A year ago, I had never heard of Trekaroo. A stay at home mom to three sweet little girls, I stumbled across the website one night, read a few reviews and decided to write a couple of my own.
I. was. hooked.
As a person always willing to share an opinion, story, or slew of details on any given subject; I loved the chance to have my thoughts be heard. As a mom of three busy girls, and wife to an incredibly busy teacher and student, there were many days that I had not met that statistical quota of words a woman needs to share each day, unless of course you count the succession of “Nooo!!!”s hollered at small children in one given setting. Adding reviews on Trekaroo was the perfect outlet for me to share both my passion for traveling with my kids, learn about great places to take my family, and also satisfy my desperate need to be heard!!
Not long after joining Trekaroo, I was selected as a Superoo. If you aren’t familiar with the name, a Superoo is a parent who is recognized for contributing to the site with wit, enthusiasm, savvy, and gusto–and are then rewarded with some amazing perks for their time and efforts. Being a Superoo is completely awesome. Don’t take my word for it, here’s what a few of the 2011 Superoos have to say:
imsnow shares her passion for travel with Trekaroo families.
Find out all the fun places beebs1970 & family have gone with Trekaroo.
BAT‘s family loves sharing on Trekaroo. See what they’ve been up to.
akeisel and family love the outdoors & love to share their scoop.
OCPlayParks knows her stuff in SoCal. Check out what she’s reviewed.
Less than one year after joining Trekaroo, I enjoyed fabulous perks, fun and travel as a Superoo. Just a few short months after that, I have dusted off the old college textbooks and am thrilled and excited to now serve as the Assistant Editor here at Trekaroo. It has been such a privilege getting to know you all already and I look forward to an another awesome year full of kids, trips, and tips.
Want to join the fun??
You could be our next Superoo! Check out the perks and learn how to become a Superoo.
Stay tuned, next week we’ll introduce you to yet another breed of Trekaroo family: the Destination Guru!!
Also, thanks for listening, Trekaroo community. I believe my daily word quota is just about up!
Katie Bodell is Trekaroo’s Assistant Editor, a wife, & a mom to three sweet California girls.
Travel with kids to: CA |CO | DC | FL | HI | IL |MA | NC | NY | OR| PA | TN | TX | VA | WA
It is incredibly difficult to explain tragedies like 9/11 to children, especially when us parents are still struggling to understand something so monstrous ourselves. We all remember exactly what we were doing the moment we learned that the twin towers had been hit. My alarm went off and instead of playing music, the disc jockey was screaming in panic about what she had just seen on tv. I darted up and turned on my television, staring in horror at smoke pouring out of the World Trade Center. Then the second plane hit. It didn’t feel real. It was too evil to be real. As I drove to work, I noticed everyone in their cars had the exact same expression of shock on their face that I did. Shock turned into anger, sadness, fear, and mourning. Ten years later, so many of those emotions still feel raw.
When we travel with our children, we often visit memorials, battlefields, and museums that are filled with stories that are hard for little minds to fully grasp. Last year, my family visited Oklahoma City and although my children were only three years old at the time, I still felt like it was important for us to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial. I explained to them that we needed to be quiet in honor of some very special people. They may not have understood the tragedies that occurred at the site, but they did understand the emotion on people’s faces and felt compelled to draw a cross on the chalkboard squares in the Children’s Area after learning about the many people who went to heaven. As my children get older, I will continue to give them age appropriate history lessons through travel, to help them understand the world we live in and equip their generation with knowledge that will keep them repeating mistakes of the past.
Our country is filled with many great landmarks which serve as fine places to teach our children about war, tragedy, and the mistakes of our past. Battlefields such as Gettysburg, memorials like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall, parks such as the Trail of Tears State Park, and museums like the Holocaust Museum bring history to life better than any text book ever could and provide invaluable educations to our kids.
I wish we still lived in a world where two soaring towers still dominated the New York City skyline. And I wish that I could have taken my kids up to the top so that they could have experienced the amazing view of the city that they offered. Most of all, I wish all those who gave their lives that day were still here to enjoy their own families and friends. Right now, much of the former site of the World Trade Center is still under construction but when it is finished, my family will visit and my children will learn about the tragedy that happened before they were even born, and how it changed the world.
Recently, Trekaroo was invited to participate in a fun project called “7 Links.” This project, started by Tripbase, asks us to recall our favorite travel posts in an effort to give new attention to old posts which may have slipped by you in the past. Amy Whitley, the editor of Pitstops For Kids and a 2011 Superoo, tagged Trekaroo a couple weeks ago while I was traveling the Pacific Northwest, which happens to also be her neck of the woods. We made it back home and I have finally gotten around to selecting our seven. So without further ado….
Most Popular: $5 off the California Academy of Sciences
Photo credit Lisa Lim
I wish I could say our most popular post was some sort of carefully crafted bit of prose genius, but people like coupons and the search engines seem to always direct them to our post. The good news is that this coupon is still good through December 31, 2011 so there is still plenty of time for your family to take advantage of the discount.
A Post Whose Success Surprised Me: The Best Zoos in the West
My very first post as Trekaroo Blog Editor proved to one of our most popular. I came from a humble blogging background and couldn’t believe that thousands of people were actually interested in reading what I had to write. Zoos have always been one of my favorite places to take kids and I feel that this post really does provide some great information for those who are interested in visiting the best zoos in the west. I ended up writing a post for the Best Zoos in the Midwest as well and planned to continue the series with the South and East but never found the time. Perhaps, given the popularity of these posts, I should make time….
Most Beautiful Post: 15 Family Friendly National Park Adventures
Photo courtesy NPS/ Jared Withers
I have traveled around the US quite extensively and I have yet to find anything more beautiful than our National Parks. This post was more of a bucket list for my own family, as my children grow and are able to participate in all sorts of unique adventure in National Parks from Alaska to Maine. Since I did so much research and found so many fun opportunities for families to enjoy their parks, I figured why not share all that great information with the rest of Trekaroo?
Most Controversial Post: American Airlines Behaving like a Budget Airline
- Photo credit Wikihow
At Trekaroo, we aren’t typically in the business of creating or writing about controversy. We want our family travel blog to be fun and informative, but sometimes things happen in the travel world and we feel obligated to throw our two cents out there. This past winter, our Trekaroo CEO, Liling Pang, got caught in the London blizzard and quickly saw the difference between competing airlines and their caliber of customer service. Needless to say, she wasn’t very pleased with how American handled the situation…
Most Helpful Post: The Best Tide Pools in California for Kids
I would like to think that all of our blog posts are helpful. After all, we are in the business of helping families travel better with their children. However, there is one post that continues to be quite popular with Google and hopefully has lead to many great family outings. Our top California tide pools list highlights the best and most easily accessible tide pools for families, making a trip to beach a fun yet educational experience. If you have a trip to California in your future, make time to check out one of these amazing little pockets of life.
Post That Didn’t Get Enough Attention: Exploring the Louisiana Outback
Photo Courtesy Capt'n Sammie Faulk
I wrote this post during the Mississippi River floods that occurred this spring, in an effort to both share my experiences in the most rural part of Louisiana and bring attention to an area that was destroyed by flooding and needs tourism dollars to help rebuild. My goal was to paint a picture of the region, including its vibrant culture and colorful characters like Capt’n Sammie which make this little known part of the country so special. If you didn’t get a chance to read it the first go around, I highly encourage you to read it this time.
Post we are Most Proud Of: Surviving Pediatric Cancer and Healing Through Travel- A Trekaroo Family’s Inspiring Story
I didn’t write this post. Neither did Liling or any of our Destination Guroos. It was written by Ginger Templeton, a 2011 Superoo who offered to share her family’s story about how important travel was to her family’s healing after her daughter’s long and painful battle against AML, an aggressive and uncommon form of leukemia. Her words bring me to tears every time I read them and serve as an incredibly important reminder of why it is crucial to travel with our children while they are young. It is impossible to know what life might throw at us. Putting off travel with kids because it is “too hard” or “they won’t remember” takes away the opportunity to create memories of special experiences with our children. Lindsay’s memory of her family trip to Oak Island and the prospect of returning to this special place helped her have something to look forward to during all of her cancer treatments. Odds are, your child won’t get cancer. But we still think the experiences, education, and memories associated with travel are some of the greatest gifts you can give your children.
Revisiting these posts has been like a walk down memory lane but now it is time to tag 5 people to continue the 7 links game. I am selecting people who are either Trekaroo Superoos or have written guest posts for Trekaroo in the past. Some write about travel while others have different emphases. Either way, I am sure they each have seven posts I would love to read again.
Debi Bouffard of Who Says Eight is Enough
Devon Weaver of Mama Cheaps
Katie Dillon of La Jolla Mom
Michele Whiteaker of Fun Orange County Parks
Tonya Staab of Celebrate-Create-Explore
- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – -
Sharlene Earnshaw (aka doubleadventure) is Blogger-in-chief for Trekaroo and the blogger behind Double the Adventure.
Travel with kids to: CA |CO | DC | FL | HI | IL |MA | NC | NY | OR | PA | TN | TX | VA | WA
Trekaroo is growing. And I can’t keep up. So we’re handing the keys over to you. Emerging from our Superoos in 2010 were a few exceptional families who seemed to have the inside scoop about everything in their area. We’ve invited them to take on the important new role of Destination Guroo.
This year, we’re committed to making Trekaroo relevant to your everyday. Many Trekaroo families have already been sharing about their favorite local spots for families. From unique playgrounds, to the best kid-friendly restaurants, to the best events your town has to offer. Our new Destination Guroos will be helping to organize and spotlight what’s most seasonally relevant and exciting. They’ll be working closely with the 2011 Superoos to uncover new attractions, exciting events, and family-friendly gems in their destination.
I am very excited to introduce you to our first five pioneering Destination Guroos…
Sharlene Earnshaw and Michelle McCoy
Destination Guroos for Southern and Central California
Sharlene (DoubleAdventure) requires little introduction. She has been the editor-in-chief of this blog for over 6 months and has done a phenomenal job featuring the interesting tips you’ve been sharing on Trekaroo. We’re blessed to have her on our team. Partnering with Sharlene is Michelle McCoy (McFam). Michelle joined Trekaroo running 90 miles per hour. In the short time she’s been part of Trekaroo, she quickly became one of our top reviewers. Her prolific writing overflows with insight. She seems to know California like the back of her hand.
Nikki Stoddart
Destination Guroo for Northern CaliforniaNikki Stoddart (Family VonWang) caught our attention right away when she starting sharing her reviews on Trekaroo. Her reviews are always filled with helpful tips and a touch of wit. Nikki is definitely one of those brave moms who hasn’t let having kids stop her from wandering near home and further afield. It’s no wonder that she was our first pick for being the Northern California Guroo.
Heather Reed
Destination Guroo for TexasHeather Reed (slofamilylife) and her family just returned to Texas where her husband grew up. Heather is constantly exploring with her family. She writes about what parents really want to know about each hotel or attraction. Her fun loving family also brings the unique perspective of a family traveling with a child with special needs.
Jennifer Close
Destination Guroo for Northern Florida and Gulf Coast
Jennifer Close (JenC17) has been one of Trekaroo’s most enthusiastic cheerleaders from the start. She’s written prolifically on Trekaroo, but also on her two successful blogs Two Kids and A Map and Pensacola With Kids. With her extensive knowledge of the Gulf Coast and the Northern FL area, we are pleased to have her onboard. We have always valued the thoughtful tips she offers about exploring with kids.
Lisa Marie Leihy
Destination Guroo for Southern Florida
Lisa Marie (Cavalletta) represented Trekaroo on one of our very first Superoo assignments and her professionalism and wonderful writing impressed us from the start. I am confident that her enthusiasm for helping other families discover is going to allow families to unearth hidden gems in the sunshine state.
Throughout this year, Trekaroo will be on the lookout for other very special families to be the Guroos of other destinations. If you think a Trekaroo family has the enthusiasm and chops for this role, I’d love to hear from you.
LiLing Pang (Travelpangs)
CEO & Co-founder, Trekaroo
Drum roll……
Trekaroo’s Superoo Council is proud to present
The Fabulous 2011 Superoos
Meet the 2011 Superoos
The Superoos were handpicked from thousands of Trekaroo profiles and reviews. Selected for their remarkable savvy and commitment to helping other families find fun things to do together. Building a site like Trekaroo takes a village – actually a very large village. It’s only through the effort of many families sharing about their experiences and answering questions, that Trekaroo is what it is today.
We appreciate the effort of every family on Trekaroo, but these Superoos deserve special recognition. These members have shown that they never stop exploring both near home and far away. Most importantly, they don’t sit on their experiences, they share the good, the bad, and the ugly with the community. They’ve invested hours helping other families on Trekaroo find the best places to spend time together and encourage others to join as well.
In 2010, we sent Superoos on fun assignments across the U.S. to bring you the inside scoop on some superb family-friendly attractions and hotels. Here is a small sampling of what they reviewed:
- Review of Descanso Beach Club – Avalon CA
- Review of Telluride Ski School – Telluride, CO
- Review of Legoland – Carlsbad, CA
- Review of Boca Beach Club – Boca Raton, FL
- Review of Woodloch Pines Resort – Hawley, PA
- Review of the Titanic Museum – Pigeon Forge, TN
- Review of the Joovy Cocoon
This year, we’re expanding our Superoo program with the help of our new Destination Guroos. They’ve already started to identify places in their region that are great for families. The Guroos are making arrangements for our 2011 Superoos to make special visits to bring you the inside scoop about each of these locations. Get to know the Destination Guroos. We’re excited to hear about all the fun places that our 2011 Superoos will be visiting this year.
To find out more about our Superoo program for elite reviews and how to get selected, read more about Superoos here.
Please join me in congratulating our 2011 Superoos!
LiLing Pang (Travelpangs)
CEO & Co-founder
