June 2015 - 2 Travel Dads

Taylor Family in Hoh Rainforest Olympic National Park 1

Family Travel vs. Gay Family Travel

Originally written for GaysWithKids.com It’s funny. As I think about traveling as a gay man or as part of a gay family, I try to consider what makes our travels gay. Yeah, um, it’s just that we’re gay; nothing else. I was sitting here analyzing our adventures and writing and

Buttes on Columbia River Gorge Hwy 14 header

The Columbia Gorge: driving the northern road

One of our favorite movies of all time is Maverick, starring Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson. I don’t know if it’s the humor, the ridiculous story or what, but if nothing else, there’s a lot to be said of the scenery. Deserts, prairies, cliffs, buttes, winding rivers. It’s amazing. If you’ve

Fathers’ Day: planning for two dads

Holidays are a strange phenomenon. We set aside a day to specifically think about a topic and then gather with people to celebrate it, aka cook food we don’t normally. Christmas makes sense because clearly you’re either celebrating the birth of Jesus or you’re celebrating your own sense of how

Gay Family Travels: 3 things to know about being a traveling rainbow

Originally written for GaysWithKids.com My husband and I aren’t shy people. We do karaoke, take the kids to nice restaurants, wear Euro-style swim trunks, hold hands as a family in public… You know, we’re not crazy but we’re not shy. This includes traveling to potentially homophobic places. We don’t intentionally

Camping: how long is too long?

We are heading out on our first camping trip as a family of four in just one month. We’ve booked a cabin halfway to our destination to break up the drive, and we’ve booked our reservations in Yellowstone National Park (camping for four nights). That’s it. We have no other

Flying Solo: a one-parent road trip

I’m used to individual parenting. I mean, I’m home alone with the kids most of the time and I’m fine dealing with random tantrums and epic breakdowns with no logic behind them. When I’m on the road though and I’m staying in somebody else’s house, yeah no. At home I’m

Planes, trains and automobiles… and boats

I hated flying for the longest time. I hated waiting to board, being delayed, taxing for what seems like hours, taking off, turbulence, landing, bumpy landings, sitting on the tarmac waiting for a gate, trying to collect carry-on luggage, trying to collect checked luggage, navigating a new airport… I could

Our first family road trip… 4 things to prep you

You know how there are those things that you’ve loved your whole life and can’t imagine ever not liking? Yeah, for me that was going on road trips: with friends, with family, on my own – anything. Some of my favorite childhood memories were camping with my family, far off

Taylor Family Mainstreet USA Disneyland Header

Disneyland with a toddler: 6 things to know

I’ve loved Disneyland my whole life and can remember my very first trip when I was 4. I have worked there and spent countless hours in the park as both a cast member and guest. I’ve assisted so many families with little kids and helped to make magical moments. And then

So many aquariums: 4 ways to decide if they’re worth your time (and our faves)

We’re big on aquariums in our house. We have a local one that’s free and open only 4 days a week…and we go EVERY week. Seattle has one that’s a boat ride away and we’ve been pass holders. Tacoma has one that is paired with a zoo and that’s just

Bringing Kids into THIS World

I remember each person’s reaction when we told them that we were having a baby. Most people were shocked, followed by full of joy and wow and OMG. There were those that just couldn’t process it because, I mean, gay guys raising a baby? And then there was one reaction

Building Our Family

Once upon a time… Back in 2009 one of our friends randomly mentioned to us “Hey, do you guys want kids? Cuz my cousin mentioned that she’d be interested in being a surrogate in the future…” Well, we met and it was a perfect fit. She was amazing, she had

Why Write About Life and Travels

Fifteen years ago today I graduated high school. It was not thrilling, but just another day that meant that life continued on, but without school. I had no clue what was going to happen for me. That was my life: no clear direction. Why do I mention that it’s been

Kid Products We Like

Before you jump in a lake, let somebody else test the water for frigid temperatures or piranhas. Same goes for helpful ways to navigate the world of occupying a child. The kid products we like have saved us in some tough pinches. Below you’ll find our recommendations for tactile

Camping List Extras

We have migrated our camping list extras into a post instead of a page. We made this list because after you’ve camped with a child, you can walk away from the experience able to say “Next time, I will definitely bring…”…hence calling them camping list extras. Here is our list

Month: June 2015