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Summer Distraction: 10 things I did instead of blogging

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Sarah Vernetti

Huntington Beach, CA

I haven’t written nearly as many blog posts this summer as I did last year. And that’s fine by me. Here are ten things that I did instead of working on my blog:

1. Explored a ghost town: We drove up to the ghost town of Rhyolite, located near the small town of Beatty, with some friends earlier this summer. Not only did we get to stroll through an old mining town, but we also had the opportunity to explore the Goldwell Open Air Museum, which features several outdoor, large-scale sculptures.

2. Went to the beach and splashed in both the Atlantic and the Pacific: Our summer started with a Disney cruise to the Bahamas, which meant lots of beach time and splashing around in the Atlantic Ocean. We also took two day trips that involved the Pacific: one to Huntington Beach and the other to Malibu.

3. Relived our trip to San Francisco: I wrote about the perfect way to spend three days in San Francisco for the June issue of Diamond Cake magazine.

4. Visited a national park or two: This summer we visited Zion National Park in Utah. We also braved the heat and visited Red Rock Canyon twice. Remember to be careful when it comes to hiking in hot weather. Bring plenty of water, let someone know where you’re headed and try to go out in the morning before temperatures get too out-of-control.

5. Crawled through a giant colon (the body part, not the punctuation) : We visited the Las Vegas Natural History Museum for the first time last week. We loved the dinosaur exhibit and the Ancient Egypt room, but the highlight for us was the travelling exhibit called “Eww! What’s eating you?” We crawled through a giant colon, watched a video in which Carrot Top taught us all about elephantiasis, and learned a thing or two about mosquitos.

6. Examined some dinosaur tracks: We took a day trip to St. George, Utah where we checked out some dinosaur tracks and other prehistoric artifacts. The museum only took about an hour to explore, but we enjoyed our time there and our afternoon drive back to Las Vegas.

7. Toured Wrigley Field in Chicago: On our recent trip back to the Midwest, we took a guided tour of Wrigley Field. How many five-year-olds can say they’ve sat in the Cubs dugout?! It was a memorable experience.

8. Learned about railroad history in Boulder City: The Nevada Southern Railway offers visitors a chance to take a 45-minute train ride and explore other historic rail cars. This would be a great activity to combine with a trip to nearby Hoover Dam.

Southern Nevada Railway

9. Swam with a dolphin: During out Disney cruise, we stopped in Nassau, Bahamas, where we were able to swim with a dolphin. Sure, we’d visited Sea World and fed the dolphins before, but it’s a totally different experience to be in the water with a huge, squeaking mammal.

10. Westin Lake Las Vegas staycation: Stop by Wandering Off next week to read about our staycation at this lovely hotel in Henderson. I’m sure it will be a great way for our family to spend some time together before the hectic school year begins in a few weeks.

There you have it…another busy, wonderful summer. I hope yours was happy, healthy, and adventure-filled.

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Fun and Free in San Francisco: The de Young Museum Tower

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Sarah Vernetti

We were on our way to Golden Gate Park, when a stranger asked us if we needed help. (We looked like such tourists: consulting our map, looking up, the two of us pointing in opposite directions, referring to the map again…) We told this kind San Franciscan that we wanted to visit Golden Gate Park, but weren’t sure exactly how to get there and what we wanted to do once we arrived. He suggested we check out the great views from the de Young Museum tower.

We took his advice, and loved the views from the top. Although there is an admission price for the museum itself, visitors can go up to the observation tower for free!

For more photos from our San Francisco trip, click here. Also, you might want to read about our visit to Alcatraz.

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Why You SHOULD Consider Taking Your Kids to Las Vegas

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Sarah Vernetti

Baby Elephant at Hoover Dam

I was flipping through a Las Vegas guidebook (Frommer’s Las Vegas Day by Day) and read the following paragraph about travelling to Las Vegas with kids:

No Children Allowed!
When I said Vegas no longer throws out the welcome mat to families, I wasn’t kidding. Be advised that many hotels will not allow children who aren’t staying on their property through the front door. And don’t even think about allowing your children to linger anywhere near a casino floor…they’ll be shooed away pretty quickly. [...] If you have little ones, I strongly advise you to look elsewhere for a long break.

I’d like to respectfully disagree.

There are plenty of families with kids living in Las Vegas, and we’re not all sitting at home. Sometimes I think people forget that life exists beyond the strip and that Las Vegas is a place where people live, work, go to school, and raise their children.

In fact, we’ve found so many kid-friendly things to do that it will take us awhile to experience them all.

During the three weeks we’ve lived here, we’ve visited a shark-themed aquarium, eaten dinner at a Vegas buffet, gone bowling in a casino, enjoyed milkshakes at the city’s only Steak n Shake, taken a day trip to Hoover Dam, visited Red Rock Canyon, checked out flowers at the Bellagio, gotten a taste of Italy at the Venetian, played at three different playgrounds, and watched an air show at the Air Force base. (Keep in mind, it’s winter and pool/water activities aren’t an option right now.)

And my list of kid-friendly activities we hope to do in the future is twice as long and includes places like Springs Preserve, the Lied Discovery Children’s Museum, the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, various state parks, and all kinds of day/weekend trips to nearby California, Arizona, and Utah.

Also, we’ve never had a problem bringing our daughter into hotels/casinos. Obviously, we’re not hanging out at the slot machines, but it’s clear that you can walk through the casino with a child. We’ve done this at the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Tropicana, Red Rock Casino, South Point, and the Venetian on our way to do other activities like dining, bowling, etc.

Maybe there will come a day when my daughter and I look at each other and decide that there just isn’t anything to do in Las Vegas. But that day isn’t coming anytime soon.

Thinking of visiting Vegas with kids? Go for it, I say!

Note: All opinions are my own. Have concerns about whether or not a place is kid-friendly? Call them before you go.

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Lots O’ Brains in Boston

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Sarah Vernetti

We recently spent four days in one of our very favorite cities, Boston. We love the history and beautiful architecture, not to mention the kid-friendly attractions and museums.

During our most recent visit, we spent an afternoon at the Museum of Science where E. got to do all sorts of interesting things. My four-year-old daughter examined rocks and crystals with a magnifying glass, put together an ostrich skeleton (with the help of a museum worker in the Discovery Center), touched a sheep heart and lungs, and saw some newly-hatched chicks.

We also saw a collection of brains from various animals. Yikes!

I have to admit, I did cringe when I saw my darling little girl put on that plastic glove and reach out to touch the sheep heart, but what a memorable way to learn about anatomy!

Museum of Science, Boston

Brains, Museum of Science, Boston

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Making the Most of 24 Hours in Houston

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Sarah Vernetti

Houston is the nation’s fourth largest city, so planning a quick trip can be a challenge. After bidding for a hotel on Priceline, I started looking at maps and travel guides, in an attempt to maximize our time. Here’s how we ended up spending our quick stay in Houston:

Saturday Afternoon:

About an hour outside of San Antonio, we stopped at Buc-cee’s. It’s a gas station and convenience store, but on a grand scale. That old expression “Everything is bigger in Texas” certainly applies to this place. I swear, I’ve never seen a ladies room with that many stalls in my life! (If you want to stop at Buc-cee’s, you won’t have trouble finding it…just start looking for the beaver billboards.)

Buc-ee's

When we arrived in Houston, we immediately drove to the Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum, which I have been eager to see. (Yeah, I know…from Buc-cee’s to Byzantine frescoes. We are all about the high and low culture!) The Fresco Chapel ended up being a very quick stop. Admission is free. The frescos are all located in one room, so you can spend as much or as little time there as you wish. Photography (even without a flash) is not allowed, so I don’t have any pictures of the frescoes to share, but I assure you they are beautiful. (If you visit with kids, you might want to check-out my post Five Tips for Taking a Toddler to an Art Museum). After looking at the frescoes, we spent a few minutes in the chapel’s outdoor courtyard before hopping back in the car.

Next, we headed to the Museum District where we spent the rest of the afternoon at the Cockrell Butterfly Center. Located inside the Museum of Natural Science, the butterfly center was one of the highlights of the trip. Sure, it was humid as heck in the glass enclosure, but it was worth it to get a close-up look at the beautiful butterflies. E. was a little hesitant at first, especially when the butterflies flew close to her face, but eventually she tried to get the butterflies to land on her finger.

Butterfly, Cockrell Butterfly Center, Houston

Saturday Evening:

For dinner, we went the ultra-touristy route and headed down to Kemah Boardwalk. A combination of overpriced restaurants and carnival rides, Kemah Boardwalk isn’t for those who want to find the “real” coastal Texas. However, it IS fun. After eating dinner at RED (we love hibachi places!), we walked along the boardwalk, hopped on the merry-go-round, and took a ride on the ferris wheel. While the ride tickets aren’t cheap, a trip to the boardwalk is certainly less expensive than an amusement park. Sometimes it’s difficult to find evening activities when you’re travelling with a child, but this is a great option for families.

Kemah Boardwalk, Houston

Sunday Morning:

We enjoyed some coffee (or chocolate milk, in E.’s case) with our feet dangling in the hotel pool. Then we drove downtown to The Grove, a restaurant located right next to Houston’s Discovery Green. Before getting back in the car to head home, we explored the city park and let E. run through one of the water features. If I lived in Houston, I think I’d be at Discovery Green all the time. Water features for kids, a pleasant playground, and lots of open space make this park a must-visit if you are staying downtown.

Discovery Green, Houston

Sunday Afternoon:

After a little playtime, we headed back to San Antonio. We made another stop at Buc-cee’s, and before long we were back home.

When it comes to family travel, I think Houston is underrated. We enjoyed our visit, but we only scratched the surface.

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Photo Essay: Historic Fredericksburg

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Sarah Vernetti

Vereins Kirche
Vereins Kirche. Fredericksburg, Texas.

White Elephant Saloon
The former White Elephant Saloon, built in 1888. Downtown Frederickburg.

White Oak School. Fredericksburg, Texas
White Oak School, circa 1920. On the grounds of the Pioneer Museum.

White Oak sign
White Oak Sign. (A modern addition)

Chalkboard, White Oak School
Chalkboard with German phrase. Something about work…

Wagons, Pioneer Museum
Wagons at the Pioneer Museum.

For more information on the Pioneer Museum, Vereins Kirche, and the White Oak School, visit the Pioneer Museum website.

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The Witte Museum’s HEB Science Treehouse

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Sarah Vernetti

Witte Museum, fountain

Over the weekend, we took our daughter to the Witte Museum for the first time. In the past, our concern had been that she might be too young to appreciate many of the museum’s exhibits, but we’re glad we gave it a try. Although she was scared of the animatronic dinosaurs (two of which can be seen on the main level in the room directly behind the ticket desk), she loved the museum’s HEB Science Treehouse, located behind the main building.

The first thing that caught E.’s attention was the Move It! interactive floor. Although the actual games were a little difficult for E. to understand, she loved dancing on the glowing floor…in her socks, of course!

Dancing at the Witte Museum

On the main level of the treehouse, you’ll also find a small playroom for younger kids. E. put on an impromtu puppet show and played with some legos before moving on to another exhibit.

Puppet show!

Bernoulli’s Bench was another hit with E. Here, kids can perform different science experiments. E. enjoyed making a beach ball float above a stream of air and could have sat at Bernoulli’s Bench for hours if we hadn’t eventually encouraged her to move on.

Another cool thing about the science treehouse is that it sits right next to the San Antonio River. On our way out, we stopped outside to look at the river and some of the displays about the kinds of fish that live in this habitat.

Although we had fun at the Witte Museum’s science treehouse, I definitely think this is an activity best-suited for older, school-age kids. It would be particularly useful as a field trip destination to supplement science instruction or an outing for children who are homeschooled.

We paid our own admission to the museum. All opinions are my own.

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