You know that we try to do slightly unconventional trips with the kids. Nothing crazy, but typically hitting more natural and historical sites over big ticket destinations. We just did one of our favorite road trips through California and it was different this time than any time before. We drove from Los Angeles to San Francisco spending time in the
By now you know how much fun we’ve had through the years in Disneyland, and now especially with our kids in the Parks. Both Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure are loaded with fun experiences, but it really is smart to prep for a visit to either spot. California Adventure with kids is non-stop fun (and perfect for adults too!). So you’re
There is no one destination on Earth that we've been to as many times as Disneyland. It's actually shocking to start calculating how many hours we have spent in both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Our Disneyland tips come from hundreds of hours of fun both with and without kids. that's right, sometimes we’re in Disneyland without children. Hahaha. A
This post is sponsored by Kimberly-Clark We’ve just returned from our first family trip to Disneyland with all four of us and it was incredible. We were so fortunate to get to experience not just Disneyland and California Adventure, but then also the Cars 3 Premiere and an unforgettable Cars Land experience with the kids. And we’ve learned a lot about
Disneyland with kids is amazing. It might sound silly but when we first found out that we were going to be dads one of the very first thoughts that went through my head was “ hooray! Someday we could to take our kid to Disneyland!” If you're planning a trip to Disneyland or already have one on the books doing
It’s no secret that we love the weekends. I mean, who doesn’t? With or without the kids we try to break away to a new city or visit one of our old favs whenever possible, and we’ve partnered with Hampton by Hilton to share some of what we think are the best destinations to be a Seekender. There are loads
We love to find places that everybody talks about but nobody knows the cool stuff you can do there. One such place is Palm Springs, California. I mean, everybody goes there for a nice weekend or a relaxing vacation, but besides golf, gay bars and swimming pools, what is there? The ACTUAL Palm Springs!! Agua Caliente Indian Canyons is the
Somewhere between the skyscrapers of Los Angeles and the beaches of San Diego there’s pocket of Old California. When you’re touring Southern California it’s easy to just breeze on down to your final destination, but why would you when you could make some great SoCal stops? Mission San Juan Capistrano is one stop you have to do. Mission San Juan Capistrano
Every city has its defining characteristics that make it unusual and attractive. Seattle has the ferry system and Pike Place Market, Los Angeles has the film industry and beaches, San Francisco has the cable cars and all of its hills… Well, the coolest San Francisco’s hills is for sure Telegraph Hill, and the wonders of Telegraph Hill are the Greenwich
San Diego, California is such a popular west coast destination. We all love to head to SoCal for the nearly guaranteed sunshine and beaches where you can actually swim. And the coastal vibe is so different, with bare feet everywhere and flowers blooming on the bluffs year round. Cabrillo National Monument is a great place to experience that great SoCal
California. That California life is so awesome with all that nature and sunshine. What better way to experience it than by doing a California coast road trip? We're going to start at the northern border, but reverse our plan and you'll have just as amazing of a time. So you’ve just crossed the border from Oregon into California. Get ready because
If you've ever gone traveling with us then you know we like to have fun, we like to go to bed early, and we love when we find awesome free things to do. We know lots of the cool fun free things to do at home because we do so much local travel but free things to do in Los
Can you think of anything that is more Southern California than visiting the Santa Monica Pier? I don't think we could name a single thing. Well, maybe a day in San Diego on the Beach surfing
Growing up in Washington with family in both northern and southern California, the West Coast road trip was guaranteed at least once per year… if not three times. This meant though that we got to experience everything: lighthouses and coastlines, hiking in the mountains or rides in Disneyland. Such an array. Now, being parents, we get to share these awesome
I went to Crescent City, California once when I was a kid. I just remember being told that in 1964 a tsunami (tidal wave) crashed into the town… and then I was terrified of visiting Crescent City or any place on the coast. Well, I’m a grown up now and Chris and I have been through Crescent City twice without
We grew up in a great period in film history, where there were movies like the Land Before Time, Ferngully and, from even before we were born, The Gnome-Mobile. On our way to California’s North Coast and the Redwoods, the boys got to watch The Gnome Mobile in the car and they loved it!! If you’re not familiar, the movie
As we made our way through Northern California and explored the beaches and National Parks, we stayed in all kinds of hotels and lodges. When we left the Bodega Bay Lodge and headed north along the coast, we landed in Eureka, CA and were welcomed by the Carter House Inn. This was such a nifty place. We’ll try to do
When you live on the coast you get accustomed to certain maritime things. You know, like hearing fog horns, continually sweeping up sand in your house, having lighthouses in half of your family photos. We love lighthouses, but then you probably already knew that. While we were touring the Northern California coast we got to stop at a few including
After spending so much time up in the mountains and loving Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, we really needed to get to the ocean. At home we live across the street from the beach and can look at water whenever we want, so we’re used to it. Being land-locked doesn’t suit us. A stop at the Bodega Bay
Ooh, we love a good tourist attraction. Not a tourist trap, but a genuine attraction. Of all of the classic American icons a few really stand out: the Statue of Liberty, the White House, the Golden Gate Bridge. In our house, being the family travel folk that we are, we’ve got a lot of maps, and in particular, kid maps.
While we typically just do our own thing and plot out sights we want to see, every now and then we’ll do a tour. National Parks are so easy to explore on your own, especially when you’re planning on hiking a bunch, but when we were in California, we opted to do the Yosemite Valley tram tour. It was a
Such a variety of accommodations in this world. We’ve seen them all and stayed in half of them. On our epic road trip through the National Parks of Northern California, we got to experience some wonderful places. The Evergreen Lodge at Yosemite National Park is so different from the other spots we stayed. We loved the Wuksachi Lodge in Sequoia National
Everybody seems to have an opinion about overrated sights and places to visit. Roadside attractions are totally cliched to stop at, but why not stop? Viewpoints on highways that have pull-outs are usually there because the view is incredible. Why wouldn’t you want to stop at a vista like that’s “like woah”? Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park is like
It was so great to stay in lodges on our #2TDgoparks2016 roadtrip. After several days of snow chains and foiled hiking plans it was nice to arrive at the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite. We’d stayed in some pretty small lodges within Sequoia and Kings Cayon National Parks for our nights prior to getting to the Tenaya Lodge, so when we
So, we always camp when we go to National Parks. For our big #2TDgoparks2016 trip we’ve taken a totally different approach: lodges. Why lodges? Two reasons: we are doing the trip in the spring when the weather is totally unpredictable and we were kindly invited to explore the Parks and lodges. The Wuksachi Lodge in Sequoia National Park was our