Month: March 2008

Categories
Philosophy

Your savior on long car trips

Yes, we buckled under and got a backseat DVD player in our minivan….so shoot me for not playing the License Plate Game and other more creative car games, but boy does a movie keep the squabbling siblings quiet!

The only problem is that too many hours of looking at a small moving screen in a gently moving vehicle gets at least one of my kids mildly carsick.

Here’s another idea that I found on the tech site Mashable to keep your little darlings occupied — downloadable audio books from AudibleKids.

From the Mashable post:

“The new site, called AudibleKids, has about 4,000 titles from 75+ publishers available at the time of the launch, with exclusive stories from the likes of R.L. Stine (who didn’t love Goosebumps?)”

If your kids are part of the iPod army, you’re all set.

If not, no worries; other mp3 players are compatible and you can also burn to a CD through iTunes or stream from a computer.

Ease on down the road….

Categories
Blog

British kudos for Family Travel

Trophies (courtesy Vito at flickr’s Creative Commons)Boy, this winter/spring has been an embarrassment of recognition riches.

In addition to selection by Real Simple magazine as one of their three “best travel blogs,” a mention from the Traveling Mamas as one of the family travel blogs we love, inclusion on the Travel Rants Favourite Travel Blogs 2007 list and a mention from Roaming Tales as a favorite thematic blog, I got an email today from the UK.

The TravelConnect Web site chose Family Travel as one of its Top Travel Blogs – #14 in a very eclectic list that I really like. Other honorees include:

bizarre-blog.travel.discovery.com

denos-08.travellerspoint.comwww.wanderingwoodwards.com

coconuter.blogspot.com

newyorktraveler.blogspot.com

gridskipper.com

blog.realtravel.com

www.hobotraveler.com/blogger

everything-everywhere.com

blogs.bootsnall.com/vagabondrick

sacred-destinations.blogspot.com

www.slowtrav.com/blog/tuscanartist

www.travelwebdir.com/travelblog

girlsoloinarabia.typepad.com

www.alexasigno.co.uk

www.themoonandthestars-awaywego.blogspot.com

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and links, and to Bulldog Solutions for giving me a chance to write an article for their monthly newsletter about how you or your business can do it, too….

How To Build A Blog That Draws A Crowd.

Pardon me while I go kick back and pop a little champagne right about now….I love my readers! 🙂

Categories
Tips USA

Roots of Rock: Sun Studio, Memphis

Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee (Scarborough photo)That’s all right, Mama!

‘Cause I walk the line….at the home of rockabilly and rock n’ roll, tiny Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

Kids who have only known music in digital formats downloaded from a computer are often intrigued by a visit here.

They’ll learn how producer and Sun Records owner Sam Phillips found amazing talent all over the South, then brought it to the microphone to record genre-busting music.

Even his use of drums in recordings was revolutionary for that time, because Deep South radio stations often would not play any songs that included drums because that made the music “too black.”

Sun Studio interior, Memphis Tennessee (courtesy ANOXLOU at flickr’s Creative Commons)

Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Howlin’ Wolf, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis all spent some of their early days recording at Sun.

Visitors can take a guided tour and learn all about it:

“Sun Studio is open seven days a week from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm daily. Tours are given at the bottom of every hour on the half hour starting at 10:30 and ending at 5:30. Sun Studio requires at least 1 to 1.5 hours. The tour ticket price is $9.50 per person, & children under 12 are free. We apologize, but due to the nature of our guided performance tour, children 3 & under are not allowed to take the tour. No reservations are necessary.”

Goodness gracious, great balls of fire.

Categories
Tips

Sail the ocean blue: where to get nautical

The Charles W. Morgan at Mystic Seaport, Connecticut (courtesy altopower at flickr’s Creative Commons)After writing about a major world trade seaport like Rotterdam, I’m feeling quite nautical.

My article for Education.com about New England’s maritime heritage just came online as well.

Where else can you take your kids to see “ships and stuff?”

Here are some spots:

Arrrgh, matey! Did I miss anything, or is this post shipshape?

Categories
Hawaii Photos USA Video Posts

Video of the Week: Merrie Monarch hula in Hawaii

Every year, a major dance event is held on the “Big Island” of Hawaii in the town of Hilo – the Merrie Monarch Festival hula competition, featuring both modern (‘Auana) and ancient (Kahiko) forms of hula.

King David Kalakaua was the “merrie monarch” who revitalized Hawaiian ethnic language, arts and dance during his reign 1874-1891.

This year’s Merrie Monarch Festival is scheduled for March 30 – April 5, 2008. The video below features Halau I Ka Wekiu in the Kahiko kane (men’s) division.

For anyone reading this post via RSS or other feed mechanism, click here to go to the hula video on YouTube.

For more like this, plus Tahitian dance, see teriimataha on YouTube.

Related post: Get Some Family Aloha When You Travel to Hawaii

Categories
USA

The Hot Dog Man on historic Route 66

Paul Bunyan with a hot dog, Atlanta IL on old Route 66 (Scarborough photo)There’s nothing like driving through small-town America and stumbling upon a 19-foot statue of Paul Bunyan holding a giant hot dog.

Kids put down their Gameboys pretty quickly when they look out the car window and see that!

After miles and miles of authentic Midwest agricultural wonders (this is your brain on corn) it’s a bit mind-boggling to stand in tiny downtown Atlanta, Illinois and try to figure out the origins of the thoroughly fake Hot Dog Man.

According to the Logan County tourism Web site, the massive fiberglass dude with a dog used to stand in front of a restaurant called Bunyon’s in Berwyn, Illinois (also on old Route 66) from about 1965 to 2003.

When the restaurant closed, the owner Mr. Stephens agreed to keep the landmark Big Guy standing tall on the fabled Mother Road, so it was moved to a new home in Atlanta, Illinois.

Your family can see it today, presiding majestically over passing tiny people and assorted hot dog fans.

Mustard and relish not included.

Related posts:

Categories
Blog

Why bloggers will flock to Chicago in May

Sure, I’m a little swamped right now, so I can’t yet get back to the normal Friday original post about some aspect of family travel, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t take a moment to….borrow someone else’s work! 🙂

One of the fabulous connectors that I met at South by Southwest Interactive (for the first time face-to-face; I already know him on Twitter) is Jason Falls. He writes Social Media Explorer and also produces Social Media Explorer TV, with online video insights into the burgeoning world of Web 2.0.

He’s also a motorsports fan, particularly Robby Gordon, so we gabbed about NASCAR at one of the SXSWi parties.

Jason interviewed one of my dear friends whom I’ve mentioned here before: Community Maestro Liz Strauss of the warm and welcoming Successful Blog, where “you’re only a stranger once.”

She spoke on camera with Jason about her upcoming Biz School for Bloggers event, SOBCon08, May 2-4 2008 in dynamic Chicago, Illinois.

Jason Falls is excited about it, and he said:

I caught up with Liz at South by Southwest (SXSW) to talk about SOBCon2008 in Chicago, May 2-4. Be sure to pay close attention to her description of the [conference] format, which is a unique and engaging offering for those in attendance. And the speakers aren’t the only attraction. SOBCon attracts many of the top bloggers in the world as attendees. You can’t come to this thing and not learn a lot about blogging, business and more.

Here is Jason’s short video interview with Liz, outside the Austin Convention Center during SXSWi earlier this week. I can assure you that Liz is as thoughtful and engaging in person as she is on camera. Will you join me in Chicago in May?

Categories
Blog

An extra 24 hours in the day would help

Just a note to say that I’m still out here….

Even though the jam-packed South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) tech conference ended late Tuesday, I’m still digging out from under.

Although I had every intention of being back at the keyboard by yesterday, life and family obligations continue to intervene.

I have a few highlights from SXSWi to share and plenty of travel links and stories to write, but sadly my clone has failed to materialize and this one person in my body requires occasional sleep.

Back soon — I promise!

Categories
Blog

I’m at South by Southwest Interactive

Meet me there!

Blogging will be light for a few days while I enjoy some geeky mind-expansion at the annual South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) tech conference here in Austin, Texas.

Back to a normal blogging schedule the middle of next week.

Thanks!