• active family travel - family - Giveaways - Travel

    Travel Is Series Celebration and Giveaway #TravelTuesday #NTTW2015

    This month dozens of the blog-o-sphere’s best travel bloggers are sharing what travel is to them. I have had some amazing travel opportunities, both for business and pleasure this year. Colombia was an epic adventure and a great learning experience with World Vision Canada. The cruise we took together as a family was amazing and such a great chance to restore. The trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico was a wonderful active mother daughter trip that we loved. And the Tremblant Quebec trip where we all learned to ski was epic and busy and challenging, and a trip were hope to…

  • active family travel - family - Travel

    Dolphin Kisses – Last June in Mexico #WordlessWednesday #travel

    Last year we were lucky to attend a Puerto Vallarta, Mexico media trip together. Our family has travelled a few times since and this dolphin excursion that Payton and I went on in Puerto Vallarta remains one of the highlights of the last 5 years for my older daughter. I have seen numerous swim with dolphin excursions up close in the last year as we travelled. This one was the best, most humane, cleanest and best run dolphin excursions that I have ever seen. You can read my full travel story about Dolphin Discovery here in the travel section of…

  • active family travel - family - parenting - Travel

    Travel Tuesday Linky – Hair in Costa Maya, Mexico

    Remember how I told you we went on a cruise? (I might have mentioned it once or twice.) Our first port was Costa Maya, Mexico. We have been to Mexico several times. Most recently I was there with my older daughter visiting Puerto Vallarta back in June for a media trip. This time we parachuted in so to speak on a short time frame. We just had the day, really. It was our first stop out of four. I mentioned Roatan here last week. We left the United States from Tampa and travelled for a full day getting used to…

  • active family travel - family travel - Travel

    New Feature Tuesday Travel Photo #linky – Leaving Tampa

    I don’t know if I can even put into words how much I love active family travel. We just returned from a New Year’s cruise. It was our first cruise ever and after a week at sea I am slowly getting my land legs back. My heart is still warm from the time spent with family and the many awesome excursions we did together. Swimming with stingrays on a reef just along the coast of Belize rocked. Snorkelling alongside my husband and daughters while stingrays, looking prehistoric and unfazed by our presence, swam just beneath us was something we all…

  • active family travel - family - family travel - Travel

    Canopy River Tours in Puerto Vallarta #travel

    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

    Canopy River Tubing #wordlesswednesday #pvpresstrip

    Canopy River Tubing is the subject of this photo essay today. At the end of a brilliant day spent zip lining and swimming with dolphins, Payton, my 12-year-old, at that time, had the chance to tube down a river in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The excursion was at Canopy River, and it was a solid two hours adventure. Highly recommend. More about that later. Together we travel often as a family but this was one of our first ever Mother – Daughter Trips. Wordless Wednesday is a photo meme. Link up your recent photos, or a photo that is meaningful to…

  • Travel

    Vallarta Food Tours: Evening Taco Adventure

    The beef cheek taco seizes your tastebuds and stops you in your tracks. You think: “Wow, I am eating beef cheek on the street in Puerto Vallarta and it is unimaginably tender and moist.” Who knew? But the beef cheek taco is just one surprise on the Vallarta Food Tours evening taco tour.       Surrender to the Experience These are things you learn when you surrender to the sense of adventure that travel brings:   1. Street meat can be magnificent. 2. The architecture in downtown Puerto Vallarta is regal and dignified. 3. It’s possible for a man…

  • active family travel - Travel

    Snorkelling in Yelapa Mexico with Mosquito Jellyfish

    When the mosquito jellyfish bit me I stopped short a moment, treading water, breathing and wondering what just happened. Am I hurt? Did I imagine that? Should I bail? I am far from an adventuresome swimmer. In fact, truth be told, I almost drowned once in a wave pool. Michael Phelps, I am not. But my kids swim beautifully and are well on their way to summers filled with pool parties and maybe even jobs as lifeguards. Today I am snorkelling in Yelapa, Mexico with my daughter and some travel bloggers. Living the life, admiring the view until this happens….…

  • Travel

    In Praise of Mother Daughter Trips – My Travel Partner for Puerto Vallarta #travel

    This is the girl who made me a Mom. My oldest and my heart. My brave girl who zip lined and plunged right in to swim with dolphins, petted sea lions at Dolphin Discovery and showed no fear in Mexico. She makes me proud every day, sometimes it’s the daily school and life stuff. Sometimes, it’s the snapshots shared on a big magical travel adventure.   I am amazed just watching her make her way in the world with a heart wide open to helping others, and strong shoulders lifting them up. Two weeks ago we travelled together to Puerto…

  • family - family travel - Food - Travel

    Five Reasons To Visit Puerto Vallarta #pvpresstrip #travel

    Until recently I assumed Puerto Vallarta was simply a cruise ship stop. I was so wrong. Puerto Vallarta Mexico is a destination with a rich culture, amazing food and a host of activities for travellers of all sorts. This is another post in my Puerto Vallarta family travel series. This month I visited Puerto Vallarta for the first time ever. I have been to Mexico a few times now. We travelled to Cancun as a family and we toured Chichen Itza a few years ago. I find Mexico to be extremely affordable and enjoyable for family travel. We have also stayed…