One of the reasons I love Trekaroo is how I’ve got a community of thousands of parents keeping me up-to-date on what’s hot when traveling kids. One our newest Trekaroo members, Kailani (the mommy blogger behind An Island Life) tipped me off to the Snazzy Baby Travel Chair. Weighing in at less than 1 pound, the Snazzy Baby Travel Chair has been awarded the Most Portable Travel Chair by Trekaroo. It also fits into any diaper bag!!! Woo Woo! (Here’s the full article on Best Travel High Chairs).

The Steal – Win the Most Portable Travel High Chair

We knowing that eating outside the house is often difficult for kids who are more eager to play than eat.

Number of Winners: One (1)

Prize: 1 Snazzy Baby Travel Chair in Red for Valentine’s Day

To enter:

Tell us what feature(s) is important to you when shopping for a portable high chair.  You can leave a comment below, tweet your thoughts to @trekaroo, or leave a comment on Facebook.

For additional entries, feel free to do any or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra entry but be sure to leave a separate comment for each one.

• Subscribe to The Talking Trekaroo’s feed
• Follow Snazzy Baby on Twitter
• Follow Trekaroo on Twitter
• Tweet this giveaway
• Fan Snazzy Baby on Facebook
• Fan Trekaroo on Facebook
• Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here and to Snazzy Baby

Rules and guidelines:

• 18 years of age or older
• US Residents only
• Multiple entries allowed per person

Deadline to enter: Sunday, February 14, 2010 at 11:59PM PST

A Sweet Valentine’s Deal

Purchase a Snazzy Baby travel chair for $34.99 and get a free pair of leg warmers (value: $7.99) for your special little Valentine. Just go to http://www.snazzybaby.us/shop and enter in the code: TREKAROO when you purchase a Snazzy Baby Travel Chair and a free pair of leg warmers will be added to your purchase. You just choose the color! (Available in for funky colors: Wild Blue , Pink Pizzaz, Jungle Green and Oceans Blue.)  Jump on this deal before it expires at the end of the month on 2/28/2010.

Don’t need a pair of leg warmers. Purchase the chair on Amazon for $29.59 and it’s eligible for free shipping savings .

Related articles:

• Best Portable High Chairs for Travel
• Best Baby Travel Cribs
• Best Travel Toys for Babies and Toddlers
• Toys on the Fly
• Pack for Baby Without Bringing the Nursery

What is Monday Madness?

Every Monday, Trekaroo announces on our blog, either a fantastic giveaway or an incredible deal.  It could be a green water bottle or Broadway tickets. Return every Monday to the Talking Trekaroo Blog for the details. Want a reminder? Become a Trekaroo member or follow us on facebook or twitter.

Thanks to Contest for Moms, Online Sweepstakes, CashNet Sweepstakes, and Sweepstakes Advantage.

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Esther Lee is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TX | VA | WA

That’s more than a 60% savings off all services if booked separately.  Now that’s a great deal.

Book Now! Rates start at $299/night

*Book and stay by April 30, 2010

$40 off a massage at the Four Seasons Philadelphia

Trekaroo users who book a full 50 or 80-minute spa treatment can receive $40 off if they mention “Trekaroo” when making their reservation.  They must also bring a print out from the Trekaroo website.   

Make A Reservation!

*This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotions or discounts, and is valid through March 31, 2010.

40% Off My Busy Kits

Buy a My Busy Kit! Promo code: TREKAROO
* This offer excludes shipping and handling.

Download My Little Suitcase iphone App for Free

20% Off all of Agoo Active Wear For Kids and Leg Warmers

Agoo has a wonderful line of active wear clothing made of high tech materials like that fantastic moisture wick fabric. Their materials also offer UV protection and stain resistance. Their designs are so stylish, you’d be wishing you could buy some in mommy or daddy sizes.

Leg Warmers are pant legs without the pants.  A stylish and eco-friendly way to keep those puggy legs warm in the winter. Leg Warmers are made of 100% sustainable bamboo fibers.  They come in a wide variety of designer styles.

As a Trekaroo family, you get an exclusive 20% discount on Agoo’s entire line of active wear for kids.  Valid till March 1, 2010.

Start Shopping at Agoo! Coupon Code: agoo20pfeb

Free Shipping on all Travel Accessories from TravelKiddy

TravelKiddy specializes in a line of kid-approved and road-tested travel kits for different ages.  They also carry kid-tested travel accessories like book lights, travel blankies, and luggage tags as well as high quality but easy to pack games from Think Fun! and Melissa and Doug.  Only Trekaroo families get free shipping for Travel Kiddy products.  That’s a $7 savings on each order.

Start Shopping at TravelKiddy! Promo Code: TREK

15% Off all Orders from Jet Set Babies

Jet Set Babies delivers all the baby supplies you might need to your vacation destination.  They even track and confirm it’s arrival for your peace of mind.  Instead of stuffing your carry on with those extras for baby and paying to check more bags, you can experience hassle-free travel.  Jet Set Babies carries a complete line of products for any type of family vacation.  Trekaroo families get an exclusive 15% Off all orders.

Start Shopping at Jet Set Babies! Promo Code: TREKAROO

*The Trekaroo discount expires 2/28/2010.

20% Off all Baby Bloak Products

Baby Bloak is a novel combination of blanket and coat for babies and little kids. The Baby Bloak’s unique design allows you to place your child in a car seat without taking off their outerwear  and still keep the safety restraints nice and snug.  Best of all it comes in the comfiest designer fabrics.  Trekaroo families get an exclusive 20% discount on Baby Bloaks until February 28, 2010.  It’s the perfect baby shower gift.

Start Shopping at Baby Bloak! Promo Code:TREKAROO

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Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TX | VA | WA

Can you believe that Trekaroo is turning one year old?!?!  Let’s break out the champagne (ginger ale for the pregnant moms) and some cupcakes for adults and kids alike. To start, I’d like to propose a toast to

1. The Trekaroo Community

Cheers to all of you for all your

ADVICE – you guys wrote thousands and thousands of super helpful reviews

HEART – In the wake of the Haiti earthquake, you all rallied together and worked to donate $3000 as a community to Compassion International’s Haiti Relief Fund

and HUMOR – Some of your stories from the road were hilarious.  This conversation about when it’s okay to pee on a tree is priceless .

Our dream was to create a place for parents to dish out the real deal on kid spots around the country and we love to be a part of this great community. From all your rants and raves, Trekaroo is now covering over 9K activities and over 33K hotels and 90 destinations across 12 states & the District of Columbia. Your travel-savvy tips and photos have caught the attention of the folks at DailyCandyKids, LATimes, NYTimes, CNBC, iVillage, Kaboose, and more.

2. Our Partners

We’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing people over the past year.   Our accountants (Vince, Stacey, Kim), our licensing partner (GPP-Gail) our lawyer (the other Esther) to our PR experts (Julie, Steph, Danielle), our brand goddess (Joyce and Alice Q), our design consultants (Stephanie, Fernando and George) and engineering consultants (Internaut, Axis Partners, Chad), our numerous writers and bloggers (Lydie, Catherine, Kate, Eunice, Spencer, Megan), and of course our investors and advisors. Without all of you, Trekaroo wouldn’t exist either because we had forgotten to pay our taxes or the website would have blown up because I pressed Ctrl+Alt+Del by accident and didn’t have a back-up copy on tap.

3. The Trekaroo team

Cheers to the gallons of midnight oil that you burn as we slog it out in basements, coffee shops and home offices to make it all happen. Thanks for being able to laugh and sometimes cry at the reality of launching Trekaroo into unequivocally the worst economy ever.

Happy Anniversary,

Esther, Brennan and LiLing

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Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TX | VA | WA

Credit: Lisa Lim

Open to the public for over a year now, the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park is still ranked the second most popular attraction for families in San Francisco on Trekaroo. What’s not to like, it’s not only got an aquarium, but a planetarium, a natural history museum, and a 4-story rainforest all under one living roof.

There are often long lines at the Academy, but now you can skip the ticket lines AND save $5 off all tickets purchased during the month of February thanks to our friends at the California Academy of Sciences.  Go to www.calacademy.org/tickets/admission and entering the promo code and referral code listed below.

Promo Code: 555999
Referral Code: sstone56

This offer is only available for general admission tickets purchased online between February 1-28, 2010, and cannot be combined with other offers or discounts. Tickets purchased during this promotion are valid for one year from the purchase date.

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Trekaroo is a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TX | VA | WA

Trekaroo’s goin’ to Carolina
Can’t you see the sunshine,
Can’t you just feel the moonshine,
Ain’t it just like a friend of mine,
To hit me from behind
Yes, we’re goin’ to Carolina with our KIDS!
(To the tune of James Taylor’s “Carolina in my Mind”)

Why North Carolina? Because Trekaroo families have been taken it upon themselves to build a fantastic list of activities and hotel reviews that just had to be released to the public. From the famous sunny beaches of North Carolina to the winter fun in High Country, families love it in North Carolina. Looking for some indoor fun? There’s plenty to enjoy in North Carolina from a world-class zoo in Asheboro to exhibits of fascinating sea life in our three coastal aquariums. We’ve got family-friendly summer fun at minor league baseball games and Nascar races.

Photo by: Flickr/Texas_mustang

So, what have Trekaroo families shared?

• Over 650 activities for kids throughout North Carolina
• Activities and hotel reviews in all 4 regions: Piedmont Triangle, The Coast, Blue Ridge Mountains, and the Great Smokey Mountains.
• A list of kid-friendly hotels in NC waiting to be rated by parents
• Lots of fun lists like:
  • Places to Hike with Kids Around Charlotte, North Carolina by PrincessTrioMom
  • Cheap Things to Do in Charlotte, NC with kids by JodyMace
  • Kid-friendly Hotels in Charlotte, North Carolina by SpencerSpellman
  • Fun for Dudes, Both Kids and Bigs Near Charlotte, NC by rjones64
  • Snow Tubing and Sledding Hills in North Carolina by thelees3
  • Ski Resorts in North Carolina with Kid Programs by thelees3
  • Best Activities for Kids in the Piedmont Triangle – voted by Trekaroo families by Stephen Wantas
    

In celebration of our launch, the Trekaroo KidsMobile Blog Carnival stopped in Charlotte, NC and invited local bloggers on board to share their local tips on kid fun around Charlotte.  Check out what they had to share.

Special thanks to christinembyrd, PrincessTrioMom, jamierippy, Grandma Adele, summerbreeze, Olgabow, jrhammlett, allison, frogsandladybugs for their love of North Carolina and sharing more than most about their adventures with  kids with the Trekaroo community. And of course, thanks to team Trekaroo who work around the clock to make get all the details in place.

Going to Carolina with my kids,

Esther Lee (thelees3) – CEO

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Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TX | VA | WA

In celebration of Trekaroo’s launch in North Carolina,  the Trekaroo KidsMobile is making a stop in

Charlotte, North Carolina

Trekaroo families love visiting Charlotte because there is an abundance of kid-friendly activities. Within a short drive, there are hiking trails galore.  If you’re staying in the city, you’ll also find some world class museums that your kids will love. Trekaroo Families who live in Charlotte or have visited with their kids pitched in with their recommendations.  Here’s a list of what our community recommended as the Best Activities for Kids in the Piedmont Triangle.

For our KidsMobile’s stop in Charlotte, we welcomed on board some local blogging moms and dads to give us the local scoop on what’s great for kids around Charlotte.

First up, Angela shares with us an excellent list  of her family’s favorite Places to Hike with Kids Around Charlotte, North Carolina.  Her family loves exploring outdoors.  She is the mom behind Roses and Brambles where she shares amusing stories about their family’s adventures and misadventures in the daily life of growing and exploring together.

Jody knows how to make a dollar stretch!  Here’s her list of Cheap Things to Do in Charlotte, NC with kids.  After living abroad for a few years, she returned to settle in Charlotte with her family.  Jody keeps the blog Charlotte on the Cheap where she complies a fantastic list of free or almost free events around Charlotte for children and adults.

Spencer Spellman is a travel journalist base out of Greenville South Carolina.  He brings us a list of Kid-friendly Hotels in Charlotte, NC. Spencer is the go-to guy for tips on traveling around North and South Carolina and you can get his in depth travel advice on Carolina Nomad as well as on Uptake and Nile Guide.

Richard is a dad to 3 teens.  Check out what he recommends as Fun for Dudes, Both Kids and Bigs Near Charlotte, NC. Richard is one of the dads behind A Dude’s Guide where he shares parenting tips from a Dad’s perspective.  As a stay-at-home dad, he provides tips on fatherhood with a dose of humor in hopes of sparing other dudes the bewilderment he experienced as a first time dad.

Other Resources for the Piedmont Triangle, North Carolina

• All 273 Activities for Kids in and around the Piedmont Triangle (Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh)
• Kid-friendly hotels in and around the Piedmont Triangle (Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh)

• Snow Tubing and Sledding Hills in North Carolina by thelees3

Next stop, Orlando, Florida – Disney Fans and Non-Disney Fans, jump on board the KidsMobile!

The Trekaroo KidsMobile is a blog carnival with a twist. It’s designed to provide a unique opportunity for mom and dad bloggers to be featured on Trekaroo while
1) expressing their unique point of view
2) getting a web of link exchanges.

Join us for one of our next stopovers.

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LiLing Pang is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TX | VA | WA

Here at Trekaroo, we’re getting ready to launch the state of North Carolina. We wouldn’t be able to launch North Carolina without all the great information from the Fun with the Family North Carolina guidebook by the publishers of the Insiders’ Guide. They’ve helped us add hundreds of fun places to go with kids, including amusement parks, historical attractions, wildlife habitats, festivals, parks and more .

The Steal – Win a Fun with the Family North Carolina book

We’ll be giving away four “Fun with the Family North Carolina” guidebooks to help you plan your adventures in North Carolina with your kids.

Number of Winners: Four (4)

Prize: 1 Fun with the Family North Carolina guidebook. (Value: $13.95/book)

To enter:

Share a North Carolina memory or dream by completing one or both of these sentences:

1) “When we were in North Carolina as a family, I remember ______”

2) “My dream is to take the kids to North Carolina, to see _______ because ______.”

You can leave a comment below, tweet your idea to @trekaroo, or leave a comment on Facebook. Each memory/dream is one entry.

Additional entries (each action is one additional entry):

• Tweet a link to this Monday Mad Steal via @Trekaroo
• Post this on your Facebook Wall using the Facebook Share link above
• Post this on your blog

Rules and guidelines:

• 18 years of age or older
• US Residents only
• Unlimited entries per person

Deadline to enter: Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 11:59PM PST

Related articles:

• Where to go in North Carolina with kids
• Top activities for kids in the Piedmont region
• Top activities for kids in Charlotte

What is Monday Madness?

Every Monday, Trekaroo announces on our blog, either a fantastic giveaway or an incredible deal.  It could be a green water bottle or Broadway tickets. Return every Monday to the Talking Trekaroo Blog for the details. Want a reminder? Become a Trekaroo member or follow us on facebook or twitter.

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Esther Lee is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.

Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NY | PA | TX | VA | WA

Entertaining little kids when traveling is often the most exhausting part of a family “vacation.”  We thought it would be fun for all of us to share the tricks we have up our sleeves to create an exhaustive list of boredom busters. Leave a comment here or on twitter/facebook with your FREE or almost free activities or amusements.  (Don’t forget to tell us your Trekaroo screenname or blog name so we can give you credit for your genius when we quote you.

The Steal – Win a Kid’s Travel Game

We’ll be giving away ten fun toys to keep your kids occupied on the road.

Number of Winners: Ten (10)

Prize: 1 Travel Game (We’ve got CandyLand, Hungry, Hungry Hippos, Travel MagnaDoodle, and 7 Wikki Stix sets)

To enter:

Tell us one FREE game or creative activity you use to keep your kids entertained when traveling and why it works so well.   Each idea is one entry.  You can leave a comment below, tweet your idea to @trekaroo, or leave a comment on Facebook. One entry per idea.

Rules and guidelines:

• 18 years of age or older
• US Residents only
• One entry per person

Deadline to enter: Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 11:59PM PST

Related articles:

• 10 Fun Travel Activities for Kids
• Games on the Go
• Travel Toy Recommendations for Babies and Toddlers
• Top 10 Travel Toys for Elementary School Kids
• Top 5 Travel Toys for Preschoolers

What is Monday Madness?

Every Monday, Trekaroo announces on our blog, either a fantastic giveaway or an incredible deal.  It could be a green water bottle or Broadway tickets. Return every Monday to the Talking Trekaroo Blog for the details. Want a reminder? Become a Trekaroo member or follow us on facebook or twitter.

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Esther Lee is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.

Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NY | PA | TX | VA | WA