The Family Vacationer

Welcome to The Family Vacationer. In this episode, we have invited Carla Thompson to help us dig in and look at all that Dyersville offers. Carla is the executive director of the Dyersville Area Chamber of Commerce. She's worked at the Dyersville Chamber for the past 23 years, where she started as the assistant director, dealing with tourism and marketing for the Dyersville area the day after she graduated college. Carla is a graduate of Northern Iowa with a BA in public relations communications and has earned her IOM credentials from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Listen to this episode to learn more! What makes Dyersville a place where people keep coming back to? [2:36] It's not just for baseball, love, and families. Whether you're that Dad, you want to have a catch, or you're the family that wants to check off an attraction, which there are not very many attractions. Sometimes in a relationship, whether it's family or anything else, communication is not there. Or maybe you're just in a little rough patch where sometimes you need an icebreaker. The Field of Dreams is a meaning to so many different people and so many different meanings. MLB regular-season game [5:39] It was amazing according to Carla. It is something that they would love to do. Major League Baseball, the commissioner, said yes, and they will be doing that again next year. But it's in the middle of a cornfield. So they need some infrastructure out there first. National Farm Toy Museum [7:05] The National Farm Toy Museum holds thousands of toys and displays. It tells the story of the history of agriculture through toys. You're going to see little individual toys to peddle tractors, to even a tractor that was never produced. Restaurants that families visiting Dyersville should not miss [10:47] They had a textile brewery open a couple of years ago. You're going to get your beer there, but they make huge pretzels, like 16-inch that are flavored. It could be for breakfast, or it could be for after work. They also have Chad's pizza, which is kind of a local pizzeria that's getting very well known. And then, if you want that juicy burger, The palace saloon. This is a bar that's been in Dyersville for over 100 years. Local Festivals [12:03] It's going to be Beyond the Game. The festival that they had in conjunction with Major League Baseball. They also have a great St. Patrick's Day Parade. This is something that is always on or before the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day. So everybody who is German doesn't matter. You turn Irish on that day. The beer serves green beer and you get to see a lot of locals out and about. There's nightly entertainment as well as an establishment throughout the area. If you want to run or do a bike ride, they also have that in the morning. Something else that's cool is Go Saturday. This is when the ghost players come out of the corner at the Field of Dreams and do a comedy routine called the greatest show on dirt. They interact with the audience. Beyond the Game [13:21] This was a community festival that they had for two days. It was that Wednesday and Thursday. They also did a whole festival. They’re getting all these people from other states, invites businesses and organizations that represented Iowa to educate, do a little sampling of what Iowa was all about. Family friendly lodging options in the city [15:01] They have three hotels. One of them does have a pool and a whirlpool. Another one in their downtown that just opened this year is right above a clothing boutique, Jnr fashions. So they have some options there. Or, if you want something unique, you can stay at the Field of Dreams farmhouse. Visit their websites at: https://www.dyersville.org/ https://www.fieldofdreamsmoviesite.com/ For more, listen to Episode 57 of the Family Vacationer!

what makes Casper a family travel destination all its own? I think a couple of things. Right, that's such a great question. I think number one is the accessibility. So we obviously have an abundance of outdoor rec opportunities that aren't very expensive and they're not very hard. I think you could be a novice or somebody that's intermediate and and access some of those things outdoors. Then we just have a unique array of museums and indoor activities to So I would say that we're uh maybe budget friendly too. So I would say we're easily accessible for people with families and then it's not going to break the bank to get them here awesome. Well let's talk about the top attractions for families in and around the city. So so many? I think it depends. So if we want to start with some outdoor stuff, we have Casper mountain which is about 10 minutes from our downtown area. So that's really unique for us. You can go up and do a day trip and hike or you can do picnicking. There's so much to do up there. Take your mountain bikes in the winter. So many things as we do have a downhill ski hill so people can do downhill skiing and nordic skiing. So we have a lit path. So if you wanna put your nordic skis on and ski at night you can do that too. I would say that some of our top attractions in the market for indoor. We are really lucky. We have the national historic interpretive center. So it's a historic museum, 20 years old next year. But it tells the story of the Great American West and the pioneers who traveled and actually Casper is really unique in the sense that four trails converge here. So it's really that museum does a great job of telling the story of the people who made the trek west for a better life For more, listen to Episode 56 with Rob and special guest, Brook Kaufman.

Kalispell is about 34 miles from Glacier National Park, making it a place to stay if you're visiting the area, the town sits among several mountain ranges in a valley with crystal Clear Lakes. I like the state of Montana itself. Kalispell is known for its outdoor culture. The city offers that old West Charm due to its history as a railroad town forming in 1891 where the railroad quickly made this talent boom with tourists, pioneers and businessman. Today, downtown Kalispell offers up some really cool museums, local restaurants and boutique stores with unique items made in Montana. The area has something to do in all four seasons and ample opportunity to responsibly explore the beautiful outdoors joining us today to talk more about Kalispell is Diane Medlar. Diane grew up in the hospitality industry. So the importance of uniqueness of place and promoting its special attributes was instilled at an early age, Diana and her family settled in Montana in 1995, which was, and continues to be a great place to raise a family while being surrounded by stunning natural beauty and an abundance of outdoor recreation. Diane has a 30 year career in hospitality and marketing, Including as the executive director of Discover Kalispell a role that she's had since 2010. In addition to destination marketing, discover Kalispell serves the critical role of destination stewardship, working closely with community stakeholders to maintain the cultural, environmental and aesthetic integrity of the community and the region helping to protect the qualities that make Montana a special place to visit and live. Diane. Welcome to the show, Thank you for having me, glad to be here. So Diane for families looking for places to visit. What makes Kalispell Montana a family travel destination. Well, there's so much to offer a Glacier National Park flathead Lake basin hiking area. They all provide a fantastic natural playground for families, but we also know that with kids, sometimes it takes more than a nature hike to keep them enthused. So we also, our area has plenty of other fun activities, horseback riding. Whitewater floats, hands-on activities that are museums in the downtown arts center, bouldering wall at a city, local city park stargazing in our abundant dark skies, and summer and winter adventures at Whitefish Mountain resort just to name a few. I want to ask you about the dark skies, You have any, you know, they're, they're actually certified dark sky areas. So I'm imagining in Montana, you guys probably have several of those. Am I correct? We do. And in our area actually, Glacier National Park is a designated Dark Sky Park, one of the few in the United States, actually, that's a partnership with Waterton Lakes National Park across the border, so we're very close to the border, so that's an excellent place to see the dark skies and also some northern lights occasionally. And then there's some, there are some state parks, not too far out of downtown Kalispell, that also offer that viewing as well, so we can dispel being so close to Glacier National Park. For more, listen to Episode 55 with Rob and Danny and special guest, Diane Medler.

So as we were looking across the country for places feature for this small town series, Ashland kept coming up on list after list of small towns. In fact, one of the lists was places you must see in 2021. So what do you feel are some of the reasons that families would want to spend time in Ashland. Well, we've certainly been welcoming a lot of families, even of the past couple of years, you've been seeing a lot more families, a lot more bikes on cars. Most of all I'd say of Ashland is the sense of place Ashland is in Oregon right over the California border and it's located about halfway between Portland and San Francisco. That said, we're right at the convergence of two mountain ranges. So you've got the cascade volcanic range and you've got one of the few east eastern western Siskiyou mountain ranges. So right at that convergence creates so much biodiversity of what we can grow here. But also the weather, those four seasons that the colors of the fall, the fun of the winter and families really are attracted to the fact that Actions are pretty welcoming town. We're about a town of 20,000 and but we have this, this cultural backbone that really has um Has really fostered over 100 restaurants. We have over about 350,000 votes that visit us every year. So because of that, we have these great amenities and really, I think it's the most part is Ashley is really a jumping-off point for an adventure in our region. Okay, you mentioned something I want to talk a little bit further about. So when we're talking about the seasons, can you talk a little bit about how the personality of Ashland changes in each season? Sure, visually, if you can, if you can think about when the weather starts turning, you got the fall, you've got the crisp colors, a lot of great foliage here. Clear blue skies, cool nights. Then we move into the holidays and the beginning of winter that first snow Ashland's about 2000 ft in elevation and we sit right at the base of an amazing watershed and at the top of the watershed is Mount Ashland. So that brings us to winter with the wintertime, we had a significant snowfall um and really that exploration for trails spring is beautiful here with colors. We have a lot of different great events as well, but we um the pacific crest trail, you can even take a little day hike, Mount Ashland is a great jumping-off point and even in the summertime, you know, we're just a short drive away from crater Lake National Park. So coming back to that base camp concept, there's really a lot, a lot to do here, not only for the kids but also for the parents. For more, listen to Episode 54 with Rob, Danny, and special guest, Katharine Cato.

Special Guest Mike Kent stopped by to talk to Rob and Danny about Traverse City, MI. When asked what separates Traverse City from other places families can travel, Mike says that hands down it's the people that make the difference. Traverse City has all the attributes of a larger city with more natural beauty. Mike talked about some incredible biking paths and walking trails in the area. He also touted Sleeping Bear Dunes which was recently tabbed by Good Morning America as the most beautiful spot in the US. Wineries Mike was excited about the over 40 wineries in the area and mentioned how Traverse City is on the 45th Parallel which is the same parallel as some of the finest wineries in France and Italy. These wineries are family-friendly with plenty for kids to do. Year-Round Town Traverse City is not just a summer town. Obviously, during the summer months, there are fantastic beaches and festivals for families to enjoy. Fall brings a breathtaking change of colors. Winter offers downhill skiing and snowmobiling with springtime bringing rebirth and the blooming of hundreds of miles of Cherry Trees. Beaches One of the most interesting things Mike mentions about the beaches in the area was that, yes, there are miles and miles of lifeguarded beaches. But there are also endless trails that have trails branching off to secluded beaches. Festivals Some of the iconic festivals in the area include: Traverse City Film Festival National Cherry Festival Michigan Lighthouse Festival Family-Friendly Lodging Great Wolf Lodge Crystal Mountain Grand Traverse Resort and Spa Restaurants Red Ginger The Cook's House Farm Club -Farm to Table Little Fleet -Food Trucks Oakwood Propper Burger Moomers Ice Cream! - Can't miss, must stop! If you're ready to plan your next family vacation, don't forget Rob is a Certified Travel Associate. His services are free to his clients, just drop him a line at [email protected]

Newport is a beautiful town, but in your opinion, what makes it a family travel destination? Well, let me have to correct you first rob because Newport is a city, it's a city of Newport. Yes, it is a city and I know that sounds super cliche, but I have to say in the 35 plus years I've lived here. I feel like it is totally a family destination for travel. It's got a little bit of something for everybody and it's got something every single season that families are looking for. Of course, we're in the middle of our summer season as you are aware of and it's just crazy here. It's just filled with families trying to get their vacations in before all the kids go back to school, which I love. Um and I, you know, I, I love seeing the families here, youngsters and you know with their kids, with their grandparents because again there is sailing, there is polo, there is fishing, there is kite flying, there is every kind of adventurous for recreation you can think of here. We have this one really cool adventurous Game, not a game. It's actually an attraction called the rail explorers and it's something that you can actually get on a rail car, it rides the railroad tracks and it takes you from one point of the island to the next and it's something that you can do if you're 88. It's a really fun new attraction and it runs from, you know, it's really cool and that's just one of the many, I mean you know when I talk about all the things that are to see and do here, I like to also talk about seasonally. So you know in the coming up in the fall we have apple picking, we have corn mazes, we have a harvest festival, we have boats. We have an amazing haunted for it that scares me a little bit sometimes. But you know, I like to say that Newport, you know, we don't have water slides, we don't have, you know, a theme park, but I think that when you look at our destination in a hole and especially nowadays where families want to come to a destination and educate and Danny, you as a teacher can appreciate this and also inspire their Children. This is the destination for it because we really do have living history celebrations here and there are a lot of hands-on activities that kids can do to learn about the past um to prepare them for the future. One, you know, one of the things I love to do is take my Nieces and nephews to the breakers for their children's tour, which is really something it's 45 minutes long and it gives kids an overview of the mansion. It talks about architecture, but it also does it in a really fun way the kids enjoy. So they talk about, you know, there's dolphins underneath the staircase and there are lions in the music room and in the dining room and they actually talk about the Children of the Vanderbilt family that actually lived there and what they used to do, like sliding down the banister and just getting into, you know, activities and getting into some ruckus that they weren't really supposed to be getting into. So it's kind of a neat little overview. I also liked the part of the museums that we have here, we have car museums, we have tennis museums, we have a brand new sailing museum That is going to be super hands-on interactive for kids next. That's opening next year actually in 2022, which is very exciting for us as we are the sailing capital of the world as you know. Again, you know, I kind of going all over the map as far as talking about what we do in the summer and the fall in the winter. But you know, there are, when I say there's something for everybody here. There really is, if you don't like to go on a boat, you don't have to, you can, you know, stay on land, you can be a million playgrounds and parks and you know, kite flying is one of the biggest things that we do a hair at Brenton park, there's a bicycle or you can rent bicycles, you can, just to do a little bit of everything. ...Don't miss the rest of Episode 52!

So, Deanna, we've been talking a lot in this series about the personalities of the different Hawaiian islands. How would you describe the personality of the big island of Hawaii there? You're absolutely right. So because each island is so different, it does have its own qualities for us. Everybody is just so unique and you know, the one word that we relate to as the kind of the essence of our island is inspiring. So that's how we want all our guests to feel while they're here after they leave. And it's all about getting outdoors, getting out, just driving, just exploring, just to experience all the different kinds of climate zones here on the island, because you're literally, you can be laying at the beach in the morning and you can look behind you and you can probably see snow at the right time up at monarchy or you can be hiking in the morning and the rainforest and later in the afternoon you might be snorkeling. So a lot of people don't realize how large the island is we have over 4000 square miles. And uh, so this is lots to do. It's about going out there and driving and exploring these days, especially, I'm curious how do locals refer to the island, do they call it the big island, or they just simply say Hawaii? So our true island name is Hawaii. So you have like Maui, Hawaii Molokai, Oahu for us, our true island name is Hawaii, but our nickname is the big island of course to everyone. So you know, growing up I would hear and I would use the big island as many locals do, but you know, there's been so much, you know, many years now, so much pride in kind of being immersed back into the Hawaiian culture, the language, you know, our charter schools for the kids nowadays more Hawaii ana and you know, you just feel these days that everybody is more referencing our island as the island of Hawaii or Hawaii Island. And personally, Hawaii Island kind of feels natural for me now. So yeah, yeah, you know, this is a little extra question because I'm a language nerd. Um, you were mentioning schools, how, how uh, common is the actual Hawaiian language, there is it regularly spoken or taught in schools there, you know, it varies. I originally was born on Oahu and I did go to the commandment, which you know, fully is uh and language was offered their Hawaiian language. I think, you know, eventually, over the years there may have been less of it going on in the schools, but it has made to come back, you know, it's kind of like rejuvenating, you know the okay, well you know the kids now, they play it in a different way, you know, they make it fun, they kind of adapt songs that people are used to. So it's good to research that and same with the wine language, wine culture, it's, you know, people more want to be immersed in it, they want to do more cultural activities, they attend more cultural festivals. But as far as in the schools, I do see it offered more than ever. And also um you know the desire to go back and learn more of the, you know the cultural part of everything. Well, you know obviously what families might want to do and see depends on the ages of the children, their family, travel styles and things like that. For more, listen to Episode 53 of The Family Vacationer!

Tropical rainforest, forking rivers, cascading waterfalls. They're all part of this island's charm and Hawaii is a mecca for all things outdoors and it includes eight state parks and three national Tropical Botanical gardens And maybe laying on the beach is your family's favorite vacation activity? Well, Kaua'i boasts 70 beaches to choose from. That sounds good to me, Joining us today to talk about Hawaii is Maile. Brown. Maile has been in the hospitality industry for 21 years and with the Hawaii Visitors Bureau since June of 2005. Maile sits on the advisory board for the Hawaii Hi Academy of Hospitality and Tourism and volunteers at the Hawaii Humane Society. When she is not traveling, she was raised in Hilo and is a graduate of the University of Southern Colorado with a bachelor's degree in business and communications. After a few years of living in Las Vegas, Maile now calls Hawaii home. She's grateful to live work and represents such an amazingly beautiful island for the past 16 years, Maile, welcome to the show. Thank you. Aloha. Hello. Now we've talked in previous episodes about how each Hawaiian island has its own distinct personality in your opinion. Can you tell us how you would characterize the personality of Hawaii? Well, when we're talking with travel advisors, we talk about rejuvenating and when we're branding the island, we talk about rejuvenating and it's basically an island that will reawaken that need to connect with nature. So if Kuwaiti were a person, she would be that really great, beautiful friend. That makes you feel really, really good and tight. So, um it brings out the inner child and that feeling of wonder and excitement for everything that you're experiencing and yet very laid back. Pictures, I'm sure don't do it justice. Yes, exactly. So for families planning, maybe the first visit to Kaua'i, what are some places that should be on the must-see list. And can you talk a little bit about the different regions of Kaua'i? Sure. Um So the number one must-see is Nepali um It is in the book 1000 things to see before you die. So it is truly a bucket list item. But this coastline is inaccessible by car. So the only way that you can say this is by the ocean, by air, or by hiking it. So I highly recommend um actually doing it either by boat or by air tour so that you actually get to see the entire police line in all of its glory. Second when the wind canyon before the only island that's old enough to have what is essentially called the Grand Canyon of the pacific, It is absolutely spectacular. It looks like a miniature version of the Grand Canyon, but now you've got these emerald greens and these red hues. Whereas I know that the Grand Canyon is more pastel color and the canon is very, very vibrant. Be sure to listen to the episode for more on this beautiful island.

One of the best things about speaking to people about these different destinations is the obvious passion displayed for these amazing locations. This week this is absolutely true as Danny and Rob welcome Karishma Chowfin. Her love for Oahu is contagious. One of the interesting things Karishma pointed out was that Hawaii and Oahu, specifically, is a perfect place for multigenerational travel. Oahu has great museums, beaches, hiking, and has a unique blend of town and country experiences. Karishma suggested a town and country experience where you take in the urban areas of Oahu and experience the countryside. Visiting the resort areas of Waikiki and then visiting the north shore. Some interesting places to visit: Bishop Museum Called the Smithsonian of the Pacific “The have a planetarium that shows you the Hawaiian night sky with this amazing planetarium show when you go visit.” Iolani Palace - The only royal palace in the US. The Pearl Harbor National Memorial - An absolute must. Waikiki Aquarium - Small, intimate, and one of the oldest aquariums in the US. Honolulu Zoo - Twilight tours where you can see all the animals that come to life at night Koloa Private Nature Reserve - The place where most of the Jurassic Park movies were filmed. Gunstock Ranch - North shore destination where you can horseback ride and help in reforestation efforts. Polynesian Cultural Center - A great place to learn and very interactive Karishma talked about the importance of booking your rental car as far in advance as possible considering the rental car shortage all over the US. Festivals: Prince Lot Hula Festival Hawaiian Food and Wine Food! You know we’re talking about food. Karishma talked about what a plate lunch looks like in Oahu. Malasada’s – “Portuguese Fried Dough” These just sound amazing! Leonard’s Bakery Poi is a must-try food as well. For more, listen to Episode 49!

Rob and Danny welcomed Randy Parker to the show to talk about "The Valley Isle" of Maui. Randy characterized the spirit of the island as laid back, friendly, not contrived. An island of discovery with small towns meeting natural wonders. Must-see places on the island? Great beaches of different colors. Randy joked that you could just about go to a beach with different colored sand every day. Sunset sails, snorkel trips, helicopter rides....all things that are worth your time. How about 58 different trails for your hiking pleasure including trails that take you into a bamboo forest. Randy also mentioned the fact that Maui has 25 golf courses for the golf lovers in the family. Waterfalls are both plentiful and beautiful on the island. Listening to the locals is good advice anywhere you travel, but the people of Maui make storytelling an art form. Randy talked about the different regions in Maui. One must-see is the "House of the Sun". Another worth stop is Coconut Glen's Ice Cream or how about some banana bread? Whale watching in Maui is unlike anywhere else in the world. The season for spotting these amazing creatures is mid November through February. Family friendly places to stay? Hyatt Regency, Ka'anapali Beach Hotel, and the Royal Lahaina Resort to name a few. Food!! Some restaurants that Randy suggests: Fleetwood's (especially for fans of Fleetwood Mac), try golden pineapple on a tour, The Banyan Tree, just for a few places.....so many more! If you're ready to plan your Maui family vacation, I would love to help! It's never a cost to use my travel agent services, please drop me a line at [email protected] and let's start planning your Hawaiian family vacation today!

Rob and Danny were excited to welcome Shirley Rourke from GoWay Travel to talk about Australia! Shirley Rourke surely is a passionate travel industry veteran, has specialized in the South Pacific for over 25 years. After working in several sectors of the industry that includes education, inbound, retail and wholesale, Shirley found her home and go away for the past 17 years. Shirley's traveled extensively internationally and has enjoyed many trips to the South pacific for both business and for pleasure. Her role as vice president allows her to fully embrace her passion for all things South pacific. Surely welcome to the show. Thank you. We are glad to have you. So let's talk about Australia. So for families that are wanting to visit Australia for maybe the first time and they're intent on tackling the entire country at one time, which is ambitious. I know, but what strategy would you suggest maybe like hub in spoke or going city to city? What's the best strategy to try to tackle the entire country on one visit? Okay, first of all, I would suggest that they really think about what their interests are, what activities they enjoy and really try to make sure that they incorporate all those things and those activities into their trip so that it can be completely customized to their particular interests and needs and wants. So it's good to say, oh we want to see this, this and this, but try and incorporate those activities and interests in so that they can truly make their trip to Australia really there's sure. And we talked a little bit beforehand about some clients of mine that went to see went to New Zealand and they based their entire trip on a visit to the Wellington Zoo. So it can be any number of things that I would imagine to what you said, make the trip their own. Absolutely. And if you want to try to learn how to surf, put that in and we'll put it in along the way. As far as choosing where to start. It does depend on how long you have. But at minimum what people will always want to do is see the highlight of Sydney and of course the great barrier reef. So those are two of the main things that they want to see. And then from there start to add in the extra activities that they want to see. The other areas that they want to see once they tell us the areas that they want to see and experience is that they want to do experts like go away. We'll put it together based on what airfare makes the most sense. And we'll also talk about what makes sense according to weather. And we'll talk about whether a little bit later on. So it really looking at an itinerary that makes the most sense based on geography and airfares because there will be some flying involved. Well that brings us to the length of stay. If you're trying to tackle the entire country on one visit. What's the minimum amount of days that you would imagine coming from the U. S. Or Canada someplace around that area? What's the minimum amount of days that you would suggest? Well my very first trip to Australia, I spent 13 months there and there are still bits of the country that I missed. So 13 months might be a little ambitious but who knows? Maybe not. So what I would suggest is the length of state really all depends. We see the U. S. Market tends to stay a little bit shorter, 2 to 3 weeks. If you can squeeze a little bit longer that's better the Canadian market. They usually start at three. They stretch it out maybe to about six weeks. So the longer you can stretch it out the more you can see. Listen to the podcast for more of this show!

So let's, let's start off talking about hiking with the family just in general. So how old were your kids when you first started taking them on hiking trips? Well, we lived in the Rocky Mountains about 15 miles to the nearest town. So hiking is kind of a lifestyle and not, not in that cheesy. Oh, It's a lifestyle kind of way, but more along the lines of like we didn't have sidewalks. So if you're taking the baby for a walk, you know, you can't use a stroller, you're going to put them in a little front carrier or in a backpack and you're going to walk in the woods with them. So, um, so for us, hiking started when they were born and we carried them, but then as soon as they could, you know, like preschool age, um, we started doing really easy hikes and Up to when they were about five years old, they were doing substantial hikes and seven years old. They were doing like 14 years um which are 14,000 ft peaks in Colorado. So um that's just because of where we live and what kids do for fun around here. So uh that's, I know that's not normal for most parts of the country, but, but yeah, so they started really young. I've, you know, I've always said if they can, if they can walk, they can hike and if they can hike, they can even snowshoes. So um so I definitely don't think age would should impact at what age people are taking their kids hiking. Sure, that's awesome. So it says we're talking about kids. What are some tips that you'd give families on hiking trips in general with younger kids? Well, it has to be fun for them. It should not feel like a death march for these little ones. So the first thing is just to set realistic expectations. Know your kids limits. If they've never been hiking, they should be doing something super easy. Um If they, you know, they, you got to be prepared to turn around to shorten the day two or maybe you're not going to shorten the hike, but it might take you twice as long as you thought it was going to take. So really it's just about setting realistic expectations. I also think it's helpful to pick a cool hike that's interesting or has a really neat destination, like a waterfall or a creek or a cool viewpoint um just so that there's something to look forward to for them and then they're gonna earn it. So I think it's helpful to get them some, some form of gear that is their hiking gear. When my, yeah, when my kids turned for their aunt bought them camelbacks, like hydration bladder backpacks and um they were teeny tiny, I think they carried maybe a half a liter of water, but the kids love them, they wore them to play in, I mean they were the most hydrated kids you've ever seen.....Listen in to the episode for the rest of this episode!

Garrett and Mandy live in Utah with their two sons who love to join them on their adventures and have even planned a few of their own and that's what we're gonna be talking with him about letting the kids planned the family vacation. Garrett Mandy, welcome to the show. Hey, thanks for having us on. We're excited to be here. We're glad to have you. So what made you guys decide that you're going to turn over and what my mom would say is what possessed you to let your kids take over the planning of the family vacation? Well, you know, they say in life that most of the decisions we make are all about pain avoidance. And really it didn't come about us intending to let the kids start planning our trips or at least have a much bigger input. It was more just kind of the opposite. We were avoiding some things that weren't working. So We don't know what year was it, 2016, I think we figured out we had planned a kind of elaborate trick to san Diego take the kids and we were doing everything that they would want to do. So like San Diego Zoo, Seaworld, just everything fun for kids. Yeah, I mean we obviously wanted to do all those things too, but we figured that they would be over the moon excited and we didn't really tell them anything. Even after we got in the car, we never really told them where we were going, driving down to San Diego and made him, you know, guess where we were going and see what things that could pick out. Not only were they at a loss, like I have no idea where we're going, but they also weren't all that excited about the trip once they finally got clued into what was going on, so you know, the trip went well and as we did the things that we were supposed to do, things went well and we had a great time, but we swore we would just never do that to them again because we realized, you know, most of what's really fun about a vacation is the anticipation of it, the hope and looking forward to it. And so we just decided then and there, like we're never doing that again. We're never surprising the kids with a trip because when we kind of robbed them of that excitement of looking forward to it. Our oldest is a Lego fanatic and he definitely got that from his mother, but we, you know, we love lego and we show up at Legoland and he's just kind of like, well, cool, okay, great, you know, and I had envisioned this because my expectations were probably way beyond what they should have been, but I had envisioned him just squealing and running around and being so excited and he just kind of wandered through and cool, this is cool. And he was at the age, he was a prime age for being there and so there really wasn't any other excuse for his lack of enthusiasm then, just that we hadn't given him enough time to look forward to it and that's kind of sad, you know, we didn't give him that opportunity to have the hope for it. So yeah, so really going back to your question, the idea to really start to clue them in came from just us not wanting to leave them out, you know, that's what really got it started. How old were your kids when they planned the family vacation for the first time? So they were about five and eight when we went to San Diego. And so it was the very next trip after that where we said we're not doing that again, you know, at five and eight, they were old enough that they deserved to say in what we were going to do. So that's about that age is when we changed the way we planned our trips. Okay, so exactly how did this work set it up for us, how much of the vacation did they end up planning? Yeah. So it really varies on where we're going and how old they are, but the thing we realized, you know, is that the kids, kids are humans too and they have things they want to do and things they like to do and things they don't like to do and you know, if we're going on like a couples trip, we give them that space. So it's really, we don't treat it very much differently. Listen to the rest on Episode 45!

Hawaii Travel Guide A family-friendly look at the Aloha State with Robin Basso from the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau Episode 44 – The Family Vacationer with Rob and Danny 🌴 Beautiful beaches, rich culture, unforgettable experiences — Hawaii has it all. In this episode, Rob is joined by Robin Basso, Senior Director at the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, to explore the islands of Hawaii through a family travel lens. We cover: The unique personality of each Hawaiian island (Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island)Choosing the right island(s) for your family’s first tripMust-see cultural landmarks like Pearl Harbor, Iolani Palace, and the Polynesian Cultural CenterFamily-friendly resorts, from Disney’s Aulani to hidden gems across the islandsIconic Hawaiian dishes to try — shave ice, plate lunch, malasadas, garlic shrimp, and moreOutdoor adventures including volcanoes, snorkeling, luaus, and mountain tubingHawaiian words and phrases every visitor should know (yes, we try to say humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa! 😄) Whether you’re planning your first visit or returning for a new island experience, this episode has everything you need to get started. 👉 For more information on visiting Hawaii, check out gohawaii.com 🎧 Listen now and start planning your family’s dream Hawaii vacation. Subscribe to The Family Vacationer on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube @thefamilyvacationer

Special Guest, Tia Froehle talks with Rob and Danny about all the 49th state has to offer! Anchorage is the highest populated city in Alaska and has 223 parks in and around this city alone! It's urban and it's wild at the same time, so you can get all the amenities that come with a major city coupled with all the outdoor activities you could want. The state of Alaska has 8 national parks, so again, if the outdoors is your idea of the perfect vacation, this is the place for you. Tia mentioned that Alaska is a surprising haven for foodies. Obviously, fresh seafood is never far from a menu, but diversity in culture allows for food of all kinds. Berry cobbler is also a favorite in Alaska with all of the berries that are growing in the state. When a lot of people think of visiting Alaska, cruising is top of mind. That is definitely a fun way to visit Alaska. However, the Alaskan railroad is also an amazing way to see parts of the state that are away from ports. Listen in to the podcast to hear about all of the super exciting places to stay and things to do! Big thank you to Tia Froehle for coming on the show!

Rob and Danny give a quick look at what's new in the Theme Park Capital of the World. We specifically look at: Legoland Florida: https://www.legoland.com/florida/ Sea World Orlando: https://seaworld.com/orlando Universal Studios Florida: https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us Walt Disney World: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ Plenty of new food and fun at these four parks! If you're ready to plan your family vacation to Orlando, I would love to help! My services are always free to my clients and using a travel agent is more important than ever. So much is continually changing, let me help! Reach out to me at [email protected] Next episode, we start a new series on bucket list locations, with a look at Alaska!

LEGOLAND New York is a theme park people have been waiting on. The Family Vacationer, ourselves, listed this park as a 2020 place to visit. LEGOLAND NY was due to open on July 4 of last year but, due to COVID-19, the opening was delayed. The park has not set an opening date yet, the excitement is building. In some ways, this is a "Best Of" LEGOLAND with some of the favorite parts of other LEGO properties assembled in Goshen, NY. What is very similar is the feeling of walking onto a Lego set and being immersed in that world. Episode 41 welcomed Matt Besterman, Public Relations Manager for LEGOLAND NY onto the show. Matt mentioned some fun facts about the park. There are 15,000 Lego models scattered across the resort with over 30 million Lego bricks used in LEGOLAND. The park is separated into seven lands with seven different themes. While everyone is always welcome, this part is designed for kids 2 to 12. From the water fountains to rides, the entire park is designed with the little ones in mind. Matt was also kind enough to put an item on the top of our must-have list, Granny's Apple Fries! The LEGOLAND Resort Hotel sounds right out of a kid's dream. Every room in the hotel has a separate sleeping area for the kiddos and they've got their own TV to binge-watch Lego movies. Disco balls and music in the elevators? Why not. Sounds like the place to be. Dragon Coasters, a driving course for kids only, Ninjago the Ride, a Factory Tour, and more LEGOLAND NY needs to be on your list of places to travel this summer! A very big thank you to Matt for coming on the show and talking with us about this exciting destination!

Dollywood! This is such an amazing park and worth a family visit. Amber Davis, Publicist for Dollywood, was our special guest on Episode 40. We started out the show talking about a small sliver of Dolly Parton's accomplishments. She is truly an incredible singer, songwriter, entertainer, businesswoman, and humanitarian. Bringing it back to the park. Amber mentioned the eight coasters at Dollywood. Wild Eagle is an awesome coaster and the only winged coaster in the US. Rob mentioned visiting in the 90's and then again in the last couple of years and just how different the park is now with so many thrill rides. The Cinnamon Bread is something you don't want to miss and is produced in the working Grist Mill. Amber talked about Dolly's influence on the park and it is considerable. Splash Country is the water park at Dollywood. The exciting rides are aided by the natural beauty of the area and surprises are around every turn. The Dreammore resort is a fantastic addition to Dollywood and offers guests a trolly that takes you to the gates of Dollywood. The food is excellent, from the onsite restaurants to late-night pizza, this resort has a little bit of everything. Including family suites with bunch beds for the kids. Amber also talked about the different seasons of the park and all the beauty in each. This is one theme park you won't want to miss. If you're ready to plan your family trip to Dollywood or any location, I would love to help! My services as a travel agent are always free to my clients, just reach out to me at [email protected] and let's start planning your family vacation today.

Rob and Danny welcome Quinn Bryner to The Family Vacationer to talk about "the sweetest place on earth", HersheyPark.

So much excellent information on this episode of the Family Vacationer. Thanks to our special guest, Sonia Bekhaazi. Aspen gets 300 blue sky days a year. Couple that with legendary powder that comes largely from natural snowfall, this is one exciting place to ski. There are four mountains within the Aspen/Snowmass complex: Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass. Free transportation will get you from mountain to mountain and they are all on the same lift ticket. There is a Kid's Hideout on Buttermilk and Sonia pointed out that Snowmass is the largest of the four mountains and a good place to go when you have skiers of varying skill levels. Summer turns the mountains into a haven for Gold level fly fishing, Jeeping, Hiking, Biking, Golfing, Horseback Riding and more. Lodging Aspen offers all types of lodging from chains to condos. Interestingly in Snowmass, 95% of the rooms are Ski in, Ski out lodging which means you literally leave your lodging and skill right on and off the slopes. Very convenient. Sonia signaled out the Limelight Hotel as a particularly family friendly hotel. Food! You know we won't forget about the restaurants. Sonia suggested places like Venga Venga, The Artisan, The Stew Pot on Snowmass. Aspen has over 100 restaurants. Sonia suggested Jimmy's (she singled out the Mac and Cheese), L'Hosteria, CP Burger (connected to an ice skating rink and mini-golf), 520 Grill, and Brunelleschi's. Events Aspen's event calendar is an exciting one. Buttermilk has offered a drive in theather and Snowmass has an art installment called Luminescence. Additionally, the Snowmass Balloon Festival and Labor Day Music Festival are both on for this year. For more information on the events calendar, click HERE. Aspen Snowmass, is working hard to keep visitors safe. If you order your lift ticket seven days before your arrival, it will be delivered to your place of lodging. You can also use their QR Delivery to keep you out of the ticket office. All of their lift tickets use RFID techonology, so you can put it in your pocket and proceed to the lift. For more information on the Aspen Snowmass COVID-19 operating procedures, click HERE. If you're ready to start planning your Aspen Snowmass vacation, I would love to help you. My services as a travel agent are always free to my clients. Just drop me a line at [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

Rob and Danny welcome special guest, Karina Duran to the show. This episode is a little bit different in that instead of looking at one specific location, we're looking at all of the family-friendly resorts by Karisma Hotels. Here are the links to the hotels for more information. Generations Riviera Maya Azul Beach Riviera Cancun Azul Beach Negril Nickelodeon Punta Cana Sensatori Punta Cana Margaritaville Island Reserve All of these fantastic properties offer something fun and exciting to families. From the balconies pools at Generations to getting slimed at the Nickelodeon resort to the only all-inclusive Margaritaville. Each property is going above and beyond to make sure that travelers are safe with heightened COVID protocols in place. If you're ready to plan your next vacation to one of these resorts or anywhere else, contact Rob at [email protected]. His services are always free to his clients. Check back next week as we finish up the Embracing the Cold/Escaping the Cold Series with a look at Aspen Snowmass.

Dan Howard, Director of Communications for Park City Utah and the Convention and Visitor's Bureau is our guest on today's show. Park City is absolutely beautiful. The main takeaway is that there are so many outdoor activities year-round. Dan mentioned that Park City is one of the most accessible skiing destinations located only 25 minutes from the Salt Lake City International Airport. Skiing in Park City offers many opportunities for learning to ski through quality instruction and several blue and green colored slopes. Dan also expounded on two places that we've talked about before on The Family Vacationer, Woodward Park City and the Bobsled experience at the US Olympic Park There are many wonderful places to stay and Dan went into detail about some of the more family-friendly places to stay. AC by Marriott Newpark Resort Canyons Village West Gate Waldorf Astoria Hyatt Place Doubletree Sheraton The food scene in Park City offers so many local options because of an anti-chain rule in the city. We were pleasantly surprised to find out the Smores are a Park City staple and offered at many places at the end of a hard day skiing. Places like Java Cow for Coffee and Ice Cream. Dan mentioned the Bill White Restaurant Group and that if you wanted a distinct flavor, they have a restaurant for you. Events have taken a hit here as they have just about everywhere. However, during a "normal" year, you can look for things like the Deer Valley Music Festival, the Kimble Art Festival, the Park Silly Market, and the Park City Songwriters Festival. Thank you, Dan, for sharing your information and love for the area with us. If you're ready to plan your next vacation to Park City, please reach out to Rob at [email protected]. His services are always free to clients and you can start planning that vacation today!

Rob and Danny welcome Nicole Krekeler to the show. Nicole is Tourism Sales Manager from Experience Scottsdale and a Scottsdale native. Things to do: McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park - therailroadpark.com Old Town Area - oldtownscottsdale.com Hot air balloon rides at sunset! - rainbowryders.com Learn to be a Cowboy! Arizona Cowboy College - cowboycollege.com Who doesn't love a ghost town? Goldfield Ghost Town - goldfieldghosttown.com Restaurants Banderas Restaurant - https://banderarestaurants.com/locations/scottsdale/ Sugar Bowl - https://www.experiencescottsdale.com/listing/sugar-bowl-ice-cream-parlor-%26-restaurant/2100/ Old Town Tortilla Factory - http://oldtowntortillafactory.com Family Friendly Hotels/Resorts - Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Fairmont Hotel Scottsdale Phoenician Scottsdale One of the things we mentioned quite a bit is how Scottsdale is a perfect "home base" for touring the rest of Arizona. Rob talked about several family trips where his family visited Tucson, Tombstone, and Bisbee to the south and then visited Sedona, Prescott, Flagstaff, and the Grand Canyon. For more information, go to experiencescottsdale.com. If you're ready to plan your next family vacation, please drop Rob a line at [email protected]. The services as a travel agent are always free! If you enjoy the show, please hit subscribe so you don't miss an episode. We'd also love it if you'd take a minute or two and review the show wherever you listen to podcasts.

There have been times that I felt like as a parent, I've sabotaged some of our family trips before we've even left the driveway. How well, by not being mindful of what my wife and my kids might be wanting out of a family vacation and how that might stack up what my expectations are originally called this episode the psychology of the family vacation. What we are talking about today is being honest about and managing expectations. Every single member of the family has a different set of expectations on how the family vacation will play out. And when you're traveling with extended family, the opportunities for stress can definitely multiply. So now you have even more stakeholders with sometimes different expectations. One group may be used to vacationing in a certain way, and they have a set of traditions that may be completely different than another group. So when you pull all the groups together, there can be a push-pull dynamic that can transform a vacation with extended family into something that's anything but fun and relaxing, . The point isn't to assess blame to anyone. It's just an exercise in being mindful of the different undercurrents of expectations. We've said many times our hope here is to help families avoid as much stress as possible and focus on the important part of taking trips with family and that's making positive memories that last lifetimes. On the show today is child, adolescent and family psychologist Dr. Emily King. Dr. King is a licensed psychologist and health services provider in private practice in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has nearly 20 years of experience working with children and adolescents with anxiety, depression, a, and autism spectrum disorders. Dr. King received her P A in school psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and worked as a school psychologist in Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District in Houston, Texas, before returning home to Raleigh in 2010. Dr. Emily's passionate about helping parents embrace their parenting journey by taking care of their own mental health and finding the best fit of services for their child's growth and happiness. Dr. King is also a mother to two energetic boys, ages seven and 13 years old. Dr. King has been quoted in The Washington Post, has written for parents dot com, mother. ly.com and the mighty.com, and has been a guest on multiple podcasts. You can find Dr. Emily on Facebook, Instagram Twitter, and YouTube, where she shares information for parents just as a reminder. Information provided by Dr. King is intended for informational purposes only. It's not intended to diagnose or treat any mental health condition or to provide psychological services directly to clients. Listeners are encouraged to seek the advice of a qualified mental health professional with any questions or concerns.

So much has been said about 2020. This has truly been a year unlike any other. With COVID rates continuing to rise all over the world, not everyone may feel comfortable talking about travel. We totally understand. However, with vaccines on the way, we are going to look ahead to 2021. Stacey Cabell, owner of Starstuff Travel joins us to talk travel in the coming year and what's it been like for her to own and run a travel agency during the pandemic. Parts of the discussion might surprise you. Don't miss it!

Greenville, Yeah THAT Greenville, SC. Greenville has been ranked as one of top small towns in the US. Our special guest, Taryn Scher tells us some of the reasons you're going to want to schedule a trip to Greenville this holiday season and beyond. Located between Atlanta and Charlotte, we urge you not to make the mistake of just driving through. This small town offers Southern hospitality with big city amenities. Greenville offers a moderate climate right at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Always important is the food! Greenville serves up just about any food you can imagine with 120 eateries in a 5 block radius. Those restaurants include several James Beard winners. So pack your stretchy pants! The holidays bring out the best in Greenville. Downtown offers ice skating, a tree lighting, and tree decorating competition. Walk the twinkling downtown area and see the storefronts decorated for the holidays. Give episode 32 your attention and hear so much more!

We were so fortunate to have Dodie Stephens from Explore Asheville on the show. Asheville is this beautiful, eclectic southern city in the Blue Ridge Mountains that we love! The Biltmore is without a doubt a major attraction any time of year. Add the decorations for the holidays and you have a holiday destination you won't want to miss! The holidays always brings the National Gingerbread House Competition. The competition is virtual this year, but there are still some fun things you can participate in at the Omni Grove Park Inn. The North Carolina Arboretum also has an exciting holiday attraction that you won't want to miss. The food scene in Asheville is vibrant with new restaurants like Benne on Eagle and Asheville Propper. Jettie Raes offers fresh seafood from the coast. Asheville is dedicated to making sure your stay is safe in the era of COVID. You can go to ExporeAsheville.com to learn more about the steps they city is taking to keep you safe. Thanks for checking out Episode 31 and make sure you hit the subscribe button so you don't miss an episode!!!

Excited to have Evan Hopkins, VP of Global Sales and Customer Operations from the RV Rental App Outdoorsy on the show. If you've ever thought about camping in a RV, but you're not sure about the purchase or just want to temporarily experience the joys of RV travel, give this app a try. Listen to the episode for a way to get a 10% discount on your first RV rental! Also, if you own an RV and want to make a little extra money, give this episode a listen.

The Williams family join Rob and Danny to talk about their recent two-week trip out west to Yellowstone. The beauty of RV travel is that to journey is just as fun as the destination. Prairie Dogs, Shopping Center parking lots, and the largest Bass Pro Shop around all on this week's Family Vacationer!

🎧 Episode 28: Lake Lanier Georgia Discover boating, camping, dining, and year-round fun at Georgia’s most visited lake. Host: Rob & Danny Guest: Stacy Dickson, Discover Lake Lanier Description: Lake Lanier is one of the most visited lakes in the U.S.—and for good reason. In this episode, Rob and Danny chat with Stacy Dickson, President of Discover Lake Lanier, about the best ways families can enjoy this 38,000-acre destination. From camping options and houseboat rentals to waterfront dining and seasonal events like Snow Island at Margaritaville, this episode is packed with tips for planning a perfect lake getaway. Plus, insider info on lesser-known spots, upcoming developments, and why weekdays are the best time to visit. Topics Covered: Top family-friendly parks and campgrounds (Don Carter State Park, River Forks)What to expect at Margaritaville at Lanier IslandsLake Lanier's evolution as a year-round destinationLocal dining gems like Antebellum, Skogies, and Fish TalesHidden local tips for boating and beating the crowdsAnnual events: Magical Nights of Lights, Food Truck Fridays, boat parades & moreThe legacy of the 1996 Olympics at Lake Lanier Olympic Park Resources & Links: 🌐 Plan your trip: DiscoverLakeLanier.com 📩 Get help planning your next vacation: [email protected] 📸 Follow us: Instagram | Facebook | YouTube 🖥 Subscribe & explore more at TheFamilyVacationer.live

One of the great things about the domestic travel series is having the opportunity to learn more about these different cities. Huntsville, Alabama has long been known for the US Space and Rocket Center and for Space Camp. Those two attractions are well worth the trip on their own. But if you take a deeper look, there is so much more to this international city. Kristen Pepper and Beth Ridgeway from the Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau give us the inside information on “Rocket City”. Make sure and listen to the podcast to hear about their Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice award winners for 2020. In the age of COVID, Huntsville has some exceptional outdoor spaces that allow you to enjoy food and music and still keep that social distancing in place. The town also offers a vibrant and historic downtown area that you’ll definitely want to check out. The US Space and Rocket Center is a pretty amazing attraction. Kristen also pointed out that Huntsville is not a museum dedicated to past space projects, Huntsville is front and center on the mission to get to Mars. Big thank you to Kristen and Beth for coming on the show. Make sure and give it a listen!

Danny and I were fortunate to have Leon Downey on the show to talk about Pigeon Forge. Leon has been the executive director for Pigeon Forge Tourism for 20 years and lived in the area for 32 years. So he has a unique perspective on the area. It didn't take long for the conversation to turn to food. Breakfast in Pigeon Forge is amazing. Leon mentioned several places that you didn't want to miss. You can't really talk about Pigeon Forge without talking about Dolly Parton. Dolly means so much to that area. We talk about Dollywood and how impressive of a theme park it has become. The Dreammore Resort that is attached to Dollywood is also impressive and comparable to places you'd stay in Orlando. The dinner shows were another topic of conversation. Dolly also has several shows in town that are well worth the price of admission. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is all around Pigeon Forge and boasts 550,000 acres in the park. 800 miles of hiking trails and 2,900 miles of stream. Plenty of room for outdoor activities that are so important in the time of COVID-19. All of this and more on this week's Family Vacationer! If you need more information on planning a trip to the area, go to mypigeonforge.com. If you need help planning a vacation to Pigeon Forge or anywhere else, contact me (Rob) at [email protected]. Thanks so much for listening. We welcome you to subscribe so you don't miss an episode. Visit thefamilyvacationer.live and sign up for our newsletter to receive travel deals and information. Next week we are moving on to the Rocket City. Huntsville, AL. Til next week! ~Rob

Dan and I were very excited to have Milton Segarra on the show with us from Coastal Mississippi. We always give our guests the opportunity to explain why their destination is a good choice for families planning their family vacation. Milton highlighted the ability for families to be on the coast and yet also have the opportunity for world class food and lodging. The Beau Rivage and the Hard Rock Hotel Biloxi are two examples of resorts you would find in Las Vegas. Interestingly, Milton brought up the fact that the majority of rooming in Biloxi was not of the Casino Resort variety. Interesting because gaming and Biloxi normally go hand in hand in the minds of travelers. Milton did mention that the large casinos have helped bring a lot of quality to the area in terms of room options. The Mississippi Coast is so much more than Biloxi. This area offers 12 different beach communities with each offering something different. Gulfport, for instance, is about to see the opening of the Mississippi Aquarium (Opening August 29, 2020). The area has prepared itself to accomodate travelers safely. It was exciting to see that the area has two big events that are still on the calendar for 2020. Obviously, both will be adjusted for proper social distancing, but it was good to see events on the schedule. Crusin' the Coast (October 4-11, 2010) Peter Anderson Festival (November 7-8) in Ocean Springs, MS Obviously, conditions on the ground could change one or both of these festivals, so make sure and check the websites before you go! Milton also mentioned the connection between the Mississippi Coast and going to the moon! Make sure and check that out. For more information on this beautiful area, go to CoastalMississippi.com Thanks, Milton!

Kay Maghan, Public Relations Manager for Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism stops by to talk about these beautiful beach communities on the Gulf of Mexico. Our Domestic Travel Series continues!

This episode of the Family Vacationer focuses on a 100 mile stretch of the North Carolina Coast called the Outer Banks. Lee Nettles, Executive Director of the Outer Banks Visitor's Bureau joins us to talk about these beautiful beach communities. These communities are rich with history and full of activity that your entire family will enjoy!

This week, Rob and Danny speak with Ike High from Explore Charleston. Ike brings us up to speed on places to stay, play, and eat in downtown Charleston and the area's five beach communities. Definitely an episode you don't want to miss. Rob here, on a personal note, I love that Charleston has done such an amazing job in the preservation of it's buildings. This has gone a long way towards the retention of its history. Charleston is proof that you can still have progress without tearing down landmark buildings. Some of the restaurants and hotels Ike mentions in the interview are in renovated, historic buildings. This is definitely a city you want to visit. In 2016 Travel + Leisure magazine called Charleston the "World's Best City". Not the south's best, the country's best, but the world's best. Listen in and find out why!

The Panhandle of Florida is, without question, one of our favorite places to visit. Nestled between Panama City Beach and Destin are the Beach Communities of 30A. They're not exactly a secret, but if they're not on your list of places to visit, they should be! Beautiful water, sugar sand beaches, delicious restaurants, one of kind shops, and the best beach vibe around. We were fortunate to have Susan Vallee on the show. Susan is the author of the book, "Meet Me on 30A". Susan talked about the different communities and suggested places to eat, places to stay, and ways to enjoy the area. Give it a listen!

Big thank you to Britt Myers of Keys Weekly (keysweekly.com) for coming on the show and sharing some of his favorite places in the Florida Keys! https://floridakeys.minimaps.com/html5/ Things to do in the Keys Hemingway HouseTurtle HospitalDolphin Research CenterKey West Butterfly ConservatoryFort JeffersonSnorklingHistory of the Dive MuseumFort Zachary TaylorSportfishing Favorite Places to Eat in the Keys La Trattoria2 Friends PatioBlue HeavenLittle PearlPierre'sOld TavernerZiggy and Mad DogsCastawaysKeys FisheryAlabama Jacks Festivals in the Keys Hemingway DaysFantasy FestMini Lobster SeasonMarathon Seafood Festival (Mid March)Key West Seafood Festival (Mid January)Key Lime Fest Places to stay Vacation RentalsCastle MarinaPier HouseSouthern Most Beach ResortHawk's Cay ResortIsla BellaCheeka LodgeThe Moorings VillageThe IslanderThe Bungalos in Mariners Club If you do visit, make sure you tell them where you first saw and heard about their restaurant/attraction/resort!! Secrets of the Locals Do not pronounce the ch in Conch when ordering Conch Fritters (Konk)Order the Dolphin. It's not flipper. Mainlanders call it Mahi-Mahi, but don't order it using that name in the Keys. Say Dolphin.Find and talk with locals. Ask questions. Listen to their stories. They may not always be true, but they'll always be entertaining. If you're ready to start planning your Florida Keys vacation, drop me a line at [email protected] and let's get you and your family traveling again!

This episode is a quick look at beach destinations reopening here in the US, Mexico, and the Caribbean. We’ll also take a look at some of the larger theme parks and their reopening processes. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23091574)

On this episode, Danny and Rob welcome their daughters for a look at their travel memories. It's important to remember why we travel as families and why it's important. Danny's daughters Gracie and Zoe and Rob's daughter Ruthie give a fun perspective on family travel.

Just a glimpse into what Danny and I are listening to and watching during our extended time at home. Two takeaways; Rob watches too much television and Danny loves TLC programming. Travel related value here is low, BUT there are some fun ideas for your lockdown playlist that can double as a road trip playlist once things get back to whatever our new normal is going to look like!

We're all wanting to know when we'll be able to return to traveling, return to our lives as we knew them. The virus is going to dictate when. But what will the travel landscape look like when we can travel again? Rob talks with Stacey Cabell, Owner of Starstuff Travel (https://www.starstufftravel.com/) industry veteran about what the travel world will look like in the near term and beyond. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23091574)

If you're like us, you've been locked down for weeks. We've been dreaming of all the places we're wanting to go when this is over. Daydream with us on Episode 15. Forgive us on the audio quality. We're bunkered down in our respective homes and at the mercy of bad internet. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23091574)

Welcome friends. This is the Family Vacationer. To say this is a difficult time is a bit of an understatement. Between constant bad news on the spread of the virus and people losing their jobs, it’s difficult to really get your head around what’s going on because none of us have ever lived through anything like this. It’s obviously not a time to talk about fun places to travel, and we’re not going to do that right now. Most, if not all, places have a closed sign out front, anyway. But, we do realize many of you had plans to travel during this period and you may have questions on what to do or where to turn for answers. **Episode Update** I was afraid this was going to happen but, before we could get the episode on air, several updates have been made. What I'm going to do here is put each cruise line and resort that we covered and place a link to their updates so you can have the most current information possible. Stay safe everyone! Rob Royal Caribbean Cruises https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-with-confidence Norwegian Cruises https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/book-with-confidence#freedom-flexibility Carnival Cruises https://www.carnival.com/health-and-sailing-updates.aspx Disney Cruise Line https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/guest-services/advisory/ Disneyworld https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/travel-information/ Universal Studios Florida https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/Safety-and-Travel-Update Universal Studios Hollywood https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/Safety-and-Travel-Update Beaches Resorts https://www.beaches.com/coronavirus-info/ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23091574)

Welcome to the Spring Break edition of the Family Vacationer. Snow may still be on the ground where you are, but we’re looking ahead to warmer weather! It’s not too late to plan your family’s fun-filled spring break vacation. How to plan and where to go? It’s all on the Family Vacationer! Some questions to help in your Spring Break Planning A. How long do you want to be gone? B. What is the defining factor in where you go? (Price? Location? Activity?) C. Are you going to someplace familiar or someplace new? D. Is it a traditional spring break destination? If so….plan as early as possible E. Flying or driving? F. Just your family or will friends and/or family coming with? H. Consider additional fees 1. Luggage Fees 2. Airport Transfers 3. Car Rental 4. Clothing/Gear needed for trip 5. Travel insurance!! 6. Souvenirs 7. Parking fees/tolls * Plan Early! The earlier you plan, the more time you have for research, to use a payment plan, to make corrections if something comes up and the more likely you are to save money! * If you’ve decided to go someplace “off Peak” during Spring Break, understand why it’s off-peak and plan against that (trip insurance for a cruise because it’s hurricane season, make sure there’s plenty for your tribe to do if it’s Vail in the spring, etc). 2020 Destinations 1. San Diego 2. Grand Canyon 3. Outer Banks 4. Bahamas 5. Orlando 6. Anaheim Please don't forget to go check out Danny as The Language Tutor on Youtube. Danny makes learning a foreign language easier and a whole lot of fun! If you need assistance planning your vacation, contact Rob at either [email protected] or [email protected]. His services as a travel agent are always free to you! Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23091574)

Episode 12 is a look at the Cruise Industry. What makes this $150 Billion dollar industry so attractive that 82% of the people that have taken a cruise are planning a cruise as their next vacation. Currently, there are 55 cruise lines in operation spanning, ocean, river and specialty cruising with 278 ships projected to be in operation in 2020. 32 million people are projected to cruise this year, up 2 million from last year. In this episode we take a look at the questions you should ask when trying to decide on which cruise line and ship to take as well some best in class answers to those questions. We also take a look at 5 new ships entering the market in 2020. What's covered on a cruise and what's not? Give a listen and find out. Do you have a favorite private island that's operated by the Cruise lines? We look at 5 of those destinations. All on Episode 12 of the Family Vacationer! Please rate us! Go to ratethispodcast.com/thefamilyvacationer and follow the simple instructions. We appreciate you listening!!! Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23091574)

Rob and Danny give a shortlist of fun family travel destinations for 2020. Park City, UT, Hudson Valley, NY, Catalina Island, CA, Hershey, PA, and Nashville, TN all make the domestic list. Negril, Jamaica, Tokyo, Japan, Villarica, Chile, and Dubai, UAE make our international family destination list for 2020. The Must Have Travel Gadget list is also back for 2020. All of the items we speak about can be viewed on the Family Vacationer Pinterest page (pinterest.com/thefamilyvacationer). We would love for you to rate the podcast at ratethispodcast.com/thefamilyvacationer. Thank you so much for listening! You can also send us feedback at [email protected] or [email protected]. We are also on Facebook and Instagram!Check back with us in two weeks for our next podcast. Cruising 101. Whether you're going on your first cruise or your fifth, we will have something to help improve your experience! Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23091574)

Family Vacationer Co-Host, Danny and his daughter Zoe recently took a trip to New York City for a dad daughter trip. From a stay at an AirBnb to watching Wicked on Broadway, listen in as Danny and Zoe recount their visit to the Big Apple. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23091574)

So, what is multigenerational travel? Exactly like it sounds, it’s when three or more generations of family travel together. This kind of travel has been topping travel trends for quite a while now as it gives family members that are geographically separated the opportunity to reconnect. Additionally, these trips provide ways to celebrate milestones (birthdays, new members to the family, anniversaries, etc) and even trips to trace family history. The travel industry even has a category called PANK (Professional Aunts with No Kids) for single career women that collectively spend billions traveling with nieces and nephews. That was some new information there. Consider these statistics from a 2016 travel study from AARP. 91% of Millennials say a multigenerational trip is something they take every year. These trips, along with bucket list and summer vacations are among boomers top three favorite types of trips. Grandparents are typically the ones footing the bill with 35% paying for trips to help families take trips they couldn’t otherwise afford. Now there are obvious, inherent challenges to traveling this way. Finding ways to keep everyone entertained is at the top of the list. What appeals to a grandmother or grandfather is typically very different than what appeals to children. Additionally, mobility issues must be considered as the grandparents get older. Add to that the logistical issues when extended family are present and just figuring out where to have dinner can become a point of contention. In these instances, it’s important to remember the goals of the vacation. Creating stronger bonds and making memories. These are trips that really require everyone to pack extra patience and step out of their comfort zones. I know in year’s past, we’ve wound up in Orlando simply from the thought of, “Well if the kids are happy, we’ll all be happy.” I’m just not certain that’s the right approach. Of course, it really depends heavily on the family and the personalities involved. The key is to find destinations that offer a variety of options that can accommodate a wide variety of personalities and ages. That can be easier said than done, right? My parents will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year and wanted to take everyone on a trip. Alaska was the first choice and an exciting one. However, as we looked into the trip, we didn’t feel like the appeal would be there for everyone that would be going, so we pivoted to a cruise where the private island and tropical weather would appeal to everyone. So, what are some options? Where can you go for a vacation that will excite everyone in your family? The easy trip is to go sit on a beach together somewhere. Personally, I never see that as a bad option. In fact, I’d personally rather be on a beach than just about anywhere. That being said, let’s look at some other options that might have some value for a multigenerational trip. 1. Make History Come Alive. Let me give some airtime to my inner geek. I think this is one of the coolest trips a family could take. If your kids are interested in history or studying American or World History in school, that’s the perfect time to take a family trip. Grandparents, parents, and even the children will have a unique perspective. I will never forget being in New Orleans and visiting the National D-Day museum (an amazing museum by the way). I was behind a family where the grandfather, who was in WWII and participated in DDay) was telling his family stories t Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23091574)

In Episode 8, we look at some of the attendance issues at Disney Parks on both coasts and separate the business issues from the consumer experience at Galaxy's Edge. Danny interviews Joanna and Shane about their time on Batuu. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23091574)