THALALO

Blue Hill Farm at Stone Barns has as a slogan ‘know thy farmer’.  And getting to know the farmer is an excellent reason to take the kids out for a day at Stone Barns.  We went up this last sunday not knowing exactly what to expect.  Just about thirty minutes outside of the city, what we found was a quiet bit of nature and a romanticized version of a farm that enchanted the children — to the point that my son cried when we left.

Stone Farms is an 80-acre four-season farm that has a serious public education focus, and prides itself on ‘proving training, knowledge, and hands on experience to create the next generation of thoughtful food producers and consumers’.  The farm, in many ways, seems almost deserted.  You are left to your own devices, to explore the greenhouses, visit with the sheep, and play with the chickens that appear to wander freely throughout the farm.  There are no guides, no guards to remind you what not to touch — it really is like visiting a friend’s farm, on a day that the friend is not there.

For dining there is, of course, the famous Blue Hill at Stone Barns Restaurant, but be sure to make a reservation well in advance.  Otherwise, you can also procure a delicious lunch at the more casual Blue Hill Cafe, where you’ll find amazing locally grown goods for a picnic in the courtyard (if you make it through the lines).

We managed just a basic overview of the farm this time, but the list of activities on their calendar was tempting.  From cooking classes to farming workshops to kids’ classes on turkey feeding, there were a plethora of tantalizing programs to bring us back.  We may just return next weekend to pick some chicken eggs…

Sailing in the BVI with children, even in hurricane season, is amazing.  In September, my mother-in-law came to visit from South Africa, so we took a week to return to where my husband spent his childhood, the British Virgin Islands.  Sailing with young children in a catamaran seems like a crazy idea, but actually it’s a wonderful way to travel. It’s like a having a moving hotel with a pool attached — every morning the kids would wake up at a different deserted island, eat their breakfasts on deck, and then jump into the turquoise waters.  Sailing in a catamaran is much more stable that a standard sailboat, so kids can comfortably move around, play, nap, whatever.

And the British Virgin Islands are perfect for a relaxed family adventure.  No island is more than a few hours sail away, and there are plenty of different islands so you can sleep in a different cove every night.  It’s incredibly therapeutic to wake up with your family alone in a pristine blue sea.  And spending your days snorkeling, hunting for sea shells, and just wandering different beaches feels utterly decadent.

There a plenty of beach bars for having dinner, and cocktails.  There are too many highlights to list here — but be sure to check out the Willie T, a floating pirate ship/restaurant on Norman Island.  And if you get land-sick, you can also moor your boat, and spent a night at one of many little hotels along the coast.  We love Myett’s Hotel in Cane Garden Bay, also lovely for dinner or sundowners…

We recommend renting a bareboat charter – with or without a captain depending on your sailing expertise.  This way you have complete freedom with how your spend your trip.  Rent from Voyage Charters – in our experience, they have the absolute best catamarans, and also some wonderful skippers who can help you sail your boat.

The Tate Modern in London is modern art mecca, both for kids and adults.  The space itself is wonderful – graphic, vibrant, and inviting.  On my visit, I was mesmerized by the art — Marcel Duchamp, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Picasso, Kasimir Malevich and Richard Serra are but a few highlights — brillantly curated in a way that lures you from one installation to the next.

Start is a program that provides free art activity kits for kids (over 5) to accompany them on their visit through the museum.  While I was there, I saw a young boy huddled on the floor creating a collage, kids searching for clues in art installations, and a group playing a board game.  There is also the Interactive Zone, spread over multiple levels, featuring multimedia activities, a library, and video games.

The entire museum is incredibly directed at involving children, and yet manages not to impinge at all on the grown-up experience.

And when you leave, be sure take the river-side exit, and take the south bank walk along the Thames (head west).  This pedestrian path was a wonderful surprise to me.  It gives you a great tour of London – taking you past the National Theatre, the book market under the Waterloo Bridge, Jubilee Gardens (with its carousel in the summer), the London Eye, the Sea Life London Aquarium, and then ending at Big Ben and the Westminster Bridge.

Brand new and fresh out of the box – a beautiful playground just opened in Brooklyn (june 2010) and it is worth the commute over this summer.  We visited Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6 playground last weekend, and despite drizzling rain — who cares in a water park — the kids went crazy for it.  It’s unlike any playground in the city.  It is vast, designed, and built into the landscape over 1.6 acres.   Also, which other public playground has a climbing teepee, super-sized rope swings, and a 6000-square-foot sand box?   The crowning glory is a water lab, complete with a stream, wading pool, fountains, and a slew of interactive water contraptions.

(Click here to see the interactive map to the pier.)

The only caveat to our visit was that we weren’t able come anywhere close to covering the park in three hours, so I had to promise to go back another weekend — for the entire day.  Good thing it’s shady.

While shooting this week in Miami Beach, I happened to wander into Books & Books on Lincoln Road, and found one of the last of the dying breed – the local independent bookstore.

The shop is not expansive, but it is well-designed with small, intimate rooms each displaying a carefully curated selection of children’s classics, coffee table tomes, travel books, art editions, and fiction.  The books are dislayed with a bit of reverence (quietly suggesting that whispering might be in order).

Visiting this non-virtual storefront was an unexpected pleasure, especially since most of my book purchases now come courtesy of amazon.com (and I’m pretty sure there’s a kindle in my future).  It was so nice to be able to touch books again, peruse shelves, and appreciate some wonderful book design.  I picked up a fresh copy of Gil Adamson’s Help Me, Jacques Cousteau and headed out to their outdoor cafe to raise a glass to one of the last of the great bookstores.

Closer to home, very happy to report that a new Books and Books is opening. Books & Books Westhampton Beach will open on July 1, 2010.  Just in time to pick up some summer reading.

This last Sunday the forecast was bleak – overcast, cold, chance of showers – yup, a perfect opportunity to go to the Bronx Zoo.

In general, attempting a weekend visit to the world-renowned Bronx Zoo in the spring/summer is a tough proposition.  Battling both tourists and locals, it’s tough to even get into the zoo parking lot much less into any popular exhibits.  So a dismal, gray day was our chance — and it worked out impeccably.

We arrived around 10:30am and the Southern Boulevard lot (the closest to the Children’s Zoo) was only about a tenth full.  We didn’t even have to wait in line for lunch or for the Bug Carousel, which never happens.  Our Sunday highlights – tons of random peacock spottings, Madagascar (the gorillas are so human it’s shocking), the giraffes (I just love them), and the Wild Asia Monorail (half tour, half amusement park ride).

Everyone knows about the Bronx Zoo, so here are just a few tips:
1.  The Zoo Shuttle, unlike at most zoos, is not a tour, it’s just a useful way to get little legs to the other end of the zoo.
2.  Plan to spend the day – it is HUGE, so start at the zoo, end at the zoo, don’t make other plans.
3.  Bring snacks, for adults as well as kiddies- there are acres and acres to explore, and it gets you hungry.
4.  Lastly, even if you have to drag your stroller out of storage, bring transport.  Those kids that are too old for the stroller are unfortunately not too old to be carried.  Come prepared.

If you or your kids have never experienced Cirque de Soleil, this might be the year that you need to splurge and go visit the big blue and yellow tent residing on Randall’s Island.

Ovo, this year’s show, is called “an immersion into the teeming and energetic world of insects”.  It is a mind-blowing experience combining (in no particular order) breathtaking acrobatics, clowns, contortionists, jugglers, tumblers, aerial performers, haunting music, and astounding costumes.  My favorite moment was the finale. Dozens of acrobats dressed as crickets bounce off trampolines up thirty feet onto a giant sculpted wall, in an insane, intricately choreographed insect ballet — I really cannot describe it properly, and as you are not allowed to take photos inside the big tent, I can’t show you either.

I’ll just say that for some odd reason (perhaps the state of the economy?), we were able to get great seats this last Friday for Saturday (but FYI there is never a bad seat in the house).  So grab the New York Water Taxi, try a family discount package, and go see Ovo on Randall’s Island.  We see the Cirque show every year, and this one, (perhaps due to it being directed by a woman?) may be the best one in memory.  You cannot compare it to a Broadway show, a circus, or any performance that you have seen before.   Run, with or without children, as the show ends on June 6th.

Last night we had a very civilized Sunday dinner at Colicchio and Sons, the new-ish restaurant in West Chelsea which takes the place of Kraftsteak (another family favorite).  The front Tap Room is a relaxed, elegant setting that is also casual enough for families.  Many of the tables are interspersed with small, comfortable couches – great for squirmy little bodies.  And the servers were endlessly patient with our kids, spreading out the crayons and paper, humoring their many requests, and putting maraschino cherries in their water.  My son even got a tour of the wine vault from the sommelier.

The dinner was delicious.  The kids devoured the herb-roasted poussin and the rigatoni.  My five-year-old later stated that ‘from now on this is the only place I ever want to eat pasta’.   And my grass-fed skirt steak with ramp chimchurri was some of the best steak I’ve had.   The final touch -  little cakes that were given as parting gifts, a tradition carried over from Kraftsteak.

We walked home along the High Line, where swarms of locals were taking advantage of the end of that rare perfect New York spring evening.

Last weekend we were in upstate New York visiting our very good friends in Woodstock, and the children got the chance to have some riding lessons at the Green Heron Farm.  My kids adore the place – especially feeding and petting the new foal, Green Heron Kerry.  Owner and instructor Roberta Jackson is a seasoned pro with children, and through her quiet presence they quickly learn to ride and develop a love for horses — it’s fantastic just to watch.  Even my two-year old daughter enjoyed a few pony rides around the farm…

See more photos from our visit here.

On rainy Sundays we always seem to find ourselves in New Jersey at the Liberty Science Center.  If you like science, gadgets or large snakes, this is the place.  Compared to many of the other local kiddie museums, this one is a step above (FYI also a bit pricier than the others).

Here are our favorite exhibits.  IExplore is a must for the 5 and under set.  Kids can build and race their own car, shoot balls through a crazy pulley system, paint with water, climb scaffolding, and play with rice (crazy but that’s actually the crowd favorite).   At Our Hudson Home, see lots of wildlife from the Hudson river (turtles, sharks, horseshoe crabs) and build your own dam.   And do not miss the live science demonstrations – in ‘Subzero:  States of Matter‘ they produce an actual cloud and we all learn that there are four states of matter.  Who knew?  I’m pretty sure that there were only three when I was in grade school…

Their latest exhibit, Diabetes: A Deeper Look, did not sound at all compelling, but was actually quite informative for those visitors who read.   For those who can’t, there are still some of the most entertaining high tech/interactive exhibits that we have seen.  There were carnival-like games,  an obstacle course with moving platforms, and a rapping refrigerator — need I say more?

Just back from spring break in Breckenridge which turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag.  Considering it was the beginning of April, the snow was still quite good, and we really loved the whole town.  The altitude, however, almost did us in…. but more on that later.

First off — the resort.  For kids, Breckenridge has a wonderful setup.  Both their ski school and childcare have been designed impeccably – separation quick and painless; enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and numerous teachers; and well-appointed facilities.  There is also a huge amount of terrain for beginners, so that my son was able to pretty much navigate around the entire base of Peak 9 and the Quicksilver lift without any worries (and it was only his third time skiing).  For us, we wish there was a bit more advanced terrain, as most of the mountains are beginner/intermediate except for the (very windy!) bowls at the top of the mountain.  But we were still quite happy exploring the semi-deserted runs of Peak 10.

The town of Breckenridge is fun with a bit of a hippy vibe, with plentiful shops and a wide array of restaurants, all within walking distance.  Also, everyone there is unusually friendly and helpful.

A few facts:  We stayed at the Marriott Mountain Valley Lodge, which was basic and efficient, but has a perfect location right at the base of the slopes (& ski school & daycare) and on the edge of town.  Our favorite breakfast spot was across the street at the Blue Moose Cafe – fast service and fluffy pancakes.  For equipment, there is only one place to go — Mountain Wave, by far the best expert service and selection.  And for a bit of decadence, try the Hearthstone Restaurant for dinner or cocktails (not great for small children).

The only caveat, and it was a big one, was the altitude.  Let’s say I learned a lot about altitude sickness, or as they call it, AMS (acute mountain sickness).  For my husband, it didn’t really have an effect, but my daughter and I suffered quite a bit.  Read more about that here.

Perhaps next year, we’ll try spring break in Vail — we were told that the resort is run by the same company, so they have the exact same setup for childcare and ski school — and my husband and I have always loved that mountain.

I learned quite a bit this spring break in Breckenridge.  First off, my husband and I never realized that the town of Breckenridge sits nicely at 9600 feet, which makes it one of the highest towns in the US.  Also, altitude sickness is officially called Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), and it is serious stuff.  Here’s our little cautionary tale…

My first morning on the mountain I woke with a bit of a headache and felt dehydrated, but shook it off and went off on my usual snowboard routine.  I have to admit that I didn’t follow the literature, which suggested lots of water, no caffeine/alcohol, and small carb-filled meals.  By day two I started feeling a bit dizzy and unusually winded.  FACT 1 – it usually takes about 48 hours for AMS to really take effect. So don’t believe (like me) that if you are feeling decent on the first day that you will be OK.

I stopped by the slope-side clinic and the nurse reported that my blood oxygen levels were a bit low (around 85 mmHg) and it might be wise to check myself in.  I figured that I would go back to the hotel and rest a bit instead.  FACT 2 – once your oxygen levels are depleted, they aren’t coming back, unless you return to a lower altitude or you get oxygen.

By the evening, I was really struggling, and feeling miserable.  Eventually my husband contacted a local doctor who hooked me up to an oxygen machine and gave me a quick shot of steroids.  He also opened all our windows to allow fresh air to circulate in the room.  FACT 3 – altitude sickness is worst when you are sleeping.  Also, according to our doctor, what is really important is the altitude where you sleep.  If you sleep at altitudes above 8000 feet, your chances of getting AMS are much greater.

After sleeping with the oxygen machine overnight, I felt much better and was able to snowboard the entire next day.  Needless to say, I cut the caffeine, and drank as much water as I possibly could.  The rest of the vacation was saved (with continued help from the oxygen machine); however I really didn’t feel 100% until I was back in New York.

If ever in the Breckenridge area, here are two essential numbers to have.  Our amazing doctor, who tended to me in the middle of the night in my hotel room — Dr. David Gray (970-389-7999) and for 24-hour oxygen delivery, 24 Hour Oxygen.

This last weekend in New York, spring came in unprecedented glory.  So I decided to take the children to my little secret spot, the Prospect Park Zoo.  I should have realized that the reason that the zoo was so ’secret’ before was that I always took the kids in the dead of winter.  And curiously, nobody was ever there.

Anyway, despite the crowds, I have to say that this is my zoo of choice in the city.  The Bronx Zoo is amazing, but gargantuan in scale, and takes an entire day to even begin to explore it.  The Central Park Zoo is also small and intimate, but the Prospect Park Zoo just has a flow that works perfectly for kids.

A few highlights:
1. They have several buildings with lively indoor exhibits (think meerkats and baboons) — which makes the zoo still a great option in inclement weather.

2. The Petting Barn – docile sheep and goats hang out and are easily fed even by two-year olds (bring lots of quarters in case the change machines are out of order).

3. The Discovery Trail (my favorite bit) – it takes the kids about an hour or so to wander along this scenic path while exploring various habitats — pretend to be a prairie dog, climb a spider’s web, feed the geese, see a kangaroo.  It’s a really nice bit of organized micro-wilderness where my kids can run, climb, and generally get a bit crazy.  And I personally like to see an otter every once in a while.

4. Lastly, the zoo ends at the historic Prospect Park Carousel — opening this year March 27th — always a crowd-pleaser.

Growing up in Vermont, my family always had a thing for Maine.  There is something very special about the string of small towns scattered along the Atlantic coastline — the stunning cliffs, the old fisherman, the lobster!, the night skies filled with fistfuls of stars, and, of course, the unforgettable smell of the ocean.

Last Memorial Day, we got the chance to spend a long weekend in Kennebunkport at the Colony Hotel (open only from mid-May through October). OK, it’s quite a long drive from New York City, so we had to stay overnight at a roadside motel on our way up.  But it was worth it.

The historic hotel is perched on a bluff over the ocean with beautiful grounds, an outdoor heated salt-water pool, a putting green, and a private beach.  Inside it’s classic New England, with rooms filled with grand old furniture, a sprawling dining hall extending to a covered porch, and and afternoon tea and cookies served in the regal sitting room.  There’s also a trolley that takes you from the hotel right into the ridiculously charming town of Kennebunkport.  When we were there, the entire town was celebrating Memorial Day, complete with a parade and a president (former president George H. Bush and his wife Barbara in attendance).

There is plenty to do here for families, so I would recommend spending at least five days if you can.  We are definitely going back for a lobster roll this spring.

When traveling with kids, I find that there are two inevitable truths:

1. You take a lot of photos.
2. You never do anything with those photos.

I have recommended the HP Photosmart Photo Printer so many times to friends, especially new parents, and everyone loves it.  I was given the predecessor to this printer as a gift when I had my first child.  Out of courtesy, I opened the box, put the midget printer on my shelf, and figured that it would become a nice paperweight.  As a photographer, I have a wide-format, professional Epson printer connected to my computer — what would I possibly do with another?

This printer is so simple and perfect that it is addictive.  You take the memory card out of your camera, stick it in the printer, and a few minutes later you have beautiful little full-bleed prints.  No need for a computer at all.

And don’t print with the HP paper included – buy Epson 4×6 Photo Paper – the photo quality is much better than any of the HP ones.

Just back from a belated Valentine’s weekend in Paris — in a rare move, we went on a trip without children.  I felt strange all on my own at Newark, but it didn’t take long for me to adjust to having my two hands back to myself.

We had just only three days in Paris, so immediately after my red-eye landed on Friday, I put on my No.6 clog boots and started walking.  From our decadent Hôtel de Crillon at Place de la Corcorde (perhaps the perfect classic French hotel), I wandered past the Louvre, along the Rue de Rivoli, to one of my favorite museums, le Centre Pompidou.  From there I explored the winding, boutique-filled streets of le Marais, quickly over to Ile de la Cité, and then back to the hotel for a well-deserved nap.  My husband flew in later that evening.

Day two we slept in until noon (unprecedented!).  We also went to my husband’s favorite store, the always changing and unique Colette:  it’s part gallery, part bookstore, part fashion heaven.  We finished our exquisite day with another splurge, as our concierge was able to secure a dinner reservation at the Michelin three-star restaurant Pré Catelan.  Four hours and not quite sure how many delectable courses later, we stumbled out for a nightcap at a jazz club in St. Germain, Caveau de la Huchette.  For a few hours, we enjoyed watching the regulars trade partners, throw meaningful looks at each other, and dance the night away.

On our last day we wanted to visit Les Catacombes but instead ended up at the famous flea market, Les Puces de Paris.  It was a hectic scene, some areas eerily reminiscent of Canal Street, with street vendors selling fakes of every possible designer thing, from Hermès bags to Chanel perfume.  But after pushing through what seemed like miles of vendors, we managed to find ourselves in an intimate pedestrian market, the Paul Bert marché.  If ever in Paris, stop by to just see this –  hundreds of stands squeezed in makeshift pedestrian blocks, selling everything from old letterpress blocks, estate silverware, and antique toys, to sculptures, garden ornaments, and vintage chandeliers.

Paris is such an easy city to explore (especially by foot and metro), so three days was enough for a perfect little escape.  Back in New York and buried under piles of snow, I’m still glowing.  To see my happy snaps, click here.

I’m not one to wax poetic about luggage, but there’s just something special about Rimowa.

At the airport a few years ago, I retrieved my trusty (and ugly) soft-sided luggage from the baggage carousel and was horrified to find that it had been completely soaked through with someone else’s duty-free rum.  Disgusted, I threw away the fragrant bag and immediately ordered a piece of hardsided luggage, my first cherry red Rimowa Salsa.

Here’s why Rimowa is the best:
1. POLYCARBONATE – The bags are completely indestructible and waterproof.
2. SO LIGHT WEIGHT – With current carry-on weight restrictions getting more and more, well, restrictive (especially on international flights), being two pounds lighter can make all the difference.  Plus it’s much easier to lift into those overhead compartments.
3. FOUR WHEELS – I, sadly, own just one of their multi-wheel trolleys, and it is amazing.  It pretty much rolls itself through the airport.

Currently I have three pieces of the Rimowa Salsa line, a 29″ trolley for check-in, a multi-wheel cabin trolley for domestic carry-on, and a IATA Cabin Trolley for international carry-on.  (And they have recently come out with the Rimowa Salsa Deluxe line which has my beloved cherry red color).  Rimowa is definitely pricier than most, but these bags last forever, are easy to spot on the luggage carousel, and are really good looking.  I’m in love.

Spending President’s Day weekend in San Diego once again confirmed what almost everyone already knows: San Diego is heaven for kiddies.  We go at least once a year to visit the grandparents, and every time the kids come home raving about the time they had.

Of course, there are many famous attractions, like the San Diego Zoo and Sea World, but here are a few of our personal favorites…

Legoland is fantastic because it is an amusement park with many activities that don’t involve standing in line for a two-minute ride.  There are dancing water fountains (Waterworks), a lego Playtown, and a giant tree fort (the Hideaways), to name just a few, and frankly each one could take up an entire afternoon.  Hint: go to their website to print tickets right from home, take advantage of discounts, and avoid the lines.

The San Diego Zoo’s equally brilliant sibling, the Wild Animal Park, is just 30 miles north in Escondido.  The Park offers an assortment of safaris, tours, and rides, but our favorite part is the very kid-walkable tour around their man-made lagoon, where children can see and feed ducks, flamingos, and lorikeets (which will happily land right on your arm).  And it doesn’t hurt that the tour ends at an animal-themed carousel.

We adore the happy-hippy-craziness at Mission Beach, where the boardwalk runs for miles, and centers around the lively Belmont Park.  Here you’ll find surfers, skateboarders, roller-skaters, cyclists, and all sorts of colorful characters co-mingling on a entertaining stretch of kitsch and beach.

Lastly, for a bit of well-deserved calm, we always take a day and go for a long hike at the wild and scenic Torrey Pines State Reserve.

Last week I had an extremely stressful experience flying solo with my two children.  Arriving at the JFK terminal 40 minutes before our flight (snow traffic in nyc slowed us by more than an hour), I thought we had just made it under the wire.  Actually, no.  The flight was ‘closed’ for baggage as it was less than 45 minutes before the flight.

Panicked and in disbelief, I refused to believe that we would miss our school vacation over a few minutes.  Not knowing what to do, I pushed my way through security with my two kids, single stroller, two carry-on bags, plus one piece of definitely-not-carry-on luggage.   I was extremely fortunate that (1) the security gate agent took pity on us, (2) my luggage was just small enough to fit through the x-ray machine, and (3) technically we were carrying the allotted number of bags.

The lesson: these days baggage cut-off times vary by airline and departure city so double check before you fly.  (Here is the info on the AA website.) Also, if you find yourself in my position, remember that if you can make it to the gate, they will gate-check any piece of luggage, even one which the gate agent deemed ‘gigantic’.  You become just another passenger who miscalculated the size of their carry-on.

For the last five years, my husband has been trying to convince me about the merits of summering in Fire Island.  It all sounded pretty good in theory – only an hour outside of the city, a skinny little island where each house is less than 5 blocks from the ocean or the bay.  No cars allowed, so everyone either rides a bike or pulls a wagon filled with their groceries, baggage, and children.  In walking distance, only one restaurant, a grocery, a wine store and an ice cream shop –

OK, being completely removed from civilization (in a civilized new york way of course) seemed a bit terrifying to me.  But I was convinced enough to take the kids last August for almost 3 weeks to rough it in Saltaire (along with Fair Harbor, Dunewood and Lonelyville, it’s one of Fire Island’s most family-friendly neighborhoods).

It takes a lot of getting used to, especially being a high-strung, consumption-oriented New Yorker.  The first week, I did some panic online-shopping and visited every restaurant that the water taxi would take us to,  but eventually I relaxed and fell into the lifestyle…  Wake up, leave the house without keys or money, hit the beach, return home to grill.  Nap, rinse, repeat.  Fall asleep with kiddies to the sound of nothing.

A few times I did think about leaving the kids to pull themselves home in the wagon (it is a very safe island), but really it was an incredibly special summer, and we spent more quality time together than we ever have.  Being forced to simplify and enjoy the basic is quite something.  Lastly, sunset in Fair Harbor is special – every evening it’s packed like a street fair; adults bring wine and kids run free.

Time to book a house for summer 2010.  Brokers in Fire Island are notoriously abrupt and capricious, but it’s because they know that they have a captive audience.  Still, here are a few realtors with great listings in our favorite family-friendly areas:  Beqaj Real Estate, Kitty King Real Estate, and Sharon Deleasa.

Here’s a little secret that I discovered when traveling with a lap child.  As a courtesy, it is the standard policy of many airlines to keep the seat next to a person with a lap child empty until the plane is completely full.

So when booking your airline ticket with a lap child, always choose a seat with an empty one next to it.  If you are traveling as a family, try for window and aisle seats — don’t worry about sitting together – any passenger will happily exchange their middle seat if the flight fills up.   And check with SeatGuru.com – it’s one of my favorite reference tools, and will tell you if your seat doesn’t recline, or if it’s near a lavatory or congested area.

On many flights the seat between my husband and I has been the only free one on the plane.  This trick doesn’t always work (especially during the holiday season), but it’s definitely worth a try.

When making your flight reservation, you always need to tell the airline in advance about a lap child.  For domestic flights, there is usually no charge, and on international ones, there is a nominal fee (that corresponds to tax).  Confirm that the lap child is listed on your ticket on all flights.  Several friends have had serious complications on international flights when their lap child has not been listed – once, the harried couple had to spend several hundred dollars to buy a new ticket for the child!

Since childhood I’ve been a secret fan of amusement parks.  So I must admit that Atlantis, the super-commercial mega-resort on Paradise Island (Bahamas), has always intrigued me.  It’s like an amusement park within a resort, complete with water slides, dophin encounters, an inner-tube Lazy River Ride, as well as several quite nice beaches and endless pools.  True, all the big cruise ships stop there, and the food is quite pricey and not great.  But it’s a 3 hour direct flight from New York  — (and f.y.i. they do a great egg hunt on Easter).

I personally couldn’t imagine an extended stay at Atlantis, but for a kiddie-centric long weekend with a tan, even my husband admits that it’s kind of fun.  (He loves the Leap of Faith, a waterslide with a 60 foot, almost-vertical drop.)

Secret tip – for a cheaper getaway, stay across the street from Atlantis at the Comfort Suites Paradise Island.  The rooms are basic, but a fraction of the price, and you get full use of all Atlantis facilities – you can even charge things back to your room.  For me, that makes it a guilt-free adventure.

1.  Go point-and-shoot, because how often do you happen to have an SLR in your pocket?
I admit that even entry-level consumer SLRs take much better photographs than any point-and-shoot camera.  And, if you were planning to frame 16×20 art prints of your family, this would be the way to go.  But most of the time you just don’t need the quality or the resolution.  The first rule to getting a great shot is having a camera there to get the shot.

2.  Keep the flash off as much as possible. Flash photography is great and allows you to take many shots that you otherwise couldn’t get.  The downside is that the picture looks nothing like the actual real moment.  In dim lighting conditions experiment with taking pictures at higher ISOs to see how the quality holds up.  You’ll be surprised how many shots you can get, even at night.  And a little blur is not a bad thing.  Also, remember that most on-camera flashes are only effective up to six feet or so — turn off the flash at concerts and other events – it’s just not doing anything.

3.  Get closer. It’s tempting on vacation to take that super-wide shot of a loved one standing in front of a majestic landscape.  But beyond proving that you were in fact at said location, what else does it do?  Get in close and capture a spontaneous moment, and it will be a much better souvenir.

4. Hold the shutter down halfway. Sometimes you just know a great moment is just about to happen.  But kids are fickle, and fast-moving.  Focus on your subject, hold the shutter down halfway and wait.  You might have to do this several times as the situation changes, but you’ll have a much better chance of capturing that split-second moment when it happens.

After years of collecting cameras and hunting for the perfect one to take on holiday, I finally found a point-and-shoot camera that I can love — the Canon S90. What Canon has done is taken many of the features of its professional G series and put them in a consumer camera that you can put in your pocket.  Amazing.

My favorite things about this camera–

1. You have 2 adjustment wheels – one on the lens and one on the back of the camera. That means that you can quickly adjust the exposure of your shots, the speed, the flash level, whatever you want.  (Or go completely automatic.)  So no more black silhouettes and overexposed heads…

2. It has an f2 lens.  What this means is that it gets much more light than most cameras.  So when you are shooting in a dimly lit space or at dusk, you can still get a shot without turning on the flash.

3. 10 mega-pixels and tiny.  And reasonably priced ($400-500 depending on where you shop).

4. It’s Canon – and in my experience, they have the fastest focusing point-and-shoot cameras out there right now.  Which means fewer shots that are wildly out of focus…

I used to be an avid snowboarder before children.  But for the last five years, I just couldn’t get past the idea of resort daycare or paying a sitter to watch TV with the kids while we traipsed up and down the slopes.

This weekend my husband overruled me.  His trial destination, Jiminy Peak, was not too much of a commitment, a mid-sized mountain just a three hour drive away.  We weren’t expecting much this close to the city, but we were very pleasantly surprised to find a wonderful little ski resort.

Jiminy Peak has a very efficient two-tier lift system, so we were able to stay at the top of the mountain most of the day, and to do a serious number of runs.  We barely waited in any lift-lines, which was impressive considering it was a holiday weekend.  There was a nice range of varied trails, inobtrusive snow-making, and for others… night-skiing and a smallish board park.

We stayed at the Country Inn, a modest ski-in ski-out hotel.  That feature was the true luxury, especially at the end of the day when we were carrying all the boards/helmets/skis/heavy children.  And it was a pleasure to be able to wander around the resort apres-ski and not have to drive anywhere.  The Inn was also very generous with their late check-out policy, a valuable bonus for a short weekend.

The SKIwee program for kids (4 and up) was great – they had a 1-3 instructor-child ratio with their own magic carpet slope, plus a novice lift around the corner.  The teachers were enthusiastic and knew just how to entice kids into the class.  By day two, our son was ‘pizza-slicing’ down a small green run.

Our two-year old went into Cub’s Den, a daycare program run by a slew of young ladies unfazed by legions of kids and babies.  And they give you a beeper for piece of mind.  My daughter was impressed enough that she separated immediately and even asked to go back.

The only downside to Jiminy was the slopeside dining; most restaurants had no availability during prime dining hours (it was a holiday weekend).  But we did find a sweet little tavern within walking distance called Powder Hounds.

Overall, it was a perfect three-day getaway, and it was a relief to find out that we could all co-exist at a ski resort.  Next time, maybe Utah.

One piece of advice for beginning kids or adults – book a private lesson.  Group lessons are great to get enthusiastic about the sport, but those few hours with a private instructor are critical when first learning how to ski or snowboard.

Our bi-annual voyage to Cape Town, South Africa, is always a source of great joy and consternation.  Just packing carry-on bags for 2 kids for 24 hours of flight time is intimidating at best.  But the lure of reunions with my husband’s family and friends, warm weather, plus a multi-ethnic, cosmopolitan city always wins out.

Cape Town is built between the famed Table Mountain and the ocean (the Atlantic and the Indian).  The area is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the world, and it is difficult to argue, especially in December, when high summer is just beginning and the temperatures are 70-80 degrees most days.  The city itself is geographically blessed, with a range of scenic beaches, a few well-positioned mountains, and wine country a short drive away.  There is also great cultural significance in this vibrant, modern city on the tip of Africa.

This year we rented a house with a view in Camps Bay, with a pool and yard and close proximity to the beach.  The lifestyle in Cape Town is much more laid back than New York, so lunches and dinners spread out regularly over hours, and children are welcome to run around the sprawling lawns of many restaurants.  And at the house, there is always someone dropping by for a sundowner or a swim, so there is a constant hum of relaxed chaos.

This time we were pretty lazy, but there are endless adventures for everyone close by, including Stellenbosch (the wine country), Fairy Glen and other game reserves, Boulders Beach, the V&A Waterfront, World of Birds (a personal favorite), to name a few…


Renting a house in Cape Town is often the best answer for a family as you have lots of room, a daily maid (heaven), and it’s usually no more expensive than staying in multiple hotel rooms.  We found ours through Rentals Cape Town. The most direct and relatively inexpensive flights are through South African Airways via Johannesburg. We are often asked about personal safety in South Africa; we have always felt completely comfortable with the kids in Cape Town and environs, and find the people to be exceptionally warm and welcoming (and they love and are very tolerant of children).  Try to stay a minimum of two weeks as the flight is long, and there are infinite things to see and do there.

On this last (18 hour) flight from Johannesburg to JFK, I was prepared with a vast array of distractions for the kids, everything from child-sized headphones (good), sticker books (so-so), leapfrog leapsters (good), leapfrog tag books (great), coloring/activity books (great), magnetic dress-up dolls (useless), and various bits of Dora and Bakugan paraphernalia (not bad).

The surprise run-away winner for both for my almost 5-year-old boy and my 2 1/2-year-old girl was the Fisher Price Trio.  Snapping the pieces together is odding satisfying, and the parts are just big enough not to get lost.  After kids have been on a plane for several hours, it’s about all the concentration they can handle.  I am definitely hiding this until the next plane trip and buying the deluxe version.

If you do bring child or adult headphones, note that you should buy a 2-prong adapter jack for the airplane just in case.  They are just a few dollars and are sold in every airport gadget store.

When traveling overseas, I always worry (among other things) about losing our passports.  So, a few weeks before we go away I send myself an email with JPEGs of everyone’s current passport, so we’ll have something to show just in case anything happens.

If you don’t have a scanner, it’s as easy as taking a photo with your point-and-shoot camera and uploading it.  Set the camera on closeup mode (usually has a flower icon), turn off the flash, and take the photograph in a well-lit room.  Then email it to yourself.

A month before Thanksgiving, we always find ourselves with a bit of the winter blues.  So it’s become a yearly tradition to celebrate turkey day somewhere in the Caribbean.  (It’s also a great time to go, as it’s just the beginning of peak season, and there are fewer crowds and more deals.)

I took a quick look to cross-reference which islands had reasonable direct flights from New York and which resorts Trip Advisor was recommending.  We found ourselves at the Crane Hotel in Barbados.

The Crane is a perfect resort for a family to decompress.  The toughest choice for us each day was where to start – beach or pool.  They have six pools in the complex, five of which are interconnected, with shallow areas for kids.  And the beach had warm water with gentle waves, and creamy, fine sand that turned pink at sunset.  There were also beach chairs to spare (which is rare) at both pool and beach.  The usual shopping trips/land tours/boat excursions were available, but we decided to just stay put and take it easy.  Four days felt like an eternity.

I fully recommend the Crane for families looking to unwind, with just one caveat.  The food I found to be a bit lacking, especially for children.  But perhaps with the ongoing renovations/expansion, that problem will be soon resolved.  It is also just fifteen minutes from the airport which, considering most island roads, is a definite plus.

Am I the last one to find out about the beauty of AmEx points?  For years, I collected miles on various airline credit cards, and tried in vain to upgrade myself or get free flights during what always turned out to be peak times or holiday seasons.  My husband finally convinced me to move over to American Express, and I have to say, I am in love with my American Express platinum card.  Not only do I regularly get rebates from various companies that I never expected and access to most airline lounges (so nice before a red-eye), but I just used my points for the first time to get quite a bit back on our Thanksgiving vacation.

A good friend just signed up for the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card, which gives you triple points on all airfare — so if you don’t need the airline lounge access and free companion tickets, it’s definitely another great American Express card to explore.