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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 →

Visiting a Dirty Museum

Bring along extra Wet-Ones if you are planning a trip to the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. this summer. Forget about what your mom said about not playing in dirt, the Smithsonian Institution is taking soil to new depths. In its new exhibit–“Dig It”—-the museum is giving guests the chance to explore the mysterious and complex world of dirt. Curators say their goal with the new exhibit is to get people to see how soil is the foundation of all the Earth’s ecosystems, and that it is “as important as air and water.” Some of the exhibit’s … Continue reading →

Educational Programs for Kids in Hawaii

In a previous blogs I mentioned that you would regret traveling all the way to Hawaii and not visiting the state’s most famous tourist attraction–Pearl Harbor Naval Base. The base is home to the USS Arizona, the USS Utah, the Battleship Missouri, the USS Missouri Memorial, and the newest addition to the area, the Pacific Aviation Museum on Pearl Harbor’s Ford Island. What I failed to mention in those blogs is that youngsters (age 5 and up) have the opportunity to get more out of their visits by enrolling in special summer programs. Pearl Harbor’s Educational Summer Programs are designed … Continue reading →

Spending Memorial Day at Pearl Harbor

Memorial Day is a little more than a week away and while you might have your travel plans set to embark on a weekend adventure to the beach, the woods or the lake it would behoove you take some time between your barbeques and ball games to remember what this holiday is all about. Memorial Day was set aside to honor all the men and women who have given their lives in military service to this country. The holiday began as a tribute to Union soldiers during the American Civil War. Following World War I, the observance was expanded to … Continue reading →

Summer Travel: Museum Mania

I think I might have found the silver lining in the gray cloud that is our current economic slump. Good news for summer travelers: One of Washington, D.C.’s most expensive museums is lowering its admission fee. Officials at Madame Tussauds wax museum recently announced it plans to cut admission prices from $21 to $18 for adults and from nearly $16 to $12 for children. Museum officials say the price change was prompted by the nation’s economic slowdown. If you are a D.C.-area resident you stand to save even more. People who live in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia … Continue reading →

Casa de Rodent

A few weeks ago I blogged about my daughter’s mouse sighting on our flight to Hawaii. The thought of a rodent rifling through the bag I placed under the seat in front of me still creeps me out, but it’s nothing compared to what some hotel guests in Washington, D.C. have been dealing with. The Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center just opened for business and it’s already been plagued with a nightmarish situation—a rodent invasion. UGH! According to news reports, numerous guests—all of which were the first to stay in the brand-new 2,000-room hotel—say they had run ins with … Continue reading →

Education Vacation: The National World War II Museum

It’s the one place I wished my grandfather could have visited before he died. My grandpa was a member of the U.S. Army’s highly decorated 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry. It is the only remaining Infantry unit in the Army Reserve force structure. Many books have chronicled the heroic actions of the members of the 100th Battalion and 442nd Infantry. Many note that none have shed their blood more valiantly for America than the Japanese Americans who served in these units while fighting enemy forces in Europe during World War II. My grandfather was a proud member of this elite group … Continue reading →

Summer Travel: A Saintly Destination

Have you ever wondered how city leaders decide what names to give the streets, roads and avenues we travel on day in and day out? I live near Titletown, U.S.A., home of the world famous Green Bay Packers, so it’s no surprise that the streets I frequent have names such as Brett Favre Pass, Bart Starr Drive and Reggie White Way. But in one of the country’s most populated cities, the art of naming streets has become the subject of a new museum exhibit. If you are looking for a family friendly summer travel destination that will provide more than … Continue reading →

Historic Oahu

I’ve written quite a number of blogs detailing Oahu’s most magnificent natural wonders from its powder soft beaches, dazzling sunsets, and turquoise blue waters to its stunning waterfalls and breathtaking dormant volcanoes. However, the island is also a haven for history buffs. Each year millions of travelers descend upon the Hawaiian Island of Oahu to take in the area’s most popular war memorials. For example, most people don’t travel all the way to the “Aloha State” without visiting the Arizona Memorial. Oahu’s top tourist site is the final resting place for the 1177 men who lost their lives during a … Continue reading →

Journey to the Center of… Your Intestines

Sounds gross, but if you are looking for an educational vacation destination suitable for (most of) your family I might just have the golden ticket. You’ll have to fly to the Netherlands to get in, but according to the creators of “Corpus,” the combination amusement park/health museum, your efforts will be justly rewarded. The new family-friendly attraction opened in Oegstgeest (located 21 miles southeast of Amsterdam) two weeks ago and the site is already overflowing with visitors. The structure is home to a 115-foot high seated human figure and all the walls and halls are modeled with fiberglass to resemble … Continue reading →