My grandparents bought a boat not long before they retired, and every time we visited them we loaded up and cruised to Catalina Island. I’m not sure why my Grandpa decided to sell the boat, but when he did, they purchased an RV. As a kid I loved traveling in that big thing, playing cards on the compact dining table and sleeping on an actual bed while my Grandpa drove endless miles to god-knows-where.
When we made our first cross-country venture with our son, who was 18 months old at the time, I actually looked in to renting an RV. I …read more

If you are familiar with the movie The Truman Show, and know enough about my family to know that our favorite beach spot is along Highway 30-A in Florida where Seaside, the charming beach town where the movie was filmed, sits squarely upon, then you, like the shop owners in that town who take a second glance when we call our son by name, may think we named our son after the main character in the movie. We did not.
But this place is as much a part of us as the air we breathe. This is our heaven on earth. …read more

As expensive cities go, New York City, is probably at the top of the list.  But that doesn’t mean you should bypass the city – it’s full of wonderful things to see and do – it just means you may need to come up with some creative options to make it affordable.
Here are some FREE family friendly activities for your next visit to the Big Apple:

Columbia University’s Rutherford Observatory: Help the kids reach for the stars at a FREE stargazing night.  The telescope is open alternating Fridays, along with a slide show and astronomy lecture.  Dress warmly!  The nights …read more

Our first Mardi Gras Parade.Zack catching Mardi Gras booty.Pretending to be soldiers in a fort. Steel Magnolia House.Feeding geese.Feeding ducks.Visited plantations, slave quarters.Climbing live oaks on plantations.
Natchitoches, Louisiana, pronounced Nacadish, was the first settlement in the entire Louisiana Purchase. It was a French Settlement, but so remote there was much intermarriage between the French, Spanish, African American and Native American people – the combination of which became known as Creole.
Steel Magnolias was also filmed there.
They have a magnificent European-like Catholic Cathedral there, but the pics didn’t turn out so great.