriving arts and culinary scene, as well as the beloved Thursday Farmers Market. https://www.visitbluffton.org/   

Get on the water: Family-friendly adventure on the water. They offer dolphin tours, kayak and boating excursions, and so much more.

Biking is one of the best ways to see the island! Hilton Head Island is a Gold-Level Biking Community and with over 50 miles of back paths, it’s easy to get around on two wheels.  

Beach: Make sure you catch the sunrise! There’s also no better way to spend your day than on the beach.  

Places to eat: there are a dozen ice cream shops and candy shops. Best kids meals are found at the Salty Dog and the Crazy Crab. Order a seafood boil and share it as a family.

For events in the community, please visit: https://www.hiltonheadisland.org/events

Happy Valentine’s Day – Kids Love Virginia!

Virginia is for family love…

UPDATED Edition

Virginia is for love and February 14th is the perfect time to introduce a new edition of KIDS LOVE VIRGINIA, An Organized Family Travel Guide to Kid-Friendly Virginia! All the listings have been UPDATED, about a dozen places closed (mostly little museums that didn’t survive the pandemic shutdown), yet a handful of new places opened or added significant new attractions.

The print books are available at Bookstores and Online Retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. NOTE: Amazon often runs sales on our best selling titles each season. Our travel guides are best suited to print books so you can easily mark and highlight places you want to visit next!

Family Business Travel

ALL INCLUSIVE RESORTS – Mom or Dad at a conference in a tourist town? Why not stay, work and play together and maybe never have to leave the property. Consider Resort Conference complexes.

But are these resorts too elegant? At a maximum, we look for relaxed elegance. Here’s a rundown of all the family-friendly amenities we explored during a recent visit: (we never needed to leave the property for three days):

· Kids Nite Out (weekend evenings for ages 4-14 with extra hourly fee) offering a variety of supervised activities…play areas, group games, computers, arts and crafts, movies, board games, treasure hunts.

· Guest Rooms – include high-speed internet connection, modern flat screen TVs, mini-frig and spacious, high fluff beds.

· Full service Spa

· 18-hole golf course (golf camps for kids)

· Fishing dock and lake

· Many pools, including a lap pool, family pool, adult quiet pool and kiddie wading pool plus jacuzzis

· Hiking trails with interpretive signs

· Two lighted tennis courts

· Sand volleyball, bocce ball

· Video game room

· Horseshoes, ping pong

· Complimentary equipment available for some sports, by reservation thru the fitness spa area.

· Complimentary bus shuttle to major theme parks in the area

· Loads of restaurants on premises. The Cafés are our favorite because most are open 24 hours (late night or early morning eaters) and serve absolutely wonderful, freshly made in front of you, salads and sandwiches.

Our KIDS LOVE books for Tennessee, Virginia, Michigan and Florida all list recommended resorts like these. Family packages usually start at $200.00 per night and that cost may be taken care of by the business.

HOLIDAY FAMILY TRAVEL ON A BUDGET

Our budget travel tips for making Holiday Getaways more affordable.

Besides using one of our guidebooks to get unique ideas for places to go, here are some other suggestions we offer.

1. PLAN  2 – 4 ACTIVITIES within a one hour drive time of each other. Base you choices on the season of year.  Holiday Trolley Tours are so fun – singing carols and sipping hot cocoa…invite cousins, grandparents, etc. along.

2.  If your budget allows, have the VEHICLE EQUIPPED WITH A TV unit. Play Christmas movies all the way…

3.  Choose FAMILY FRIENDLY LODGING. Our family “vacations for a living” so we found budget hotels the norm. We joined hotel memberships and charge cards. We look for hotels with indoor pools and free breakfast. For some reason, if they offer both, they are more likely to be clean and family-friendly environments. 

4.  HISTORY is easy, if you SNEAK IT IN! Engage your kids by learning with Santa and his elves. Historical homes are basically boring to tour in the summer, but near the holidays, what stuffy old house doesn’t smell sweet with the scent of cinnamon and gingerbread cookies?

What about you?

Do you have some tricks you’ve learned that make traveling to visit relatives at Christmas less stressful but still inexpensive and fun?

Please comment and let us know…

Top 5 Ways to Explore Your Hometown w/ Your Kids

Do you ever wonder if your kids would want to join you on a short journey back to your hometown? Wonder more what it would be like to be a tourist in your own town?

Sometimes, as your children age, it’s time to change things up a bit.

Over Christmas Break, I presented my kids with a present of a trip to just one city, just one part of the city – downtown (pittsburgese: pronounced dahntahn) PITTSBURGH – my birth town.

Here’s how I suggest you set this up: (no matter the town)

1. Book a hotel downtown – one with an indoor pool, restaurant, and downtown shuttle service is best.

2. Find the best way to see downtown in all it’s splendor. Most often that is some sort of transport.

3. Try a local history museum – discover trivia you probably never knew…

4. Gravitate to any cultural area of shopping/dining/markets so you can sample the “flavors” of the city.

5. Try to fit in at least one sporting event.

(for more ideas on Pittsburgh tourism try www.visitpittsburgh.com)

PLANNING A SPORTS FAN VACATION

I live in the Midwest so we’re used to seasons. And…any sports fan knows the change of sesaons means the change in sports played too.

We decided to explore a City of Champions – Pittsburgh, PA – just for its sports.

Take a Guided Tour

After a short (1 to 2 hour) tour you have the lay of the land. 

Use Shuttles

Many big sports cities offer shuttle service to/from nearby hotels or major attractions right to the front door (or dock) of the sports arena/field.

Gateway Clipper tours and shuttles on the river

Go to Games

Pro Baseball/Hockey/Soccer games often have tickets available for a fair price.

Heinz Field pregame activities

Go Behind the Scenes

Take a stadium tour or attend a training camp.

Try to Find Sports History

Usually it isn’t hard to find a local museum with plenty of local sports history memorabilia.

Pick Lodging and Dining

With a local flare or within a short walk/shuttle to games.

Some of our favs:

Marriott Pittsburgh City Center – The official hotel of the Pittsburgh Penguins is right next to the Consol Center (home of Penguins NHL Hockey). Uptown flair. Take their shuttle to the games or the Strip. Within 6-8 blocks of most downtown shopping/dining.

Cambria Suites Pittsburgh at Consol Energy Center. Friendliest shuttle drivers ever. Lots of sports fans stay here.

THE STRIP! Blocks of pure Pittsburgh. Along the Allegheny River just northeast of Downtown is the mile-long stretch known as The Strip District. Here, industrial and warehouse spaces have been reclaimed to support a bustling marketplace. During the day, this area serves as Pittsburgh’s most popular market district, offering the freshest foodstuffs, including enticing polish, irish, italian, and greek smells wafting from the door fronts and dozens of street and store vendors selling much “BLACK AND GOLD”. (the Strip: pg 305 of KIDS LOVE PENNSYLVANIA)

For those of you following along by means of KIDS LOVE PENNSYLVANIA, pages 291 thru 313 .  We promise, with our books as your base we give you all the help you need to plan any daytrips – even the Sports fanatic kind!

HIT THE ROAD, JACK: AMERICANS LIKELY TO ROAD TRIP BY LABOR DAY

Car Shopping Site Edmunds.com Sheds Light on the Great American Road Trip

Whether it’s the trip back to college, a last-minute Labor Day escape or an end-of-summer getaway, Americans find that August is a great time to hit the road.

And, most drivers had road trips in mind when they shopped for their vehicle, with cargo space being the primary attractor (22 percent). The great American road trip is alive and well with many drivers planning to go the distance (500+ miles), snap selfies and pump their favorite tunes.

Some other takeaways include:

  • We love that open road: More than 92 percent would be willing to drive up to 500 miles for a vacation.
  • But first, let’s take a selfie: Thirty-four percent of road trippers will take anywhere from 1-10 selfies on their journey.
  • GPS is key: GPS, music and travel companions are must-haves for road trips (27 percent, 24 percent and 25 percent, respectively).
  • Parents WILL turn that car around: Of the respondents with children, nearly half (45 percent) will threaten to turn the car around at least once on a road trip.
  • Eyes on the road: Nearly 90 percent of respondents said they could last over an hour without checking their phones while on a road trip.
  • Classic rock trumps pop: When respondents were given the choice of road trip anthems, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” beat out modern day pop hits for the top spot.

“It’s not surprising to us that more than 80 percent of respondents had road trips in mind when they were car shopping,” said Edmunds.com. “Road trips are the ultimate test for any new vehicle; if the car can be reliable and comfortable while handling all the loading, unloading and hauling with adequate fuel efficiency, then it’ll definitely make a great long term vehicle.”

GOT the END OF SUMMER BLUES? WE DO TOO.

LET’S HAVE SOME FUN with KIDS LOVE I-75 as our guide! (and, we’re GIVING AWAY copies of this interstate family travel guide)

I-75 FAMILY TRAVEL GUIDE

HI FAMILY TRAVEL FANS!

I’m super excited about this book!

Reason? So many folks crave easy family travel but need some good advice…

I’ve spent years visiting, reviewing, and seeking the best in family travel.

And, being a super mom (aren’t we all?), organizing my finds into easy-to-use chapters that any friend can use at a glance to plan the best trips for their family.

So, here’s what the book is all about:

SideTrips! Travel just minutes off the interstate to explore lands of mighty bridges and misty swamps. Meet cowboys and Indians, authors and inventors. Discover fun factory tours or ride the rails past parks & pioneer settlements. Hunt through caves and romp around playful forts. Or, hang out with sly sharks or towering dinos! Be spontaneous, make planned sidetrips or get to know your favorite destination better.

Family Friendly Navigation – find what interests you on 91 maps (20 miles per page) with detailed reviews later in the chapter. These are the attractions worth exiting the highway for.

Save Time. Searching countless hours on the internet? We give you fast travel facts, prices, and our kid-tested reviews for every listing. We did the work so you don’t have to. Your won’t find this information ORGANIZED together anywhere else!

Save Money. Plus, we’ve found many places to visit for little or no charge.

Wanna get a copy of this book FREE? Here’s how: GO TO OUR FAN PAGE ON FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/kidslovetravel anytime in AUGUST.

  • 1. LIKE Kids Love Travel on Facebook. Then, comment on a Facebook post to be entered to win a KIDS LOVE I-75 book.
  • 2. Already a FAN? Just comment on a Facebook post in AUGUST to be entered to win a copy each week.
  • 3. Another entry is added if you sign up for our email updates list: sign up on Sidebar Subscribe2 link on the right.

Good Luck,

Michele Z