My trip to Costa Rica

            This Spring Break, I went to Costa Rica with my friends from Spanish Immersion – we have been studying Spanish together since Kindergarten and we took the DELE (The Spanish fluency test taken in college) in May. This was sort of a good-bye trip before we separate to different high schools next year. It had been the topic of conversation for months, we were going zip lining, kayaking, rafting, hiking to a volcano, etc. I was all for it, but I’m a very cautious person and I was secretly terrified of having to be responsible for myself in a 3^rdworld country. I’ve traveled a lot and everywhere but this was my first real trip that was just my friends, some parent chaperones, and me. As I started to pack, it dawned on me how dangerous and how risky this trip would be. I mean, we had to bring special meds for every possible situation! I also can’t swallow pills so my meds were different from everyone else’s. As soon as I

Sunset from the night hike at one of our first stops.

got to the airport and saw all my friends and how calmly the chaperones handled situations, I immediately stopped worrying and enjoyed the trip. Sure, I almost peed I was so scarred lifting my feet off the ground and letting my self go, zipping down the zip line but that was the funnest thing I’ve ever done. I also worried about loosing stuff since I couldn’t just blame it on my sister like I normally do and everything was pretty much new and expensive.   

            Some things that really helped me be more comfortable traveling alone were: I talked over the itinerary with my mom over and over so I basically knew it by heart and wouldn’t be surprised or caught off guard, I went to the travel

We made frequent stops during the bus rides. This is the Caribbean Ocean which was one of our first stops.

doctor and got all my information about medicine and diseases from a firsthand source so I would know what to do if something happened, and I did a little research on the culture and history so I would have a little background and not be totally confused.

The orphanage where we helped out at for a day.

Sure, I was with friends, but we all had different medicine, information, clothes for the hot weather, interests, and fears so I really had to stand up for what I was comfortable with. I’m a very careful person so I made sure that I wasn’t holding back or not doing anything just because I was terrified but also that I

The local market that sold all locally grown, tropical fruit.

wasn’t putting myself in danger. My mom had drilled me with how to say no so I was prepared.

To see what’s inside those wrapped plane presents, check out our Facebook Page.

We started taking the kids on international trips when our daughter was only two and a half, and it doesn’t surprise me that now, 8 years later, she doesn’t remember much about that trip.  What did surprise me was how fast the memories can slip away, even for older children.  Along with all the other fabulous tips and tricks in Ashley and Bill’s book, I really enjoyed the suggestions for how to keep the travel experience alive after you are home.  My favorite souvenirs are those that tie to a special experience from the trip, or those that are created.

Sometimes you can stumble upon a special souvenir.  In Switzerland we found a small store that had an English version of a children’s book by a local author.  They also had a handmade doll of one of the characters. We bought both. Eight years later the doll from this town remains my daughter’s special travel companion, and the doll has traveled to every single country with us.  The doll, Florina, also started a love of handmade dolls which has been shamelessly encouraged by her mother. My daughter now has handmade dolls from Russia, Armenia and Portugal – all purchased on trips.  We keep our eyes open for new opportunities.

Another idea is creating souvenirs.  Ashley and Bill discuss in Chapter 8, you can use the photos you’ve taken to create photobooks, calendars and screen savers.  We’ve used this idea to help get our daughter more involved in some of our trips. We even let her create her own photobook.  Due to our interest in nature, we often spend a lot of our travel time hiking and exploring natural areas.  On a trip to Armenia where my husband was going to be working part of the time, our daughter (age 9) decided to create her own nature book.  She took pictures of different flowers, butterflies, and any animals we saw.  We identified them as best we could from guides, locals and knowledgeable friends.  Once back home she selected the photos for upload, and after a little help getting them uploaded, created the book on her own.  We set a limit for size and pages (to control the cost), answered questions, and did a final check for possible problems or spelling errors.  Now she has a wonderful memory of the trip, a healthy knowledge of the flora and fauna she observed, and a book with her name as the author.

These self-created souvenirs are even possible with young children. When our daughter was pre-school aged, we saved memories of trips and her artwork, by sending ourselves postcards.  While on the trip, she could chose a postcard of something she really enjoyed.  Even as young as 2 ½, she had a strong opinion about postcards and enjoyed drawing a picture of our trip on the card.  While it usually needed a small explanation at the bottom for later identification, it became a memory of the trip and her art at that age.  Many countries also have special stamps for postcards, often of famous parks, monuments or famous people.  Trying to buy a stamp and mail a postcard can also be a fun window into local life in a foreign country.  A small photo album is a good place to keep all the postcards once you get home.  The best photo albums have clear sleeves so that both sides can be viewed.

Finally, I have to mention our success with a travel journal.  I never had a diary, and always found ‘journaling’ a bit of a chore – something that teachers make students do when they want to assign work without creating an assignment or being responsible for grading. You can tell that I’m a bit biased.  However, after reading Ashley and Bill’s book I decided to try it with my daughter. Her birthday was a month before a big trip we had planned, so I bought her a special, fancy journal with a magnetic cover to bring along.  I decided I would suggest the idea, but refused to make it mandatory.  To my surprise, she seemed to really enjoy writing in the book and would voluntarily describe her favorite parts of the day, usually with hand-drawn pictures.  It was interesting to discover which things she found memorable enough to warrant documentation, and it filled time while her parents were checking emails, downloading photos, or cooling off under the air conditioning.  The journal is yet another created souvenir and something we will use in the future.

This past winter, I was bored and waiting for my daughter to finish up at the physical therapist.  I downloaded the Dwellable app (Sync!) and started looking for a getaway cabin (Search!).  And, voila, I ended up in a hot tub (Soak!) at “The River Chalet”. Note: If you read that with a french accent, it sounds even better.

Dwellable was good then.  Now, it’s new and improved.  How? First off, it starts with calming waves.  Now, I have to admit that I liked the crisp square pictures but there are just too many destinations for squares now!  That’s the second big improvement, Dwellable now covers the whole USA.  They seem to be adding new properties by the minute.  In fact, I checked for houses on Cape Cod a few months ago and I checked again today.  Lots of new houses just in West Yarmouth alone! Third, it’s still fast and maybe even faster.  Unlike other phone apps where I can doze off while waiting for something to load, Dwellable zips along.  It’s so fast, I can actually start searching for house rentals in line at the grocery store. Fourth, the houses are great! Staying in a house while traveling with kids can be easier and cheaper than staying in a hotel.  Playing around on Dwellable helps make it happen.

Is there anything I don’t love?  Well I used to really not love the filter icon. It looked a bit like the offspring of a tornado and my internet strength signal.  The icon is better but it’s still a bit mysterious.  If in doubt, click the funny filter icon. That’s all you need to know. Second, when using Dwellable, you need to realize that it is a front end. Your actual negotiations will be with various rental companies and owners across the country.  If their calendars or prices aren’t up to date, neither is the information on Dwellable. That’s not really a problem, it’s just a reality of working across multiple listing agents, states, and systems.  I’ve had success finding houses all over the country and for multiple group sizes. I also enjoy recreational house searching.  You know, just dreaming and looking and imagining the possibilities.

So, back to the hot tub!  How did it actually work?  I looked at the map to see how many houses were nearby our group getaway destination and I found the house by filtering for 4+ bedroom houses near Leavenworth WA with a hot tub.  I sent an e-mail through Dwellable to Destination Leavenworth.  They called me back within 10 minutes and we had a party in the making before I left the physical therapist’s office.  The house was absolutely gorgeous.  Three families could all relax by the woodstove or on comfy couches overlooking the Wenatchee River.  We had enough space to play games and host a group dinner.  It was so nice that some of the senior members of our group actually considered learning what an “app” was in order to be able to search for more rental houses!

View from the River Chalet

Ready for a feast

Big kitchen with space to hang out

We all enjoyed a great dinner in Leavenworth, skiing at Steven’s Pass in the rain – but no lift lines!  And skiing at Mission Ridge in the wind – again, no lift lines.  So, really, it was Sync! Search! Ski! Soak! Eat! Drink! Sleep! Ski! And Soak again!

Climb the cupola. Karlskirche is a huge baroque church on the edge of Karlsplatz, one of the main parks in downtown Vienna, just outside the ring.  The church is impressive for adults but what’s fun für kinder is to take the elevator up inside the church and then climb the scaffolding up several more stories until you are standing right up inside the cupola. The whole contraption feels a little unstable and there are few railings but it has supported 100s if not 1000s of tourists every day for many years.  Personally, I would never bring a toddler up there  – one might be tempted to squeeze his hand so hard it hurt for fear of his slipping over the edge.  But for older kids, this climb is a just-nerve-wracking-enough adventure that might even get them excited about church art. This adventure could potentially even entice a teenager to visit another church someday and to look at the ceiling in a new way.  Kids might be able to imagine what the artists really went through to paint the ceilings of all those churches across Europe. In case you do have a toddler with you, there is a neat playground just outside.

Make sure you get inside the State Opera House.  A family visit to the ballet in Vienna is not to be missed even für kinder.  The inside of the Opera House with its grand stairways and ornate ceilings is half the fun. You can buy tickets on-line in advance but we’ve had the best luck visiting the ticket office just across the street from the Opera House.  Usually the line is reasonably short. Every person who has helped us has spoken fluent English and has worked to get our family the best possible tickets.  Ballet is only performed at the State Opera House every couple of nights so plan early.  For every performance, a number of seats are reserved at €15 für kinder (under age 13).  These can be any seats in the house as long the child is accompanied by an adult.  The best deal is to buy your kids a front row ticket in a box on the second or third level.  Each box, cloaked in red velvet, seats only seven and has a private door and a small antechamber.  They are a special experience but choose only the boxes with a generally center view of the stage.  Unlike modern opera houses, not all seats have a view of the stage.  Ask if you are unsure!  Buy yourself a ticket in the row just behind your kids.  These tickets are usually much cheaper but don’t have quite as grand a view as the seats in the first row. You can lean forward over your child or slip up to the first row and let your child sit on your lap. Want a taste of opera? There are standing places available for under €10 that come equipped with a leaning bar. Your teen might not be willing or able to stand for an entire performance but a one-act-taste is certainly worth the price.  Just a visit inside the building as the Viennese arrive for the opera is worth €10. You can also book a tour during the day, but there is so much else to do in the city during the day.

Live the royal life.  Schloss Schönbrunn has dedicated an entire wing to the Children’s Museum.  Details are given in German and English at www.kaiserkinder.at (a funny website name that translates to Emperor Kids).  The website is written für kinder from the perspective of the palace ghost – just to give you an idea of how kid-centric this palace can be!  It is a relatively sparse museum with just one clear activity in each room.  Kids can move through at their own pace and are likely to learn one memorable idea in each room.  For example, kids can dress up in royal clothes in one of the large entertaining rooms and set up a banquet with plastic food and fake china in the fancy dining room.  On the Schönbrunn grounds there is a hedge maze with a playground centered on a giant bird sculpture that you can crawl inside and “fly”, as well as a wonderful zoo with thick Hapsburg-yellow walls and the best rainforest exhibit we’ve ever seen (time your visit for the afternoon storm).  We always get a kick out noting that “there is a biergarten in the tiergarten”.

Zoom! The children’s museum in Vienna is not like any U.S. children’s museum we’ve ever seen.  You can’t just show up and wander around.  There are classes and scheduled exhibit viewings which you must pre-register for in advance.  Luckily, preregistration is easy!  Call or stop by (almost everyone there speaks English) and register your child for an age-appropriate event.  There is usually at least one event in the art studio for which kids don coveralls and get messy.  Parents are not expected to stay but if your child is shy, you’ll be welcomed to watch from the side.  If your kid(s) are happy to stay alone, you can sneak out to visit any number of art museums that are just a few steps away in the Museum Quarter.  Zoom also hosts one rotating exhibit that is visible from the courtyard – it’s big, hands-on, and creative.  Even to visit this special exhibit, you must pre-register.  At your start time, there will be a presentation (in German but one of the docents has always volunteered to translate for our kids) that prepares the kids before they enter.  Generally you accompany your kids to this exhibit – you’ll have fun too!  At Zoom, you can also register your older kids for a few hours in a film studio or visit Zoom Ocean with your youngest kids.  Next door to Zoom is the WienXtra – KinderInfo office offering wall-to-wall brochures on family activities.  The office isn’t really meant for tourists (its real audience is the locals), but there’s lots of information inside that you’ll find handy and it has a neat small indoor playground as well.

Get a view from the zoo at the top of the vineyards.  From the city center, take the 38 tram to the end of the line in Grinzing.  Cross the street and hop the 38A bus heading up the mountain (check whether it goes only to Cobenzal or whether it goes all the way to Kahlenberg or Leopoldsberg).  The bus winds through neighborhoods and eventually heads up into the woods to a small, hilltop animal park and winery called Cobenzal.  If you’re ready to stretch your legs, get off and enjoy the view, the animals, and a glass of wine. Cobenzal is the perfect Austrian family destination – local wines served outside on old wooden tables and a mini-zoo für kinder. The zoo has goats, rabbits, cows, chickens and other family animals along a short hillside trail.  It is open on weekends and holidays. It is also open T-F in summer.  In nice weather or with a little extra time, you can wander behind the beer garden into the wienerwald (Viennese woods) beyond or down into the gorgeous vineyards that line the lower parts of the hillside.  Hop back on the bus heading up to Kahlenberg where the views overlooking the Danube River are unparalleled.  Buy a coffee and a souvenir at the small shop or even slip into the Hotel Kahlenberg for a hot chocolate and a slice of cake.  If you’re feeling adventurous, buy a map and head on to Leopoldsberg for more views or a trek down several kilometers to visit the monastery in Klosterneuberg.  If you are willing to walk all the way down the other side of the mountain, there are both trains and buses back to Vienna.

Eat desert! There are a lot of special deserts in Vienna and you will surely be distracted by the awesome slices of cake on display in nearly every café.  But you and your kids should not stop there.  Try some Kaiserschmarm (“Emporer Nonsense”) at any local restaurant.  It’s difficult to describe – imagine a merger between donuts and pancakes that retains an emphasis on powdered sugar and jam. Yum! Definitely für kinder! Don’t miss Apfelstrudel in it’s many forms and be sure to sample Moor im Hemd, chocolate cake with whitesauce (the name has a politically-unpleasant translation that is currently under debate).  The little colorful macaroons at Oberlaa Bakery are deviously delicious (and expensive) and the round ring cakes for sale in nearly every grocery store and bakery are a miraculous form of marbled pound cake called Marmorgugelhupf (just try saying it three times fast!).  Ask locals where to find the best and you will hear a wide variety of strongly held opinions.  Don’t forget to scour the grocery store for all sorts of gummy candy and special chocolate für kinder.

This is only the tip of the Austrian iceberg. Other great museums for kids in Vienna include the Naturhistorisches Museum in a fabulous building with an awesome staircase and 100s of animal displays, and the Haus der Musik with its great interactive exhibits and visualization of sound waves.  The Prater, with its famous red Reisenrad or “Giant Wheel” is fun for all ages. And, after you’ve explored Vienna, there are 1000’s more fantastic family-friendly activities just a train ride away. Book a ticket and go!

We took their newest tour, the “Shop Life” tour, on the bottom level and enjoyed an overview of life as a new immigrant to New York with emphasis on the wave of German immigrants from about 1860-1880.  We learned through old photos, newspaper clippings, an interactive card game, visiting rooms, holding artifacts, and a high-tech smart board (you may be impressed by the high tech smart board but your child will likely be a lot less impressed as there are many in school classrooms across the country).  The 90-minute experience gave us all a multi-faceted vision of what life was really like for the proprietors, John and his wife Caroline, as well as glimpses into the other businesses that once occupied the building including a kosher butcher, an undergarment factory, and an auction house.  The finale was a video of a nearby contemporary local storeowner and wrapped up the tour with thoughtful style and a new perspective on modern NYC life.  The tours are billed for kids aged 8 and up because they do involve listening, sitting, and not touching.  There are also food-sampling tours, live actress presentations on weekends, and an overview documentary behind the gift shop.  There are occasional free tours, these fill up far in advance but they’re a fabulous option.

Within a short walk of The Tenement Museum are two fun kiddie food finds.  First, The Pickle Guys.  There was apparently a pickle factory on Orchard Street for over 100 years.  It shut down a few years ago but 4 blocks away some “guys” who apparently interned at the factory started their own store.  It’s really a small warehouse full of barrels of things.  You can buy pickled mango, sauerkraut, pickled okra, pickled beans, pickled carrots, pickled olives, pickled tomatoes in many sizes and colors  … plus 8 kinds of pickled cucumbers.  We decided to pay for checked luggage just to bring the pickles back to Seattle with their brine … they’re that good!  The pickle guys prominently display a certificate stating that their establishment is under rabbinical supervision, an important reminder of the special importance of Judaism to New York where, at one point, every resident of 97 Orchard Street spoke Yiddish.

Around the corner, we literally stumbled into The Sweet Life at 63 Hester Street.  Do I need to say more? Hold your kids hand, give them a budget, give yourself a budget, and enjoy.  Best chocolate covered apricots I’ve eaten in a long time.  That one little moment of quality decadence put a spring back in everyone’s step.  While you’re down at the bottom of the island, take in Chinatown, the boutiques that seem to be springing up everywhere, and Little Italy.

For the best affordable entertainment in the city, head straight uptown to Broadway and 51^st street where you will find Ellen’s Stardust Diner, another slightly lesser known destination that drops you straight into the heart of Manhattan.  It’s decorated just as a diner should be and the food is fine, a little pricey, not too healthy.  But the entertainment rocks! And sings Broadway!  And last night there was even a little country too!  Every waiter or waitress (when I was employed in a restaurant, I was called a “waitron” for gender neutrality.  Thankfully that politically correct fad has faded away), is a wanna-be Broadway Star.  They serve your food while they dance around the restaurant, jump up on a runway between the booths, and belt out a tune into a cordless microphone.  During one short announcement, the waiter declared that every show currently running on Broadway included at least one former wait staff from Ellen’s Stardust Diner.  The kids can clap, sing along, eat grilled cheese, and shake hands with the performers.  The singers rove all around the restaurant but request a balcony seat where you can look down on the singers for the best vantage point.  My own daughter was mesmerized with an engaged glow from the minute we sat down.  I looked around the room and noted that she was not alone.  There were tables full of mesmerized elderly folks, other families with stunned children, toddlers looking happy, and even enthusiastic, smiling teenagers celebrating a Sweet 16 birthday.  Watching the waiters and waitress interact jovially with each other and sing their hearts out to a restaurant full of tourists, locals, kids, grandparents, and maybe, just maybe, a talent scout, you can feel the dream and the hope that brings so many talented people to the city that never sleeps.

Note: If the chocolate, pickles, and burger didn’t do you in, head to Crumbs in Herald Square for every flavor of cupcake your heart desires from Cannoli to Spring Break Margarita. And furthermore, if you can’t physically get to New York City, you can order pickles, cupcakes, and candy on-line!

Our affordable London hotel (lower left) was under the Eye!

It wasn’t that long ago when finding a hotel meant pulling out my Lonely Planet Guide and telling the taxi/rickshaw/tuk tuk driver to take me to whichever guesthouse was recommended.  Many other travelers used the same method and inevitably places became too popular and overcrowded.  Sometimes I found lodging by word-of-mouth and by getting advice from other travelers, but often these recommendations were based on the very same guidebooks.  Sometimes lodging solicited me.  I remember coming out of immigration at the Kathmandu airport and being accosted by a sea of people offering beds in their various guesthouses and feeling overwhelmed by it all; the sights, the sounds, the hustle, the bustle.  But that was in the 80’s, when international phone calls were only for periodically checking in with worried relatives at home and incoming mail was so slow it had to be sent general delivery weeks in advance.

Our apartment in Budapest.

Nowadays finding unique and comfortable lodging is much easier.  With internet and smart phones, there is so much information at our fingertips.  Of course, I’m now traveling with a family and not quite as comfortable with uncertainty as I once was.

At a minimum, I look to book lodging for the first few nights of a journey, and sometimes the last few nights.  Depending on my confidence with room availability, I may even try to book accommodation for the entire trip, something I never would have considered 25 years ago.  Also, hopscotching through the capitals of Europe over a couple of weeks requires a different level of planning than backpacking through SE Asia for six months.

First I set an itinerary, then I can set upon finding places to sleep.  Knowing how long I’m going to be in a place will set sideboards for finding the right accommodation.  Hotel or other traditional lodging options will be most appropriate for one night, but longer stays open up the possibility of short-term apartment rentals or house swaps.

Outside our apartment in Rome.

The last time I traveled to a new place and needed to find lodging was a visit to Prague and Ceske Bodejovice in the Czech Republic.  I was going to be in each city for a couple of days and I wanted to rent an apartment in each place.  Experience has taught me that an apartment typically has more space than hotel or hostel rooms, and can be cheaper than either of those for sleeping space for a family of four.  I started with Google Earth to get the lay of the land of each city.  I wanted to stay relatively close to the downtown attractions to minimize commuting.  For the first time I noticed the little bed icons overlaid on the city map, and started to explore them.  Soon I had identified apartment rentals in various neighborhoods and cross-referenced these to websites explaining logistical details like number of beds, cost, and availability.  In no time I had reservations for a nice quality, reasonably-priced, and centrally-located apartment in each city.

Over many trips, I’ve dealt with apartment rental associations with various levels of sophistication in their websites, from only a few apartments to a searchable database of hundreds, if not thousands, of units.  When possible, I try to avoid corporate-looking clearinghouses of information, and select what appear to be locally controlled websites.  I’ve had good experience finding hotels this way too, like a small one-star hotel down an obscure Venetian alley.  We hunted for that hotel in the rain and finally found it behind a tiny passageway.  It was a fabulous experience, but Expedia or TripAdvisor weren’t going to get me there.

Our hotel in Venice was down that alley!

Our adventure a couple of years ago to Catalonia in northeast Spain typifies my lodging strategy.  It was the winter off-season so I was hopeful that demand for lodging would be low.  I found a cozy, central apartment in Girona through a local association website for the first couple of nights.  After that we were on our own.  We stayed in Figueres, Cadaqués, and Besalú, before returning to Girona, and in each of those towns we found great little hotels on the fly.  One hotel even had a playground on the roof! There was a risk which I hadn’t figured on, that lodging would be closed for the season because of the lack of tourists, but it all worked out.  We had such a good time that we never made it into Barcelona, one of my favorite cities, and our original destination.

So I guess my lodging philosophy hasn’t changed that much with kids.  I definitely like to have a little more security upon arrival.  But the whole family enjoys the adventure of heading into the unknown and discovering what even the best guidebooks haven’t found.

We’re interested in what readers have taken from our book.  What has worked and what hasn’t?  So we’re hosting a little contest.   Please tell us if you used an idea from the book or if you have something new to add.  To enter, just submit a comment on this post describing your experience, tweet your experience, or post in on your Facebook page and share it with ours (full details below). One winner will be selected at random from all thoughtful book reports.  The winner will be selected on May 15th and will receive a Family on the Loose travel bag full of our favorite fun travel stuff – mini books, a blank journal, wrapped surprise presents, mini art supplies, paper maps, map dots, and more …take the whole bag on your next plane, train, or auto trip!

Ready, set …

The first section of the book is about getting ready to travel.  Reading books, trying crafts, and getting your kids engaged in planning the adventure.  One reader wrote to use about the section on enabling kids to pack themselves.  She said that the packing lists worked great and the kids were excited for the independence. However, she wished she had explained to the kids that they needed to pack clean clothes (as opposed to the dirty ones wadded under the bed).   What worked or didn’t work for your family?

Go!

The middle of the book is about what to do on the road.  Have you tried a museum scavenger hunt?  Have you played any of the games while waiting to be served at a restaurant? Any journaling ideas that worked super well or that were an horrid failure?

Traveling Home

The final third of the book is devoted to ways to make travel memories stick and to discover new cultures close to home.  We talk about cultural mini-trips, international birthday parties, and themed country nights.  Please share any successes or failures with cultural exploration back home.

Gorey Details

You can enter in three ways:

1. Post a comment to this page
2. Tweet how you used our book @familyonloose
3. Post how you used the book on your Facebook page and share with us https://www.facebook.com/FamilyontheLoose

If you enter all three ways, you will be entered to win three times!  You can only enter once per e-mail address, twitter handle, or Facebook page.

For an entry to be valid, it must be thoughtful.  It does not have to be brilliant but it must indicate that you have actually read at least a part of our book.

For an entry to be valid, we must have a way to contact you if you win as we will need your shipping address.  We will try to contact you via the e-mail you used to submit a comment on this page, your Facebook page, or via a direct message on Twitter (you have to follow us for us to be able to message you).

The contest opens April 2 (when you can get the kindle version of our book free on Amazon) and closes May 15th. 

We will select the winner at random on the weekend of May 18/19.  In real life, I’m a statistician and I know  a lot about “random”.   However, in the interest of trust, I will not use a fancy computer algorithm.  I will use a hat – a real hat!  Entries via this page, twitter, or Facebook will be printed on a little piece of paper and put in a hat.  Again, one entry per format (blog/twitter/FB) per e-mail address/twitter handle/FB page.  Our kids will select one winner at random and we will post a few photos of this scientific process for credibility.

We will ship awesome travel goody bag anywhere in the world within a week of selecting a winner.

Colonial Williamsburg might also be one of the most photogenic places on Earth.  We hope you enjoy a small sample of the five zillion photos we took while visiting.

Where to stay?  We stayed in the Colonial Houses, associated with Williamsburg Lodge.  They were located along a main street, within walking distance of the historical area.  Because we traveled with extended family, we ended up peaking inside a lot of rooms.  They varied greatly.  Most were very nice and the period ambiance added to the immersion experience.  It was wonderful not to have to get in a car, park, or stay together during the day.  One person could easily walk back for a nap on their own schedule.  I would certainly stay in the historical houses again even though they were a bit more expensive than our usual style.  There are lots of alternatives.  A travel blog we enjoy recently recommended Marriott’s Residence Inn and it looks fun too.

What to eat? There is no substantial, simple food in the historical area.  You have to be careful not to get starving and grumpy.  They even warned us about getting starving and grumpy on the kid’s orientation tour and we still found it hard to avoid. Bring snacks!! You can eat at the Taverns but you have to make a reservation in advance.  You can make reservations on the same morning you want to eat but it’s an extra hurdle that can be challenging to jump if you’re already hungry, tired, and grumpy.   The taverns are also a bit pricey for a mid-day meal and they are a sit-down, long-stay commitment that might interfere with visiting the other attractions.  We ate dinner at a tavern one evening and it was great.  We particularly enjoyed the live music that had a unique sound.  But the food was pretty much just expensive hunks of meat.  On our second day, we discovered  “The Cheese Shop” in the Marketplace, a little commercial district at the edge of the Colonial zone.  It just says “cheese” outside, but actually they make sandwiches at the back and have lots of quick snacks for sale.  It’s a perfect place to stock up for a picnic lunch or enjoy a quick bite.  There are also some bakeries and candy stores within the Colonial zone if you get desperate.

Where to start? Our trip coincided with both kids learning about American history in school so they were primed for the Williamsburg experience.  We found the kids introductory tour to be a perfect way to begin our visit and engage our kids in the fun opportunities everywhere.  During our visit, the tour started in the kids’ corner at 10:45 and 11:45 every day, but check the schedule when you arrive.  The tour was about 30 minutes long and didn’t require too much walking.  The guide was dressed in costume and spoke directly to the kids, providing information, context, ideas of what might be fun to do, and some landmarks.  I would absolutely do that again.

What to do after that? We really enjoyed wandering the streets and simply peeking into whatever happened to be open (carefully avoiding shops on the main street that actually sell stuff). The jail was particularly fun. For the first day,  I would plan to start with a tour, wander in houses/shops/jail (and don’t forget to eat) and then end up at the live action, daily event (see below).  Over the next day or two, you might want to visit a few of the actual shops on the main street and choose a few of the building tours that seem most interesting to your kids.

For example, we toured the Governor’s Palace and followed that with the hedge maze – fun and good for energy release.  The costumed interpreters are a mixed bag.  Some are totally fabulous and eager to share their knowledge.  Others have gotten a little lost is self-righteous make believe.  It’s worth checking in as your kids engage with various docents, guides, and historical characters.

What not to miss?  The Capitol Building tour had, by far, had the best information and gave a great political context to the entire visit.  It might not be the best tour to start with because it’s so packed with information and we needed some context to understand it all.  Also, there is a live open air “performance” each afternoon in which interpreters give a series of speeches or re-enact an important event.  These events seem to take place as a series in several locations.  For example, George Washington might ride into town at about three in the afternoon, and that might lead to a debate on the main street at 3:15.  The crowd might then need to walk to a third or even a fourth spot to witness the entire series of events.  A different set of performances was scheduled each day of our visit and I thought they were terrific.  If you plan it perfectly, you can be sitting on the curb in front of the bakery with a cookie and an iced latte when George comes galloping around the corner.

And the night life?  Okay, we took a ghost tour one evening.  There are brochures everywhere and our kids were intrigued.  There are a wide range of possibilities – private companies, official tours, scary tours, “factual” tours etc.  We didn’t do the scary tour and we didn’t pay extra to go inside the buildings.  To be honest, I thought it was painful – maybe one of the dullest and most ridiculous events I have ever experienced.  Painful!  But the kids were riveted, fascinated, entranced.  The tour was pseudo-factual and full of stories of deaths of young children and very serious statements about how “only digital cameras can pick up the ghost” etc.  I kept trying to leave the tour early but the kids (ages 5-13) would have none of it.  They had a blast.  And they were not alone. The grounds were crawling with tourists and their flashlights.  Other less cynical folks seemed to be enjoying themselves.  If your kids are old enough, I would give the scary tour a try.  If you’re going to go on a ghost tour, it might as well be kitschy and creepy.

How should you prepare the kids?  Watch a couple of documentaries and read a few books about Colonial Williamsburg before visiting.  Being from Boston, I thought I knew about colonial times, but I suppose I’ve aged and forgotten a lot of my historical facts and timelines.  Our kids needed the historical context and we were lucky that they had gotten a lot of that at school.  Visiting Colonial Williamsburg is supposed to teach you some history of course, but it would still be more exciting to see Benedict Arnold in the flesh if you had ever even heard of him before that afternoon.  Also, it would be very easy to hemorrhage cash on even a short visit to Colonial Williamsburg – carriage rides, tavern meals, gifts in shops.  However, the free (or “free with admission”) events such as the live performances and building tours were terrific.  It would probably be helpful to prepare your kids for what you are and are not planning to pay for.

Big picture! Overall, we had a blast! The only downside was that there was so much happening that it was hard to get oriented. I read a phrase recently in a story about, coincidentally, Disneyland.  The phrase was FOMO – the Fear of Missing Out.  And, that is exactly the phobia I experienced during our visit to Colonial Williamsburg.  Don’t expect to see everything.  Be selective and stay flexible.  Plan a nice day for yourselves and enjoy what you can do without paying any mind to what you can’t do.  Our kids did learn about American history and they have a much better ability to imagine historical context.  I have to add that the weekend after we got home I found the kids playing “Colonial Times” in the basement.  They were giving each other 20 lashings; they had turned the chairs into stocks; and they were pretending to staple each other’s ears to the stocks.  Well, I guess they learned something?

The area covered by our scavenger hunt is the downtown core.  Walk on 1st Avenue between Pike’s Place and Pioneer Square.  As a round trip, you will want to come back along 3rd with short detours to see the library and the opera hall.  End up at Westlake Center and take the monorail to Seattle Center.  You’ll capture all the pictures within this route.  You can get off at Seattle Center (no photos there – makes for a long day) or buy a round trip ticket in advance and just enjoy the ride.

For best results, give your kid (or spouse, fiance, or friend – like I said, adults love this too!) a copy of the 2-sided scavenger hunt with pictures.  Print a copy of the two-sided answer sheet for yourself.

Perhaps offer a reward such as a hot chocolate or a latte when 14 photos are tagged.  Ice cream and/or beer when you get 25 photos!  Note that it’s pretty challenging to find all 29 because it’s easy to miss one or two along the way and no one wants to retrace their steps just to tag a photo.  Aiming for something a bit less than 100% will make for a more successful outing.

Seattle Scavenger Hunt

Seattle Scavenger Hunt – Answer Key

Where can you find this in Seattle?

Like this scavenger hunt?  We have a different version that works in any city in our book.  We’re planning to make a similar hunt for Boston and maybe add a page three for Seattle Center.  If you like this or if you find errors or sources of confusion, please leave comments!

Seattle on Dwellable