Parade of Holiday Freebies

Everyone loves a parade, and why not? They are fun, festive, and best of all–FREE! With the holidays fast approaching cities from coast-to-coast are prepping to host a cornucopia of family-friendly parades. The granddaddy of them all is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. It is the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States and attracts millions of spectators each year. However, you don’t have to spend a ton of money traveling to the Big Apple to take in the sights and sounds of these colorful moving spectacles. Rather, gather the kids and grab a piece of … Continue reading

Family-Friendly Holiday Vacation Ideas

Tis the season to be booking holiday cruises, ski vacations and tropical getaways. With students on Christmas break, planes and hotels will be filled to the gills next month. If you haven’t solidified your family’s holiday vacation plans yet, you might want to get cracking. Parents magazine is lending a hand to procrastinating moms and dads by publishing its annual list of top 10 places in snowy destinations that cater to families. The following resorts got high marks for offering a variety of on-site family activities, quality ski lessons for young children, upscale rooms, child care services, kids’ clubs or … Continue reading

Family Travel—End of the Summer Deals on Educational Vacations

Score one for procrastinators! We are heading down the home stretch of summer vacation and for families who have yet to hit the road on an annual getaway your delaying a seasonal escape has finally paid off. Numerous hotels in the Washington, D.C. area are offering amazing end of the summer deals. The properties are located near some of the nation’s most historic attractions and can easily serve as the venue for a memory-filled educational vacation for the entire family. Take a look: GEORGETOWN EXPERIENCE For $150 per room per night you will receive accommodations at Georgetown Suites, where you’ll … Continue reading

Family Travel: Something for Mom

While dads do their fair share of loading the van, schlepping luggage and strollers in and out of the hotel and helping to round up the troops, in most families it’s mom who takes on the larger tasks of planning, packing and executing the family vacation. At the same time it is very rare for a mom to plan any part of a family vacation around her own interests. Generally the trip to the amusement park, waterpark, campsite, etc. is designed around the children’s interests. (Yes, most moms would say that they are happy just getting to spend time with … Continue reading

More Ways to Save Money on Weird and Wacky Travel

Why book a trip to an overpriced amusement park when you can visit the world’s largest ball of yarn for much less? Seriously, there is an entire nation filled with quirky travel attractions just waiting to be discovered. Just thumb though a copy of “Weird U.S.: Your Travel Guide to America’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets” by Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman and you’ll see what I mean. The travel guide has inspired a slew of hotel deals that are being offered to families looking to spice up their traditional vacations with a trip to a weird and wacky … Continue reading

Texas-Sized Travel Deals for $2

Two bucks? Now you’re talking. Great minds at the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau have come to the rescue of cash-strapped families visiting town on a budget. The group recently compiled a list of 33 attractions for $2 or less. Some of the freebies include the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, open daily, and the Sam Houston Boat Tour, which provides free 90-minute roundtrip cruises along the Houston Ship Channel. Another attraction that won’t cost you a single cent to visit is the Miller Outdoor Theatre, which hosts free productions from March through October. During the month of August … Continue reading

Celebrating Arbor Day in Asheville

If you are looking to go “green” this spring consider a trip to Asheville, North Carolina. The Blue Ridge beauty features majestic mountains that cut into the horizon and you can see them from all angles by taking one of a number of scenic drives that run through the region. Most travelers take in Asheville’s cool, clean mountain air from the Blue Ridge Parkway. The 469-mile recreational road connects Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks and offers visitors a reprieve from commercialism. The road is dotted with charming vintage farmhouses, tunnels carved into majestic mountains and steep climbs that … Continue reading

Tax Refund Travel Packages

I don’t know about you but my tax refund has been put to use paying for water, heat, and electricity for my home and fuel for my car. I know… glamorous it’s not and so much for taking advantage of the all those fabulous travel deals tour operators are offering right now. You know the ones that guarantee once-in-a-lifetime memories to far off lands… that cost half your tax refund. In all honesty some of those travel packages are real bargains and quite enticing regardless of how much you got back from Uncle Sam. If you still have a few … Continue reading

Unique Travel Deals from Coast-to-Coast

WASHINGTON Perhaps, America’s love of “The Simpsons” is the reason the following free tour is booked solid. After all, Homer Simpson does make working at a nuclear power plant look so, uh, interesting. Whatever the reason, when the U.S. Department of Energy offered 48 tours of the Hanford Site (that’s twice as many as last year) for the public to register for on a first-come, first-serve basis it took less than 12 hours for all 2,000 spots to be filled. The tours started earlier this week and run through the summer. If you were not one of the lucky ones … Continue reading

Arbor Day Travel Deals

The first Arbor Day took place on April 10, 1872 in Nebraska. It was the brainchild of Julius Sterling Morton who was passionate about the environment. As such he actively pursued the wide-scale planting of trees throughout Nebraska. Today all 50 states celebrate Arbor Day although the dates may vary in keeping with the local climate. And while it might be a stretch, some hotels are taking advantage of the special occasions by offering travel deals. Okay, so it’s a tad gimmicky, but given that the gap between spring break and summer vacation is longer this year it would stand … Continue reading