“Can we please move to Bend?” I asked my husband after we spent five days in Oregon’s summer/winter playground of a city, this past summer. (Unfortunately there is no surfing except for river surfing! so the answer was ‘no’). Bend is spectacular. Not only is it beautiful, but it has something for everyone — river activities, fishing, hiking, breweries, great food, and more, and that’s just in the summer. This…
Travel
10 Tips and Musings from an American in Paris
Ah Paris, so beautiful, historical, and so filled with buttery pastry, savory cheeses, wine and rich foods. Recently my husband and I were able to go to Paris for four days following a conference I had in London. It was my husband’s first time in Paris so we wanted to see all the main sights, but also wanted to try and get off the beaten path a bit. There are…
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Tips & Q&As
13 Tips to Making a Road Trip A Success
Road trip tips!! You guys! We spent SEVEN weeks on the road this summer. I started planning this trip last spring/winter and built an itinerary from San Diego, up the coast with stops in Big Sur, Santa Cruz and Petaluma in California. Then up the Oregon coast to Brookings, and Yachats and then on to Portland (the furthest North we got). After Portland we went to Bend, Oregon and then…
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Travel
Beautiful Sayulita, Mexico
Several years ago a co-worker told me about Sayulita, Mexico and he raved about the beaches, the downtown, and how great it was for families. Its been on my travel bucket list since then. Then fortuitously, last summer we connected with another home exchange family from Sayulita and agreed to a home swap. After a week in Sayulita I can definitely say it lives up the hype. It’s beautiful, safe,…
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Travel
Is a Home Exchange Right for You? Find Out in This Q&A
If you have ever wondered about doing a home exchange this post is for you! We have officially made it to the year point as Home Exchangers. In 2017 I signed us up for HomeExchange.com. My husband was not really on board, but I slowly got him excited about the idea (mostly the money saving part). So far we have done two home exchanges: one in Sayulita, Mexico and one…
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Activities
Five Tips for Spending a Day at the USS Midway!
The Midway is a top destination for visitors to San Diego and for good reason! We recently took our kids to visit the historic ship and they absolutely loved it. Even if you’re not into jets or aircraft carriers, exploring this giant ship is fascinating. From the food preparation to feed a “city on a ship” to the cramped living quarters, to the belly of the ship where thousands of…
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Eat & Drink
Six Tips for Encouraging Your Kids to Eat More Adventurously
This post is all about tips for making your child a more adventurous eater. My kids are like most kids. If you give them a choice, dinner is most definitely, “dad’s hamburgers” (which are delicious) and fries. They love their sweets and salty snacks (we call my 8 yr. old son the “Chip monster”) and they don’t always eat their vegetables without some prodding. However, on the whole my kids…
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Activities
A Day at the Cabrillo Tidepools in San Diego
The Cabrillo National Monument at the point of Point Loma in San Diego is a fantastic place to visit for some great history, unbeatable views and easy hiking. In addition to the museum and lighthouse, the area also has one of the best-protected and accessible rocky “intertidal” tidepool areas (which means, the unique ecosystem that lies between the high and low tides) in southern California. They are stunning! We took the…
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Travel
Six Tips for Traveling on a Budget
We are not wealthy. Comfortable definitely, but we don’t have an endless supply of resources that enable us to travel and yet, we’ve been able to do so much this year. Our friends often ask us if we’ve won the lottery or somehow come into some money. In this post I’m going to talk about some of the things that have enabled us to travel more. Here are six tips…
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Travel
Five Days in London
The last time I was in London I was 22. Right after graduation from college some friends and I loaded up backpacks, bought a Eurorail pass and flew to London as the first stop of our journey. At the time the Pound worth was about $1.80 so everything was ridiculously expensive. On a tight budget, we barely had enough to pay for the expensive taxis let alone have a good…
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