• Travel

    Bogota Airport Art #travel #WordlessWednesday

    September 17, 2014 - By 

    This is what greets you on entering the Bogota airport in Colombia. Part of the El Dorado Airport is under construction, but there are cheery artistic displays in many common areas. It was one of the brightest displays I have seen in an airport. I love that airports are getting so much savvier about their use of art in public spaces. This is some of the nicest and most colourful airport art I have ever seen. I recently traveled here with World Vision Canada to tell some stories about child sponsorship and the work being done in many areas of…

  • active family travel - family - Travel

    Five Quick Facts About Colombia #Travel

    September 14, 2014 - By 

    Courtesy of Shutterstock Five Facts about Colombia 1. The official name for this country at the top of South America is the Republic of Colombia. It comes from the last name of the explorer Christopher Columbus, who arrived in 1499. It was originally called New Granada and only took its modern name in 1861. 2. Colombia is the only country in South America which has coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Carribean Sea. It also borders five countries: Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru. 3. Colombia is known for its emeralds and coffee. 4. The official language is…

  • active family travel - family - Travel

    Parkbridge Resorts Lakes of Wasaga Stay

    September 2, 2014 - By 

    I am a cottage girl. I have been doing that from the time I was born actually. I don’t think we have ever missed a year. So, cottage season is a big deal here. We are renters. Every single year. We have talked, but never seriously, about buying a cottage. Buying a cottage costs a lot of money and really, how long would we use it? Would we do well with all that upkeep? Would we travel each weekend in the summer to the cottage 3-4 hours away just to cut the lawn? I am not convinced. We love travel…

  • active family travel - parenting - Travel

    Reflections of Summer 2014 #KinderMom

    August 31, 2014 - By 

    How do you capture a summer? Is it a series of snapshots on an iPhone? An entire deck of tiny Instax mini photo cards tucked into the border of a child’s bedroom vanity mirror, with bright red hearts and flowers, decorating the names scrawled on the border? How do you measure July and August? Is it the inches your children grow when they are free to imagine, run, travel, swim and draw without limitation of time or bells? Is it the height of the green grass on your front lawn, the length of the ivy trailing down the side of…

  • active family travel - family

    The Beach #WordlessWednesday linky

    August 20, 2014 - By 

    Every summer we travel to the beach with kids. Most summer vacations mean that we all get together and meet up with cousins in Georgian Bay, Ontario’s cottage country. It’s not possible every single year but it is something we enjoy doing as often as we are able. The beach is a happy relaxed place where we can always connect with family and just chill. Last week we went to the beach with my bother-in-law and sister-in-law. The highlight of that type of break is always all about seeing the cousins play together. This year there was swimming, but as…

  • active family travel - family - parenting - special needs - Travel

    Five Tips for Train Travel with Special Needs Children

    August 12, 2014 - By 

    I love to travel by train – usually. I can work all the way and my wasted time is minimized. Plus, typically train travel is very economical. This summer my kids and I travelled to Montreal and Ottawa by train. That’s a substantial amount of time spent riding, and also a lot of transferring to different connecting trains. We travel every year by train together at least once. As some of my readers know special needs kids require a bit more planning when travelling anywhere, in any mode of transport. I have one anxious child, and another with a brain…

  • family - Health - parenting - Travel

    Cottage Road Trip Memories #travel

    August 11, 2014 - By 

    Cottage Road Trip From the time I was a baby I spent my summers at the cottage. I have seen the pictures of me sleeping in the portable crib, and I remember the many years we took this week for family time, indulging in the opportunity to grow together. The routine of road trip and cottage travel is well mapped on my memory, etched on my skin in every single freckle and carved deep in the veins that lead to my heart. A school teacher relishes summer like no other professional I have ever known. They seize it and wring…

  • Travel

    Lost Luggage and My Trip to #Blogher14 #travel

    August 1, 2014 - By 

    Is there anything worse than lost luggage? Yes, actually. Lost luggage when attending a conference. That can be truly frightening. This happened to me recently and this is the story of how I fixed it. This is the story of lost luggage. Just last week actually on my way to a conference called Blogher, I arrived without my luggage. That was a first for me as a traveler. I have heard many stories over the years of people losing their luggage but this was apparently my turn. I was on my way to a business conference for bloggers called Blogher…

  • active family travel - family - family travel - Travel

    Canopy River Tours in Puerto Vallarta #travel

    July 25, 2014 - By 

    Looking for a fun adventure in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico? Canopy River Tours is the perfect way to spend a day exploring rain forest from above. If the flip flops fall off, they will most definitely plummet 600 feet to their demise in the Sierra Madre mountains. I find myself wondering: will they whirl like maple keys do, or dive straight down into a rocky canyon below? Together? Or one at a time? Flip flops were the first questionable choice we made this morning. I am excruciatingly hopeful that this two hour zip lining Canopy River Tours adventure is not the second. Comfortable…

  • active family travel - Travel

    Vintage African Lion Safari #travel

    July 24, 2014 - By 

    (I just found this in my drafts file as I was travelling by train this week with my kids. My older daughter was sleeping on the train when Ainsley asked me to tell her a story from my childhood and I quickly remembered going to African Lion Safari every single year until I was in high school. It is such a memorable backdrop for so many of the times I spent with my Mom and brother, that I knew when I was a parent I would also take my kids to see this awesome destination. This is a story I…