This post was sponsored by FamilyGetaway.com, an advertiser on the Family Travel Ad Network, a partnership amongst Ciao Bambino, Delicious Baby, Travel Savvy Mom, The Vacation Gals, Trekaroo, See Jane Fly, and Traveling Mom.
No matter how many times my car wanders through the canyon, following the tiny gap in the hillside until it reaches highway, I can’t help but get excited about the impending view. I know what is coming, I have seen it more times than I can count, but the anticipation builds up inside me just the same. And then, as if out of nowhere, the mountains drop down to meet the sea and the road dead ends into one of the most beautiful beaches in the country. Even though I am a local, the magic of Laguna Beach is never lost on me. With its gallery lined streets, azure colored waters, and laid back atmosphere, Laguna is one of those places that makes people feel like they are on vacation from the moment they step foot into town.
flickr:paulhami
If your family has yet to experience the little strip of paradise that is Laguna Beach, now is the time to start planning your first trip. Its mild Mediterranean climate makes Laguna a year-round destination and the town is filled with plenty of great activities to keep the whole family asking to return year after year. Here are my tips on how to vacation in Laguna Beach like a local:
Make the Beach Your Second Home: Its hard to spend time indoors when there is so much beauty waiting for you outside. Tykes growing up in coastal Orange County often spend their weekends building sandcastles, playing in the surf, and exploring tide pools and children from more distant locales will enjoy the experience just as much as they do. Aliso Creek Beach in South Laguna has a great playground right on the sand that is very popular with local children, and is perfect for letting the kids run out those last bursts of energy as the sun sets. Once that bright orange ball slips beneath the ocean drenched horizon for the night, be sure to take advantage of the fire pits and roast some marshmallows for S’mores. Bring your beach chairs, cuddle up with some blankets, and listen to the surf crash as the fire dances and crackles.
Older kids tend to want to get out into the ocean a bit further and body boarding, surfing, and stand up paddling are all popular Laguna Beach activities. Lessons from local outfitters are a fun and safe way to create some lasting vacation memories. For those who prefer to spend more time under the surface of the water, Heisler Park, which is just a short walk up the sand from Main Beach, is a great place to scuba and snorkle.
Get in touch with your artistic side : For decades, artists have flocked Laguna Beach for inspiration, opportunity, and a true sense of culture in their community. No trip to Laguna is complete without a stroll around town to check out all the beautiful artwork in the gallery windows. Younger children may not be up for a few hours of quietly staring at incredible works of art inside various galleries, but they can certainly be bribed into a lovely walk and some window shopping with an ice cream cone in hand. If you come during the winter or summer, be sure to set aside some time to visit the Sawdust Festival, where hundreds of artists gather to showcase their work. Children will love the fun (and often free) classes they have to offer on how to create works of art of their very own.
Photo Credit: Laguna Beach CVB
Sample some of Laguna Beach’s best family friendly eateries: One of the hardest things about traveling, especially with young children, is finding family-friendly restaurants that aren’t chains filled with mediocre food. Luckily, Laguna Beach has some nice options. The House Of BIG FISH is a great place to take the kids. The casual atmosphere and ocean views will make you feel comfortable to have your kids in tow without having to give up aesthetics. The menu features some great fresh seafood choices and plenty of options for those members of your family who think fish is “yucky”. Coyote Grill is a great option for families who are looking for a place with Mexican and American fare. The fried chicken is famous and the fajitas are quite tasty. Be sure to sit out on the patio, so you don’t miss a second of those incredible Pacific views.
Sleep Surfside: With its beachfront location, friendly service, and incredible Catalina views, The Laguna Riviera Resort on the Beach is an amazing place for a family to call home base while enjoying all Laguna has to offer. The resort is popular with locals who are just looking for a few days where they can sleep with their windows open and fall asleep to the sounds of the crashing surf. Built in 1948, the resort has maintained its retro seaside motel exterior while featuring large rooms with contemporary décor. The surfside setting and friendly owners have kept families coming back for generations. Each of the 41 rooms are unique in design, but they all include fridges, microwaves, and coffee makers, and many have private or semi private decks. Most rooms have ocean views. There is an enclosed salt water pool, spa and sauna, which are great for days when the ocean is a bit too chilly for swimming. A game room with an air hockey table, ping pong, and foosball is sure to keep kids occupied for hours. The common outdoor area features lounge chairs, barbeques, and incredible sweeping views of the ocean. FamilyGetaway.com currently has a terrific package up for bid on a 2 night stay in an ocean view room with continental breakfast, free boogie board rental, and access to beach equipment starting at only $260 total which is 50% off normal rates.
In addition to the rooms, the resort also has an amazing beach bungalow available for rent. Built in 1913 the bungalow has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a full kitchen and some of the most mesmerizing ocean views you will ever experience. It typically rents for $585 in low season and $885 in high which is quite a good deal, but FamilyGetaway.com currently has an amazing 3 night package up for bid starting at only $892 total!!! Get another $100 off your first FamilyGetaway purchase if you sign-up for their Family Travel Newsletter.
I love the bungalow so much that we already have plans to rent it the next time our extended family comes in to town.
For more vacation ideas and tips from FamilyGetaway’s blog caravan:
- Tips for Planning the Best Family Ski Vacation from Ciao Bambino
- Stay tuned for A Family Vacation in San Diego from SeeJaneFly. Coming soon… 11/16/2010.
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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
My family loves to bowl. My son’s only 3 and he’s already been working on his game. If you love to bowl, you’ll have to check out this great program called KidsBowlFree.com. Just like it sounds, this amazing program means that your kids can bowl up to 2 games a day for FREE all summer long! Nothing. Zippo. Zilch. Zero. Nada. Nothing!
This is our second year in the program and it’s great especially if you get your friends in on the fun too. You can register any child that you’re a parent/guardian of under the age of 18. The bowling centers win because they get traffic in the door during the day when the bowling league members are busy working their day jobs. This year, they even have a family pass that starts at $24.95 and allows 1, 2, 3, or 4 adults to play 2 free games daily this summer. What a steal.
So, go to KidsBowlFree.com and check out the 850+ participating bowling centers (keep in mind this list is constantly growing) and sign up. Let us know what you think too.
For more free fun in your neighborhood, check on Trekaroo for your city/region and set our cost filter on “free.” The Trekaroo system will magically pull out all the activities in your area that are easy on the pocketbook. Here are a few list of FREE activities in some major metro area. But you can do this for any destination or city on Trekaroo.
- Free Activities for Kids Around New York City
- Free Activities for Kids Around Washington DC
- Free Activities for Kids Around Boston, Massachusetts
- Free Activities for Kids Around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Free Activities for Kids Around Orlando, Florida
- Free Activities for Kids Around Charlotte, North Carolina
- Free Activities for Kids Around Chicago, Illinois
- Free Activities for Kids Around Los Angeles, CA
- Free Activities for Kids Around San Francisco Bay Area
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, a hotel stay on Maui or theme park 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.
Photo licensed under Creative Commons from Jess2284.
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Esther Lee is co-founder and CEO of 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 | TN | TX | VA | WA
In 2001, Tanya Falcioni bought a new home called Casa Falcioni along with 570 olive trees in Cavriglia, a small town in the heart of Tuscany. Situated atop a rolling hillside surrounded by cypress and chestnut trees, the olive groves of Casa Falcioni afford spectacular views of the Valdarno (Valley of the Arno). In June that year, her son Lorenzo was born. By November, Tanya was picking olives during the harvest season with her newborn son in a cradle beside her in the groves. She remembers the peaceful outdoors and fresh air enabling him to sleep as she worked.
A couple years later, my husband and I traveled with our 7-year old son Dante from San Jose, California to help the Falcioni’s pick olives during the harvest. I’d been traveling to Italy for over 25 years and couldn’t wait to take Dante so that he could enjoy the sights and sounds of this magical country.
Olive picking is very easy, for people of any age. We start off by laying down a square-shaped net, with a slit in it, around the trunk of the tree. Everyone gets outfitted with a pair of special gloves and small plastic rakes. We then start picking from all sides and climb ladders to reach the top. We either use gloved hands to comb through the soft branches or use mini hand-held rakes to remove the olives from the tree. “We want to collect the olives off every branch and be sure to watch our footing, so we don’t crush them once they’ve fallen to the ground,” reminds Tanya.
Typically the 12 o’clock chimes from the neighboring church remind us that it’s time to finish up before our lunch break. We take a break for a warm homemade lunch of pasta that has been tossed with the Falcioni’s own oil, of course. It is already a perfect travel day and it is only 12 noon! After our tummies are full, we go back to work until about 4:30pm as it starts to get dark soon after.
As children age, they become more helpful during the harvest. Olive collecting is not strenuous and each child is able to work on a section of the tree either together or independently. Although small children under the age of 5 may forget and step on olives in the net, their little hands are helpful with taking out extra branches or excess leaves that fall into the net. Picking olives atop a ladder tends to be the highlight, but for safety reasons that job is usually reserved for older children or an experienced adult.
Kids just love the whole olive oil collecting experience! (The optimal age for “serious” olive picking is age 9, but young children can also enjoy many aspects of this outdoor experience.) Olive picking is relaxing and affords a fun way to enjoy quality time with family and friends in a natural setting. Not only can the children pick olives, but the spacious Falcioni property is perfect for outdoor play. Our son, Dante found the start-to-finish process of collecting olives followed by seeing them pressed into oil fascinating. Each Harvest Italia guest will be able to take home a bottle of olive oil made from their hand-picked olives which makes the experience even more rewarding.
Casa Falcioni is also located in the heart of Tuscany where families can easily enjoy short hikes and trips to the local towns and cities to explore museums, churches and outdoor markets and enjoy the slower pace of Italian life and the beautiful Tuscan landscape during the fall. Food is never a problem for kids in Italy as there is pizza, pasta, bread, cheese and gelato – kids’ dream foods!!
Florence (only 30 minutes away) offers a myriad of fun activities for children of all ages. Art and science is on every corner. Kids can climb to the top of the Duomo (the old church) to see incredible views of the city that was the capital of the Renaissance and to this day blends centuries old architecture with the hustle and bustle of a modern city. There’s the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) with street performers, food and wonderful jewelry, and the Palazzo Vecchio where guided tours with actors in costume take you through the palace and recount history in fascinating ways geared to childrens’ level of understanding – and much more.
Experience Harvest Italia 2010 first-hand
The “Harvest Italia 2010” tour is a seven night/eight day tour to Tuscany, Italy, November 1 – 8, 2010 and is a once in a lifetime family vacation experience designed to coincide with the annual olive harvest which occurs each year during this time period. Tour guests will learn how to pick olives and see their self-picked olives turned into olive oil at a local olive pressing facility. The tour is offered by Spirit of Italy Tours, a boutique travel company offering small groups of travelers’ intimate, lower-paced journeys to Tuscany. On the Spirit of Italy Tours website, you’ll find more details about the Harvest Italia 2010 including our background, itinerary, pricing and registration. An informational event will take place on Sunday, March 21st at Ristorante Da Mario in Saratoga.
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This article was written by Vicky Gray-Clark, founder and tour operator of Spirit of Italy Tours. Vicky is an Italophile (one who loves all things Italian) and one day found herself organizing a tour to Tuscany, her favorite region in the country.
Drumroll…. Thanks for all participating and congrats to the 4 lucky winners of the book – @tonyskidivo, @kidstravelhappy, Kathleen (comment #3 on Facebook) and Angela (Comment #3 below) chosen by Random.org. (2/18/10)
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
Although my 2 year old is usually sound asleep by the 9pm on a normal night, this New Years he may be partying with the rest of us. Why? Because something that only happens in a blue moon will be on display… a BLUE MOON!
Credit: Flickr/rubber_slippers_in_italy
At first, I was thinking the moon was going to be a Cookie Monster blue color tomorrow night. But after some research, the term “blue moon” actually has nothing to do with color. It is simply the second full moon in a calendar month, something that hasn’t happened on a New Year’s Eve for nearly 20 years, NASA says. It’s really something that hasn’t happened in a blue moon.
So, this New Year’s Even, grab your kids and head outside to check out the second full moon of December. The next blue moon on New Year’s Even won’t be until 2028. Depending on where you’ll be around the world, you might also be able to catch a partial lunar eclipse. (Unfortunately, we Americans will not able to catch that piece of fun)
Let me know if you catch it because the forecast for us tomorrow is quite cloudy. Send us a picture and we’d love to share it with everyone on Trekaroo!
Happy New Year!!!
Esther Lee is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | FL | HI | MA | NY | PA | TX | VA and now IL and WA and DC
