This is the flamingo area at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Citrus County, Florida (south of Tampa.)
It’s a wonderful place for the kids to see West Indian manatees year-round.
Nope, no oil spill problems there as of this writing, so check it out!
My son and I really enjoyed a visit to the well-designed Maui Ocean Center during the So Much More Hawaii trip, but what made it super-special was our local blogger guide, Liza.
Liza writes A Maui Blog, and she and her family took us all around the island, including a drive up the Haleakala volcano (ooh, silverswords) and a scrumptuous meal at the Paia Fish Market, where my picky son actually devoured seafood! It was all mixed up in pasta, but still….
We spent hours in the Maui Ocean marine park, which has touch tanks, live coral, turtles, naturalist presentations and a focus on Hawaiian sea creatures and culture.
In the video below, we had just finished watching a live demo in the aquarium tank with a diver, narrated by a lively guide who exploded various myths about sharks and captured audience attention even in a packed room.
If you can’t see the embedded video box below, here is the direct link to the video on my YouTube channel.
Just So You Know Disclaimer: The state Hawaii Tourism Authority through Cilantro Media paid my way to Hawaii for the So Much More Hawaii bloggers tour, and also paid most of my expenses while I was there. I paid for Liza and her son’s entrance, my own and my son’s, and was reimbursed later. By the way, I used a military discount for one ticket, a AAA (American Automobile Assn) member discount for another, and Liza as a Hawaii resident could ask for “kamaaina” local rates. Always ask if there are available member discounts, at any tourist attraction.
I know, it’s food overload this time of year, but how can you miss when it’s slab-sized brownies?
These are from the Rather Sweet Bakery in German-tinged Fredericksburg, Texas.
It’s tucked behind the historic building where Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz was born, just off of Main Street and down the road from the newly-redesigned National Museum of the Pacific War.
Founded by native Texas Rebecca Rather (known as the “Pastry Queen” and also related to journalist Dan Rather) the bakery is known for gargantuan but tasty tarts, cookies, muffins and scones, plus some of the most gorgeous cakes you’ve ever seen.
One of her featured tarts has a pretty little “hat” of curlicued meringue, and according to the staff the day we visited, the Mexican Chocolate Cake is another best-seller.
There’s a small side room to sit and order hot or cold sandwiches, and right next door they’re getting ready to open a cafe annex (“Rather Sweet, Too.”)
Guaranteed kid-pleaser!
Nothing like a semi-gory discussion of 1700’s battlefield medical procedures to make kids appreciate the simple comforts of a modern FluMist squirt.
At the Yorktown Victory Center in Virginia, there are all sorts of kid-friendly demonstrations like this one on Colonial-era doctoring, and as a bonus, this coming weekend is a special two-day Yorktown Victory Weekend to commemorate the American Revolution’s Battle of Yorktown.
There will be encampments with reenactors, demonstrations and interpretive tours – you can take one of my favorite fall scenic drives, the Colonial Parkway, to get there.
Just keep that scalpel and those tooth-pullers away from me, okay?
This is native Hawaiian guide Warren Costa showing my son how to peel and eat an Asian longan fruit, also called dragon eyes, after a hike around part of the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park on the spectacular Big Island.
There’s a soft husk that you split and peel off before eating the sweet insides.
I think the “dragon eye” name makes them even more appealing.
The miracle not pictured is my Mr. Picky Eater son saying “Sure, I’ll try them,” popping one into his mouth and actually chewing without drama or spitting.
Oh, and he liked them.
(You can follow Warren around the volcanoes – he’s on Twitter at @nativeg. This post is part of the ever-enjoyable WanderFood Wednesday series on the Wanderlust and Lipstick blog. Head over there and check it out!)
This is the chicken pot pie served at the King’s Arms Tavern restaurant in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
Don’t you want to jump right into it?
Anyone can eat at the taverns in the historic area (you don’t have to buy the admissions pass to the other exhibits, buildings and performances, although I’d certainly recommend that if you have time.)
Try Christiana Campbell’s, Chowning’s and Shields in addition to King’s Arms; they all have children’s menus (and pssst….Tarpley’s store nearby has old-fashioned candies if you don’t want a tavern dessert.)
If you want to stay in Colonial Williamsburg and truly immerse your kids in Revolutionary history, always check on the Web site for special packages that usually include hotel, breakfast and passes for everyone.
For example, I love the interactive street theater of the Revolutionary City mini-plays that reenactors stage all over the historic area, all day. Your family can participate in them with the Revolutionary City Adventure package.
Mostly, just make an excuse to get ahold of some of that pot pie.
(This post is my contribution to this week’s WanderFood Wednesday on the Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.)
This Three Stooges sign is on the door to my guest room.
I’m running around cleaning it (and the rest of the house) because Austin’s South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) tech conference starts this Friday, March 13.
As a resident of the Austin metro area and a traveling guest-room-borrower myself, I’m happy to host fellow geeks at this event.
This year’s guests include social media communicator extraordinaire Liz Strauss and the multi-talented Becky McCray, who specializes in small businesses in small towns and rural areas.
On Saturday, March 14, I’ll be speaking at SXSWi about travel blogging (our panel is called Blog Highways: Travel Blogging for the Wanderer) with Seattle-based writer and photographer Pam Mandel.
We intend to pack our panel room in the Austin Convention Center….but first, Hotel Knucklehead has sheets to wash and vacuuming to do!
Have you noticed that my family hasn’t traveled anywhere lately? Yeah, we’ve noticed too. 🙁
I’m moderately sulky about it, but I’m determined to fill in the void by exploring my own backyard, in Austin and Central Texas.
We ran around downtown last weekend trying to get to the annual Kite Festival in Austin’s Zilker Park, but the traffic and parking were too crazy (it was a gorgeous, perfectly windy day, too.)
We decided to drown our sorrows with some Crush’ns at Amy’s Ice Creams, an Austin institution since 1984. My son had M&Ms crushed into Vanilla Bean ice cream, and Sainted Husband and I had Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups crushed into Belgian Chocolate ice cream (for me) and Dark Chocolate (for him.)
Amy’s doesn’t use a cold mixing board like Marble Slab or Cold Stone Creamery – they claim a room temperature board does a better job of bringing out the flavors. Their zany, joking staff brings out the laughter, even when the customer line snakes out the door, as it did when we visited.
We love Amy’s!
The funky slanted yellow things behind my daughter and I are the Kubuswoningen or Cube Houses in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
You can tour the interior of one of them to see how clever design and architecture creates interesting places to live.
Yes, folks, it is true. You can buy those attractive Crocs shoes for your kids all over the world (I picked up this flyer in Shanghai.)
Then again, I’m not sure that this is a good thing….